Diwali in Indore.

I am writing this a couple months after the fact but Diwali in Indore was such a unique experience for which I am extremely thankful that I want to be sure to document as much as possible. Shristi, the wife of a KPMGer from Fort Worth (arranged marriage, they are in India while her US visa is being processed), invited me and a few other rotationals (Charlotte, Megan, and Sam – all from KPMG UK) to her home for the celebration of lights. We flew to Indore on Friday November 10 and landed in the morning. The “Cleanest City in India” did not disappoint. Shristi met us at the airport with her family drivers and took us to Chappan Market for breakfast. The market was an outdoor area with permanent vendors down a row. We ate so much.

Then we went to Shristi’s family home – a beautiful two-story home in a beautiful and affluent neighborhood. A neighborhood park sits right across the sreet! The house was decorate with flowers and candles and rangolis (sand designs on the ground). We had lunch (so soon after breakfast!) cooked by three generations of Indian women – Shristi, her mom, and her grandmother. SO. MUCH. FOOD. All very delicious. By now we are all very used to having food forced on us by well-meaning Indians. I’ve gotten pretty comfortable with a strong “no but thank you so much” which has to be repeated over and over again. It can be annoying but that feeling is quickly replaced by thoughts and feelings of gratitude and new experiences.

We logged on to our laptops to catch up on work and before long, a woman arrived to apply henna for anyone interested. I’ve never had henna before but it’s no surprise that I was absolutely on board. Within minutes, she had applied the most beautiful, intricate designs on the inside of my hands, crawling up the inside of my first finger. I was obsessed! Some of the group tried their hand at rangolis. I declined, citing my fresh henna as the excuse but in reality, I am way too anal to do rangolis. There was a young girl – the daughter of Shristi’s family’s house helpers – and she was knocking out rangolis like a pro! She was so good at it!

We had masala chai (the best I’ve ever had) and snacks. SO. MUCH. FOOD. We then lit diyas which are little clay pots holding oil and a wick. We lit a couple of trays full of them and took them one by one to each room. It was very special!

Then we checked into our hotel (I roomed with Charlotte and Megan) and took a rest. That night we were scheduled to go to Sarafa Market but I woke up soooo sleepy so texted Shristi and said I was opting out. She was so disappointed that I couldn’t resist and boy, I am glad I didn’t! This was the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen. Streets FULL OF PEOPLE. More people than I’ve ever seen in such a space. The streets were lined with jewelry shops, restaurants, food vendors, etc. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life. And of course, the locals LOVED us foreigners. By this time, Shristi’s dad had joined us so he told us about growing up in the exact area, and showed us where his childhood home once stood. How cool! And more and more and more food was forced upon us. We were promising ourselves and each other “I am not eating any else, nothing else!” but attempts to decline were futile.

The next day (Saturday), we had breakfast at the hotel. We were all very thankful for this because we could control the amount of food. Not surprisingly, none of us ate. We know there would be lots of food soon. Shristi took us to Daly College, where she attended school prior to university. “College” is high school in India. The campus was gorgeous. Green and open and beautiful old buildings. Very posh. We had lunch at a hotel buffet (hotel restaurants are popular eateries in India). Then back to the hotel for rest.

That night, we got all dressed up in our sarees and headed back to Shristi’s. She and her family helped us adjust our sarees properly and adorned us with beautiful jewelry. The neighborhood Diwali party was scheduled to start at 5:30 but 8 o’clock rolled around and no one was at the park! By 8:30, we wandered over and the area had started to fill with people. We were like zoo animals being pranced around for praise. It was hilarious. Everyone wanted to look at us and meet us. Shristi and her family seemed very proud to have foreign guests. More food, more food, more food. We stood around, walked around for a while and then Shristi quickly became nervous that we were late to her cousin’s house for a party. It was so strange to us because time didn’t seem to be a factor whatsoever but all of a sudden, we were given a story to tell her cousin about why we were late.

We arrived at her cousin’s house for the party that started at 9, around 10:30. Oddly enough, in the sitting room were about 5 people. The cousin, a friend of his, his mom, and his dad. We sat down on the couch and were served water. After chatting for a bit, we were invited upstairs. Megan was leading the way when the cousin said, “yes, right through there” and pointed to a door. Megan opened the door, looked in, and turned around as if it couldn’t be the right place but the cousin insisted. The door opened to a bedroom. With a bed and dresser. We were instructed to sit on the bed and make ourselves comfortable (what?!). We were all so confused. Some chairs were brought in and everyone lined the edge of the bed, all around, for seating. Drink preferences were noted (I declined alcohol to the shock and disappointment of our host) and we started playing card games. One group played poker and the other group, my group, played Spoons. It felt surreal. In India, playing spoons! A silly card game I’ve played since I was a small kid at my grandmommy’s house!

The next day (Sunday) was the Diwali pooja at Shristi’s dad’s work. He is in the business of dressing up truck chassis (bodybuilder, as they are called in the US). I didn’t know what to expect but as with all things India, what I found was not what I expected. The office was on a dirt road with a row of first-floor businesses. A garage door type situation where the door was open, exposing the entire shop to the street. It is a very familiar set up in India. The shops are seemingly attached to one another and each is a little cube of its own business. The pooja (blessing) was attended by a small group of family and employees. Other, perhaps “less important,” employees stood by watching. There was a pooja leader who read from a book, chanted, sang. We were sitting in small groups and each group had a bowl and a tray of nuts and spices that were added on command. The ceremony lasted for about 2 hours and then we lit firecrackers in the street. And like straight out of a movie, a woman walked by with a basket. When she opened the top, a cobra snaked out. So, of course I had to touch it!

We went to hotel for rest, got up and went to Shristi’s house to light diyas. This is a nightly ritual during Diwali. We went to dinner and sat on the top floor of the restaurant, outside, with views of the entire city. There were fireworks going off in all directions. That night back at Shristi’s house, we lit fireworks for more than 4 hours. Every time we thought we were near the end of the haul, her dad brought out more stacks and stacks of boxes of fireworks. Just like food was graciously forced upon us, fireworks were graciously forced upon us. It was wild! Neighbors were setting off fireworks and I could hear them being set off all around the area. The trash in the street was extraordinary. And when we returned the next morning, not a single trace of trash remained.

On Monday morning, we piled into Ubers and headed to the airport to get back to Bengaluru.