A Weekend of Firsts

Last weekend was a weekend of "firsts" for me.
On Saturday night we attended our first Marine Ball in India. The ball is held every year all over the world to commemorate the birthday of the Marine Corp. It is one of the biggest events each year within the Embassy community. It was held at the Taj Palace hotel, a very beautiful 5 star hotel here in town. The real story though is how I found my dress, it is truly a miracle (not kidding).

I decided I wasn't going because the two formal dresses I own do not fit me at this precise moment in time for reasons that I can't disclose (NO, I'm not pregnant, just fat). But Richard received a lot of (kind hearted) pressure to go and we really wanted to support the Marines so we bought our tickets and I prayed!

Shopping here is nothing like shopping in the states. There are no neatly hung racks of clothes with each size separated by little, colored, plastic tabs, and Larger sizes are very hard to come by, if not impossible.

My favorite experience shopping for a dress was walking into a shop and asking if they had any "fancy" dress items. The rather large woman at the desk looked up at me and said "Not in your size", ouch, that one hurt! I should have said, "Well where do you buy your clothes then?" But unfortunately, I am not so quick whitted.

If you are a "fuller figured" woman like myself, your best option is to have something made. But that was impossible as I only had a week. After much disappointed searching, I gave myself an afternoon to find something and if unsuccessful, I would have to fain illness on the night of the ball. So a friend and I went to Sarogini Market. Picture an out door flea market and you might come within ball park range of what shopping at Sarogini is like, or anywhere in Delhi for that matter.

Anyway, we came to an area in which there were many vendors with stacks of clothing. Literally stacks, the clothes were lined up in 3-4 ft high stacks. You simply tell them what you are looking for, the size range (all by pantomime) and they quickly start sifting. The faster they can find you something the more likely they are to make a sale.

Not in my wildest dreams did I imagined I would find something in these dusty piles of clothing. But that is exactly what happened, and not only was it amazingly suited for a formal event, it fit me perfectly. Now, some of you may think "whats the big deal, you found a dress" but to me, it was nothing short of a personal miracle.

Then, to top it all off, after haggling a little with the man, I ended up paying approximately 10 USD (the dry-cleaning cost me 12). My costume jewlry and shoes were 4 times the cost of my dress and I couldn't have been more pleased had I picked it out of a catalog!

The ball was great and it is always so much fun to see everyone dressed to the nines. The bonus for me was seeing all the amazing gowns that I knew cost a small fortune and smiling at the thought of my ten dollar miracle.


Not the greatest picture but you get the idea.

The next "first" happened on Sunday when we attended our first Indian wedding and I wore an Indian Sari for the fist time. The Sari is a traditional dress worn by most Indian women that exists of 6 meters of fabric neatly tucked and wrapped around the body and then draped over the shoulder. I borrowed one from a friend who wrapped me up and off we went.

The wedding was for my house-keeper, Prabha's, daughter. We arrived around 8pm and as soon as we did, became the instant focus of attention. Prabha grabbed my hand and led me to the front of the room (actually it was a tent) and walked me up on the stage where the bride and groom were sitting on thrones (seriously). I didn't know whether to hug and kiss them or bow at their feet. It was an awkward moment,luckily it was over quickly. After that there were lots of photos, mingling, food and dancing (we didn't actually dance though).

My cook, Mutua, was there with her family as well, they all looked so fancy. It was nice to see them in their own element, although they still would not refrain from waiting on us hand and foot. At one point Richard told Mutua, "you are not at work!" It didn't stop her.

I surprised myself by how excited I was to go and how much I actually enjoyed being there. It was definitely an out-of-comfort-zone event but I had a really great time. I loved wearing the sari as well, it has this way of making you feel very feminine.



Hey there, gigantor!

Mutua and her daughter Saseekala and Depha


Mutua's grand-daughter, Nayga


Tent full of wedding guests


Morgann & Richard at wedding

This Friday is Diwali (pronounced dee-valee). It is basically the equivalent of our Christmas. They decorate, light candles, buy new clothes and housing items and have a big feast, but they aren't celebrating Christ's birth. We have been invited to go to Mutua's house for Diwali on Friday, so we will take lots of pictures and blog how it all turns out. For now enjoy the pictures of some of my "Firsts". I'm sure there will be many more "firsts" to come.