Through the past week or so, preparations have been underway for Desara, a pretty major holiday in Delhi. I had an inkling that it was going to be pretty good when on Saturday we were stuck behind and then passed a betassled elephant along the highway, in addition to seeing tons of kids running around in demon costumes. Then I saw a bunch of one hundred foot high effigies, and got a little more excited. But not excited enough, because, as it turns out, Desara contains, without a doubt, the best ceremony of any cultural or religious group ever. I will not and cannot be convinced otherwise.
I had heard that the celebrations were located in parks around the area, so headed out on my bike to find some around 6:45pm. Fortunately, this was pretty easy, as I just had to follow the huge streams of people, as well as sounds of fireworks and incredibly loud music. It turned out that there were two within four blocks of one another, so after some scouting, I decided to go with the one that had a play of the story that inspired the holiday. Thanks to my 10th grade English class, I was even able to recognize one of the characters*! There were thousands of people there, and towering over all of us were three huge effigies of the demons who get slain in the story. Unfortunately, a cop booted me from the area, so I had to go over to the other one for a bit; however, that site had fireworks going off every 8 seconds, which was initially neat, but rapidly became jarring to my senses. Thus I decided to sneak back in, and it was all good from there.
Why is this the best ceremony ever? Oh, I don’t know, maybe because they LIGHT THE EFFIGIES ON FIRE!! Yeah, I guess that’s cool, they are 100 feet tall, after all. Oh, but wait, I forgot to mention that they are also FILLED WITH FIREWORKS! It is pretty much like watching a succession of Hollywood explosions in real life as the effigies crumpled into immense fireballs , probably in the top five most amazing things I have ever seen. I was so impressed that I ran over to the second place after seeing those three burn, for a total of 6 effigies burnt. This was also awesome because at that location, they designed the explosions to look like the demon/effigy was being hit by arrows, and then had a spinning sparker on his chest right before the big explosion. I wish that I had pictures to share, but I thought it might be kind of inappropriate to do. I’m sure there is something up on youtube, if you’re curious.
But basically, this has made me wonder: if I got some much joy out of this, perhaps I should indulge more in the cultural activities available to me? A few of you are wtf-ing right now, as you have given me similar advice, but hey, I guess I’m just a little slow. But I’m now certainly more open to it, especially if explosions are involved!
Also, I am starting to keep notes on all the slums we visit, and may start just posting that to the blog, as if you’re interested in economic development (as most of you are not), it might be good to learn more about the variety present in Delhi, as they are surprising differences. I’ll be more likely to do/not do it if you say you are/aren’t interested, so feedback is good.
*Yes, you can accurately read this as meaning that I understand nothing else until going on Wikipedia later tonight.
Explosions! I had a fun time imagining your facial expressions while watching the effigies/fireworks. Hooray for culture!
ReplyDeleteDude, Patna seriously needs to observe Desara! We just had Durga Puja, which was pretty sweet, even though Jeff and I missed most of it. But 100 foot tall burning demons? That's just too badass...
ReplyDelete"But basically, this has made me wonder: if I got some much joy out of this, perhaps I should indulge more in the cultural activities available to me?"
ReplyDeleteWhat it really should make you wonder is: "where can I get some fireworks, kerosene, and slow fuse to recreate this spectacle at my leisure?"
My expressions were pretty much the same as on that spinny-thing near my house, the documentary evidence of which I hope is destroyed.
ReplyDeleteAnd Greg, you bring the 100 foot effigies, I'll bring the fireworks.
That evidence is definitely NOT destroyed, and will be brought up to haunt you at an as-yet-undecided point in time. Your wedding, or something like that, probably.
ReplyDeleteThat aside, I'm incredibly jealous. In Ireland they burned effigies, but there were no fireworks involved. This sounds awesome.
Jeff, I am truly gladdened to hear that you have decided to partake in some cultural activities while in India. Soon, you should quit your job and just travel around the subcontinent. Then, you can write a best-selling memoir in which you problematically project your post-collegiate angst onto the perceived blank canvas of the Indian subcontinent, because your neo-colonialist American lens allows you to use an entire country as a means of self-discovery, without permitting it agency of its own. This plan cannot fail.
ReplyDeletelol to what joel says. also the liking of burning things... maybe you should have been a chem major???
ReplyDeleteJoel, that is precious. Jeff, I'm glad you're living a little! :)
ReplyDelete