This post comes quite a bit after the fact and I hope I can recall it correctly!
Back in Canada, when I thought of India, crowds, cows and culture are what flood my mind initially. Diwali is right up there as well and I was so excited that my internship would fall over this holiday season. However, there were some unanticipated problems that included very little work happening and programing became sporadic. We’d drop in, but the program participants would be visiting a temple, or wedding festivities would be getting planned, or class would be cancelled for reasons we couldn’t track down. So while Diwali slowed the pace of work, it certainly added an element of excitement as the days drew nearer. Our good friend Seema invited us to her family home in Dhule, Maharashtra. A whole new state to explore. This was my first experience on an overnight train, and while I was pretty unsettled at first, I quickly adapted and shut my sleepy eyes. We arrived and Seema greeted us with her brother and drove to alternating selections of YouTube beats. Over the coming days, five of the six children plus spouses, offspring and foreign guests (us) converged on Mommy’s home. Not only is Mommy accommodating and so kind, she is a great cook and prepared the best chai I’ve had in India. Honest to goodness, the best! I am so grateful for Didi taking me out shopping and sorting through the masses of fabric to select some really special sarees for great value. At one time, I watched the four sisters chatting and reconnecting and envisioned my babes doing the exact same thing. The strength and bond of family really is a miracle to observe. We had a chance to witness worship, celebration and blessing all in one trip. Another don’t tell mom moment I don’t think my husband would believe: I set off fireworks. You can’t appropriately celebrate Diwali (according to me) without participating in that custom. In that spirit, I joined the children in reckless behavior (they assured me I would handle only the mildest of explosives) and still have all of my fingers and eyeballs. Did you know that Shakespeare invented the word eyeball? I was really sad to leave the place that had become home for the past four days. It’s strange how I hadn’t realized how much I was craving family connections until that time. That chalks up a family-centered, fun-loving, distance-travelling Diwali. Maybe I’ll do it again next year?
4 Comments
Matthew Hull
10/31/2017 07:28:28 am
What a great connection to a new family. This family is certainly grateful that you have family wherever you are!
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Gauri
10/31/2017 11:34:01 am
What a great experience Ashley! ❤️
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Ashley
11/2/2017 03:44:28 am
❤️
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Susan Russell
11/1/2017 06:03:34 am
So interesting Ashley! You amaze me! (Actually Matthew amazes me too!)
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AuthorAshley J.E. Hull Archives
November 2017
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