Farewell Ganesha - see you again!

So, there I am, walking in the rain on a muddy path leading up to a lake. I am clinging to my umbrella, and try not to loose my bag and camera while I simultaneously attempt to:
- Take pictures
- Not loose sight of my family and friends
- Smile and thank the smiling strangers who offer me fruit, nuts and sweets
- Not slip and fall
- Shout Ganpati Bappa Morya... - and some more words

Around us there is a constant flow of small processions of people, following their Ganesh to the final journey for this year. Some are dancing to the drums. Most are shouting: Ganpati Bappa Morya, Purchya Varshi Laukariya ( O Father Ganesha, come again early next year) The atmosphere is electric. But let me begin with the beginning:

We had been invited to some friends' home, remember?  ( thank you so much again, Girish & family:-) to follow their Immersion. Last Monday was the beginning of the festival, and yesterday was a big immersion day for the Ganeshas in people's homes. The smaller ones. (which basically means that millions of people in Maharastra went to immerse their Ganesh yesterday).

So, first we gathered in our friends' home. They have done Pujas twice a day since Monday, and now it was time to do the last one. We joined in.

After we had done the last puja, it was time for Ganesha and His procession (including US) - to leave the house. By then it was raining a lot, so we decided to go by car. And no surprise who got the front seat..:-)

The car left us at a pretty chaotic spot. There were music playing, speakers on, drums, and all around us small Ganesha processions appeared - at foot, from rickshaws and from cars- and they all headed up the hill, towards the lake. So did we.  

Arriving with their Ganesha...

But hang on, before reaching the lake, we stopped (like all the other processions) to do one final offering for Ganesha. It included breaking a coconut, the symbol for human ego (a hard nut to crack). Only to use force and do your best - to break your ego, you will overcome obstacles and release your inner energy.

There were large tables set up on the hillside, and all around us, the other processions stopped, placed their Ganesha on the table to do the last offerings. People were walking around, offering each other fruit, nuts and sweets. - Ganesha is the God for everybody, and this is blessed by Him. Like one big street-party really, lovely! Except for the fact that they were there to say goodbye to Ganesha. Our friend said: - It feels a bit sad, because He has been part of our lives now, and the house will feel empty when He is gone.

Everybody gave each other sweets,nuts and fruit. Love the little guy's expression here... 

Final offerings - and many looked quite sad...

One of the bigger ones we saw today...

Final offerings to Ganesha- and rain is still pouring... 

After the final blessings, (and stuffing ourselves with goodies), we continued towards the lake. At one point the Ganesha-carryer had to go one way - and the rest of us another. He then had to give his idol to someone taking Him down to the water.

Last holding of Ganesha before seeing Him off..

The blue-t-shirt guys was the trusted people to take the Ganeshas down to the little lake. 

Then we gathered at a small temple. Our friends, who now had an empty tray, received a small piece of clay to take home, to place where Ganesha had been, to fill the void.

So, dear reader, Ganesha departed, but will for sure be welcomed next year with equal enthusiasm! 

And hey - that was only the small home - Ganeshas. More will be immersed tomorrow. As for the really huge community Ganeshas: we will bid farewell to them next week, at the end of the festival! 

So, my Ganesha tale might not have seen The End quite yet. Farewell for now, Ganesha, see you again! 

From indiatoday.com

Festivals in India

- What do you miss the most from India, Poonam? I asked my good Indian friend this summer. She lives in Norway. - The Festivals! - she laughed, without a moment of hesitation. - The Festivals!!!!!!

No wonder! The festivals in India are amazing - and just as loud, cheerful and colorful as I had pictured them to be, before we moved here! And this year I am waaay more prepared for them! You see, last year, I could suddenly find myself in the middle of a crowd of drumming, cheering, dancing people and I had absolutely no idea what was going on! (Confused-newly-arrived-to-Mumbai-creature....)  But people were so including! Waiving hands and smiling faces welcomed us: - Come here! Go in the front so you can see better! Let the foreigners through! Join us! Try it! Come! Come! And we were pushed up front, a bit taken off guard, but joined in the best we could, a bit overwhelmed to put it mildly. Go with the flow, .....right? Eh, right!

