Monday, January 23, 2012

Mystical India

Namaste! Welcome to India

As we waited with bated breath, suddenly we could hear the beat of a drum. The music of Bollywood swirled all around us, and into the room burst a dazzling Indian couple!

They congratulated us for having arrived just in time for Diwali, the festival of the lights!

Our beautiful greeter was actually a famous Bollywood star who invited the
older cruisers to join in one of her dance classes.

The little guys craft ornate Indian elephants

Shea has more glitter on her than on her elephant.

instructions for elephant craft: http://www.bigeyedowl.co.uk/craft-ideas/worksheet.htm


Dressing the part

All year I bought up colorful sheer drapes when they were clearanced. Along with those, we had stick on gems, temporary henna tattoos, jewelry and kohl. The girls dressed up and were stunning!








Indian Dinner

We enjoyed a beautiful candlelit meal. Diwali means festival of the lights. We had traditional Diwali candles, candles and lanterns all over the room.


We enjoyed naan bread, two types of pita breads, samosas...

...Mulligatawny soup, Chicken Tikka, Chicken Curry, and Mango Lassi.
The amazing part is everything was homemade except the pita!
In true Indian fashion, no silverware was used during the meal. The meal is eaten using the bread as utensils.

Bhaiya-Dooj
The last day of Diwali is Bhaiya-Dooj, a ceremony to honor your siblings. Cards are created and bracelets and sweets are exchanged.

Making Diwali cards


Exchanging bracelets. They took this very seriously!

Asher loved his card.


No one was too crazy about the authentic Indian sweets...

...except Jordin who ate a whole plate by herself!

After cleaning our house (please disregard the floor), setting off fireworks, and opening our windows we went to bed with visions of the Goddess Lakshmi visiting us and showering us with riches.

Imagine our surprise upon finding her sparkly little footprints the next morning!
The podiatrist's kid's all commented on her perfect little arches!


Gramma Luvlee

 

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