The astonishment never ceases! India continues to surprise, bewilder and amaze me regardless of how long I have been here. What starts off as a typical day can turn into the best or worst day ever. What I normally see as mundane and average, suddenly becomes new and exciting. Relationships that I thought were a lost cause suddenly spark into respectful and happy friendships. And the religious holidays that I had lost interest in experiencing, unexpectedly become the most wonderful and memorable moments of your life. That is India – unpredictable, chaotic, and beautiful.
If you’ve been reading my blog, you know that last year I didn’t have the best time during Diwali. What was supposed to be an exciting time with close friends and roommates during the Festival of Lights turned into a hellish nightmare of fire, flooding, and a grueling legal battle with an angry landlord. A neighboring child had lit a firecracker on the street that hit our roof – our roof made of straw. (A roof made of straw you ask? My roommates had covered the open roof deck with a thatched hut). The stray firecracker hit our roof, burst into flames, and when my roommates, friends and I returned to the house after dinner, we found our blackened, charred roof on the street – water flooding the house, and no electricity. With candles, towels and brooms, all of us pulled up our sleeves, got on our hands and knees and mopped up the mess. All I can say is: thank god houses in India are not made of wood!
This year however, my friend Ayesha invited me to Delhi and invited all of my friends from KMMC. So we set off: Jimmy, Brian, Christy, Emily and I to Ayesha’s house in Vasant Vihar. I finally experienced my first real Diwali in northern India – (I chuckle to myself as I reflect on my only experiences with Diwali: Konkani Diwali functions dancing to Bollywood songs hardly having any religious or cultural relevance to the Festival of Lights – then eating Dhalitoi and sheeth). We arrived on Friday morning and after taking some time to rest, we went to Ayesha’s parent’s office where they were holding a Lakshmi pooja for prosperity, wealth and good health. That evening we came home, dressed up, and spent the evening lighting firecrackers in their front yard and on the street. It was truly the most exciting Diwali I’ve ever had.
The next day Ayesha took all of us out to Chandni Chowk to experience Old Delhi. I’ve been to Delhi many times now and honestly, up until that point I hadn’t been very impressed with it. To me, it has always looked and felt like suburbia hell. It doesn’t have the bustling energy of Bombay, or the small town feel of Chennai. But when Ayesha took us to Chandni Chowk – I understood. 
The streets are filled with kind, good-natured people. The architecture is interesting, and differs greatly from one building to the next depending on religious origins and British influence. The Red Fort is majestic and stately. And the food – oh the food! We stopped at the famous Parathe Wali Gali and feasted on stuffed fried parathas that ranged from aloo to banana. Oh. My. God. The banana paratha was probably one of the most heavenly things I’ve ever eaten. Then at the end of the street we shared a pista kulfi falooda. I don’t even like kulfi, but man! That was amazing.
We spent the next day relaxing at home and having an amazing home cooked lunch of baingan bharta and rogan josh.
All in all the Diwali weekend was a blast. Unfortunately, we all had to leave on Sunday and prepare for another grueling week at KMMC. But there was light at the end of the tunnel. Next stop: Varanasi.To be continued…