And there are lots of festivals! Lots! Well, dear reader, this year I am more prepared. And I will understand why all the women suddenly wear green sarees one day. I know why they tie colorful bangles to each others arms. I get why a live pyramid of climbing people suddenly emerge in front of me ( but I still swallow hard-watching that little guy on the very top up there). And the giant Ganesha statues  --- well they do not make me freeeeeze:-) this year, and I understand why He receives such a warm welcome!.

And speaking of Ganesha. We are still in the middle of the Ganesha festival, and drumming, dancing, cheering and celebrating is going on non-stop! Today we are off to visit some friends and their Ganesha. I actually got quite moved to see how many have an almost personal relationship with their Gods. Ganesha has been treated as their dear guest. And just as when a dear guest has visited you and it is time to leave - well, it is a bit sad to say goodbye. However, we join in the prayers that Ganesha will come back early next year. So, it is not really a final goodbye - more a: See you again! That makes it easier..And that's the way it is when dear friends, family and guests leave, right? - Until we meet again:-) See you! 

So- to be continued.... more Ganesha tales are coming up....

I wish you a wonderful day,  dear reader!

PS: If you want to know more about the festivals in India, you can check out A list of the festivals in India.

Tzatziki, raita and kolokithakia tiganita - recipe

Even before I moved to India, I knew about raita. It had been my lifesaver when the food was over the top spicy in Indian restaurants. Now, in India I have some new insight:

• Raita can be made with a number of different delicious flavors: like cucumber, pineapple and pomegranate
• The spicy in Indian restaurants in Europe, is NOT particulary spicy compared to spicy in India, so: 
• I love my raita even more now than I did before. Nothing beats some cooling raita to put out the flames:-) 

In Greece we have tzatziki  - kind of like the Greek cousin of raita. Both of them are welcomed quests in our global expat cuisine. I have experimented a bit with raita, and tested out different recipes.

I found a very good raita recipe at Asmitas food blog Compulsive Foodie. I really love her blog- it is so delicate and with some great recipes! In this recipe, cucumber and yogurt are the main ingredients, just like in tzatziki, but the spices are quite different. You can find her yoummie raita recipe here.

I discovered another recipe - which looked quite intriguing at Kumar's Kitchen, another food blog which I like. You can check out their version with carrot, coconut and ginger here.

And now for the Greek cousin Tzatziki, which I know the best of course. We use tzatziki as a side dish, and it can go with anything: fish, meat or veggie dishes. When we have fried zucchini / kolokithakia tiganita - which my teens love - tzatziki is a must! This is how we do it: 

TZATZIKI

You need: 
2-3 cucumbers
2 cups of yogurt
3 cloves garlic, grated
salt, pepper 
3 tsp dill 
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp vinegar
2 tsp lemon juice

You do:
Peel and grate the cucumber. Squeeze out the water. If you have time- leave it to drain (in a coffee filter) for a couple of hours. Do the same with the yogurt, if it has too much water in it. 
Put the grated cucumber in a bowl and add garlic, salt, pepper and dill. Add olive oil, vinegar and lemon juice. Mix well. I prefer to do it by hand, so we can still have the bits of cucumber in there. 
Cover up the bowl and leave it in the fridge for at least one hour. 

PS 1. Instead of grating the cucumber, you can cut it in small cubes. 2. Some also add 2 tsp mint. 
     

FRIED ZUCCHINI

You need: 
2 large zucchinis
2-3 eggs
1-2 cups flour
salt, pepper
oil
vinegar

You do: 
Chop the zucchinis in slices ( about 1/2- 1 cm thick), and set aside. Prepare 2 bowls: In one you mix the eggs with 1-2 tsp vinegar. In the other bowl you mix flour with salt and pepper. Heat up oil in a frying pan. 
Dip the slices of zucchinis first in the bowl with egg-mix and then in the bowl with flour. (they need to be well covered) 
Fry the zucchinis slices until they are light brown. Put them on a plate covered with kitchen paper. 

I hope you enjoy your zucchinis with tzatziki! 

Fried zucchinis with tzatziki

In Greece, zucchinis with tzatziki will usually be a side dish, or a part of our big wonderful Greek meze- lots and lots of dishes- that just keep coming:-) Have a look at this post from last summer, if you want to see more.

Oh well, I will go for Kitchari with pineapple raita today myself! Love it!

Have a wonderful day, dear reader, and thank you for popping by!  

Welcome Lord Ganesha! - Happy Ganesh Chaturthi!

