Ganesha and his Friends

Dear Daughter,

Papa went back to the Meenakshi Temple on Friday evening in Madurai to see the lights for the Pooja celebration.

It was very colorful and there were many, many lights all around the temple with lots of music and flowers and incense, so it was a very beautiful evening.

I saw this set of lights with Ganesha and his little friends and thought that you would like to see them.

I love you,

Papa

Celebrating Pooja

Dear Daughter,

There is a big Hindu holiday beginning this week in India called Pooja. Hinduism is the dominant religion in Indian and has many, many gods, including Ganesha and Shiva that I have told you about. Pooja is a purification celebration and one of the main goddesses whom is highlighted here is Saraswati, or the goddess of wisdom.

When I was at Tamil class yesterday, Pandian, my teacher, asked if I wanted to see how some people celebrate Pooja. He said that many people put up a collection of “dolls” on display.

We went next door to his neighbor’s house and I was expecting a dozen or so “dolls” in the images of the gods and goddesses, but there were nearly 1,000 of them! The entire front room had been transformed into a shrine to display the dolls with Christmas-type lights, flower garlands, and incense to add to the scene. It was amazing and so colorful.

Unfortunately Papa did not have his camera, so I hope that they will still be up when I go back for my lesson next week and I can take a picture for you. The little old lady whose house it was has been collecting these dolls all her life from around India, so she is like grandma who also like to collect things like Kachina dolls and sculptures.

I love you,

Papa