Happy Diwali...

This past weekend marks the Hindu festival of Diwali...which is actually celebrated by Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and pretty much every other solitary being in India. Diwali is known as the "festival of lights," and is one of the most important holidays of the year. Depending on where in India you reside there are differencees in the legends behind Diwali, though all stories focus on the "triumph of good over evil." Some of the more common legends are:

In the North you might commonly hear the legend of Rama and Sita...Rama and his wife Sita, after a period of exile, return to claim their kingdom and defeat the demon, Ravana. After this battle, the former exiles are greeted by the lights of row upon row of oil lamps in celebration of their victory.

In the South (where we live,) the legend of Lord Krishna's victory over the demon, Narakasur is more prevalent. Lord Krishna smears the blood of the Nakasur on his forehead and is subsequently bathed in oil upon return to his home. A morning cleansing oil bath is part of some traditions in Southern India.

Diwali is also very commonly known as the day to worship the Hindu Goddess, Lakshmi. Lakshmi is known as the Goddess of Prosperity, Wealth and Good Fortune. Traditionally a pooja (basically a holy prayer and blessing) is made to the Goddess. A pooja to Lakshmi would involve ritual bathing of a Lakshmi icon, offerings of fruit, spice, grains of rice, other special foods and money (which would subsequently be offered to the poor.) Incense would be lit and special prayers offered. "O Univesal Mother, shining like the sun, it is through Your penance that the holiest trees of Bilva and Tulasi are born. They symbolize the tree of life. The fruit of that tree of life removes our poverty from both within and without. In other words, bless us with inner light and outer independence and abundance." (for more Lakshmi prayers, check out http://stephen-knapp.com/prayers_to_goddess_lakshmi.htm )

Other Diwali traditions are: the lighting of "diyas"...oil lamps to represent light over darkness and to welcome good fortune (usually in the form of Laksmi) to home and family. The lighting of "crackers"...BIG fire crackers available on the street and not exactly *regulated*. The purchase of gold, silver or at the very least a few new utensils. New clothes. Gifts for family, friends and neighbors (ours brought over chocolate covered almonds and traditional Indian snacks.) Each house is also thoroughly cleaned (out with the old dirt...in with the new, so to speak.)

The Fischers spent the weekend in Palm Meadows. We gave our Raju (driver), Vimala (maid) and Lokesh (cook) the weekend off, along with a nice bonus. It was the first time that Raju had been home to his village for over 24 hours in more than 5 years.

In keeping with the spirit of the holiday, we lit our oil lamps promptly at 6:00 pm, asked God (and Lakshmi) to bless our home with abundance and peace, cautiously lit some fireworks that Vimala had given as a Diwali gift to the kids (!) Made a *ceremonial" (read home made potato salad, hamburgers and a small watermelon) meal and pretty much spent the weekend lounging at the pool along with the other Minnesota Target expats... I should note that there were REAL (BIG, LOUD AND ILLEGAL WITHOUT A LICENSE IN THE U.S.A) fireworks being lit all over Palm Meadows and the rest of Bangalore and Bob was kind of mad at me that I wouldn't let him buy the big ones... Grayce had learned at school that the fireworks are commonly made in Tamil Nadu, often by small children who end up poisoned by the dangerous chemicals used to manufacture them. Given that our child was beset by the lessons of life and morality, "I don't want to kill any children!" (crying,) it seemed both prudent and necessary not to drive straight out and add rupees to their downfall simply for sparklers! We did have to coach her to say a nice "thank you" to our maid from whom the fireworks we did have were a loving gift. Which is not to say that we didn't sort of wish we didn't know anything about it just so we could enjoy the dangers like any fool... The streets smelled like sulphur all weekend and the "atom bombs" bursting at 3 am were a little much. It is also true that a number of eye injuries associated with fireworks were reported in the paper...

