I asked Rasika repeatedly what the significance of Diwali is, and I never got a straight answer. Mostly she said "Oh, there's a big festival and... also food." (I can tell she really has her priorities in the right place.) But she did say eventually that, at the end of the evening, we would be putting floating candles in the river. This is supposed to happen on the day of the month when the moon doesn't show (I don't remember what the word for that is), and the candles are supposed to replace the moonlight. That's the most religious thing I got from her the whole evening. Otherwise it was "Oh, you have to try this food, and this one and this..." Which is right about my speed. Photo time!
I asked Rasika if people would be wearing traditional clothes, and she said yes, so I tried to wear my most Indian looking outfit, which admittedly was not that Indian, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Those of you who know me well will notice I'm wearing pink and sequins, both of which NEVER HAPPEN. I don't even remember where I got this top. I never have an occasion to wear it. Finally, an occasion.
We spent a great deal of our time discussing the food, trying different things and admiring the outfits other people were wearing. I discovered that Indian fashion is pretty much tailor-made for me. Explanation: I like bright colors, bold patterns, long shirts and 3/4-length sleeves, loose/flowy fabrics, shawls and scarves, light/comfortable/soft fabrics, bangles and other adornments. It's PERFECT. Indian fashion is effortlessly feminine, and conservative in its proportions (i.e. no cleavage.) I think I need to get in on this... Rasika? Take me shopping? Please? ^_^
So, after the food there was a dance show. They had a style of dance for each province in India. We sat on a hill under the San Antonio version of the CN tower (I can't remember what it's called) and watched the show. The crowd was pretty big.
I took a video of one of the dances from the province that Rasika is from, but my computer is acting funny. I might be able to load it later.
After the dances, we moved down toward the river to watch people light their candles. I took a billion pictures, it was so pretty. Unfortunately there was just enough of a breeze that the candles kept going out. All the same, it was very impressive.
After a while I sat down and started re-lighting the candles that went out. Rasika sat down next to me and said "You're really popular! Everyone's taking pictures of you!" So, I guess keep an eye out for me on flickr or other San Antonio blogs.
We had a lovely time. Rasika and I keep making plans, then breaking them. So I'm glad something finally worked out. And the candle ceremony was really pretty to watch. I told her that Channukah is also called "The Festival of Lights," but we just light the menorah, not an entire river. She laughed. <3
