16 minutes ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:Yay! Thank you so much @sartoric for sharing your amazing trip to far India with us. I will never be able to go, so it means so much to me to share your experiences and learn more about the food and culture.
I have a question about the flower market. I was expecting bouquet sprays, but your photos seem to show garlands of maybe marigolds. What is the cultural significance of that? Are they like Hawaiian leis? I haven't heard of this before.
Okay, two questions.
Why the single use on the terra cotta containers. It seems a bit wasteful in a culture that is not known for that.
The flowers are woven into garlands for blessing of the deities, (of which there are innumerable), they can be worn, or wrapped around your car's Ganesh statue (ours sat on the dashboard). Most women have flowers in the hair, especially so for a special occasion. This particular flower market was in Varanasi probably the most sacred city. Many Hindus seek a cremation on the Ganges as a step towards freedom from rebirth. Along with this goes worship, so the garlands are for the various statues of deities. Hindu temples are fascinating.
Each lassi is made to order, the pots are cheap, it keeps the pot maker families fed, somehow it would be recycled into something else. This is Incredible India !
Good to hear you enjoyed the trip.
