A box on the dining table has been piquing the entire household’s curiosity as it catches each one’s eye. A return gift from a recent wedding, a akhand jyoti diya. Having shifted through quite a few Delhi markets last month, I estimate the hosts probably paid around 200 rupees for it (approx. FJD$6 – even less in bulk buy) so I am not too impressed with it. Neither is Suruj (considering the extravagant kind of money she blew on presents for this wedding). The only person in the household dazzled by this exchange is the head of the household who feels Continue reading
Tag Archives: Hinduism
The 101 Hindu Festivals That My Mother Celebrates
I’ve just devoured a box of Lale’s fried chicken (a recent favourite) and now sitting back in the wonderment that how fried chicken could make a person so completely content? I mean this is a cooked carcass of a bird that’s probably died a long time ago. How could the death and the fried aftermath of another living thing provide so much happiness to another? Especially to a Hindu. Continue reading
Nine Colors and Lessons of Navratri
Maha Navratri is a 9-day Hindu festival which is widely and exuberantly celebrated throughout India and wherever you will find the Indian diaspora settled throughout the globe. The celebrations and rituals differ depending on the region you are from however they all pay homage to the divine Shakti, goddess Durga and her nine forms (avatars) of power. Out of the many (and I mean many) Hindu festivals in a year, Navratri is one of the few where I actually don’t mind going vegetarian for a while and giving up alcohol and some other vices. Continue reading
Shyamni 