Visit to Basilica: ‘Our lady of Candelaria’

While Indians celebrate ‘The Independence day’ on 15^th August, People in Tenerife celebrate ‘Dia de la Candelaria’

Thousands of pilgrims arrive on the eastern coast of Tenerife at Candelaria to visit the Basilica that houses the statue of Black Madonna. Many people spend the night on the roads on their route that leads them to this town to pay their tribute to their Patron Saint.

The festivals in the town of Candelaria are rich in religion and popular fervor, closely linked to five centuries of faith, belief and love for the Virgin.

Last time I couldn’t go to Candelaria, but instead went for a drive up to the mountains closer to my house and met up with the trekkers who were on their way to the church.

Many people trek through the steep beaten path of hills, trees and shrubs. There are signs-boards at regular intervals directing the proper route to follow. There is one meeting point on the route where different groups from different parts of the island meet. This point offers the most beautiful panoramic view of the island. It is the leisure place, they share their eats and drinks and let their hair down.

On 15^th August there is a big celebration at the church. Since I hate crowded places, I decided to go few days before the real festival.

The road leading to church is a walking plaza. There are shops on either sides of the road selling souvenir articles, flowers, clothes; there are many small cafes, bars and patisseries that churn the hunger pangs and make me drool. 

All the houses overlooking the road have flags and pictures of their deity decorated on their balcony. The street is decorated with colorful streamers, flags, pictures of Virgin Mary and blinking lights. 

The road is neatly tiled, opening to a large open space that has a line-up of bronze statues (running parallel to the sea wall) of Guanche leaders, the original inhabitants of Tenerife overlooking the huge plaza. 

The square is dominated by the Basilica de ‘Nuestra Senora de Candelaria’, built to house the famous statue of the Virgin and this is the site that is popular annual pilgrimage.

Basilica de ‘Nuestra Senora de Candleria’ was built to house the famous statue of Black Madonna that appeared on the beach in 1312 and was found by two Guanches. The current statue inside the church is the replica of the original one that was swept away by tidal wave in 1826, after surviving a fire that ravaged the church.

Indians in Tenerife believe it to be the reincarnation of Goddess Devi and normally come to this church to offer their prayers during Navratas and during other Indian festivals.

Inside the church, it is very peaceful. During the festival, the statue is placed out on the altar for full view. It is the magnificent building with high walls and intricately designed ceiling, stained glass windows depicting the figurines, flowers and abstract designs. Every wall emotes a feeling of bliss. In the inner room, there is a smaller alter dominated by a huge painting of the last supper.

Devotees offer flowers, as they enter the church, placing them in the buckets of water, lined up against the wall, they then walk to the inner rooms, which is filled with electric candles, you insert a coins to light the candle. This is the new addition to the church because initially there used be hundreds of wax candles burning all day and the room used to be very dark because of the smoke. I inserted one Euro in the slot and three candles lit up.

After spending fifteen minutes inside the church, we are out in the square. There is a fountain outside the church, where people used to throw a coin in the small pond surrounding it and make a wish. Unfortunately, Tenerife is undergoing recession, probably saving on light and water, I think, hence most of the fountains in the city are dry and this one was too.

There was lot of activity at the plaza. A big stage was being organized in the center of the plaza for the big day. There will be folklore music and dance till late hours after the mass on the celebration day.

We walk behind the church, on the promenade along the stone wall. The angry waves make a roaring sounds as they approach the shore in groups with rising crest, and splash against the shore, sending the spray of showers, two meters up in the air. There were some very old houses behind the church and a big cave at the end of the path. 

We spend one hour walking along the shore, watching the angry crest and trough of waves, its splashing against the seawall and I squeal with joy whenever I feel the sprinklers against my face.

The beach on the other side of the path has black sand and is not safe for swimming in these rough waters, nevertheless, it does not stop tourists from braving the waves and enjoy few moments of swim.

