Shab-e-Baraat
Okay, I’ll put up some pictures of the Bara Imambara and Chowk a little later, but I just wanted to tell you guys about this evening. I’ve finally gotten to experience a couple different Indian festivals. (Which meant we got yesterday off! Woohoo!) The one which was yesterday is a holiday which I personally like a lot. It’s called Raksha Bandhan, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raksha_Bandhan) and it is meant to honor the bond between brothers and sisters. The sisters either make or purchase these pretty bracelets to tie on the wrist of their brother (can even be any boy she feels a familial closeness too). And after accepting this “Rakhi” the brother promises to always protect his sister. I watched Naheed’s daughter put Rakhi on my friends Sanchit and Takashi and it was really a very sweet ceremony. My brothers will have to wait until I get home to get their Rakhis, but I do have them!
Tonight was a Muslim holy day which is actually sort of like the Mexican Dia de los Muertos. In South Asia, this day is called Shab-e-Baraat, but I guess it’s also referred to as Mid-Sha’ban (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Sha’ban) After reading a bit, there seem to be multiple meanings for this day, but all in all it is a day to fast and worship and also to visit the graves of those who have passed away. There happens to be a Muslim cemetery about 3 blocks away, so Emily and I decided to walk over. This is the kind of holy day where the entire family attends; women, children, etc. So there was absolutely no worry about safety or anything. The cemetery was really quite beautiful. People were lighting candles, reciting prayers. At some there were large families paying there respects, at one there was just an old man reading “Bismillah al-rahman al-rahim” over and over. I wonder who he was visiting. Maybe his wife, maybe a parent. The air was full of incense and some muezzin in the central masjid reciting various Islamic texts. I don’t think it was all Quranic, because there was definitely some Urdu going on.
Anyway, so now I’ve gotten to experience festivals from two religions in two days! It’s nice to see how family oriented they are. Showing that such connections are really important to people, whether it’s between brother and sister or remembering someone who has passed on.
Khuda Hafiz
Different cultures are remarkable aren’t they. (how perceptive that comment was!) No but really, when you think that wherever you go in the world there are so many different realities. It seems that after 50,000 years or so we would all kind of standardize. And, of course, everyone would standardize around my reality…hehe