I Appreciate Equipments Day

This weekend I was standing in the foyer of a bank, waiting for my turn to use the ATM machine with my flatmate. As we entered the welcome pocket of air con, the young man who brushed past us took a smallish sized coconut – the brown, hairy kind – and hurled it onto the pavement in front of the bank. Nicolette and I exchanged raised eyebrow glances and quietly got out our rupees. Outside, we noticed more crushed objects and splattered produce. “Must be a festival,” she said nonchalantly.

And it was a festival. According to popular wisdom (aka Wikipedia) and confirmed by locals in The Know, pooja is “a religious ritual performed as an offering to various deities, distinguished persons, or special guests. It is done on a variety of occasions and settings, from daily pooja done in the home, to temple ceremonies and large festivals, or to beginning a new venture.” Unbeknownst to me at the bank, I was observing that young men doing pooja to the ATM machine – appropriate as it was “Equipments Day.” He was literally honoring/thanking the machine for working.

I find many of the Hindu rituals counter to my Western notions of religion and my own experience as a Christian. Upon first hearing of Equipments Day, I was befuddled by the smashed watermelons on pavement and the green, leafy banana leaves tied with twine to the sides and hood of cars, trucks and bicycles. Below, you’ll see a photo of autos parked outside my office – I was surprised to see one windshield lettered with “PRAISE THE LORD” and still decked out with tropical leaves, flower garlands and incense. After I talked to a friend (thanks Magda), about my confusion, and admitted my initial incredulous laughter at this praise of lifeless machines, I realized I was missing the point. Appreciation.

So I’m a few days late, but today I tried to be thankful for the “equipments” in my life. I have switches that power lights; a computer I use to type up stories of slaves and keep in touch with friends back home; my iPod full of music I love; my camera; the French Press; Nicolette’s scooter that transports me all over this crazy city...to name a few. I suppose an important difference remains – I see these technologies and ammenities as blessings from a God who created people to be creative, inventive, communicative. But maybe I’ll still go smash a coconut onto the sidewalk after work to demonstrate some appreciation.

Autos outside my office, lined up and ready for Equipments Day.

Auntie's car (my landlady) in the pretty carport beneath our flat

Traveling by bicycle definitely requires an extra special blessing.

Not pictured – but seen on Equipments Day: the light switch board at the post office smeared with white paste and turmeric dots, the elevator in a friend’s apartment complex with splattered watermelon, a cash register at a snack shop down the street adorned with tiny yellow flowers and a cluster of roots, shells and aloe vera plant parts and, of course, the ATM machine.