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India - Day 2, Shopping!

On day 2, the boys & girls split up to go shopping for clothing fit for the wedding ceremony. For the boys this meant pyjamas and a type of shoe called jutis. For the girls, saris and lots of jewelry! Why is it the boys are so easy?

Mysore Saree
We started our day at Mysore Saree, located on Commercial Street in Bangalore. Commercial street is an unpaved road with a mess of haphazard buildings and billboards. When walking into establishments, you do not expect them to be as pristine and modern as Mysore Saree. The juxtaposition was very interesting and jarring.

With the help of Shreya, a local Bangalorian and friend of Karthik’s, we spent 3 hours searching for the perfect saris for both the wedding ceremony and the reception. It is not appropriate to wear the same one to both.

I originally had only intended to purchase one and wear a dress borrowed from Archana to the reception. However, I was sucked in by the beauty of the silk fabrics draped over your body. I ended up purchasing 2 saris:

• peach with gold trim and a gold blouse
• red violet with gold pattern and detailing, red violet blouse.

I am very grateful we had Shreya to assist us. She is incredibly critical when it comes to sari’s and certainly did not lead us astray. When you tried one on, it had to pass her approval - MANY did not! The color would be all wrong for your skin tone, or it would look too old. In response to one I tried on, she told me it looked like something a 35 year old would wear. I kept my mouth shut about being 32. I suspect she assumed I was in my 20’s, just like everyone else does. Sometimes it pays to look young!

Wearing a sari makes you feel quite delicate and feminine. I felt beautiful and confident. A very different confidence from the one I have when riding my ATV or shooting my pink handgun. ;)

Jewelry Shopping
After each of us painstakingly selected our two sari’s, we had a delicious Indian lunch and then moved on to shopping for jewelry.

I’ll be honest with you that I was tired at this point. 3 hours of shopping is a lot for me. Little did I know it would take us another 3 hours just to find jewelry.

Jewelry in India is beautiful, but traditional jewelry worn with saris is quite gawdy by western standards. I would pick out something more modern that fit into my taste and Shreya would frown. It wasn’t traditional enough.

Initially I was frustrated because I didn’t want to buy something I would never wear again. However, I quickly realized just how inexpensive the jewelry was. It wasn’t going to cost me more than $10 to outfit my saris. So I gave in and purchased a set that although pretty, is particularly loud for what I typically wear. You can see the necklace and earrings in the picture on the right.

I’m doubtful I will ever wear this set again, however I did pick up a very pretty silver necklace, a ton of bangles, and nose pins while I was at it. So the afternoon was certainly not a loss.

Dinner at Thiagarajans
We ended this very tiring day with dinner at the home of Archana and Karthik’s parents. Hospitality in India is amazing and the Thiagarajans certainly do not disappoint.

I unfortunately did not carry my camera with me to dinner as I incorrectly thought it may be inappropriate.

The evening started with what they referred to as a “musical potpourri.” Words were presented on a TV and people sang to them karaoke style. Guests were welcome to sit on blankets on the floor in front of the singers. Archana sang quite a few songs and has a very beautiful voice. It was wonderful to hear her.

After the music, dinner was served. Sitting cross legged, while eating with your right hand is quite a treat. Especially when the food is absolutely delicious!

After dinner and some more socializing, we all walked back to the hotel and tucked ourselves in. The ceremony would start at 7 am the next day. The girls were to be ready by 5 am to have our sari’s wrapped by a professional. It was certainly going to be a long day ahead of us!