the day before…

’twas the day before Diwalli and all through the land, everything was moving, decorating, celebrating, a festival is at hand!

We are lucky enough to be here during Diwalli, a grand festival celebrated throughout India. It commemorates the return of one of the gods (and there are sooooo many gods) after 14 years in the woods. He’s back and that means every year at this time everyone celebrates. During Diwalli, commerce is very important. People shop and the stores paint and decorate to welcome everyone. We spent the afternoon walking through the streets where merchants of every type of good were out in force, and people crowded the streets smiling and laughing and shopping.

Today we learned why the Indian people are so very warm and friendly to each other…and to us. Most Indians are Hindu, and Hindu is very strong in their lives. There are over a billion gods and no one can know them all. The gods, in human form, walk among us and Hindus believe that a god will never be someone you already know. So the next stranger you meet could be a god and you will be blessed by their presence. We feel this from their eyes as our gazes connect. It is warm and genuine.

But today is only the day before Diwalli. Tomorrow we will be in Jaipur and the real party starts. We hear there will be fireworks all night long. We don’t know exactly what we’re in for but we are ready for anything!