One night you say to your dinner companion, in this case the verbally loquacious H., "I feel like a little Indian" and if extremely lucky- you get a lot of Indian. Dinner and a show on the strip of Newark Avenue between Tonnele Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard known as "India Square" or "Little Bombay" and home to the largest Navratri festival in New Jersey. I would like to appear savvy enough to have known a.) that THIS was the night for the festival or b.) even what Navratri WAS. But what I actually was, was lucky. Navratri is a Hindu festival of worship and dance. The word Navratri literally means nine nights in Sanskrit; Nava - Nine and Ratri - nights. During these nine nights and ten days, nine forms of Shakti (metaphor for goddess Durga ) i.e. female divinity are worshipped. The Indian version of a "girl's night out".
The entire length of Little Bombay had been closed off for what looked like the world's longest line dance. "Do you think they will lift someone up on a chair?" asked H. I responded "Huh?" I was a bit dazzled by all the glitter and color and that was as pithy a reply as I could muster. "They're not doing Hava Nagila?" laughed H. I giggled. Not quite.
The street was filled- with turning, glittering, beautiful women of all ages and sizes decked quite literally from head to toe in jewelry (look closely at the photo of the two gorgeous girls- the girl in the burgundy sari had jewels in the part in her hair!) bracelets stacked on nut brown arms from wrist to elbow, circling beautifully plump biceps- ankles and toes jingled and flashed with rings and bracelets
Watching the dancing, I was struck by the beauty of the moment- the great diversity of this universe I live in and the spectacular shooting stars of opportunities life offers me daily- to sing, to laugh, and to dance. :)X
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