Juliana had them both change into a new set of lehenga and choli. She chose a green and blue affair for Ajiona. The choli was blue sleeveless and bared her midriff with green floral patterns, the lehenga was green with blue patterns and accents and a sheer dupatta. She helped Ajiona comb her hair back and twisted it into a low loose knot at the back of her neck and utilized some of the trinkets. She originally wanted to go overboard with the jewellery insisting on the payal and oddiyanam and kada. But Ajiona beat her down to just the maang tikka and jhumkas, with her septum ring and locket, it was enough jewellery but the girl wouldn't let her go until she had painted some colours on her eyelids, brushed her eyelashes with mascara and painted her lips a deep red.
'There,' she said with satisfaction. 'Now you will look irresistible to your true love.'
Ajiona groaned and rolled her eyes. While Juliana made herself up, Ajiona made a call back on and spend a substantial amount of time arguing with her Diane and begging Jason to look after her.
'I'll be back in a few days. So just hold the fort till then and keep her out of mischief.' She begged.
'Of course Jo, anything for my favourite niece.'
'I'm your only niece,' Ajiona pointed out.
'Yeah yeah. Don't worry too much Jo, enjoy yourself. I'll look after her. I promise.'
'Thank you.'
She dialled her father after, but as usual she got his voicemail so with a disappointed sigh, she hung up.
'How do I look?' Juliana asked her when she put away her phone.
For a few moments, Ajiona was speechless; she gaped rather unattractively at her friend before saying slowly: 'Take them off. You look like a bloody bride.'
Juliana indeed went overboard for herself. Her choice of choli and lehenga was orange and gold, the colour of flames. The choli was short sleeved, and sequined so they flashed gold in the light. The dupatta was gold tipped with orange. The colours were showy but they weren't the problem. It was the amount of jewellery she got on! There was the maang tikka, vanki, oddiyanam, payal, the karnphool, chunky kadas, naath and haathphool.
'I think I look hot!' She blew a kiss at herself in the mirror.
'It is too much Jules, take some off. You are not Indian and they could find this offensive.'
At the end Juliana took everything off except the haathphool and maang tikka and wore small hoop earrings. They met Lalita and Maya in the lobby. Both were dressed in colourful outfits, Lalita in a salwar kameez with dupatta and Maya in a pink lehenga and choli. They grinned when they saw Ajiona and Juliana of them.
'You look pretty,' Lalita said grinning and hooked her arm with Juliana.
'So do you,' Ajiona said graciously.
'We head for the shrine first for our lamps then we go dancing and we receive blessings from the elders before going back for the lamps.'
'Whose shrine? Shiva’s? Ganesha’s?' Juliana queried.
'A local god of luck. He is not known except for here.' Maya said and stopped Lalita when she attempted to hail a taxi. 'We'll walk,' she declared then smiled at Ajiona and Juliana reassuringly. 'It's not far from here.'
It was a balmy evening, a perfect night for a walk. Maya and Lalita regaled them with stories of Mahishmathi, the folklores and other things Ganesha did not touch. Maya promised to show them the museum where the great sword of Bahubali was showcased and also the helmet crown of the Maharaja. Juliana hit it off with Maya and Lalita talking about her life in America and her plans for college. Ajiona remained reserved worrying about her mother and the voices in her head. They were somewhat quiet now, a background noise but she was concerned.
'We are here!' Lalita announced.
They were in the city's square. The vehicle traffic has been replaced with people traffic, mostly girls from the age of fourteen to somewhere between twenty and twenty five. Paper lanterns hung from strung up lines and fire pots were arranged in geometric designs on the floor, each pot a few feet away from the other to give space for movement. At the centre of everything was a huge wooden statue of the god on the temple car, he with four arms and a towering crown. He was standing on an upturned pot in the tree pose, but his hands were not steepled in prayer but were holding various objects. In his lower left hand he held a sword, in the upper left hand on a gourd, in lower right hand a gada and upper right hand clutched on coins. All his arms had numerous bangles. Long garlands of safflower and lotus flower had been hung around his neck; he had been smeared with the kumkuma and was wearing a big Cheshire grin.
'No offense,' Juliana said. 'But he looks like a dishonest merchant with that grin of his, like he has just successfully ripped off a customer.'
Maya chuckled. 'None taken. Come, the shrine is this way.'
They passed through the path of fire and pressed through the crowd of females. The shrine was small, the size of a hut. It was an open space with conical roof supported by pillars depicted with scenes. A smaller image of the god rested on a pedestal and from the foot of the pedestal to the last of the steps was crowded with lamps with just enough space to squeeze in through. The god himself carried a fire pot on his head and his grin was still knowing. There was a priest, painted with tilaka chanting slowly and flinging kumkuma at the god at every interval.
'Cover your hair and take of your shoes,' Maya ordered quietly.
They did as they were told and Lalita riffled through her tote and brought out four clay lamps. She handed two to Ajiona and Juliana. Maya dipped her finger into the red turmeric powder in a heap and applied it to her forehead, the others followed her lead. They put oil into their lamps, lit them and carried them to a corner. As they knelt to do so, Lalita brought out sheets of paper, wrote their names down and set it on the floor. They all placed their lamps on it, retrieved their shoes and headed back to the square.
