Lakshmi Day

Friday the 13th was a special holiday for women—Lakshmi Puja. This isn't the correct name, but it's close enough. On this day, married women worship the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi, thanking her for their marriage and asking for blessings upon their husbands. Unmarried women ask Lakshmi for a husband.

To celebrate, Karuna first took us to her house to visit her Lakshmi shrine, where we sprinkled some rice and got bindi's (the forehead dots):



Then, we went to this other house where we got sung to by a crazy old lady, as she swung us on a swing in her living room. No idea what the song was about, but it was hilarious. Here is a picture of me and Jain laughing our heads off:




Lastly, we went to a random house that had a “Tupperware” sign on the outside...it was very misleading. This was no tupperware hut, but a rich lady's house (Ruma, I think), complete with chandelier, air conditioning, and surround -sound speakers. Her husband is some sort of engineer. “I've been to every continent,” she said, non-chalantly, as she gave us more bindi's, and handed us each a treat bag with a coconut, a sweet lime, betel leaf, and a turmeric/sandalwood powder “combi pack.” We felt like we were trick-or-treating.
I'm still trying to come up with an excuse to go back to her house. I mean, she said to come back anytime, so...