Like I said before, my gardener invited me to his home to experience the festival with his family. The day he invited me I had been at the pool with the kids so he waited outside my house for an hour in order to invite me to his home. Jennifer told me how long he had waited. The gardener (sorry, don't know his name) asked Jennifer if she thought I'd come and Jennifer said yes, I think she will.
My gardener and his wife
The alter in their home
His BEAUTIFUL daughters
Outside their home.
The wife was on the 10th day of a 10 day fast. She had walked on hot coals that afternoon - she said her feet and clothes were not burned because she fasted and worshiped correctly for the past 10 days. Not everyone was so lucky.
The whole neighborhood was out celebrating.
A tribute to Vishnu
As we walked through a village I could smell farm animals. I looked over a small fence and there were 3 cows in this small yard.
Ahhh haaaa! The float that was blocking traffic yesterday!
We had a puja in this temple decorated with thousands of flowers inside and out.
The streets were full of people, shoulder to shoulder at some spots.
Lovely old man
The man on the left, in the BIG hat, has also been fasting for 10 days. At midnight on this day, he is supposed to come out of his prayer ceremony, don the big hat, and walk to every corner of the village. They said it takes until about 5am. He is supposed to be the embodyment of God. Before the ceremony, his wife has to give up all her marital gold jewelry and the couple are considered no longer married. This is because a God cannot be married then, once the festival is over, the couple will have another wedding ceremony to rejoin their union.
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