The Gods can be petty while the people have a blast

It goes something like this. Rama cut off the nose of Rawlwhen’s sister. In return, Rawlwhen kidnapped Sita, Rama’s wife. The monkey god, haunaman, tried to make things right, but failed. This started a huge war.

Today, at this time of year, every neighborhood creates huge puppets, 50 feet tall. They gather in fields, these puppets from local neighborhoods. Then they blow them up. It is a time of intense rivalry between neighborhoods. Whose is the biggest, whose is the most beautiful, whose burns the fastest, whose makes the most noise when it blows up. Oh, did I forget to mention? They are packed with hundreds of coconut-sized bombs.

It was a huge mob scene. I have never heard anything so loud. I have pictures, but again, they capture only one dimension. We were with a friend – Har Deep. Someone raised in Amritsar, a few block from the Golden Temple. It’s always great when we go out with him. He is so knowledgeable and so helpful. His neighborhood was competing in this celebration. It’s a Hindu festival, but everyone gets involved. His brothers were there and helped keep the crowds at a safe distance from us. There exuberance was unbounded, as one picture captures.

Anyway, it was fun. We again went to The Brothers Restaurant afterward for Indian Vegieburgers, fry’s and ice cream sundae’s. What ever it is that you are imagining about the food, it is not quite that way. :>)