A week in India
Written by Bruno
The end of our stay in the Philippines left a sour taste in our mouths, and we were both excited for the next leg of this journey: a week in India!
We headed to India to attend the wedding of our friends Amogh and Aishwarya, more on that later!
Rough start
If you haven’t read our previous post, I recommend checking it out as it gives context to our head space heading into India.
After landing at the Bangalore airport, we took the 1 hour and 30 minute Uber to our Airbnb. The culture shock was immediate: dirt roads, Hindu temples, cows in the streets, constant noise of cars honking; I loved it.
Here are some pictures:
It was late when we reached our Airbnb, and unfortunately our old friends were back to greet us: the cockroaches… Half a dozen roaches welcomed us after an exhausting 48+ hours of travel. Feeling depleted and too tired to think, we decided to sleep there and re-assess the plan in the morning.
The next morning, after seeing a couple other roaches, we decided to leave the Airbnb and check-in to a nice hotel. We knew this was going to happen at some point during the trip, that we would leverage nicer hotels in desperate times in order to regain sanity and appreciation for our travels. That same day, we checked-in to the Hilton and it was the best decision we made this whole trip!
A new beginning
Staying in this 5-star hotel for a week was a turning point; being in a clean, luxurious environment really did some good for our spirit. The first thing we did was order room service - chocolate cake!
The complimentary breakfast buffet, pool and gym were exactly what we needed to boost our morale.
Wedding preparation
As I mentioned earlier, the main reason we came to Bangalore was to attend a wedding.
I have to admit that I was a bit intimidated. Amogh and Aishwarya’s wedding was going to take place over three days, with various rites that I was not accustomed to, but I’m getting ahead of myself. The first step was to secure some proper attire!
Thankfully our friend Amogh sent us a list of traditional outfit ideas that would be appropriate for the various ceremonies.
We had four days to buy the many outfits needed for the wedding. Our good friend Anandita recommended us a few shops that were all located on commercial street.
It took us about 3 full days of shopping and more than a dozen stores but we eventually managed to get the clothing, one day before the wedding (pictures in the next section).
The wedding!
There is honestly too much to say here, but I’ll summarize by saying that everything was amazing: the people, the food, the weather, the vibes. Everything felt right and everyone was so so so welcoming. We got to meet a lot of the family members of the groom and bride, which was really nice.
We also go to experience ceremonies and rites that both Sofia and I aren’t accustomed to and we both loved it. (I really enjoyed the shoes stealing tradition that happens on the third day).
Here is a collection of photos from the three days at the wedding!
Day one, Mehendi ceremony to celebrate the bride.
Sofia getting Mehendi:
Day two, puja ceremony and Haldi. For this event, we needed to dress in the color of turmeric.
Aishwarya and Amogh during the Haldi ceremony:
The ceremony ended mid afternoon, where we got to go back to our hotel to change for the evening reception and Sangeet.
The evening was full of dancing.ere is a picture of the uncles…
Finally, the third day is the wedding ceremony!
Here is a picture with all of Amogh’s friends that flew in from Seattle:
And a picture of Sofia and I:
Again, this was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I want to thank Amogh and Aishwarya for the invitation, and my sincere congratulations!
Seeing familiar faces
One of my favorite things about this leg of the trip was seeing friends. It had been more than a month without seeing any familiar faces (other than Sofia’s).
Before the wedding we met up with our friend Ani. Ani lives in New York and works for a Bangalorian startup, so he spends a month out of the year working here. We met up with him at a nice south indian restaurant. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture with Ani, all I have is pictures of the food 🤦🤦🤦
The day before the wedding we also got to see Praveen! Praveen was my manager at Amazon back in Seattle, and he relocated to Bangalore around the time I left. Praveen and I had worked together for more than 2 years and he had a tremendous impact on my career. It was great to see him and hang out in a non-work environment. Also, I got to meet his family, who were all so lovely:
Finally, at the wedding we saw some friends that flew in from Seattle. Here is a picture with Brandon!
Reflections
Here is a collection of thoughts and reflection on my short stay in India
- Food: Truly amazing, some of the best food I have ever eaten. I love Indian food and it certainly did not disappoint here, especially at the wedding!
- Culture: I loved getting immersed in a culture that is foreign to me. Walking around Bangalore, talking with locals and of course, the wedding. I will cherish those experiences forever.
Overall, I adored my stay in India and I will have to come back!
Sofia:
I agree with everything Bruno wrote above. I also had such an amazing time in India. Here are a few additional thoughts from my end:
Shopping for clothing was such a cool experience. The staff at the shops were so helpful in explaining about all the various types of outfits and what is appropriate for different events within a wedding. It’s common for the female’s clothing to be sewn and adjusted to your exact fit after purchasing. Also, the clothing is so beautiful and intricate.
Here is the shop where I bought my clothing:
Sewing and adjusting my outfit (a lehenga). It took a few hours of multiple iterations but we finally got to a well-fitted outfit!
Bruno already said this but I’ll just repeat. The food was amazing. Some highlights:
At a sweets shop:
North Indian food (Chole bhature):
South Indian food served at the wedding on banana leaf:
The guests at the wedding were so open with us, sharing about their lives and explaining to us the rituals and practices in the wedding. Guests helped us understand how some wedding rituals can vary between North and South India, and how this wedding merged the two, since the bride and groom’s families originate from these different ends of India. It was also so special to spend time with the bride and groom, seeing them and their family so happy, during such an important moment in their lives. It was evident that the bride, groom and their families poured a lot of time, effort and love into this wedding.
It warmed my heart to see friends from home ❤️