The best part of the visit is to sit in those restaurants facing the seawall and enjoying the seafood which most of these restaurants specialize.

Tenerife - My holiday home

Flowers grow wildly here, creating a colorful tapestry on the edges of the road; the dividers on the express highway have different shades of green dotted with colorful specks of tiny flowers. One side of the motorway runs parallel to the bluish sea while other side slopes upwards towards the green and brown hills. I have lived in the North of the island of Tenerife for ten years, and during those years all I have dreamt about is to come back to Mumbai, I could never adopt that place, although I cannot deny that it is one of most beautiful cities in the world but still, Mumbai has a special place in my heart and staying in any other part of the world does not hold my fascination. Whenever I had expressed my desire to my guest of moving back to Mumbai, they would always lecture me about my foolishness and implore me to change my mind and live comfortably there forever, but I just couldn’t. I found my peace only when I moved back to Mumbai.

Tenerife is now my holiday home and I visit it whenever I need to relax.

The day I reach the island, I take a walk down the street where my brother owns a store. People are very friendly here and I have known them for many years. Whenever they see me, they come out from their shops to have a friendly chat with me, they try to talk to me in broken English and I in broken Spanish, its fun when some of them will even cross the road from the other side of the road to just plant a peck on my cheeks and a big warm hug, a great feeling! yeah!

This is a small town called Icod de Los Vinos, My brother has a tourist business very close to 1000-years-old tree called ‘Drago Millinario’ (a dragon tree). Just opposite my shop is a plaza which has beautiful plants and trees with the botanical name printed under each tree. There is a small church and also a small cafeteria where they sell cortado, a strong coffee. During my regular walks in this plaza, I am always fascinated by this tree.

While in Mumbai, I suffer the most during the month of May, when not even the AC  can bring me any solace and it is during such moments that I miss Tenerife the most, its’ mild, spring climate with an average temperature of 20degrees centigrade throughout the year. Outside my balcony in Spain, I can see the mount Teide on one side that rises to more than three thousand meters and remains snow-covered for most part of the year and on other side of my house are the grapes and cabbage plantations that slope down gradually towards the ocean. Every evening I watch beautiful sunsets behind my kitchen windows, inbetween my daily chores of cooking and washing dishes.

Tenerife is the city of siestas and fiestas. Our shop opens at 9am then closes for snooze and lunch from 1pm to 5pm and then work a bit more, the day is done by 8pm. This sleepy town comes alive only during festivals which occur throughout the year. Spanish people just need a reason to celebrate, to dress up in their traditional clothes, carry their musical instruments, sing their folk song and dance till late nights.

Tenerife has more than 30 different festivals with Carnivals being the biggest event. The streets come alive during carnival season which lasts for more than 20 days, moving from one pueblo to another within the island. There are parades on the streets, with children and adults, all in festive mood enjoying during the selection of carnival queen in every suburb, drinking, dancing and partying at every lane. Another big festival that we all look forward to is Reye, when people go crazy shopping, and children are made to believe that three wise men had dropped their gifts for them on their way to bless baby Jesus. It fall on 5^th of January and the business that we do on these days can cover our yearly expenses. Besides these there are many more festivals like Corpus Christi, when the streets are decorated with colorful sands and flowers creating a carpets on the road, San Andres, when every slope is occupied with youngsters sliding down on wooden planks, ´Dia de Candelaria´ when pilgrims all over Tenerife walk or trek to a shrine of Virgin Mary at Candelaria and many more festivals celebrated in different suburbs of the city. Cristo de calvario is the festival celebrated in my pueblo.

When in Tenerife, I would enjoy the most when my family would visit me. Many evenings we would walk down Puerto de la Cruz, near the portside and have hot chocolate, Sometimes I would take them to Santa Cruz de Tenerife for shopping and sight seeing and sometimes to South of Tenerife to enjoy the marine sports and night life.

There are many places of interest where one can enjoy with family and friends all day. Many holidays, we would get together in a bigger group and spend all day at the beach or at the park.

