Somehow, even though I mean to write frequently, the days just slip by, and before I know, its been a week since my last post. And there's just too much to tell to cram it all into one post. So, I admit, as an audience, you are not getting the full story. Sorry.
However, its really a good thing that I don't have time to write a post every day, because it means I'm very busy.
Earlier this week, I went to see Slumdog Millionaire. If you haven't seen it yet, I suggest that you go. Its a really good movie, and the cinematography is phenomenal. It was cool for me to watch, because I noticed so many small details that I never would have picked up on had I not been living in India. Like the flowers strung over pictures of the deceased.
Sarawsati Puja is tomorrow, and so a few days ago, Lauren , Nienke (a new volunteer from Holland) and I went to Prativa's house to get mehndi (henna) done on our hands. We did it a few days early because it takes a few days to turn brown. At first it is bright orange. On Indian people this looks fine, but on white people like ourselves, it looks kind of ridiculous. While Puja, Prativa's older sister, was doing our mehndi, Prativa was playing with dolls with her little three-year-old neighbor. The dolls were white - semi-reminiscent of Barbies - and they had vermillion and bindis drawn on in marker, and they were dressed in saris. Prativa was kissing them and handling them so gently. It was the sweetest thing in the world to watch.
Last night, the other volunteers and I went into Kolkata to watch a dance performance called Sunya Se. The dancers were trained in Kathak, traditional Indian dance, but the performance was contemporary and modern in style. It was about the five elements: space, air, fire, water, earth. It was really awesome.
Tomorrow is Saraswati Puja, the holiday for Saraswati, the Goddess of Education. We will have a party at school in the morning and we'll go look at pandals at night. I will wear my new sari.

~m