Diwali comes around

Mum and sis at last year's Diwali at the Singh house. Every year my mom takes the lead in celebrating Diwali, the Indian festival of lights. Candles are lit throughout the house, we set up a spot by the fireplace to read from the Guru Granth Sahib (google it), sweets are eaten, a prayer is spoken, jokes are cracked (mostly by mum and sis), and as usual in our house, much good food is eaten. This year we'll be on a plane to India during the holiday...Diwali party in the coach cabin of AA flight 292, row 42, you're all invited.

more from Union Square

The crowd is gathered around the shoe exhibit. My previous pic doesn't do it justice, but there were hundreds of shoes. Not sure why these pics make sense for my trip...I suppose there are just as many broken shoes in India for a lot of other reasons, and these pics were a reminder.

Broken Shoes

Some pics from an activist exhibit in Union Square, NYC last summer. The shoes belong to Iraqi children who have fallen as a result of the war. No need to say much more, I guess.

more...

More from the NYC parade.

Inspiration

Here's some pics to get you in the mood. No, this is not India (i haven't left for the trip yet!). It's actually New York in the summer of 2006 at an Indian parade. But I really like the idea of beautiful saris, clean feet and of course, chappals, standing clear of murky, dirty water. You definitely have to step carefully in India...beauty and flith go hand in hand out there.

launching pad...

Ok kids, here we go. My first foray into the blogging world. This blog is dedicated to my love/hate relationship with the motherland. I'm off to India in two weeks. Haven't been there in seven years, and now its time. Cousin's getting married, grandparent's have passed, their empty house is lonely, and I seriously need a break from work.

India has always been a challenge for a lot of reasons, but it's also been beautiful. I was born there and have been back about 5 or 6 times in my life. So, I thought a little travel journal would be a good way to translate the experience to you all and keep me busy when things get quiet out there. There will be a healthy dose of pics, so feel free to comment or just check in on me from time to time. Hopefully I'll be able to find enough internet hot spots out there to keep this thing fairly fresh...I promise I'll try to make it interesting.

Oh yeah...In case you're wondering, a "punjabi chappal" is a traditional leather sandal made in Punjab (the state where our family is from). This trip is all about walking through the land where I was born, so it made sense to me. Anyway, pics coming soon!