I didn't take the camera, but it was a great party. I think of it as the calm before the storm, as next weekend will see the 70's birthday bash. It also promises to be very fun.
So, lately there have been elections in India. Interestingly, our neighborhood became the place of an election rally. Apparently, the guy two doors down is a politician. Take a look....
^ We were awakened by drumming. Really loud and strong drumming. I and Jonah went out to the street to see what was going on.
^ These drummers-for-hire were banging away. Not sure they had seen many westerners before, so I got all of their attention.
^ Check out their leader - seems deeply disinterested in the whole thing.
^ One of these is the local politico which lives in the neighborhood. You'll notice the typical appearance of a politician. A bit hefty, all in white clothes (this varies by region) and hands in a formation of supplication. In reality, guys that look like this often have two beefy guys walking being them and an occasional skinny guy carrying a gun. One time at a breakfast joint called Chutneys I saw three politicians eating an ungodly amount of idlis while the obligatory skinny guy with a machine gun stood close by. First, the gun had no clip in it, so I felt good about that. I then noticed that the machine gun was held around his shoulder by a seat belt that he had been fashioned into a strap. Hilarious!
^ The required jeep-with-speakers-that-blast-Telugu-election-slogans.
^ Then the crowd poured into our street. This is from our front gate.
^ The drumming and dancing turned very rhythmic and there was a circular dance where the drummers slammed their feet down and made the bells on their ankles ring. It was pretty intense at this point.
^ Then, the obligatory guy-not-senior-enough-to-be-inside-with-the boss started to dance with the drummers. Most of the attendees are young men who got paid to attend. They looked disinterested as they threw marigold petals to and fro.
I left before the Big Man came out.... but when he did, the crowd surely went wild.
