Auspicious India and other Nonsense...

What is more fun than riding in a rikshaw during a monsoon?? Nothing folks, absolutely nothing....Good Lord, I am drowning over here. When I first arrived, I thought monsoon season, what is the big deal?? It barely rained, maybe once a day for about 15 minutes....no worse than spring in Ohio, or any season in Ohio, for the matter....! Ok, now I get it. The monsoon is coming to a close and is clearly making up for lost time. The rain is one thing, but the mold combined with pollution is another. I swear everything I own is moldly and nothing is really ever dry. I can't stand to be DAMP, hate it....grrr....ok, just a few more weeks and I am told it is over. But, then make way for October heat. Just as I am craving crisp fall nights, I am gearing up for more heat. At least half of October will be spent north and in the Himalayas. Sigh, ah, India....
Also worth noting is the word "auspicious." I have heard that word more in a month than I have heard in my whole life. It seems everything in India is auspicious. I knew what the word meant, but I still looked it up again to make sure I had it right....to promise success, favored by fortune, opportune....etc. For example, married women in Maharastra (the state where Mumbai is located, but you should all know that by now!) wear emerald green glass bangles because they are auspicious. However, Bengali women on the other side of the country (Calcutta area) wear red and white glass bangles because that is auspicious to them. Peacocks, the country bird, are auspicious. Flowers are auspicious, very auspicious. One of the things I have grown to love about India are the amazing flower garlands that can be purchased on ANY street corner stand. They are amazing garlands strewn with marigolds, jasmine (pronounced jazmeen here) Gerber daisies, and other greenery. The garlands hang EVERYWHERE, over doorways, around religious idols, on trucks, cars, rikshaws and even COWS. Yes, the cows are sometimes delightfully decorated. Of course, all of this to ensure good fortune. Diamonds are auspicious, so I should probably get some more, huh? I will work on that....! Random days on the calendar can be auspicious as well, but you never seem to know which ones until the day has started, well, at least I don't. For example, one might be told not to do any sort of business transaction on a certain day because it is unlucky, or may be told to purchase something on a different day because it is lucky. This can often be frustrating for foreign business people who are trying to close a deal. They may have to wait until all the "stars" are aligned to get a signature! I often ask, how can SO many things be SO auspicious? No one seems to know. I just roll with it....and continue to admire the flower garlands. Those alone will stick in my mind long after I leave here.
What else....I am starting a drama club. We had our first meeting yesterday. There were about 50 people. I was thrilled, but that is a lot of people to consider when choosing a script. I can't possibly use everyone, so I need to figure all this out quickly. My goal is to put up a show right before I leave here and hopefully the club will continue to be in place after I leave. I am searching high and low for a good script, but not coming up with much. I will persevere....until next time, I hope everyone is great and that my peeps in C-bus have their power back....yikes, what a nightmare!