Bob wins the husband of the month award for the stellar Diwali jewelry he gifted his wife with:

Being a part of the Diwali festivities was a fun and interesting way for us to learn more about culture and religion here in India!

The Fischers

Happy Birthday, Grandma Erna!

We love you and miss you!

One of the most difficult aspects of leading the expat life is the inescapable fact that we are far from our families when they need us or we need them, most. Flying to our home country is possible but complicated and knowing when it's imperative, even more so.

This week my Grandma was very ill and in the hospital and I could not be there. While I know that my family (and my Grandma) understands this, it falls so far outside the norm of what I would do if I was back in the U.S.A, that it brought me up short.

The questions are: What should bring us immediately back? How do we decide? How would it work? Do I (or my husband) go alone? Do we bring the kids? If one of us goes back alone, how do we work out issues of childcare, home and work? Life is unpredictable. We make decisions based on information available, love, gut feelings, logistics, convenience, past experience... Some times those decisons work positively in our favor. Inevitably, there are also times in which they do not and we are forced to miss family events...both joyful and painful...that we would never imagine missing.

Our family is thankful today for my Grandma's life and health and recovery... My Grandma Erna and Grandad Dan are the most amazing people. They have always been there for me and my sisters and brother...a cornerstone of my childhood and life.

Thank you, Grandma and Grandad! And a special *Hello* from Grayce and Owen!!

Much love to all our family...

Chandra, Bob, Grayce and Owen

Knights and Princesses, Goblins and Ghouls...

Cereal Box, Duct Tape, Paper Clips, Staples, Glitter Glue. One small boy with large demands. One mother with a pair of scissors. "I Wanna be a Knight Wif a Hel(l) MET!"

When I was a child my mother painstakingly created unique and amazing Halloween costumes from scratch...for five children. As a mother myself, this has represented the pinnacle of ideal parenthood. One of the *important* things I always imagined I'd do as a matter of course for my own children... One of a number of things that hasn't exactly materialized in my current reality. And I was fine with that, really. This Halloween I came to the realization that perhaps my mother didn't spend all that time cutting and sewing because it was her greatest joy and aspiration to create one-of-a-kind costumes. Perhaps, (just maaaayyybbbeeee,) she did it because we children asked (demanded? expected?) it of her (GASP!)

Thus it was I found myself constructing a knight helmet...a *WEAL one* with a face plate that could be raised or lowered, simply because my son could not, would not, be a knight without one (and could not possibly choose another costume, of course.) AND he had to personally assist. Simpler versions were rejected out of hand. Only the best for MY boy!

Thankfully, Grayce could be relied on to choose a variation of "Princess" for which we have numerous dress-up options on hand. Add some make-up, a few ribbons, a little glitter, sparkly shoes and we're good to go! Ta Da: Grayce as the "Star Princess"!!

So I guess I've pretty much attained Super Mom status around here... and fullfilled my quest for the title of "Ideal Mother" (oh...that's right...that never was my quest...never mind...back to the real world where the words "ideal" and "mother" have no relationship, what so ever.)

All Hallow's Eve came to Palm Meadows. A friend, Laura Lee, donated some extra pumpkins she'd picked up at Russell Market (I was preparing to carve up a watermelon or make up something about India's Halloween tradition, "The Great Coconut") The kids cut and pasted and colored various colored paper renditions of the usual Halloween decorations and taped them to our door, windows and the two Palm trees just outside our house. We had signed our house up to be a "trick-or-treat" house a few days before. A listing of the houses that would participate was emailed to all and every house was asked to have a few Halloween decorations so the kids would know where it was okay to go. There was supposed to be a party with costume prizes at the Amenities Center but by the time we arrived it had degenerated into a swirling mass of decorated little people...so we opted to just join some fellow Minnesota expats (Heather and Brian Vanderpool and their 3 children: Ella, Sacia and Zach,) for trick-or-treating. It was fun to see that a number of Indian residents, welcomed our children for their "Halloween Festival." India is one country that appreciates a good festival!

