The blue deity, Vishnu, rides past on a float in the Krishna parade in New Delhi.

Journal and photos by Neil Dana

We moved hotels into another part of not-so-New Delhi, and there are all kinds of hotels and shops here. It is filled with people and noises all the time, especially when the speakers across the street are blaring music and advertising. I must admit, I do love the music they play, but all the ads and prayers in between are a bit annoying when it is so loud! The music is fascinating, and the voices are so melodic and sweet that you become entranced by it all. This is India, and there is music blaring everywhere. I had been hoping to hear this the whole time I had thought about coming to India. In Varanasi, we found some live musicians playing tablas and sitar, and that is what I had hoped to find. Here in Delhi, though, it is more difficult to find.

This evening, we had a pleasant surprise though. There was a parade filled with marching bands and floats and hundreds and hundreds of kids and adults screaming and singing. The Krishna festival, which has been going on for throughout the month of August, is supposed to have its finale on Tuesday; however, last night they had a parade. It was great, and it was passing right in front of our hotel. The parade came in waves, too. It would start with some police clearing the way, then the marching band with drums, trombones, trumpets, baritones, and whistles would march down the street with lights carried above them, which were electrified by a wheeled generator that a few people would push behind. Next the floats would start with different statues of Vishnu and all kinds of deities represented. The women, men, and children were all dressed up in very fancy outfits and painted faces. It was extremely colorful and predominantly orange, since that is the color for Krishna. Eventually it would die down, and then the street would be somewhat darker and quieter, but then five minutes later another procession would come around. This happened about five times and lasted for a little more than an hour.

Kids were running around smiling and slapping five with me, and whenever I would try to take a picture of anything, five to ten kids would jump in front of my camera and make it next to impossible to take a shot. It was pretty funny. They were really aggressive, and some of the shop owners would come out and yell at them and shoe them away. Unfortunately, Justin had his wallet stolen from his pocket while he was shooting. The kids are very sly, very courageous, and very annoying. It really is too bad, because they are so cute, too.

Amidst all the action from the parade, the people and the children watching would stop by a man standing on a bench who was pouring out water from a pitcher, hold their hands out and get a drink. Everyone was thirsty and sweaty and panting heavily. It was quite a scene. No matter where you go in India, there is always something interesting to stumble upon. The Krishna festival is just one of the many.

Neil

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