Day 2

Day 2 - Wednesday

HAPPY DIWALI EVERYONE!

After an extremely restful sleep, breakfast was at 8:30am which proved to be more eventful than expected with some team members (aka Mr Donnelly, Adam, Shannen and Georgina) deciding that omelettes (mistaking them for pancakes) and honey was a good combination ....we'll maybe try that with the pancakes tomorrow. 

Before heading out for the day, the team met to discuss the crafts, English lessons and murals that are intended for youth in the ASHA centre tomorrow.




We then headed out for a quick (the boys hoped) stop at FabIndia to buy our Indian outfits. Despite the overwhelming number of choices and colours, the trip was relatively quick and painless and everyone was extremely pleased with their purchases. (See below for our outfits.)

After getting our outfits we went to Pizza Hut for a big lunch where we discovered that Diwali wasn't the only festival being celebrated today......

Our next sightseeing spots were India Gate and Humayun's Tomb. Both provided fairly spectacular photo opportunities and were enjoyed by all!

India Gate is a 42m high memorial arch bearing the names of the 85,000 Indian soldiers who died in both WW1 and the 1919 Afghan fiasco

Humayun's Temple was built in the 16th century by Haji Begum. Humayun was the second Mughal Emperor and his wife supervised the construction of his tomb.

Tonight we celebrated the festival of Diwali (for more info on this see Hannah's blogspot). We were able to spend time with the other Ballymena Team and were treated to an exciting fireworks display by the hotel staff. 

The common sight on many street corners today as the people of India prepared for Diwali.

P.S. Members of the 1st XI were keen to show that even while away there was still time to carry out some fitness where possible.

Rebecca, Jacob and Naomi :)


Tonight's blogspot is by Hannah and is about Diwali...


Diwali is probably the most well known festival of the Hindu calender. This year, it takes place on 26th October, which is during the time we are spending in Delhi!

5 Interesting Facts About Diwali:

• The word Diwali means, "rows of lighted lamps". It is often referred to as the festival of light because houses, shops and public areas are decorated with small lamps called diyas for the duration of the festival.



Lakshmi

• For most Indians, Diwali is a time to celebrate the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi.   Lamps are lit and windows and doors are left open to help Lakshmi find her way into people's homes.

•   The festival is celebrated for five continuous days, where the third day is celebrated as the main Diwali festival or 'Festival of lights'. On the first day, traditionally people would wash their money. In their homes, people literally wash coins in milk and water and worship Lakshmi. On day three, many businessmen close their account books and do rituals to open their new account books for the next financial year, in order to gain prosperity in the next financial year. On day four gifts of money or clothes are given and on day five, it is tradition for sisters to call their brothers and their families to her home for a meal. 

• Rangoli are often drawn on the floors over the festival period. These are large colourful patterns and the most common subject to be drawn is the lotus flower.
•    The festival is all about sharing. When a brother visits his sister he traditionally leaves a gift of money under his plate after sharing a meal with her and people present diwali gifts to their friends, family and neighbours.