For once the kids did not have to cover up their costumes with a winter coat, mittens, hats or scarves... It was a balmy, dry 70 degrees F. It's the first time we've ever had to use mosquito repellant on October 31st, though! That reminds me... a tip, should you ever happen to be out trick-or-treating during the Mosquito Fogging Hour when Mosquito Fogging Man rides by on his chemical laden bicycle happily spraying FDA forbidden pesticides directly into a group of miniature witches, monsters and angels...RUN the opposite direction!

"Mommy, mommy are we going to be poisoned and DIE????"

"What? No, honey, of course not"

"But you said we had to come inside every night because the mosquito fog is DANGEROUS"

"What?? Well...ummm. Did I say that?? Hmmm...mumble, Cod Liver Oil...mumble...Vitamin C... mumble...you'll be fiiiiine"

"Are we gonnnnaaa diiiiieeee????" (wailing)

"No, well everyone is going to die some day, but, NO, " (not yet...anyway) "Look, he's gone the other way... hey, look at all this candy!"

There are just some situations you never imagine yourself in and some conversations that need to end quickly!

We hope you all had a Happy (chemical free) Halloween!

We had a lot of fun but really missed our usual Halloween adventures with the Archbold's in St. Paul (i.e. mommies hand out the candy and drink the wine and daddies take the kids trick-or-treating, followed by play time and candy craziness for the kids and take-out for the adults...pretty fair, in my book!) It doesn't seem quite right not to have our annual picture of all the kids dressed up sitting on the stairs...

The Fischers

Alive and Well in Bangalore, India

India Night Pics...

"Bollywood Here I Come..."

Or perhaps a more honest title would be, "How to Dance on Stage In Front of 200 People Without Unraveling A Sari and Falling On Your...(insert appropriate language here)."



So, Umm...that pretty much sums up my version of the Overseas Women's Club "India Night" party last Saturday night. Oh... that's right...you can add a "couple" of glasses of wine to the scenario if you'd like (strictly your own imagination, of course, but remember, we expats-with-kids don't get out much! Which explains the Hookah lounge, Wade's Hat and Bob's complaints about his shoes "hurting" his feet (yeah, sure buddy, try that in high heels...)



Since all of "that" happened later in the evening, I'll recap the rest:



The Overseas Women's Club (OWC) is an Expat organization here in Bangalore that functions as both expat resource and support and charitable organization. In addition, they publish an invaluable expat guide, "The In and Out of Bangalore". Many of the fun events also serve to financially support over 25 local charities, most benefiting children and families in some way...pretty much a win-win for everybody involved.



The OWC hosts a formal "India Night" benefit each year. This year's event was held at "The Grand Ashok" hotel in Bangalore with an Indian Buffet featuring various regional cuisines, performance by the expat Bollywood dance group "The Foxy Ladies," Hookah lounge, and a great excuse to buy some fancy Indian clothing and socialize with other expats.



Pretty cool, right?



I had the chance to go sari shopping a couple of weeks ago and Bob bought himself a "Kurta Pyjama" and a pair of red pointy shoes to match. Vimala, our maid, painted "Mehendi" on my hands, brought me some bangles and a Bindi for my forehead, helped me find a tailor to stitch my sari "blouse," bought me a sari slip, agreed to babysit our children and arrived early to wrap me in my 6 yards of silk. Other beneficial commentary that led me to believe I had no idea what I was doing: "You're not going to wear your hair like THAT, Madame?" and "Where is your eyeliner?" and "You don't have any matching sets?" (dubiously eyeing the jewelry I'd set out). Undaunted by my obvious lack of experience with both social custom and Indian formal wear, Vimala had me wrapped, tucked, pinned and emerging as a proper Indian lady in no time. How she did so, is still a major mystery... However it all occurred, I was greeted by both kids with serious approval: (Owen) "mommy you wook bwootifuw" (Grayce) "you should always dress like that, every day." Did I mention the safety pins? Are you aware that safety pins are only for slackers? That those 6 yards of fabric are simply wrapped around and tucked into a slip? Or that Indian women do more than just stand there carefully, trying not to move too much? Vimala wears a Sari every day cleaning and mopping my house. It's amazing...just getting in the car had me in a panic!

