Indian Samurai इंडियन सामुराई

Last Monday was celebrated Janmashtami, Krishna’s birthday – Krishna being an avatar of Vishnu. I had a glimpse of this God in Majuli (see http://www.indiandacoit.com/archive/2011/05/02/majuli-isl...).

 

I was told that in “Maharashtra, people enact the god’s childhood attempts to steal butter and curd from earthen pots beyond his reach. A similar pot is suspended high above the ground and groups of young people [also called Govindas] form human pyramids to try and reach the pot and break it.”*

 

So obviously I had to see that…

My friend was not so comfortable bringing a white girl into Indian crowds and I was told to dress from head to toes. But I got to see it!!

We went to Lalbaug, in Parel, one of the best spots apparently. There, on a big ground, with a stage in the back, were three pots hanging and many pyramids coming up and down. All trying to break the pots and get a prize for it (up to 90,000 Rs – 1,200€)!!

 

It started raining but the enthusiasm was not showered away!!

 

I could not really understand how they break the pot because some teams could sometimes have done it but did not. Maybe they were just training? But I did see a pot getting broken!!

 

Another interesting tradition – which could have proven very dramatic for my camera recently saved from waters – is kids sending water bombs.

 

 

Govinda festival, Mumbai - Août 2011

 

 

*”Krishna made cowherdesses happy by the bliss of his cosmic dances and the soulful music of his flute. He stayed in Gokul, the legendary 'cow-village' in Northern India for 3 years and 4 months. As a child he was reputed to be very mischievous, stealing curd and butter and playing pranks with his girl friends or gopis.”

 

Source: http://hinduism.about.com/od/festivalsholidays/a/janmashthami.htm

Like everything else (dentist, gynecologist), I was scared at first. But hair is ok, you can take the risk of a damage, it will grow back…

So it all started in Pune, in a small salon recommended by a friend, Gazelle. It all went well, especially when the bill came and it was somewhere around 500 rs (about 10€ at the time)!! In Paris, they would charge me no less than 50€ and even more because I have long hair!

 

Then I moved to Mumbai and I did not have a hair cut for a long long time till I met Emilie who recommended her salon, E…. Well that was nice also, at first. And decently priced, about 650 Rs (also 10€, because of the change rate).

 

Till the day when I decided I deserved a little extra and could get a hair massage… The guy (a young chap) came was totally nonchalant, pants on the knee, shirt half tucked in half out, shambling. Mmmhhh let us not be French and judge on appearances… The guy would not speak English which is pretty unusual in this kind of salon and in this area. So, to make a long story short, the guy was sending sexual vibes all along (especially when he put his fingers in my ears and touched my boop on the pretext of massaging my arm), asking weird questions, giving weird looks. So much for the relaxing session…

 

I decided I did not like this salon after all, having perverse employees, and it is always packed, they blast the music AND the TV and the floor is always full of hair – and as it is I am disgusted by dead hair. Well but my hair grows and unless I wanna look like a sadhu, something had to be done. And here I spotted the B… salon. I am not chauvinistic at all, but why not try the French experience?

The salon is big, well organised and half empty at 5:30 PM. While you are getting your hair washed (and massaged), the chair massages your back and legs… I have not asked for the price but I can already tell it is worth it… And then comes the hair dresser. I explain to her in English what I want – and I think this is the vocabulary the most difficult to remember (scaling, trimming etc.) since I use it only twice a year. But she gets my point. And then she asks where I am from and she smiles. I think because the brand is French but no, she is also French!! The ultimate hair dressing experience!!

Being a shy person, the hair-dresser has always been a dreadful experience. It seems, at least in France, that you HAVE TO chitchat with the guy all along the cut. Me? Talking to a stranger? Saying hi is enough! So I dragged people along and it is probably only last year that I went alone for the first time – but hey, I did not talk much! All this to conclude that yesterday I spent one hour discussing India, guys etc. with my hair dresser!!

I paid 1 850 Rs (around 30€) because she was a senior hair-dresser, which is still half of what I would pay in France and I had my first really enjoyable hair-cutting experience!!

Talking with a friend about Ashtanga Yoga:

 

She: You know who made it famous??

I : Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois ?? (below)

She: who???

I: well Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois (I have to admit I did not pronounce exactly this but still).

She: no, Karina Kapoor (below). She got her size zero thanks to this yoga and this is what made it popular.

I : Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

 

PS: Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois is the Ashtanga Yoga guru. He passed away recently, at 94.   

And Karina Kapoor is a Bollywood superstar who became even more popular after losing weight and getting a “size zero”.