So, the statues under the canopy were marched around the neighborhood today. Drums, people dancing, coconuts smashing, incense burning. It was colorful, deafening, chaotic - in short, a blast. There were a bunch of guys pounding drums, and one of the guys had a large saucepan that he was nailing with a stick. Fantastic.
The cosmic significance of the event in the Hindu myths was lost on me. I enjoyed it as a festival.
I am amazed by the kids who get these experiences when they are at a formative age. What an opportunity - to see the strange, exotic, foreign stuff that they are seeing while their minds are forming. Awesome!
I leaned over to LW during the event and said, "You know you're one of the luckiest kids in the world to be able to see these things like this. You'd never see this in Wales, would you?" He laughed.
Here are some pictures.