Yes, we did have fun and life was good. But then I wasn’t born there, so for me Tenerife will always be a holiday home.

How to get there:


Spain’s national airlines ‘IBERIA’ have regular services to Tenerife. Charter services are also available, any reputed agent can advice you. There are two airports in Tenerife. ‘Los Rodeos in the North and ‘Reina Sophia’ in the south of the island. Frequent buses ply from airport to different parts of the island. Tenerife is also linked to the other six Canary Islands by jetfoil services.

Devotion

Hindu festivals often see large number of devotees throng towards religious places and there are many such place in India.

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But have you ever seen three million women celebrating a festival together with a small plane hovering above the crowd showering flowers over them?? This is the Kerala Festival for women

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I am thinking whether the God attending to their prayers is male or female?

Diwali is just round the corner

To enjoy the true essence of Diwali festival, one should be in India. Last year I was in Spain, and I tried to create the atmosphere of the festival so that my brother’s kids, who have never visited India during this time, could experience this festival. I made rangoli, prepared sweets at home, performed Laxmi pooja at our shop and then went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner, but that was all that we could do. No fire crackers, no lighting of Diyas in the house, no meeting people and no wishing every second person ‘Happy Diwali’ Ah nothing….. But this year, I hope, it is going to be different; I hope it to be the way I like it. The kids in my building are quite excited. I see them every evening with a big basket of fire crackers, having competitions of being the loudest joker. They pretend they are brave but take full five minutes to burst a tiny cracker, cowards! The only brave thing they can do is to burn fooljari. (sparklers). During my growing up days, there was great variety of firecrackers available in the market, like those triangular and circular fountains that sprinkled sparklers in the air, then there was a whistle that would go whizzing up in the air, sometimes in wrong direction chasing a frightened person. Then there were rockets, which we would keep in sleeping position at the end of the lane and see it flying parallel to the ground. We had snakes emerging from a small black tablet, there were chaklis that would go round and round, throwing sparklers in all directions. I don’t see these kids with such simple firecrackers any more, (I am sure they must be available but these kids don’t seem to like it) they just like those loud bombs, which me thinks, gives them thrills, you see them blinking their eyes, covering their ears and waiting for it to explode and then jumping and laughing, like tiny terrorists. I don’t even see any adults with these kids, except the watchman or a maid. Parents, aunts, uncles and relatives are too busy with their own lives to bother accompanying their kids. The streets are decorated with lights and lanterns, retail shops are eagerly waiting for shoppers, but everything is so damn expensive that sitting at home and networking seems like a better option.

Thadri

Life has not been the same since I lost my mom, about three years ago. I miss my mom terribly, especially on festive days when my mom would spread the happiness to each and every member of the house, without expecting anything in return. Today was the big festival of our Sindhis. It is called THADRI The mother goddess is worshipped in various forms, Sittala, is worshipped by Sindhis. She is the eldest of several sisters, The annual festival observed in honor of this goddess is called "Thadri", or the cooling festival. It falls on the 7th day of the waning in the month of Savan (July-August) every year. Ladies prepare Lolas and curd on the previous day of the festival , They sing, go to the local shrine and the cold meals (thados). On this day, fire is not lit at home. On this day, mom would be too excited because she loved cooking and it gave her the reason to cook, Her cooking would start, a day prior to the festival. There would be dry vegetable, lentil chappatis, sweet pancakes, sour rice-curd, fried bahjiyas and many more delicacies (I would marvel at her stamina, she never complained about work, never ever) . On the festive day, She would invite everybody for cold lunch. There would be card session after lunch and so much laughter in the house. My family had a great sense of humor; specially my aunts (dad’s sisters) and they would be laughing and quarrelling at the same time…how much I would enjoy seeing so much commotion. Me and my cousins would receive lots of gifts in cash and kind. It would be a great day to celebrate. All my aunts were very jovial and their jokes were always laced with metaphors which made their conversation wittier. With time, most of my family is gone and the traditions are also gradually dying. I don’t make any such things, nor do I enjoy this kind of food anymore. Being weight conscious, I don’t eat fried stuff, or too much sweet or anything with too much masala. I like simple stir fries, or simple home cooked food. I just eat to ease my hunger. My sister called me for lunch today, but I ate quietly and remembered my mom and missed my family and their laughter even more….