Today it started - the festival for the beloved Lord Ganesha, the elephant - headed Hindu God. We celebrate His birthday. Families installed statues of Ganesha in their homes, and gigantic statues of Him was set up in neighborhoods. All over Mumbai today there have been processions with people carefully carrying their Ganesha home, - or driving him home. I have seen Ganeshas on anything from rikshaws to huge trucks today, accompanied by crowds of singing, dancing and drumming people. Ganesha has arrived, and he will stay for 1 1/2 or up to ten days! Dear reader, one of the biggest festivals in Mumbai is definitely on!

Ganesha is widely worshiped in India as the God of wisdom, prosperity and good fortune, and is invoked at the beginning of a new venture or at the start of a journey. He is the one you should pray to, to remove any obstacles that are in your way. He is seen as the most important Hindu God, and a God for everybody. During this week, he is worshiped, and then immersed in the sea, a lake or the river at the end of the festival.
Some families will immerse their Ganesha already tomorrow, but the big statues will not be immersed until the tenth day. So, for the next week, the neighborhoods will come to worship Ganesha in large beautifully decorated tents. They will bring flowers, fruit and sweets for offerings. And there will be a lot of celebration!
We had been invited to some good friends today (thank you, our sweethearts Mrudul and Kirti) - and this is what we saw:

This is the big Ganesha statue for the neighborhood. With drums and dancing they are bringing Him to the big tent, where He will be for the next ten days. People will come to worship Him there. 

Took some men to hold on to Him.... 

This is the Ganesha in our friends home. They will have Puja for Him again tonight and then 2 times tomorrow, before they will take Him to Juhu beach to be immersed in the sea. 

Some of the offerings..

They pray for Him bringing wisdom, fortune for the next year, and remove any obstacles which are in their spiritual path. 

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi, dear reader! All the best! Now, I'll check how the elections in Norway is turning out.. From one thing to the other today...! I hope you have had a wonderful day! Ta ta from me:-)  

Happy elections, Norway!

Here I am, sitting on a dirty straw mat on an even dirtier floor. The painting is coming off the wall and there is mold and fungus in every corner -  and in front of me: 20 smiling 12 year olds. We are at school, in one of the big slum areas in Mumbai.

So, we talk about events around the world and I tell them that elections are coming up in Norway this Monday. They get curious. A shower of questions. Yes, we have hospitals and medicines. Yes, the roads are good (believe me- compared to Mumbai they are! ), Yes, most kids in Norway have some toys to play with.

Little Geeta looks at me: - You have schools in Norway? - I nod: Yes, all kids go to school. She giggles and bursts out: - The people in Norway must be sooo happy! Oh, dear reader, I swallow hard and barely manage to nod and smile back.

Later, when they have group work, I sit and watch them chat and laugh. I know that some of them have siblings who dropped out of school. One has a sick dad and they have no money for the expensive medicine he needs. One has to go home after class to cook for 4 younger siblings. One is the son of a single mum who travels 2,5 hours every day to work for 9 hours, and then 2,5 hours to get home again (if the traffic is ok). One is the daughter of a single mum who works from home, making plastic hair clips, and is payed 25 rupee (2,5 NOK) for every 1000 she makes. I know that some of these kids, who live in the roughest parts, can not play outside, and that their parents have to follow them to the public toilets - because it is not safe for them to be out alone.

After class, the group of mums who come to pick them up, greet me with big smiles and kind words. Always time for a happy moment. I come home, and read my Norwegian on-line newspapers. So sorry, Norway - but right now it feels absurd to read about the election campaign and some of the things you discuss back home. And from the sideline in India: - do not forget to appreciate what we have: hospitals, medicine and health insurance, schools for all children, freedom to speech and to study what you want. Make some time in your everyday life to enjoy the moments and give some thoughts to what you are grateful for. Somewhere else in the world there are people who think that you are so lucky! You must be so happy!!! Are you?

Happy elections, Norway! 


PS: Yes, of course I did my duty. I gave my vote when I was in Norway in June. Here we are giving our votes, and the staff is taking care that we do it the proper way:-)  

Yes, found my party. Ready to submit The Envelope:-) 

Done! Protecting my precious vote, I hope:-) 

Paneer - for beginners - recipe

The first time I went to a supermarket in India, heading for the cheese/butter section, I noticed two things: the enormous selection of yogurt and the mysterious product of Paneer. Paneer? What was that? Judged by the amount and selection - an essential ingredient here in India?

