Kites, Cameras, Camping!

Uttarayan - The Kite Festival in Ahmedabad, India was a soaring success! Another big Thanks goes out to Ravi for convincing me to take that 39 hour (versus 40+ as I had expected. SO much better) train ride west - it was more than worth it!

Upon arrival in Ahmed, I took a quick bucket shower (although I needed a little more ;) and joined a group of locals and two Russian girls, Nastia and Sveta, on a small trip into town. They, like me, had been coaxed into coming west by Ravi and we quickly became friends. The next day, the three of us took an audio guided tour around town, visiting some of the major sites and markets. Small streets teemed with people not only buying their usual items, but also searching for the sharpest string (who would have thought string should ever be sharp?), multicolored and neatly spun, the freshest snacks of toasted and roasted goodies and of course the best kites, precisely shaped. That evening, we attended Alpesh's Birthday, which in proper Indian style, had a DJ, plenty of dancing and delicious home cooked food (and Gujarati dishes became one of my favorite Indian foods)!

On day one of the festival, the three of us foreigners arrived at the house around 11am, much much too late for the serious kite flyers of Ahmedabad, some of whom started as early as 4am! Friends and family sat around the living room stringing hundreds of kites (which is an art we learned) and soon enough we were up on the rooftop with millions of others ready to take to the skies. We all tried our hand at kite flying - kite fighting is quite a bit more advanced for a beginner like me and I am sad to say I lost every time! I was simply in awe of the scene and could barely put my camera down! After a brief lunch break, the flying resumed.

Every telephone and electrical wire were decorated in brightly colored tissue tatters and shards of wicker. Tens of thousands of fluttering rainbow manta rays, hopes and joys, slicing through the air, rising and falling, battling for space, for supremacy, rooftops suddenly bursting into raucous cheers of victory, bonding of generations, of neighbors and even of cultures - everyone wanted a chance to teach us! Kites littered the roof, patiently waiting their turn to soar. As the day progressed, food and freshly brewed chai appeared, music intensified and came from more and more directions, fervor grew and above all the cacophony, the city's huge smile could be heard.

The sun set slowly, relishing the sight of the polka-dotted sky and before the last rays dropped below the horizon, the fireworks began. Again, unlike regular fireworks displays, there was no one focus point. All around us, bursts of light and sound and color echoed the excitement of the day and the whole city partied into the night. And the BEST thing about the festival? We got to do it all over again the next day!! Day two brought even more serious kite-fights, everyone using up the rest of their kites in friendly competition. I was determined to get mine up and away on my own and somewhat managed that goal before another swooped in and cut me. I even conducted a little salsa lesson in the afternoon! The locals we met, besides opening their homes, serving us tasty food and teaching us about everything, were just the most friendly and fun people to spend the day with! My heartfelt thanks goes to Alpesh, Anshu, Dhara, Hiral, Kushal, Veeral, and all the rest of the gang for making us feel so welcome!

The next day, we did a little more sight-seeing including a visit to Ghandi's Ashram and ate the best thali (Gujarati) that I have ever had. In the evening, Anshu and Alpesh (professional photographers), gave me the honor of a photoshoot in Indian traditional dress! I love photography and I love dressing up so what more could I ask for!! I had a lot of fun, but I also learned a couple of things: 1) I am not a natural model and much more comfortable behind the camera! 2) As much as I would like to believe otherwise, when it takes nearly an hour to make the sari look right on you (including taping jewelry to your ears since you are the only female in India without piercings), I doubt I have a drop of Indian blood in me! :)

Early the next morning, about 20 of us met to go camping. Most were on motorbikes as we sped off to the countryside, away from the noise and pollution of the city. I watched the swish and swoops of skirts and saris pass by as if the gods looked down upon the dull greys, greens and browns, cement and bricks and grabbed a paintbrush to say "Let there be life. Let there be color!" We reached the peaceful Polo Retreat with 15th century ruins, a quiet river and a couple small hills to climb in time for lunch from an open flame. During the course of the day, we cooled off in a pond, played catch and frisbee, (the foreigners) signed autographs for a group of sweet school children, very excited for the chance to practice their english and then came the campfire!

Who of us has not stared into a fire and become lost in flickering thought? I certainly appreciate that aspect of American culture - the good ol' camp-fire (unfortunately no s'mores out here)! We did however procure a couple bottles of inebriant, once again I find myself embroiled in illegal activity, for Gujarat is a dry state and mostly vegetarian. We played a form of charades, shared fireside banter and later in the night even listened to a few hindi limericks and sang our favorite Bollywood tunes! A fantastic day all together, we savored the last bits of warmth, before settling into sleep. Morning called us to the top of a hill for a 5 hour hike - something else I have really missed lately and then we were back on the bikes heading south.

I decided at the last minute to continue on to Mumbai from there, so my friends helped me get on the right bus and I was off! I've been here over a week now and had quite a few adventures - that update to come soon (hopefully)!