Holi Times!

Little cute terrorists came down in the building compound with their water guns that looked like colorful machine guns, splashing water with great gusto on each others faces. I approached the children in my compound, focusing on their moods through my lens and their playfulness is clearly visible. Holi is the festival of colors and it has not lost its charm in India, not as yet. I am not sure if Indian kids spend too much time on the net, but here, the children in my compound, come every evening, to spend the time with their friends. And they are seen to spend some wonderful time with their friends, inventing games and enjoying each other’s company like we used to (when we were young) and they still enjoy all the festivals of India. Holi is one festival that is enjoyed by all age groups But is Holi a naughty festival? Do guys get seduced watching girls in clinging wet clothes? In my building compound they had a weird way (well that’s what I might say now, with tinge of jealousy, although I am not sure whether it is weird) to celebrate Holi. The drummers were called and all the youngsters danced at the beat of the drums. A big water tanker was hired for the day and the youngster splashed gallons and gallons of water on each other from the thick hose and then jumped in a big tank of colored water, splashing the water at each other and laughing for no reason at all. The dark color on their faces refuse to fade but their clothes sank deeper and deeper into their body curves. My friend tells me that he gets chance to touch his crush. Well I am sure nobody minds touching. Like they say “Burra mat mano, Holi hai” During Holi, must they play with water balloons? They bring buckets of water balloons and hide themselves behind the walls. Like hand bomb granates, they fling the water balloons on unsuspecting lady passerby, aiming the water balloon on her breast, happy to see her chest soak with water, and droplets dripping down her clothes, bringing pleasure to these mischief makers. Many girls are afraid of being the target of this embarrassment and prefer to stay home for fifteen days prior to this festival, Holi is the festival of colors but do they really use only color powders? The substitutes (red powder is what they are suppose to use) are terrible. Eggs, tomatoes, shoe polish, oil paints, mud, jam, jelly juice. The more innovative people get the more disgusting (or entertaining) it gets. Sometimes the paints are so stubborn, that the stains refused to fade and it creates rash on the face. Its fun, no it’s so gooey, no its fun, I can’t really decide. They head on to swim at the beach and remove the excess of stains. It is the time to have more fun, snacking and swimming, for the rest of the day. Phew!! Some festival!!!

Rakhi Day

After a gap of three years, I am in Tenerife for this year’s Rakhi day. I had planned to make a nice one (I prefer to make them rather than to buy from market)..Ready made rakhis don’t have that personal touch….but since my injured right hand refused to cooperate I just made kaju sweets with my niece’s help and tied those Rakhis that were posted from India by my other two sisters.(My brother never removes them till they come off by itself and I put just one, on behalf of all three sisters) Rakhi is such an important day on Hindu calendar (How do Europeans and Americans express their affection for their siblings?) and Hindu woman remembers and blesses her brother on this special day. It is the day to remind her brothers to be alert and help his sister when the need arises. Personally thinking, I don’t need this day of tying the thread to remind my brother, and expecting cash and snatching it. I am quite sure that my brother is there for me whenever I need him (he has never let me down). My festival lasts just two minutes. It is just tie and dye event. I would be too embarrassed to put tikka, do aarti and chant rhymes like in films. I cannot do that. I cannot spell affection. I will make my brother’s favourite dish, help him if he needs my help and be within the easy reach for communication but I don’t utter dialogues that a script writer would be interested. I cannot. For me, it is just important that he should be happy. I would not do anything which would cause him grief. I am always amused by the way people celebrate this festival. It is a great business stunt for many and a great day to see the cash flow from the jingle boxes of card sellers, rakhi sellers, sweets shops and now, networks. On facebook, tuenti, hi5 and other social networks, you see pictures that are clicked especially for sharing with friends. Brothers can now enjoy a well dressed sister with a silver tray containing flowers, rakhi, diya and vermillion, she will bless her brother khule aam…lets the world watch while she ties a sacred bond.

