Blogs from Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, Asia - page 88

So no one hears from me in months, and then two entries right close to each other, and this one with PHOTOS! *note, there are many names listed. Allow me to give you a cast list: Ashifa-roommate Beth-roommate and volunteer in my class Marianne-friend from France Gila-former roommate Shirin-never roommate, friend throught Gila Chris-with Shirin Sukhesh, Caleb, Dave-Bandra Guys (they live in Bandra) Lalita-Dave's girlfriend Rebecca-friend from Germany Wednesday was Holi, which is a Hindu holiday based on this story that young Lord Krishna (who had skin so dark it's colored blue in pictures) was complaining to his mother that Radha (the girl he loved) was too fair, so she wouldn't love him. His mother told him to smear colored powder on his love's face and see how fair she was then. So now the tradition ... read more

12-29 7:30 am Just something interesting I found out about India. Drugs are really treated harshly here with marijuana getting you 10 years in jail. Ever see, Midnight Express??? I find this strange since most of the really good pot that I have ever tried seemed to come from India (i never inhaled). I mean where did the hukka pipe originate from? India, that's where. This is a country of hypocrisies but it's such an amazing place. Don't worry, I'm not going to stay here, but I see why people have. I've been trying to get to sleep, but for some reason I can't get Eminem's "Guess Who's Back" out of my head. 12-29 9:17pm I feel a lot more comfortable now. I was a bit homesick due to lack of sleep, crappy bed, and utter ... read more

12-30 I can't get over the fact that there are more people in India than I've ever seen and most of them seem to be walking. Indian people just walk. It's kind of like when you're on the freeway in a traffic jam and you wonder just where the hell are all of these people going. It's kind of like that. It's strange because with all of these people of all different types of faiths and beliefs, you'd expect there to be more feelings of racial tension, but I don't feel it. In L.A. I feel it, here I don't. But then again, I know that there are tensions between the Muslims and the Hindis as told to me by Vikram. He told me that there were riots in Bombay because there is a temple that ... read more

The first day of the Wedding ceremony was today. There are three parts/days to a traditional Indian wedding. Today was the Mendhi ceremony, tomorrow is the Wedding Ceremony, and the next day is the Party. The Mendhi ceremony if mostly all about the women. They get henna tattoos on their hands while the men stand around holding purses, drinks, and taking pictures. Speaking of taking pictures, since Vikram is a celebrity here, there was some paparazzi here and I felt really bad because they kept interviewing me about my Best Buy commercial which I felt was extremely inappropriate since it was Vikram and Melanie’s day, but you can’t control the media. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, real events. Vikram got a little bit of henna on his hand as well, but Melanie looks like she ... read more

The Wedding Ceremony: Oh wait, before the wedding ceremony. I forgot to say what also happened at the Gateway To India... Gateway to India: A "holy man" dressed in robes grabbed my wrist and tied yellow and red strings around them. He then blessed me. I thought it was pretty cool and said Namaste (thank you) to the guy. But nothing is free in India so he asked for a donation and shot him a ten. Later, in the shower, my religious strings bled and I had to throw them away. It looked like psycho in the shower as my blessings went down the drain... back to... The Wedding Ceremony: This is what I wore my traditional Indian dress for. Yes, the Kaftan, scarf, and shoes. The whole nine yards. Danielle didn't wear a sari (because ... read more