I was right - Paneer, the most common type of cheese used in South-Asian cuisine. Often translated to cottage cheese, but for me quite different from the cc's I have tasted before, but more like pressed cc. It is a bit similar to the cheeses manouri (in Greece), and anari (Cyprus).

In India they use paneer in main dishes, in snacks and in desserts... pretty much everywhere in other words. Very often it will go instead of meat in vegetarian dishes. So there are paneer pakora, paneer tikka masala, paneer butter masala and even McDonalds have introduced their very own McSpicy Paneer! For a new-to-paneer-cook like me, I have experimented a bit, but a dish we keep coming back to is Paneer with vegetables- healthy & easy to make, and you can use it as main dish or side dish- your choice:-) Hope you like it!

Paneer - for beginners:-) 

You need:
2 onions
4 garlic cloves, chopped
3 cm fresh ginger, grated
1/2 yellow capsicum
1/2 red capsicum
2 carrots
10 green beans
4 spring onions
2 chopped tomatoes
salt, pepper, garam masala
200 gr paneer

You do:
- Grate the capsicum, onions and carrots and chop the beans to small pieces.
- Have oil in a frying pan and saute the onions and garlic. Add the spices. 
- Add the vegetables (minus tomatoes) and let simmer (low temperature) until the vegetables are soft (10-15 min). If needed, add a little bit of water, so it doesn't dry out.  
- Chop the paneer in cubes and add with the tomatoes. Cover and let simmer for 5 minutes.

Enjoy!!   

PS: We like to eat it with some bread - naan, chapatis or paratha. (all yoummie Indian bread:-) 

Paneer - for - beginners-  & paratha bread. Bon apetit! 

Happy Teacher's Day!

Did you also have this teacher? The one you can not forget? The one who inspired you, who believed in you and who supported you? The teacher you can still hear the voice of, and whose image pop up in your mind from time to time? Or maybe you still have that teacher? Well, today is the perfect day to show your gratitude:-)

Today we celebrate teacher's day here in India. The children go off to school - excited and ready to greet their teachers, some with a sweaty flower in their hand, some with a card, and some with a shy smile and a kind word: Happy Teacher's Day! I am happy you are my teacher! I appreciate what you do! At some schools they organize thank-you-teacher-lunches, and bring homemade food for their teachers, and others bring cakes, sweets or a small gift. 

I am grateful for the teachers I have had in my life, as a child, and also as a grown-up, because it is never to late to learn, right? And I am grateful for the wonderful teachers my kids have and have had. Thank you all for the amazing work you do! And do check out this: The Indian Times posted a 10 points list of the best quotes - on what could be the most important job in the whole world. Good read!

I find this day perfect for recommending this special little book about a teacher and his student. And about lessons on life. We recently read it in my book club and had some wonderful talks on life, death, love, family, regrets, forgiveness, the world, emotions and culture - (just to mention a few).  You will meet a wonderful teacher in this book, and maybe learn some interesting lessons? A must-read!  

So, Happy Teacher's Day- to all you wonderful teachers out there! Be proud of what you do! And yes, you do make a difference:-)  

PS: And I'll finish with the word of a Greek (surprise, surprise) :
Those who educate children well,  are more to be honored than they who produce them; for these only gave them life, those the art of living well. ( Aristotle)

Live well everyone, and thanks for reading my blog:-) 

A flooding in the office

Imagine heading out for your office in the morning. First you have to wade through an alleyway - up to your knees in dirty water, and you discover the rat swimming by your side. Then you open your office door...The floor has gone invisible under brownish stinking water. The furniture, the desks, the lockers - all in water. Files, papers, kids' drawings, photos - some of it all gone. You see, that is exactly what happened to my colleagues at the NGO office one morning when they came to work. 

So, dear reader, at the same time as I was splashing around in the Aegean sea, digging in taramosalata or singing my way up to a mountain top in Norway, the monsoon was ravaging in Mumbai.

And even though I heard a lot about how "good" the monsoon was this year ( well, after 8 months without a raindrop- it's understandable), there were lots of flooding and destruction. Let me show you what happened to our office:  

This is the alleyway leading down to where our previous office was located. The boy, one of our neighbors, is trying to clean the drainage, to help the problem. Many of the houses had flooding problems this year.

