Shivaratri

We experienced our first Pooja (festival) in India, Shivaratri!  It is a Pooja to the god, Shiva.  In the Hindu religion, Shiva is one of the three main gods.  Different sects of the Hindu religion put emphasis on certain gods and Prakash's family comes from a tradition of Shiva worship.  Therefore, we got to experience the festival up close and personal, with explanations of everything from Prakash.  As a devotion at Shivaratri, Prakash fasted all day until sundown.  We started out going to a relative of Prakash's for "snacks".  These "snacks" ended up being altogether more food than the average meal.  They just kept bringing food to us and smiled as we ate it.  After this, we drove around the city, stopping to hear some traditional Karnatak music and see some dancing.  Then we drove to a large Shiva temple where the line to get in stretched for hours.  Outside, people were enjoying the festival atmosphere all around us.  After this, Prakash took us to another relative's house where they again gave us "snacks".  At this point, we were so full that we thought we might explode!  Unfortunately, saying you're full doesn't mean the snacks stop coming.  Prakash dropped us off and went back to stay up all night celebrating with the rest of the Shiva worshippers.