Imagine opening your door early in the morning to collect the newspaper, to find this lovely pattern on the street. I didn’t care much for the newspaper as I admired this sight for a minute or two. The last time I was so pleasantly surprised was when I returned home from work one evening, to find a well metalled street (this was just before the elections and the street was a mess).
It’s amazing how these small, unexpected events can make one’s day. I walked down the road (my first morning walk in many months) to have a better look at the ‘rangolis.’ For a moment, it was like judging a competition. The smaller ones are a daily fixture, but it was ‘Ganesh Chaturthi’ and the ‘rangolis’ were a lot more colorful and the street bore a festive look.
On a recent visit to Ahmedabad, trees laden with kites were a common sight; it was a riot of colours. Also every once in a while, a kite would spring out of the foliage as if to break free, but only to be restricted by its string. Electric poles, transmission wires, any tallish structure which had the potential to claim a kite’s flight, proudly showed off their catch. I was told that during ‘Uttarayan,’ folks in Ahmedabad even avoid cooking and order their food, to make a little more time for kite flying.
Looking at the vibrant aftermath of the festival almost two weeks hence, I can safely say that Ahmedabd is the place to be in on ‘Uttarayan.’







I’m sure you’ll miss these rangolis in Delhi
….maybe I’ll make a few outside your house.
@janhavi: Well, that takes care of the rangolis…what’ll you do about the kites ?