“This is our premier Junior College!” I remarked to my travelling companion.
As my expatriate companion moved to open the door of our car, school officials came running to shake his hand and place a customary circle of flowers around his neck; the token of respect and affection in that part of the world. Hundreds had gathered at the entrance of the college to watch this arrival. Most of them had no connection with the College, but anything unusual draws a crowd in India, and they were here to see the fun.
Our guest looked over the heads of pressing school officials in the direction we were obviously intending to walk. Standing in the blazing sun in their startling uniforms was the band hired for this special occasion. On a signal from the principal the band would begin celebrations with an impressive roll of drums, and we’d walk slowly to the auditorium far in the distance where an address would be given by the visiting dignarory. Lined up on either side in perfect formation senior classes in uniform stood stiffly, ready to come to attention and salute as we passed by. This was a standard welcome with perhaps a little more icing on the cake than usual.
Soon we were on our way to the beat of drums, and loud cries as each unit leader brought his group to attention. Our guest gasped in surprise! Small girls darted about before the advancing group, throwing rose petals in front of this important visitor’s feet as we slowly advanced toward our destination.
The throng of onlookers following our procession murmured their appreciation for the [1]“tamasha.” I explained that in Hindu mythology lesser gods always threw rose petals when major gods moved around, and we laughed at the thought. It’s a nice custom and doesn’t need to have religious significance, nor did we think ourselves of that much importance.
The address was well received, and the school received a large donation as a result of that visit. Our visitor approved the school’s developmental plans and recognized the need to support their quality education programs into the future.
Our guest couldn’t forget the rose petal ceremony though, and kept referring to this during the remaining days of my itinerary with him. Would he get that kind of welcome when he returned to the US? It’s very unlikely he did!
“© Copyright Ian Grice 2014 All rights reserved”
[1] Tamasha is hard to translate into English. Maybe tumultuous gathering will give you the sense of it here.
ianscyberspace 
What a wonderful custom, on his return he would have been greeted by long lines and snarling customs agents. Quite the difference.
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Haha! No I’ve never received the rose petal welcome in the US either.
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The rose petal pathway makes a lovely image; bit no I am 100% sure that nothing like that happened in the US. Nowadays most US facilities won’t allow rose petals at a wedding because of the risk hat someone may slip and sue – sad reflection on our times. There are so many sweet customs which are killed by our over protective, litigious society.
Cheerio
Jane
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Isn’t that a fact. I’m surprised governments have not fenced off the ocean as someone may accidently drown. lol.
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What a nice way to greet their visitor. My guest would be very few people if any greeted him on his return to the US. Hugs
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What I didn’t mention was that on the itinerary to that city my travelling companion was given a room in what would be classified as a 4 star hotel where the drain in the shower was plugged up. He got a severe case of fungus in his feet which I had to quickly find treatment for. However it didn’t dampen his excitement over the rose petal welcome. lol. We got our donation.
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Glad you were able to get a treatment for him and you got the donation.
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Interesting story, Ian. I didn’t know that word ‘tamasha’ is also Sanskrit. We Indonesians borrow that word from Arabic. In Arabic it means ‘to walk’, but then when we use it in Indonesian it becomes ‘to travel’. Now ‘tumultuous gathering’ sounds about right too.
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There is quite a mingling of languages in that part of the world. Urdu is a beautiful language for example and it is a mix of Sanskrit, Persian and Arabic. But English is a composite language too as you would well know. It’s roots are Germanic/Latin with words imported from Sanskrit (modified) and other parts of the world the British colonized. It’s harder to write poetry in English than it is in base languages because of that mix.
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Must have taken that guest (American?) by pleasant surprise. India and Indians do have some lovely customs – strange to some perhaps but never fails to impress a first comer. It also worked out quite well – that nice donation to the college.
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Yes Eric to those of us who have spent much time in the sub-continent we carry away with us pleasant memories of customs quite appealing. Another custom that works well when looking for donations is a good feast before carefully putting the case for a donation. lol. It works well in other parts of the world as you would know too.
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