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Published: November 22nd 2008
Itay and the Boys
Masserji, Mr. Chawla and Tony Mama arrive back safely at the wedding.Back into civilization, and apparently just in time for wedding season in India. We felt presentable after a few more showers and finally washing our clothes, which took more than 10 buckets of clean water. Ewww.
First stop was Dehra Dun and a family friend's wedding.
The wedding reception featured all vegetarian cuisine, and unfortunately no alcohol. No problem. Itay was ushered into a getaway car by Tony Mama. 20 minutes later, he sipped scotch and soda while munching on fried chicken in a parking lot with other like-minded Punjabi men. Jaspreet was relieved to see Itay and his new friends return an hour later.
On our last night in Dehra Dun, we celebrated Guru Nanak's birthday. The founder of Sikhism and first of ten Gurus, his birthday was marked by a parade with singing, camels, fire crackers and more fire crackers.
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After an emotional morning goodbye with Beeji, it was off to the real Punjab: the homeland of Sikhs,
Family portrait
With the Bride and groom (Harman), night #5 delicious food, and unmatched hospitality. Jaspreet's mom joined us two at Rani Massi's house in Ludhiana. Their daughter-in-law Polica and 2 two grandkids, Reet and Sanjj, were also visiting.
Time for Wedding #2, which consisted of 5 days of non-stop feasting, drinking, dancing. Harman, a childhood friend of Jaspreet's brother Gagan, and his family hosted us in true Punjabi fashion.
Jaspreet got to show off all those Indian outfits she has stockpiled. Meanwhile, Itay donned a suit newly stitched by the family tailor in Dehra Dun.
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In between the wedding parties, we made the 3-hour ride to Amritsar to visit the Golden Temple, the holiest sight in Sikhism. A must see attraction, just try not to go on a Sunday. A 2-hour plus line awaited anyone who wanted to view the Holy Book, tucked inside the golden dome. We gave up 15 minutes into it.
Re-energized after lunch at a historic Dhaba nearby, we drove 30 km towards the border with Pakistan. Every day, crowds gather on both sides to witness the ceremonial closing of the border. Chants filled the air. We left with relief after hearing one too many "Allah U-akhbar" from the
other side of the fence.
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Patiala was the next stop on the Punjab express. Beeji (Jaspreet's dad's mom) hosted us so well. She even joined us in our tour of Patiala's golden age as a princely city-state.
In between, we shopped for more clothes and jewellery. Itay even found time to buy Jaspreet a fitting present for her 30th birthday. Happy birthday hun!
Beeji's neighbors, the Colonel and his wife, joined us for drinks and dinner one night. Itay had such a good time in their company that he crashed their prep school for toddlers the following morning. What a warm and caring and funny couple.
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From Patiala, Beeji's fearless driver Taran drove us to Chandigarh. The city was built entirely after WW2 and designed by the French architect Le Curbousier. It shows: wide avenues, functioning stop lights, and street signs that make sense. We hung out by the lake, struggled through the rock garden, and ended up at Sector 17 for shopping and a rendezvous with Pooja and her husband, Ashish.
They treated us to the best coffee we've tasted in India. We said our goodbyes to the couple till
next week, when the 4 of us head back to the mountains together. One final dinner with Beeji at Barbeque Nation. It's an Indian chain where they serve endless kebabs. Itay went crazy for the chinese crab.
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We returned to Ludhiana yesterday (Nov. 21) with one big surprise up our sleeves. In honor of Rani Massi's and Masserji's 40th wedding anniversary, we brought them a present all the way from London: their son Jaspreet, aka Babloo! . The shock of it all set in, and Masserji resumed his afternoon snooze.
Jaspreet's mom treated everyone to dinner last night for the occasion. What a happy couple.
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The Taj Mahal awaits next week, plus a final foray into the mountains. Stay tuned....
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Jacob Thride
non-member comment
1 city, 0 weddings and no surprises
What an adventure! The Himalayas, mountain passes, the Ganges, the ganja, donkeys, weddings, bridges, borders, buckets and Babloo. This trip seems to be beyond your and our wildest expectations. Big ups the Jaspreet planning and hospitality master. Itay you seem to be settling in to your new life quite well and embracing what to me was a warm, complex and beautiful country and culture. It makes me very happy to read your posts and as I told J on email, you are fantastic storytellers. Much love. Jacob