Category Archives: holiday

Navratri dancing in our courtyard

A few days ago, I noticed that the lights were going back up near our apartment building. Not exactly the street-wide display that was up for Eid and Ganpati, but lights none the less.

As we headed out for dinner a few night ago, we walked out of the building to see adults seated in plastic chairs watching children dance in a sort of circle. The dance seemed simple enough, but avoiding the hand claps and feet as we walked out was a little difficult. As we dodged the dancers, I wondered why I ever walk outside without my camera.

Luckily, the festival is nine days long, so I would have another opportunity. As we left to go to our fancy anniversary dinner at the Taj—different story, different post—we saw the dancing again. This time, however, I stopped to take a few pictures. A man approached Arnab and asked if we wanted to join in. We declined since we had reservations.

Tonight, as we left for dinner (Yes, we eat out a lot. We have no water!), the kids were at it again. When we returned about two hours later, they were still at it. Hugging the wall, we walked over to where the adults were sitting on the opposite side of the small courtyard. I saw the sweat soaked through a father’s face as he danced around clutching a small child, the adorable girl with librarian glasses from down the hall and dozens of others. The man from last night grabbed Arnab’s arm and urged him to join in. He did.

I wasn’t able to laugh at Arnab’s uncoordinated dancing for more than a few seconds when an aunty in a bright pink sari grabbed my arm and motioned in the direction of the dancers. Why not?

So, Arnab and I danced one pass around the courtyard. We clapped at all the wrong times, and our feet made all the wrong steps, but we had fun. The little girl from down the hall gave me a big smile as we saw each other from across the circle.

With six days left, maybe I can learn the steps.