Ganesha drums and Autumn symphony

I had to smile, when my blogger friend, Arti, My Yatra Diary, asked me to write a guestpost on her blog on the Ganesha festival. That was going to be fun:-) And it was! Thank you for hosting me, dear Arti. 
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Ganesh Visarjan: Close up with Ganesha

" It had been 4 years since I had been religiously covering it. 

But not this year. This year, I wanted to pass the baton to someone else. 

I wanted to hear the story but from the other side. 

And... it didn't take me long to circle who that someone else would be. 

How about my dear blogger friend, Eli @ Expat Liv? An expat journalist

and writer from Norway living in Mumbai since the past two years?  

I thought. It would be nice to hear what she feels about the Ganesh 

Chaturthi festival. Being a regular reader of her blog, I already knew 

her love for India and that she connected with the festivals and cultures of 

the country at the same emotional level that I do. Thinking thus, I immediately 

set off to shoot her an e-mail requesting if she would like to be a 

guest on My Yatra Diary... and pen down something on Ganesh Visarjan 

and the festival from an Expat's point of view?

And voila, there she was, in the midst of flying in from Goa and 

flying out to Europe, all excited to make some time and honor 

this little corner of mine. I simply couldn't stop feeling grateful and 

thanking her for this kind gesture of hers.

So on that note, there we go -- sit back, relax and read all that the 

festival of Ganesh Chaturthi means to an expat, from an expat's point 

of view -- rest assured, Eli is the kind of writer who shall leave you 

wanting for more! 

******

When I was invited by dear friend Arti to write about Indian festivals in 

general and Ganesha in particular, I could feel a huge smile spreading 

on my face. Because even long before we moved to India over 2 years ago, 

I had a vision of the Indian festivals. Colorful, noisy, wild, crazy, fun 

and with crowds of happy people drumming and dancing all over, 

all the time. I was not disappointed. The festivals here are all that 

- and so much more. 

I go with the flow, from festival to festival."

You can read the rest of my guest post here: on Arti's amazing blog My Yatra Diary.

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So, one day I am right there. In the middle of a wild crowd in Mumbai. Surrounded by people who are drumming, dancing, laughing and together we are moving like a human winding train towards the water. I can feel the heavy drum beat. As I stretch back, I feel raindrops on my face. I start to laugh because it all suddenly feels so crazy, loud and intense. And here I am -  right in the middle of it. This enormous crowd of people, all here to follow their Ganesha to His last journey. The immersion. And the drums do not stop. At all.

And then the next day I am somewhere else. I am walking on a path in a green forest. No drums. No people. No cars. No sounds. Just quiet. I can hear my own heartbeat. Lots of trees. The colors are changing. From green to yellow, orange, red-ish and brown. An Autumn symphony. And yet, the drums are with me. Somehow. They do not stop. Not even here.

A short week back in Bergen, but already today I am moving on... To where? Stay tuned...:-)

Ta ta!