You don't realize how many people there are in India until days like today when they're all off work and are out-n-about and then you look around a go, "Oh my goodness!! There are a LOT of people is this city!!" (that's kind of a ridiculous statement in this country of over one billion people!) It just kind of feels like a giant mob every where you go... seas and seas of people
We have a Ganesh (the elephant god) Temple on our street corner (I'll post a picture soon) and today, because of the holiday, they had it decorated with extra lights, flowers, incense, a tent, etc. We walked by to see hundreds of people having a puja (worship service) to this idol on the street corner. It is really, really sad to see that in person and to watch as all these people, whom our Creator loves, bow down to a statue.
As we drove to the mall, we saw several other puja's going on at other street-side temples. The mall was incredibly crowded and had lots of special attractions (dancing, performances, etc) going on. It was so loud inside that you had to shout at each other to be heard. Now, tonight all you can hear on the streets is blaring loud music, drumming, mini-parades, fireworks, etc. I'm sure the festivities will go on all night long!
[As a side note: It's the 4th of July here every night because you can actually hear fireworks on any given evening! There are no laws here about fireworks so people shoot off LOUD ones all over the city at any given hour! It scared me so bad the first night but now I'm used to it!]
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