Every night Shammi and I go for a brisk walk around the neighborhood. He leads me through the twists and turns of Delhi's streets, and we talk. Every night the conversation is different, and always interesting. Some nights we tell jokes, some nights we talk politics, other nights sports. In all it is part of my day I greatly look forward to.
The streets at night are almost no different from the streets during the day. There are still plenty of people and plenty of cars and motorbikes. More often than not we pass a Hindi wedding. Except tonight. Tonight, there was not a single wedding happening. I asked Shammi about this and he said that today was a bad day for weddings.
I laughed and said it seemed that way. He then corrected himself. He said it was an inauspicious day for weddings.
Turns out Hindu culture is very, very superstitious. More so than I had thought. There are days of the year where not a single Hindu will get married. Simply because that day has been deemed inauspicious. Prime ministers will delay their inaugurations so that they take place on auspicious days. Government buildings have openings to the "4 directions." I am painting a very broad picture, but it is like feng shue to the extreme.
I want to finish with a joke Shammi told me. It is offensive... I think.
A man runs up to a Sikh and says "Hey!!! There is a house on fire!!!"
The Sikh shakes his head and replies, "Get the hell outta here, it is none of my business."
The man say "But it is YOUR house that is on fire!"
The Sikh replies, "Get the hell outta here, it is none of your business."
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