This is inside our old office... see what I mean when I say the floor was invisible?

My colleagues started to clean up and they worked so hard to save whatever could be saved, and fix the damages the best they could. However, it turned out that a lot of it was just too damaged, and it was also obvious that the office could not longer be used. So, the NGO had to move to another building.

So, when I got back to Mumbai, the NGO had just moved to a new location. Now, we have spent a lot of time to fix and adjust to the new location, and to replace items that were destroyed. But, I was happy to see that the new office was better than the old one, as it is much more spacious, and easier accessible. We just decided: - this will work! So, we put the worries behind us and we look ahead! To new beginnings!
 
PS: And I was sooo happy - because we managed to save every single book in our library. Yey!! 

Out with old garbage: (just outside our old office...)

And in with new good moments like these, in the new office too:

The growing-up-Sikh and a curious Greek

A while ago, The Greek went to represent our family at a big event. He had to cover his hair with a turban-looking piece of cloth and sit with his long feet gathered close to his body and - watch the ceremony in silence.... Guess what? He loved it! He was honored, happy and moved - and couldn't stop talking about this colorful, happy and venerable event. The celebration of a sikh growing up -  from a boy to a man.

Living in India has brought us new knowledge about culture, history, language - and religion. We have danced in Hindu festivals, been blessed in temples, churches and mosques. We have been to Hindu wedding and to Buddhist wedding, and we have learned about Jains, Parsis, Muslims, Hare Krishnas ...and Sikhs.

It is interesting to get to know sikhs personally and learn about their way of life. Learn about how their ideal is to embody the qualities of a so called saint-soldier, which basically means to love God, to keep God in the heart and to feel God's nearness and also that they are expected to be strong, courageous and ready to fight to protect weak people from cruelty and from unjust attackers. Read more here.

So, what did The curious Greek do that day? Well, upon arrival, all women and men had to cover up their hair before entering the temple. The men were sitting on one side, and the women on the other, and there were music playing.

While the musicians were playing, the grandfather, with a large feather duster looking thing, was waving away evil spirits from the alter.

The priest appeared in front of the alter, reciting from holy scripts:

Then they are all praying for the boy-to-become-a-man, and he enter and sits down in front of the alter. The curious Greek - to the right in the picture.

Then they put on the new man-turban (the old small black boy-turban is history now) (and all without anyone seeing anything of his hair -  Source: The curious Greek - who was close enough)

After the ceremony, the boy received blessings and gifts from family and friends. A bit similar to the Christian confirmation really. This is my favorite moment: - all the blessings given from loved ones- and a bit of a shy teenager-shy from all the attention to receive them - so sweet -and the same thing all around the world right?

After the ceremony, it was party time! A party with food and celebration for the growing-up-sikh with his family and friends. And like usual in Indian celebrations: plenty of delicious food to choose from:-)

So, with a humble feeling of gratitude and joy from the (not-so-much-anymore-) curious Greek, this tale has come to an end. All best wishes for the future for the growing up sikh.

Stay tuned for more, dear reader, and thank you for popping in:-)

A spiritual time-out

This week, I have been on a spiritual journey, dear reader. Every day, for hours, I have explored - and discovered - various sides of myself. And, to be honest, I started out, more on the skeptical side, but today I sit here, feeling calm, happy, enriched and - a bit surprised.  India, what are you doing to me? :-) Not only has my understanding for yoga deepened, but now also ... meditation?!

And I get it now. I do. And I discovered that I was not too restless to understand. I get how meditation can improve life quality, and why people who seek spiritual renewal find their way to India. Why they stay at the ashrams and retreat centers around the country, to learn the wisdom of ancient practices like yoga, meditation and Ayurveda healing. Why they participate in by-donation programs and go to wellness retreats in search for self-discovery, stress-reduction and improvement in wellness and well being. And I feel lucky- because - well, here I am - in India.

For me it has been a week- not like other weeks - more of a spiritual time-out- and I will use my new insight in my everyday life, for sure. I hope that your week has been good week, dear reader, and I wish you a continuous wonderful weekend. Thank you for following, and enjoy your moment:-)

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow's still a mystery. Live today:-)  

From globalpagoda.com