Sari, Baby, Henna

All the ladies on our team wore saris on last Monday for Gudi Padava, or the New Year. It was the celebration for N. Indians, but each region seems to have their own date to commemorate the New Year. S. Indians and Bengalis celebrated the New Year on yesterday. I brought my sari to work with me on last Monday so the ladies could show me how to wear it. It took 3 of them to put the pins in the right place and make me look like a proper Indian woman. I was amazed that they were able to dress themselves at home with no help, because it seems like a very complex process to get the pleats and things looking just right. They told me that it comes with practice. After they wrapped me in the sari, we took pictures – first in the bathroom and then out on the terrace of the office building. The sun was setting and provided just enough light to show off the beautiful colors on the ladies. It felt like we were doing a photo shoot. Saris range in colors and designs, and come in many different fabrics, including cotton, silk, etc. with or without sequins, embroidery, and other embellishments. You can get a good sari for Rs 500 – 1000 (around 25 USD), but they become more expensive (Rs 10000 or more) if there is a lot of embroidery or special work, like for weddings. The sari is a long piece of cloth, probably around 3 yards that is wrapped around the woman’s body in different ways. They showed me about 4 different methods of wrapping the top usually based on the region. One size fits all. The sari is pretty comfortable to wear when sitting, but it can make walking challenging. It is very similar to wearing a ball gown like a wedding dress or debutante dress, because you have to kick the dress out while you walk to avoid stepping on it. You also have to remember to raise it up when walking up stairs so you won’t trip on it. (I forgot that a couple of times.) It can also be cumbersome if you choose to wear it so it drapes over your arm. Your arm will become tired of holding it up and you also have to worry about it slipping off when you move. Overall, I enjoyed the experience and look forward to another occasion where I can wear my sari. I felt like a princess.

I didn’t do much around the hotel last week. I was happy that I had options for food and entertainment between sleeping and working. However, I almost had a Naomi Campbell moment in a store. I ran out of contact solution, and I went to the mall to buy more. Contacts are not a popular option here. Each of the malls next to my hotel has a supermarket named “Food Bazaar”. Neither of them had solution, but I remembered seeing it somewhere in the mall previously. I saw the Health and Beauty Store that I swore I wouldn’t go back to after they followed me around the last time and I practically ran out so I could breathe. I was desperate, so I gave it a shot anyway. The store is around 200 square feet with 3 small bisecting aisles. It is tiny and crammed with all kinds of cosmetics, fragrances, and personal products that you would find at your local Walgreen’s. Every 3 feet, someone stopped to ask me if wanted to try whatever was in their tiny section. That store was way too small to have that many people working there. They should have had no more than 3 employees in the store at one time. The solution was on the back wall. I was standing in the middle of that aisle with 3 sales people on each side of me. I wanted to scream. I proceeded to the counter to pay for it, and the guy told me it was Rs 145. The sign said 90. I walked back over to that aisle with my entourage and showed him the price. He said that was the old amount. Can you say price gauging? If I didn’t need the solution so badly, and if I had another option nearby, I would have walked out and never returned. But, he had me.

My co-worker, Sushuma (pronounced Sooshma), invited me to her baby shower on Sunday. I was excited to participate in traditional festivities. Anita told me a little bit about what to expect at an Indian shower. There are some distinct differences between Indian and American baby showers. First of all, the shower is to celebrate the mother-to-be only. People do not give gifts for the baby. Instead, the mother is showered with money, food, clothing, and other gifts. People do not give gifts for the baby until after he/she is born. The second difference is that there are no silly games. The focus is totally on the mother. We arrived at the apartment where the shower was held, and there were already a few older women sitting on the floor. More and more women arrived as the party went on. Sushuma sat on a decorated swing with a small table in front of her. Each guest blessed her by putting a red dot on her forehead, pouring rice and coconuts in her lap, feeding her a bit of a sweet, and giving her whatever gift they brought. First, her mother-in-law and her mother did special blessings with a candle. Next, other elders did something similar. Then, younger married women blessed her, followed by unmarried younger women. Those who came in late took their turns also. After all the women had blessed her, some of the older women started singing songs to her. It was a very nice affair. However, we heard the incessant sound of Fur Elise during the whole ceremony. The door to the apartment was open, and every time someone opened the gate to the elevator, the song would play. Everyone else seemed to ignore it. After all the blessings and songs, we proceeded downstairs where there was a tent setup on the patio. Both men and women partook in the reception. The food (veg) was good and it was a really nice night. We took a few more pictures with Sushuma before leaving.

Yesterday, I took a rickshaw to a street close to my hotel with several markets and shops. I could have walked, but it was too hot for that. I wore a hat, but people still seemed to stare at me. I saw a few items I wanted to buy for my nephews, but they cost just as much (or more) than adult clothes. Since that was my first time shopping for children’s clothes alone, I thought I should wait until I could talk to Anita or Sarika about how much they should cost. Later, Anita told me they were priced correctly, and that the stores charge more to make clothing for children because they have to cut the material smaller, or so they say. I went to another shop with reasonably priced dress material for women. They had their own tailor that could make the pieces for you. Tailors are very common here. I chose some material that I liked, but I wanted it made into western-styled summer dresses, not a salwar kameez. The material for a salwar kameez comes in 2 pieces with different patterns. One piece is used for the top and the other is used for the pants. There is a scarf too. It cost about $7 more for me to have 2 dresses made from the material. The owner and his wife were very friendly. She asked me if I was South African even though my hair was covered. I told her I was an American here for business. She had a salon above the store and asked me if I wanted to go up for any services. I asked her how much she charged for henna. I’ve been considering henna for my hair for a while, but I just hadn’t gotten around to doing it. I knew that I had to do it while in India, since it’s so common here. Henna is a natural dye that is used on hair and also to temporarily tattoo skin (also called mehinde). The natural color of henna is reddish, but it can be modified with other ingredients to produce brown tones or black. It has conditioning properties that strengthen the hair also. The lady applied the henna, and an hour later, my hair had a red tint very similar to the color I dyed my hair a few years ago. I was very pleased with the color, but they did not know how to wash my hair. LOL

I didn't think I would need to use my International SOS card for medical emergencies, but I had to make that call a few minutes ago. I've developed a rash all over my torso, back, and neck. While I was at work tonight, I kept scratching my back thinking that mosquito bites were making me itch. I looked in the mirror when I got to the hotel and saw red patches all over my upper body - not mosquito bites. I have no idea what caused it. SOS advised me to take some Benadryl, which I brought in my emergency medical kit, and they are going to schedule an appointment for me tomorrow with an English-speaking doctor. We'll see what happens. I just want to stop itching.