…:::finetuned:::…

deepavali came and deepavali went..

every year back home, its always about oil baths, new clothes, prayers, temple, food(!!!) and relatives which inevitably ends with tv programmes..

here in nizhny, its about prayers, food, friends, open houses, and for the past two years, fights..

but i have to admit that this year was one of the best i’ve had here so far..

had a small-scale open house for all the groupies and acquaintances..haha..we had a scrumptilitious breakfast - uppuma, ponggal, chap-puri ( that’s what you get when you try to make puri but it turns out like chappati ), murtabak, kurma, sardine sambal, watermelon, tea and soft drinks coupled with some home-made delicacies shipped from home courtesy of nava..

took loads of photos..chatted til our mouths ran dry but then there was always something to drink, hehe..

my highlight of the day was going to the hare krishna temple by the river..we thought that they might have some special celebration or watever but there wasnt any..instead, we jus hung around a lil, had some prasadam that looked suspiciously like puli soru and watermelon, then we were goin to head back when one of the committee members came..

to me, it seemed that worshipping the lord came easier to this young russian man with a ponytail than it did to us indians..and it made me a teeny-weeny bit………..-i dunno how to say it cos i cant find the appropriate word for it..

hinduism is vast and it seems to me that to completely know and understand it is simply not possible in this lifetime..and the fact that the scriptures are not easily obtained makes it all the more impossible for one to actually dwelve deeper into it..

my own knowledge about this religion of mine that i was born into is probably comparable to size of a plasma cell in a human body ( ;P )..that is to say, i know almost nil and my knowledge probably doesnt account for anything..i pray, but i dont follow the rules strictly cos i have adapted the religious teachings to my current way of life..i read in a book that hindus pray 6 times a day, and when going to a temple you must wear a saree as there is some significance in wearing that one piece of woven cloth, and you must go to a temple everyday and a whole load more..when in fact i pray an average once a day and at all not on weekends, its been 2 years since i last wore a saree and i go to the temple less than 5 times a year!!! but this does not mean that i am not a pious person, i am - i do think of god everyday, i marvel at the wonders he has created, every single thing that i see no matter how tiny, reminds me of what a great life i have thanks to his grace and i thank him when i’m happy..

does that make me a bad devotee??

i dun accept all the teachings becos i believe that over time, god’s words have been superimposed with those of humans so that the actual gist of what he says is actually an interpretation of one or more persons..so much so that i cant really say what should be followed and what should not be..

at the temple yesterday, we met three russians, 2 ladies named lakshmi and maharani, and a guy named siva..wow..their names are as indian as mine if not more - sevvanthee = name of a particular flower, siva = god’s name, lakshmi = goddess’ name, maharani = emperoress..

see what i mean??

it’s unnerving..

and i am not a follower of the hare krishna foundation..this is the first time i have been to one of their temples..the way i have been used to praying and their way of worshipping the lord is different even though it is the same divine being that we pray to..

we sat around at the temple and were asked to join in the singing of a rhyme, accompanied by some indian musical instruments..when they asked us to play them, none of us knew how to..and to be asked the question “How can you not know your own culture?” by a russian who knows more about it was like….a slap to the face..ouch..and they sang so loud and so happily, i’ve never been that close to such a display of piousness..

and then we were invited to join in one of the festivals which they celebrate this monday at 4pm..i want to go, but at the same time i am reluctant - i feel sooo….kekok!!!

but i am going..its time i took things seriously..maybe i was meant to skip that open house and go to the temple instead..

talk about deepavali being the festival of lights..

i think my life was just lit up..