September: Ganesh Festival, A'bad, etc.

September in Mumbai means Ganesh Chathurthi and 10 days of celebrations around the worship of the elephant God who removes obstacles.  To be frank, I had never heard of this holiday before arriving in Mumbai.  Sure, I grew up praying to Ganesh before starting anything new, but I had no idea there was an entire annual holiday that is celebrated with such fanfare.  I take so much of life in Mumbai for granted, perhaps because I grew up seeing a lot of it, that I have to remind myself to take my camera with me to capture some of these interesting moments.  Until I do a better job at this, go to Google images and type "Ganesh Chathurthi Mumbai 2013" - that will give you an idea of what it's like.  It was really neat to take part in the celebrations by going to see and pray at the HUGE idols that were around every street corner (sponsored by building associations, corporations, politicians, you name it), or the smaller idols in people's homes.  The festival culminates in long street parades with immersion of the idols in a body of water.  The holiday was never celebrated in Gujarat, which is why I had never heard of it, but people have embraced it there too in the past few years.  This was something new, different and fun for us, and while we enjoyed it, I have to admit that the (extra) crowds, traffic and noise that are part of the festival season are something I can do without.

In the middle of the month, I also traveled to Ahmedabad for work purposes.  (One day soon I will travel to a different destination!)  I was excited about helping organize some work activities in the city where I was born.  I mean, really, where else is it possible but in the United States for an immigrant like myself to represent the country as its diplomat?  It was great to use my language skills and cultural knowledge to further U.S. diplomacy.  S did not necessarily understand why I was away for 3 days, and was sad and teary-eyed when we spoke on the phone... maybe for Mommy's benefit, I sometimes wonder.  However, he is absolutely no worse for the wear and within a day or so, he had completely forgotten I was ever gone.  

The rest of September was a blur.  S was off from school for a week and a half; I called it his Fall Break even though there is no Fall here.  We passed around some type of cold/virus within the family, but thankfully none of us had it very long.  We focused on some interior decorating in the house (something I'm not sure I have ever spent much time or energy on) in order to get it ready for my parents and relatives who will be visiting in October, and because it will be Diwali, and because we can.  October will be busy.  Stay tuned...