Saturday 20 August 2011

Sunday, August 14th, 2011

By the Way Girls Scream

Vancouver, BC

I broke into a new pair of shoes this morning, the usual Croc wear. At this point I’m not willing to try anything else. A recent promotion for this footwear at a shoe store in Canada used a newspaper article with photo showing me sporting Crocs while on the last cross Canada trek in 2007. I felt honoured to hear that.

The kind gift from Nirguna, my travelling assistant, came to me at the opportune time, just ready for the Festival of Chariots. As for the event, I was asked to monitor the leaders of the kirtan while going in procession along English Bay.

I noticed people did pop their heads out from their windows and while balconies that are not frequently used in a place like Canada, now had a purposeful meaning. People went out on their balconies to see and hear the kirtan.

My god, it’s difficult to control a bunch of crammed people in motion on foot, moving forward, then looking back (at the chariot), then forward again while doing vocals or playing an instrument. Feet get stepped on and someone accidentally pokes you in the ribs with their elbow. Sometimes you lose your shoe in a crowd, it’s crowd fun. What is truly good about being in the festival is that the chariot pullers, musicians, or just participants in general, get that walking in. It becomes a pilgrimage in itself.

By 8 PM, things subsided at English Bay. Our crew performed, dance, drama, and dance again, and some of the boys did a drum demo in traditional wear. That went over well if you want to gauge success by the way girls scream.

10 Km

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