Diwali in Orchha

There was a small part of me that was hoping that going to Orchha for Diwali break would bring an opportunity to experience a true Diwali celebration. After all the last two years I've been in a desert camp and in Catholic Goa. But Orchha, Orchha is a Hindu town. So I thought that perhaps I'd get a truly local experience. At first it seemed like Diwali might be restricted to people painting their houses, adding a new layer of color to brighten up the town. Don't get me wrong, I loved the bright blue, pink and yellow houses! But I was hoping for more...of course it is hard to know what to expect when you can't even identify which day is the proper Diwali...not that I'm any closer to being able to identify that. The second day we were there, it seemed that the number of people pouring into town had doubled or tripled. Almost all of them were making their way on foot to the large temple in the middle of the town dressed in their finest clothes, many of them waving peacock feathers in their hands. That seemed a bit more like a celebration, but not quite what I was expecting, after all Diwali is known as the festival of lights. I never did see many lights, but the the electricity only seemed to run from about 7-11 pm. However, the last morning we were there, we were awoken by the sound of drums. A peak over the balcony to the riverside revealed trucks coming in with the trailer full of men (all men). As they arrived the guys climbed down and began to get dressed...get dressed up in costumes of "women" (which often just meant tight short shorts, a skirt made out of flowers or some other type of adornment - never mind that women dress quite conservatively here). From what we could figure out on the particular holiday in this particular region of the country, villagers meet up and the men dance as the women are not allowed to. Most of the dances occur along the water front to the beat of the drums. Some groups of men strike sticks as they spin and jump. Others focus more on a jumping aspect. I'm not quite sure I can tell you what the meaning of the dances are, I would assume for good luck/food/fortune but that would be pure speculation. It was a bit uncomfortable being out on the road during that time as there really weren't any woman out and about. But of course I couldn't resist a small wander to take pictures and soak up the unexpected celebration I had landed in the middle of.