Party in Maisuru

On the way back to Kodai, we stopped in the city of Mysore (formerly Maisuru), one of the major cities in the state of Karnataka. There we saw palaces, Tipoo the Tiger's burial grounds (a sultan who stood up against the Brits, did well for awhile, then lost), and a very tall Christian Church that seemed to be aiming pretty high to the heavens. It makes you wonder whether they were trying to make up for something. Anyways, I was mostly impressed by the script that Karnata speakers use as it looks something akin to upside down macaronis. I will admit, however, that the languages here in South India are getting very confusing. For example, here, while there are five ways to tell people to be quiet (from top to bottom: English, Karnata, Tamil, Hindi, and Urdu), camera and mobile usage is presumed self explanatory with a mere icon. Hmmm.

Lucky for me, while being in Mysore, the city famous for it’s sultans and lavish royal families, we happened upon its biggest party of the year: Dussehra. Dussehra is a Hindu festival that usually lasts for about ten days, and involves a lot of colored lights, parades, fireworks, greetings, and food. Not only was I fortunate enough to spend this glorious occasion in the city most famous for its Dusserha celebrations but I got to yet again be part of the holiday honoring my favorite Hindu goddess, Durga.

Durga, the most awesome of all the female goddesses, sprung from the energy of all twelve major male gods to slay a buffalo demon that could only be weakened by female seduction. You see, despite all the male power present in the Hindu pantheon, it lacked a certain element called shakti, female power or essence. This special feminine energy is needed for the universe to exist. Yet, this energy is so powerful that it has the power to both maintain and destroy all the balance in the universe. Durga herself is the very incarnation of this shakti energy, as she is the all-powerful female goddess, capable of destroying demons in a unique feminine way that the male gods could never even begin to conjure up. Basically, nobody messes with this feisty lady.

Thus, my Durga rants and biases aside, happy Dusserha everyone! This tradition of Dusserha (known as Durgapooja in North India) has become so deeply embedded into Indian culture that even now, sitting in my house back in the Christian town of Kodaikanal, the sounds of Indian music and fireworks in honor of Durga sweep through the hills like wildfire. Shakti is indeed all around us.