6/12/11
It is Sunday evening and I’m thinking “what happened to my weekend?” I was so busy with so many wonderful things; I hardly know where to start.
Saturday I went into work for a few hours in the morning and then in the afternoon went to Sukh Sagar (which has become one of my favorite restaurants) for lunch. I went to Cuppa by myself afterwards to get some quality work done on my special project. It was such a cute little coffee shop with a few tables outside under an awning. Thank goodness I sat under the awning because just as I was about to leave, there was a downpour and I had to wait to head back to the annex.
Saturday night I got to go to a real Indian wedding! I was really hoping I would get to attend one while in India. I went with a woman I work with, Andre, her husband and her neighbor. It was her neighbor on the first floor off her apartment building’s wedding. The couple that got married is Hindu. Interestingly enough……..they are also first cousins. Draw your own judgments because I don’t want to go into that conversation. The wedding really wasn’t what I expected. There were maybe 500-1,000 people sitting in stackable plastic chairs (these chairs are a favorite in India, no matter where you go) looking at a stage where the bride and groom stood posing for pictures. There were very bright fluorescent lights and little decoration except for the backdrop on the stage. People don’t really even dress up for weddings, it seems. There was also one large television on each side of the stage and a videographer walking around broadcasting live video of the event onto the TVs. Everyone forms a line and goes up to wish the couple congratulations, and there is also a meal afterwards. Because there are so many people to feed, people are fed in batches. After lots of staring and some great pics with the bride and groom, we were escorted outside the building, around the back, and into a secret entrance where we skipped the whole line of people waiting to eat and were seated right away! The meal was served on a plantain leaf. Many servers came around with big buckets of food and ladled endless amounts onto the leaf. As soon as you get close to finishing something, they’re back again with more. I even got a coconut to take home as a party favor! Once you are finished with your meal, you grab the side of the leaf furthest away from you and fold the leaf towards you, to signify happiness. If we were at a funeral, we would fold the leaf the opposite way to convey sadness.
We were only there for about an hour and a half, so I don’t know what all that business about Indian weddings taking days is about. I’m sure in some cultures and religions this is true, but not the one I went to. The reception started at 7:30 that evening and probably ended around 10:30. The ceremony, oddly enough, was the following day and Andre told me that will be 2-3 hours. I did not attend the ceremony as I had other plans the following morning.
Sunday
After a bloody encounter with a huge black ant that bit my toe, I went to Bangalore’s Lalbagh Botanical Gardens with Vanita, Corinne, and Marissa. Marissa is a new girl that just arrived here from Harvard. She’s a very sweet girl, and also very young- she is just entering her sophomore year of college next year! The poor girl never wanted to come to India but got suckered into doing a research project here last minute. She’s never been out of the country before. The gardens were very pretty and we wandered around for a couple of hours taking pictures and soaking in this little bit of nature that Bangalore offers.
After the gardens we wanted to try Mavali Tiffins Room (MTR) restaurant, as we have all heard great things about this historic place. We got there about ten minutes before it opened and were shown a side door to enter, where we stood only about 10 back in line waiting for the cashier to starting ringing people up at 12:30. By the time it was 12:30, there was a huge line behind us and many people standing around. Now that’s how you know it’s a great restaurant! There is only one thing offered at lunch, and it’s some sort of all inclusive meal. After you pay you go upstairs and sit down, and the many waiters start bringing around endless amounts of food. All different curries, basmati rice, white rice, unlimited puris, salad, a sweet dessert type creamy, soupy dish, a fried slice of capsicum (green pepper), and even ice cream. Of course as soon as you are running low on a bit of food they come around with another heap for you. I learned a word at the Indian wedding the previous night that I think will serve me well here- I think it sounds like “sulpa” and means “less” or “little bit” in Kannada, which is the native language here. I used it today at MTR and the staff was pleasantly impressed with my Kannada (as were the other girls I was eating with!)!!
This past week Andre and I got to talking at work and I told her how much I enjoy Indian cuisine and trying all different foods. She graciously invited me to her house for lunch on Sunday to meet her husband and have a home-cooked lunch. I went over around 1pm and didn’t leave until 5! They fed me an amazing lunch, which we ate sitting on the floor (loved it!). Afterwards Andre dressed me up in two different types of saris, gave me a mango and a cucumber to take home, gave me 4 books to read by an Indian author (Chetan Bhatan) and showed me pictures of her from recently as well as her childhood.
Andre’s husband works as an accountant and all of his clients are Americans, namely in Connecticut. (Side note: He is so funny- he told me that he read in a book one time that now in the U.S. instead of mothers telling their children “eat your food, there are children starving in Africa,” they now tell their children “study hard, or an Indian will get your job!” ) They are both, especially Gogoi (Andre’s husband) extremely fascinated with American culture and learning about other cultures in general, so we did a lot of comparing of our cultures and asking each other questions. It’s so refreshing to see someone so interested in the way other people live their lives. Americans aren’t the only people in the world, you know, and we’re not the center of the world either. I don’t think Americans truly understand this until they travel abroad.
It was so much fun for Andre to dress me up in a sari (also seen it spelled ‘saree’). Aside from the top underneath the fabric, a sari is just a long, long piece of fabric wrapped, tied, and pinned a certain way on the body. She dressed me and did my hair, drew a bindi on my forehead, put me in the sari and then also wrapped it on me in the northern way. Said I looked “damn good”..and she said it twice! Her husband said if I went out and walked the streets I would get 200-250 marriage proposals. They probably took 25 pictures of me and had me pose in different ways and even got out some props!
By the time I left, it was already 5pm. I went to Mr. Beans, my new favorite coffee place nearby. They have free wifi! How did I not discover this until halfway through my trip? They have the most delicious coffees and milkshakes, and a huge menu of drinks to choose from. I really like their cold coffee. I need to go there every day after work to continue work on my special project. I’ve got 40 references now..just need to write up the 30 pages of text!! By July 1st!
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