Fast-Forward to Raffle Ticket Time: Several prizes given away, including Bollywood dancing lessons, in which another woman went up to claim her prize and had the dance studio owner/instructor surprise her with an impromptu and very public lesson. A second set of lessons is announced. Bob looks right at me and says, "you know you're going to win this." I suddenly just KNOW that he's right (damn "The Secret," it's always getting me into trouble!) I suddenly just KNOW I'm going to have to get up and dance...Bollywood style...which is not exactly "conservative".

I win. 8 lessons. Free. I am on stage and I am dancing. Thank God for Vimala, Sari Pins, and a realllllyyyy charming choreographer by the name of V. Arun Kumar....proprietor of Zealers dance studio. (Probably, the wine helped, too.) It wasn't until it was all over that I realized I'd missed my chance to send Bob up to claim his prize.

Next year, this time...

Chandra Fischer-"Foxy Lady"

The Fischers...having a great time in Bangalore!

Electricity: Othewise Known As "Now You See It, Now You Don't"

I'm beginning to think about electricity as more than just the flip of a switch. It does, in fact, seem to have a life of it's own. It's a fickle and stubborn life form, delighting in it's own instability...an electric mania of sorts.

The other evening at dinner we were plunged in to blackness 6 times in a half hour time span. Lokesh, our cook, kept trying to light candles. Each and every time he succeeded the lights would flicker back on (and the ceiling fan, effectively dousing those happy flames just in time for another go round). I could almost hear the laughter of the puppet master...

In the first couple of weeks the kids would scream or cry or otherwise spend a little time in freak out land (like the time Grayce was watching "Barbie: The Island Princess"...yup, thaaat was fun...NOT. I'm sure the neighbors wondered what cruelty was befalling our poor children by the screech that followed the repetative black-outs. Personally, I had a little fun imagining Barbie's swan dive...but...she...just...kept...coming...back.)

They're adjusting though. We're down to simple exasperation and a groan, "Mooom, the powers out!" (really? I hadn't noticed.) Who knows?? By this time next year they'll be able to spontaneously combust as needed without a single complaint. Think of the savings on matches!

In Palm Meadows there are three levels of power: Full. Back-Up. None. In full power everything works! An electrical device is plugged in...and it works, really! Part of your mind can't help but think that all previous lack of power was a myth. Back-Up power kicks in after we've lost all power...within 5 -10 minutes or so. In Back-Up, some of the lights function but many outlets do not...especially the ones you really need...like to the washing machine mid-cycle...or the toaster oven mid-broil. Back-up power has an adversarial relationship to NO power. They're always arguing...back and forth, back and forth. Plus, all you have to do to blow a fuse around here is think about plugging in the coffee grinder!

Another consideration is The Great Exploding Appliance...usually the-most-expensive-electrical-appliance-you-shipped-from-home-and-had-plugged-in-to- the-biggest step-up, step-down converter-transformer-available-to-those-without-an-electrical-license. In our case...a brand new $160 toaster oven (a replacement for the oven that doesn't exist in our villa...insurance that it will be possible to bake cookies and birthday cakes). There wasn't really an "explosion" but we did see flames shoot out of the electrical components and it has certainly ceased to function. Funny how the converter-transformer works just fine.

My favorite part of all of this is the "switch-confusion." There are many, many electrical switches in our house. One example is the 8 switches plus a fan control for the dining room. I swear the switches change their allegiance to a particular fixture on a regular basis...or maybe it's just me ;-)

India...one fuse at a time.

Chandra

Last of the Nandi Hills...