Celebrating festivals......

Living in India there is never a shortage of festivals to celebrate. But there are a few that help shape our year. We consciously try to acknowledge and enjoy, if not celebrate completely, all the main religious festivals that make up a large part of India's multi faith society - Hindu, Islam and Christianity. And we enjoy, on a smaller scale, acknowledging important days from the Parsi and Bahai faith, religions that are followed by close friends. 

Celebrating festivals also makes time for reflection, at least for me, and on a subconscious level for the girls I hope, on the wonderfully syncretic and culturally rich variety that makes India unique. 

As a family we follow no one faith but rejoice in all faiths and celebrations. The girls as of now are not too aware of the significance of each different religion and what it stands for and a part of me hopes it stays that way for as long as possible! But I fear it will soon pass as that ever looming question is often put to them...."so are you Hindu Muslim or Christian",  as they turn to me and ask "what are we mummy", and I answer "well, you remember we believe in Mother Earth, caring for her nature, and goodness". "Oh yes" comes the retort, and reaffirmation of their answer as they turn to their friends and say "we believe in nature and goodness" ....that's my girls I muse to myself!

The end of the monsoon and our return to India from our UK visit combines with Ganpati.  The Ganpati festival celebrates the birthday of Ganesh, the elephant god, and it is celebrated in Maharashtra with gusto. Every year we have gone out on the bike and riven around all the madaps and shown the girls. This year we decided we would take the girls and ride into town to see the gigantic Ganpati's on their final journey for visharjan (submersion) into the sea. The crowds, the size of the Ganpati's and the energy during this time is really something to experience.  The beating if the drums get into your very being and the girls were entranced. Each mandap lends itself to so much learning, about Ganesh and how he came to being who his parents are, what his favourite food is and how much we like it too, and his favourite friend the mouse and so much more. All sinking in through the stories from the Ramayana. 

Ganpati ends and we move into Navratri the festival of nine nights in honour of goddess Durga (Parvati) The Hindu God of power and strength, the destroyer and protector from evil.  She is also the mother of Ganesh and wife of Lord Shiva.  The festival of nine nights is celebrated by dancing dandiya raas in Maharashtra and Gujarat, a traditional dance with sticks in which all participants dance in a large circle swapping partners as they move round the circle to the best if the drums.   Navratri culminates in Dussera and the battle of good over evil when Lord Ram kills Ravan in the Ramayana. Ram Leela plays can be seen being performed which re tells this famous mythological tale. 

After Navratri this year for us it was time to celebrate Haloween, of All Souls' Day. 

The girls love this festival, we have an annual haloween party at our home and we enjoy all the traditional rituals hat come with it. Carving pumpikns, making haloween craft, cupcakes and toffe apples for he party. We make it a fancy dress party for all the invitees children and parents both! And we play traditional games of apple bobbing and many more. 

Then comes Diwali, the Hindu New Year and festival of light. And the onset of winter comes with that too. The weather changes from the harsh October post monsoon heat which helps ripen the rice for harvest, to the cooler months of November and December. Diwali is a time for family friends fun and frolic. 

For me it feels like Christmas in England, Fairy lights and joy everywhere, the exchange if gifts and an uplifting mood where people suddenly find time for each other.

We enjoy the traditional practices if this time, making and decorating beautiful dia, the holder for the oil based light that is lit on Diwali night in all homes.  making rangoli mandalas with all the beautiful coloured rangoli powders. 

Decorating dia

 decorated dia

Making rangoli

Our first homemade Diwali lantern!

 It's a time where we also enjoy spending time with friends and we attend our annual Diwali party. This year the girls joined us and the. Crashed for a sleepover. It was a great time had by all.   

We finish with Diwali which falls normally at he end if October or beginning of November and we moved into December with the oncoming of advent and the celebration of Christmas. This year we enjoyed performing the story if the nativity with friends and learning Christmas carols. We put on a small play which the kids thoroughly enjoyed. We invited parents and friends and even a enjoyed a visit from Santa!

We celebrate Christmas Day with Christmas lunch, we have close friends over and make it a traditional English style roast dinner!

Christmas for us is a time of giving, the only thing I would like to do is start preparing a little earlier with making some homemade gifts for close friends and family, I hope this will come as the girls get a little older and more able with their hands. But I fear our rhythm needs work to ensure this time is taken. 

Sometimes I do live in a juxtaposition of wanting us as a family to enjoy and rejoice in all the festivals and what their traditions bring to us and mean globally, to us as a family not living by any set religion and not even bringing the idea of God into our home. There is a certain spirituality we live by but that is limited to our beliefs in the world and it's natural cycles, honouring that and living by the principle that if you always act with truth and humanity in your heart and believe in positivity then positivity can create for us all a happier less selfish world in which we as people only take what we need and spread love, hope and happiness around. Religion for me divides people and creates wars based on what one fraction believes against another.

English Summers......

Once the monsoon arrives in Panchgani and the fog and damp set in, we move out! It's perfect timing for us as we move over into England and enjoy the summer months there with family and old friends. This year (that's 2014!) the girls decided they wanted to go to some summer camps with dance and ballet and one involved a show! They were very excited, and we booked up on a couple of summer camps that weaved themselves nicely around our family time and holidays. 

We arrived in England and after few days flew to Menorca, for our annual family holiday with my brother and his family and my parents. Only Amin was missing who was busy with work. It was a blissful week of swimming, the kids swam from morning til night and not a cross word they shared. We went to the water park, the beach  and hung out at villa puerto. 

The kids could not have been happier. They were inseparable and spent real quality time together playing Lego, scooting, and learning out to snorkel!

