Wednesday turned out to be a holiday, Saraswati Puga. Saraswati is the goddess of learning as well as the goddess of the arts hence her reason for holding a sitar. So all the children had off school. My apartment building has tons of children running up and down the stairs shouting and having a great time. Many neighborhoods erect a makeshift shrine of woven palm branches and have an unfired clay sculpture of the goddess. People buy flowers and decorate her and the shrine. They string lights and have large family meals. The streets are full of people strolling in their best attire. This is the time when many teen-age girls wear a sari for the first time.