Don't get me wrong - there are a ton of things to LOVE about this holiday! All the houses decorated in lights; all the amazing food and sweets; all the excuses to give gifts of appreciation to loved ones ... I mean, it is like Fourth of July, Christmas, and New Year's all bundled up into one holiday, like I suggested last year (and just like last year we had some really noteworthy experiences with fireworks!).
This year was pretty neat because instead of just sort of making up what we were suppose to do, this time we had a pukka khas program (a proper special plan) because we were able to tag along with the family we were staying with.
As with most stories of this nature - things started out WONDERFULLY!
We got to help prepare the house for the arrival of Ram back to Ayodya by placing butter lamps in every single room.
We were welcome to join the family as they did special pujas at, best guess was at least 9 different temples ... and of course at the sacred Ganga. I have a totally new and profound understanding of the sacred geography of Banaras: within a 50 meter walk from our house we must have passed close to 30 different temples to various Gods and saints. On an evening like Diwali they were much easier to spot because each was marked with the special butter lamps that marked this occasion.
After dinner we were invited to go to a bara admi ka ghar (big man's house) to watch him blow up 110,000 rupees worth of fireworks (almost $2,500).
[Editors note: I can't even begin to express to you how frustrating it was to be at the house of a politician - for Mayawati's party even! - and know that he was putting on this show, which he apparently does every year, just to show off how big and important he is. We had a pretty depressing conversation with our host after the fact about how all politician's are goons, but its better to have one in office that you know personally. (sigh)]
Unsuspecting Spectators
The array of patanke (fireworks) he had was pretty impressive. But what struck me was how his men (servants? lackies?) were doing everything possible to make sure they all went off properly.
Like this man (in the background of this photo), who is holding lit fireworks in his hand shaking them around to make them go off faster. Best not to ask too many questions about this one.
So what, I wondered did $2,500 worth of fireworks really look like? Well, you know those fancy fireworks you see at the Macy's Fireworks displays in NY? Apparently they come in boxes you lite ....
Who knew?
But do you know what happens when those boxes are defective and the fireworks don't explode in the air but in the box? People run for it.... like this:
Diwali Fireworks Gone Wrong from Nikki on Vimeo.
You can see in the video everyone running away from the fireworks and huddling in a corner of the roof. At the end Allen is showing off his (brand new gift) shirt which had just had two holes singed into it by fiery embers. We left shortly after this video was taken.
But really, there is something surreal about the use of fireworks at Diwali. Maybe I'm just being organizational-ist but these sort of home-spun fireworks shows make the streets feel more like a warzone than a space of celebration. Kids plant bombs in the street and everyone runs for cover holding their ears... like in this video:
These bombs (literally, this is what they are called) were so powerful that you could feel the aftershock of the explosion on your chest. Crowds of onlookers would gasp in collective terror when a bicycle, motorcycle, rickshaw, or car ever got to close to a lit one of these... can you imagine what would happen if it exploded under a car...?
Just to be clear, I have never been, nor do I ever want to be in a warzone, but the whole experience just struck me as odd. Everyone is out there to have fun and enjoy themselves, but really ends up spending most of the time running and ducking for cover. Banaras, with its narrow streets and short buildings (where your neighbor's roof is a short hop away) also lends itself to strange spectacles like this one, where the fireworks don't even clear the building they have been set off next to:
But, I should also note, this isn't really the end of the fireworks ... this is just the beginning! Diwali marks the unofficial start of the Hindu wedding season, with its indispensable fireworks and insanely loud wedding bands. Oh yes, there will be more...
So after getting singed by fireworks and thankfully making it home without being hit by anymore fireworks, what did we do to celebrate? We obviously lit more fireworks off our roof!
HAPPY DIWALI EVERYONE!
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