 With our Lego people....

Sky has always like to swim underwater with her googles ever since she learned to swim, and this week she started to love to swim with a snorkel and mask and saw her first fish under the sea. It was magical to see her eyes as she watched them flitter by.

On our return from lovely Menorca we spent the next few weeks catching up with old friends and their kids and taking part in our first show. We had signed up for stagecoach and their theatre production of Alibaba.

It was very well done and the girls really enjoyed it, especially Sky! Summer felt a little shy and embarrassed at times as we see her above sigh hers hands folded and sunglasses on! She was in the robbers gang and sky was one of the princesses! I would drop the. Every morning and roam around bed inster high street picking up bargains from the charity shops! 

We spent special times catching up with old friends as well as hanging out with the cousins. We caught up with Sam and Toby and Nikki and his little girl Maddie and their new baby.

Toby and the girls :)

With Maddie

We managed to spend time with Lucy and Molly and little Daisy and all the bendy cousins! They had a great time time too.

Lots of fun at the park.

We spent time at carols too with nancy and the girls and jamie and his kids and madeleine and her girls too. Fun fun fun!

We also took time to go up to Liverpool and spend time with John and Anne and TJG. Lots of walking and crab fishing and just chatting. It's one of my favourite parts of our trip. I have such happy memories of my childhood up on the Wirral spending time with Lil and john and Anne. It feels a complete circle to do the same with the girls. If the weather is a bit cold! It does us good as wee are so spoilt with our sunshine! I will add photos later :) 

The girls enjoyed some precious time with sonny and roscoe, I think the most exciting was their trip to Berkeley castle with their nana and poppa. Memories to treasure always. And the Berkeley castle stories still continue!

I think the most amazing thing about our trip back to Bristol every year is how quickly the kids adjust and fit in to life their. It's like home from home and that's how I always dreamed it would be. They adjust so fast and really make the most of every minute. I get to reconnect with my roots and old friends who have known me since school. It's a special bond you share with those that new you before  your life changes so drastically, in my case moving countries, marriage, family and all that it brings. I do miss those friendships which I think develop in such special ways given the chance. Or maybe they are just special because we enjoy sharing time together so sporadically. I don't know, all I know is that I cherish the time I get to spend over these two months with my old friends acquaintances family and now my kids. Feeling very lucky to be able to enjoy this year after year......

I winder what next year will bring!...

Natures games and natures ways....

We are told this is an El Niño year and that means most probably a very poor monsoon and a drought year for India. I pray that this changes and we get some rain or we are in a for hard year. We had some unseasonal showers in May and it seemed like the seasons were moving to clockwork and then the monsoon got lost and blown off course.

Despite the lack of rain swimming stopped as the temperatures dropped too especially in the evenings so the water gets cold. But we have filled our days wih a regular farm day at my friend Mona's organic farm. And a regular day at a friends traditional arts centre where we have taken to doing rock and wax art.     

Both have been a source of great interest and fun and incidental learning too of course!

Farm day has involved us harvesting the onion crop and tomatoes. Digging and turning the compost. 

Our last visit was magical. Mona's cow, Rukmai, gave birth to her calf in the early morning and when we arrived we were lucky enough to witness her taking her first milk and finding her feet. It was a very special morning. The girls were mesmerised too as they kept their distance and watched in amazement. They waited patiently too until they were allowed to approach the calf. Lucky we were to witness nature at it's beautiful best. 

Summer came upon us.....

Well where the days go I don't know. But summer crept upon us this year and now it's getting near the end of May and soon the monsoon will be upon us. 

Summer for us is the one time in the year where our hill station gets warm enough for us to swim swim swim! So the last two months have passed in the pool mostly! And it's seen big progress! Summer has learned to swim without her float or armbands and sky too has discovered that she loves to be underwater. We bought goggles for her and since then she only comes up for air! It's fascinating seeing how each of them have taken to the water in different ways. Sky is still weary of swimming without her float in the deep pool which summer is loving! And summer is nervous to be under water unlike her sister!...since I wrote this draft both the girls confidence in the water has developed at a crazy speed! It's been such fun watching them, as a water lover myself it's been magical. 

This summer has seen us learn to cycle too. We moved swiftly from balance bike to big girl cycles and haven't looked back. The balance was easy after years on their balance bikes and cycling is now such a joy. 

What made it more special is that ther grandparents who visit annually got to see both these firsts this summer, swimming and cycling, memories are made of these times.

We say goodbye to summer this week as we are told that the monsoon will arrive in the next few days. It's been a fabulous few months. We thank the world for what we have and all the happy times we enjoy, we are so very lucky.

Day of love......

It's that time of year again where we proclaim our love to our loved one! This year we decided to make small heart pillows for daddy which hold a little piece of our love and heart in them. 

It's been fun, we have been working on them for about 2 weeks and we finished them this morning! Our very first sewing projects!

Our 1st sewing basket.

The beginning.

Some beading in between!

Stuffing our pillows.....

And the final products!

Happy valentines to all ❤️

Valentines.....

Valentines is approaching so we have endeavoured upon our first sewing craft project a heart pillow for daddy!

As well as some beading and some music. It's been a lovely day. Trip to the market to buy our veggies and then some quiet craft time. Craft time is not always quiet here the girls get quite frustrated I think sometimes they aren't ready for it but we try little little on days we feel inspired to do so! 

Yesterday was bread making day and we enjoyed it with lovely homemade soup. 

Days fly by but we are lucky to be enjoying each day as it comes our way in this beautiful place. Blessed are we.