India!

Oct. 25-29
My first week in Ahmadabad falls between Dewali (new years) and the peak wedding season. For those of you that don’t know, I am staying here with Tulsi, a good friend from college, and her family. Most of our days are filled with meeting people for meals, visiting or receiving visitors and running back and forth to tailors and fabric shops. There are alterations to have done, old saris to be made into Punjabi suits, matching fabrics and laces and scarves. As expected the traffic is crazy – cars, rickshaws, motos, bicycles, cows, and pedestrians compete for the road. Days begin and end late, they start with masala chai and are punctuated with delicious meals.

We do make a day trip to Nadiad and Baroda passing tobacco and rice fields on our way to the 12th birthday of a cousin. Back in Ahmadabad, we prepare bio-data to submit to the marriage bureau for Tulsi’s brother-cousin in the US who is trying to find a suitable Indian bride. Marriage, weather love or arranged, seems to be everyone’s favorite subject.

Next, Tulsi and I strike out on our own for a week in Rajastan!