Happy New Year Everybody! Yesterday, we celebrated the Hindu calendar New Year, Ugadi. Prakash took us to Honarainahalli (his village) where we celebrated the entire day. We left early in the morning and arrived to a cheerful greeting and a delicious breakfast. Breakfast consisted of roti, bean subji, green chutney, and fresh from their cow ghee! For those who don't know, ghee is clarified butter.
After breakfast, and a tour of the family farm, Prakash and his brother took us to Shivaganga, a nearby temple complex on a mountain. Shivaganga consists of many different temples to the god Shiva and various related gods (Parvati his wife, Ganesh their son, and Nandi the bull that Shiva rides). The temples are arrayed all over a mountain and it's 3 miles hike to get to the top. We removed our shoes as Shivaganga is a sacred place and proceeded to hike from temple to temple in our socks until we were half way up the mountain. Mandi has the blisters to prove it. Oh, did we mention that it was the middle of the day and the temperature was up around 90 degrees!
Many of the temples of Shivaganga are caves, and they were all extremely hot and humid inside! Throughout the journey, we saw monkeys eating various pooja items (banannas, coconuts, and flowers) brought by the devotees as offerings. 
Speaking of monkeys, Prakash warned us to keep a tight hold on our belongings as the monkeys are known to steal from people, expecting to find food. At one outdoor shrine to Nandi, a family of monkeys descended on us from the hillside above. 
One daring monkey ran towards us baring his teeth and growling. Prakash and his brother instantly sprang to action and started throwing sticks and various other objects at the monkeys. We hopped down off of the Nandi statue, gave the territory to the monkeys, and stopped just thinking of them as cute little animals.
After Shivaganga, we went back to Prakash's family's house where we partied Ugadi-style with Prakash and his brothers and friends. Then we were again fed a delicious meal - this time consisting of mango rice and the traditional Ugadi sweet, obbattu, a delicious jaggery and dal based sweet. 
Additionally we were given the best chai that we have ever had which Prakash attributed to the fresh milk. Right before offering us tea, his brother came by with a jug full of milk that was fresh from the cow. Delicious! Following lunch was a much needed nap! Upon waking from the nap (still quite full), we were invited over to another relative's house where we were again fed obbatu and mango rice. Beyond full, we went back to Prakash's family's house where they insisted that we eat another snack and drink more chai. Not wanting to be rude, we obliged and stuffed our stomachs to the bursting point. We were a bit worried on the bumpy dirt road portion of the return trip that bad things might happen.
Additionally we were given the best chai that we have ever had which Prakash attributed to the fresh milk. Right before offering us tea, his brother came by with a jug full of milk that was fresh from the cow. Delicious! Following lunch was a much needed nap! Upon waking from the nap (still quite full), we were invited over to another relative's house where we were again fed obbatu and mango rice. Beyond full, we went back to Prakash's family's house where they insisted that we eat another snack and drink more chai. Not wanting to be rude, we obliged and stuffed our stomachs to the bursting point. We were a bit worried on the bumpy dirt road portion of the return trip that bad things might happen.
We love you Ugadi, and everybody's hospitality (even though it can hurt a bit).
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