'You should probably write down your requests, after the dance you won't get the chance to do so.' Lalita handed each of them a sheet of paper and a single pen.
Juliana hastily scribbled hers down and twisted the paper into an origami. Ajiona contemplated on what to write, she wanted her father to come back home, she wanted to be able to live her own life without worrying about her mother all the time, she wanted adventure and she wanted... She penned everything down and twisted it into a misshapen crane.
'Good,' Maya nodded with approval. 'The dance is quite simple. We move in seven circles around the statue, seven times clockwise, seven times counter clockwise while clapping and then we weave in and out between the pots. Just follow the crowd and you'll be fine. Breaking the circle is considered bad luck.'
'Sounds simple enough.'
'Yeah,' Lalita piped in. 'It's the other dance that is hard. You carry a fire pot on your head and dance with it, spinning and weaving without the pot dropping. It will be best if you stay away from that dance.' She advised.
'Sure, how many dances?'
'Three.'
At that time, Ajiona heard the beat of the drum.
'It is beginning!' Lalita said with a shriek of excitement and tied her dupatta around her waist. The others followed her example.
The drum picked up and it became chaos. There were shrills and giggles and suddenly Ajiona was without her friends, instead she was between complete strangers. Hastily, she tucked her prayer into her waist and got into position. The pipes began playing and the lady in front of her moved. Ajiona followed.
Left foot followed by right foot and a clap to match the beat of the drum, Ajiona soon learned. She saw most of the girls wore anklets with bells that added more to the music as they danced. A twirl after seven steps and there was a collective flare of colours from their lehengas and they spread outwards with their twirl. Then they bend the right side of their body their right hand touching their right foot then up, right foot, left foot, clap, and twirl.
Ajiona got the hang of it quickly and soon lost herself in the music and dance. They did the seven clockwise and the seven counter clockwise and started weaving in and out between the fire pots. Ajiona had never felt so graceful in her life, so free and wholly for herself. She felt one with the stars, the music, the dance everything. She did let her head lead her in the dance but followed her heart and instincts. It was an exhilarating experience.
The drums ended with a definite beat and they broke from the circle all cheering. Ajiona took of her shoes, panting heavily; she didn't try to control her breathing. Juliana and Lalita found her sitting on the floor flexing her toes.
'That was fun,' Juliana declared. 'Too bad we have to sit out the second dance. Do you have water Lalita? I'm parched.'
'Sure,' she produced a bottle of water and handed it to Juliana who promptly opened it and guzzled it. 'The next dance is in five minutes, you guys can watch or you can go to the palace and ask for your true love.' Lalita said.
'Would they allow people into the palace at this time?' Juliana asked.
'Usually no, but it's the festival so they make exemptions.'
Maya came to join them and she whispered something to her sister. Lalita nodded.
'The next dance is back to back. So if you decide to go to the palace, remember the square where Devasena was chained, there is a shrine to Lord Shiva there, the banyan tree is where you are to sit.'
Ajiona nodded and the girls left to join the other dancers. They each picked up a fire pot with a pad around it and placed them on their heads, taking the position of the seven circles. At the beat of the drum, they extended their left foot forwards, then their right and twisted their hands. The drumming and pipes picked up and the dancers started to move. Three circles went clockwise; three counters clockwise, the circle in the centre twirled around on the spot leaping forwards and backwards. The flare of multicoloured lehengas and the dancing flames of the pots made it terrific to behold. Ajiona wished she could join them but that will break the circle, instead she stood there with Juliana and other men and watched with a frustrated longing.
The circles stopped moving and then the three circles in front backed the statue, the middle circle turned sideways the other three circles faced the statue. The dance began again, the middle circle moving clockwise with dancing speed leaping and kicking their feet, the other circles moved forwards and backwards spinning in fast circles. It was spectacular.
The dance ended and another began almost immediately. The pots were dropped far away from their circles forming a flaming boundary around them. They held hands and spun each other in circles until they were dizzy and finally stopped. Then they turned as one and headed for the shrine.
Juliana tugged Ajiona with her and they found themselves at the end of the line. Maya waited for them and wordlessly handed them raffia boats which they places their lamps in and they followed the rest.
It was a slow procession to the moat. Older women and men peered at them from windows and doors and called out words in Telugu, Ajiona assumed they were blessings. The procession was led by the priest who led a steady pace. Their walk took them almost round the city to the western gates. There they touched their prayers to the flame of the lamps and floated the lamps in the water. Watching them drift with the slow current which will carry them into the river and far away.
Most of the girls left as soon as they placed their boats in the water but Ajiona opted to wait behind.
'I'll meet you at the hotel,' Ajiona told Juliana.
'Are you with your phone?' She asked her.
'I left it at the hotel. Don't worry. I'll be along soon enough.' To Maya and Lalita she said; 'thanks for today, I really had fun.'
Lalita hugged her. Our pleasure. Don't forget the banyan tree,' she whispered into her ears.
Soon she was alone with the priest who went further up, chanting. Ajiona took off her shoes and dipped her toes in the water enjoying the cool sensation. She watched her lamp bobbed in the water, drifting along and then looked at the starry night. She wished she had more nights like this, peaceful and when she threw off her inhibitions and become as free as the wind. She wished she could stay here forever.
.