India declared independence from British Rule at the stroke of midnight between August 14 and August 15, 1947. You can read more about the partitioning of India and Pakistan from Britain here.
I have always been facinated with India...I think it may be the way my subcontious expresses it's desire for me to travel to that country. Someday I will. I am drawn to that culture and I think that the only way that thirst will be quenched is by me experiencing that place of intrigue for myself. When I saw that there was the India Festival being held in Portland at Pioneer Courthouse Square, how could I not go? The festival was sponsored by the India Culture Association of Portland. I rode the Max train down to the square. When I got off the train I ventured into all of the people. I have discoved that I love, absolutely love, clothing from other cultures. I am facinated by the styles, colors, fabrics, accessories, etc. I made my way over to the "staging" area and there was a group of kids dancing, and lots of cheering. I eventually sat down, right in front and I have to say, I was in heaven. I watched many, many groups and inviduals dance.
Eventually, I was a little too warm to continue sitting in the sun so I pulled myself away to walk around the booths and get into the shade and breeze. I couldn't stay gone long. I made my way back to the dancers and watched more. The longer I sat there the hungrier I got, especially since I could smell all the yummy food. I wasn't sure if I would be able to eat anything, but found something that appeared to be "safe". If I get sick, I can tell you it was the Vegetable Biryani, not because it wasn't so delicious, but it may have contained gluten (safe according to recipes I've found online, but still no guarantee). I must say, I think it was worth it (I hope that statement holds true through the next couple of days). It was made with basmati rice, vegetables and a curry sauce on top, yummmm...I must also say that I drank a Mango Lassie and though it wasn't my favorite beverage in the world, I didn't hate it, had actually gotten quite used to it by the time I sipped the last of it. I can now say that I tried something new, 2 new things in fact and enjoyed them...would have them again if offered. I ate rather quickly becuase, you guessed it, I couldn't stay away from those dancers.
Rather than rambling on any longer, I'm going to cut to the chase with the pictures:
Amazing colors and clothes.
All the onlookers
Amazing
There were several girls that had all kinds of accessories. The one you see above I thought was gorgeous. I can only image how heavy it may have been though. I might add, it took me about 5 tries before I got this shoot.
Cute little girls dancing.
This young boy, 4 or 5 I would say, was practicing his role while I was eating. Couldn't help getting a quick picture.
She teaches Indian dance...should I take lessons sometime?
These are some of the clothes that were on a rack in one of the booths.
I was amazed by all of the dancers, of varying ages. The kids were cute, it would be fun to see them in a few years after continuing to take lessons. Those who'd been dancing for many years...WOW is all I can say. I am working on getting some of the video footage uploaded for your enjoyment and for my memories, most likely the short snippets will be in another post.
I finally knew I needed to get home to get some stuff done, or I could have and would have stayed until the festival closed at 9pm, so I pulled myself away, and got back on the Max to head home. While I was riding back I decided that I think I was born into the wrong culture...I should have been born into a culture like Indian culture, full of color, dance, music. Maybe I can be multi-cultured and enjoy them all...I plan on going back again as I loved it so much and right now that is the easiest way to "travel" to India...my hearts desire. Hope you enjoyed this little trip! Happy travels to you!
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