I don’t play Holi anymore.

Not that I don’t like this festival, (Actually I do) but the mess that follows later (cleaning the house and the bathrooms) is unnecessary waste of time. Early morning I heard the laughter of kids who were playing with color in the building compound. There were sounds of children running, shouting, and giggling. After saying a short morning prayers, I went to my bedroom balcony to watch the children play. Happily they sprinkled colors on faces of their friends, red, blue, green and the festival had arrived with vibrant hues and the celebration of life was here again. Hoil, the festival of colors, mischief, pranks, a day when you get away with any practical jokes and yet dance to a loud music. Holi is a festival of universal brotherhood and happiness. The bonfires that are lit on the eve of Holi are in reminder of the value of true faith in God. Many years ago, we would lit the fire in the lane and all the neighbors would come with coconut, sweets and water, and we would walk three times around the bonfire, break the coconut, sprinkle water and red color powder and then we would play games like antakshri or dumbsheras till late nights. This year I went with my sister to the corner of the street and watched while my sister went closer to the fire to pray. Didn’t want to risk walking around the bonfires, was afraid that I might slip on the wet ground and harm myself. Many years ago, we looked forward to these festivals and took part in all the festivities. We were young then, our vocal chord had higher decibels. We knew all the bollywood numbers and a great stamina to keep awake all night with friends and sing and laugh. Now, Holi is a day to celebrate with family, enjoying lunch, chat and play a game of cards with family and friends. I like to watch children play Hoil, like to watch youngster dance to the loud music and do rain dance, I enjoy this festival, but now I watch it from a distance. Not that I have become old, it is just that now my priorities have changed.

Looking for a 'Black Horse' at Kala Ghoda Arts Festival

Okay! I am all set to attend ‘Kala Ghoda Arts Festival’ which is starting tomorrow, 2nd February 2008. There are 12 workshops clustered around two weekends in such a way that it is possible to attend only four. I had applied for four workshops. I have got confirmation for three workshops so far, and am still awaiting the fourth one. The workshops that I have been confirmed and attending are ‘An Introduction to Freelance writing’ which will be conducted by ‘Kavita Roa from 1030 hrs to 1230 hrs at Elphinston College seminar room on 2nd and 3rd Feb ‘Once Upon a Time - Writing for Children’ by Jane Bhandari and Marilyn Noronha from 1430 hrs to 1630 hrs at Bombay Auditorium History Society Auditorium on 2nd and 3rd Feb ‘What Every Writer should know about Publishing’ by Anita Roy from 1330 hrs to 1630 hrs at Bombay Auditorium History Society Auditorium on 9th and 10th Feb There are five writing contest also, of which I have just attempted one contest only. Then I plan to attend some open events and poetry slams too. My attendance to this festival will depend on my endurance and moods. The whole list of event are posted HERE

Kala Ghoda Festival...Will you be there?

I have lived the most part of my life in Mumbai, but I have never ever attended the ‘Kala Ghoda’ festival. Can you imagine that! Psss! Pssss! I better talk softly or else I might get extradited from Mumbai community. I have always wondered what this festival is all about, but everybody tells me it is lots of fun, and nobody has actually told me anything in details.. So here I am , going to experience this festival as much as my frail body will allow….. This year I have decided to attend as many events as possible. This is the ‘Tenth Year’ of the ‘Kala Ghoda Festival’ and it will be held in Fort area from 2nd February to 10th February 2008. Anybody willingly to accompany me for this festival can search for me there. I will surely be HERE attending some of the events or workshops... So see you there!