Pretty cool, huh? Well, the monkey didn’t think so. As it turned out he was jumping up onto this roof to come over and tell me just how uncool it was that I was taking his picture. Basically, he just came to the edge and gave me a menacing look. It was enough to freak me out, though, and I think my monkey craving is satisfied now. Yesterday Soham, one of the boys here, found a king cobra under one of the walkway stones. Snakes I never have any desire to see, especially the poisonous kind. I’m trying to adopt an Indian attitude, however, which means I should regard him as an incarnation of Shiva, one of the many, many gods in Hindu lore. Basically the thing lives here because he has found a good food source, namely the many frogs that live here too. So it’s been heavy on the animals these past couple days.
Diwali is also celebrated by setting off fireworks… lots and lots of fireworks. They started around 9 p.m. and went until 11 or so. Basically they’re just set off by the people who live here; it isn’t organized per se, as it is for the 4th of July, so they’re just going off everywhere, with no breaks. It's what I imagine a war zone might feel like.
One of the really cool things I got to do tonight was make an offering to the Ganges. I had seen this on TV before and thought it looked beautiful. It's even more beautiful in person - handmade candles drifting down the river en masse. It was an amazing experience.
An artistic take on the lights of Diwali.
The boys setting off their own fireworks and having a grand old time.
Making our offering candles.
Love the sound of the handmade candles drifting down the river. The monkey looks huge. I can see why they would be considered a nuisance.
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