India: Day 5 (Part 7)

July 7, 2010

On our way to the sari store we came across some more breathtaking scenery.  I am convinced now that no matter where you go in India you will stumble across something that is picture worthy.

Besides India oozing beauty from every corner, another observation I continuously made was that as far as transportation goes, anything goes!

The man who owned the sari store that I was visiting wanted to show me how print-making in India works.  I was eager to try on some saris, however I obliged once I was bribed with some chai tea and cookies.

When I was about eight years old I vividly remember my father returning from his month long business trip to India for two reasons: 1) he was beyond sick with “Delhi belly” and 2) he brought me back the most gorgeous pink sari.  Over the years I played dress up with it so much that it eventually was unwearable and thrown away.  It had crossed my mind before I left for this trip to look into replacing it with a new one.

As we entered the part of the store where the saris were sold, I was immediately overwhelmed by the selection that I was to choose from.  There had to be over a thousand!  The man helping me quickly selected a multi-colored one for me to try on.  It took about five minutes to get it on just right, since putting on a sari is an incredibly intricate process.

While the first sari I tried on was undoubtedly a work of art, I wanted to try and find the sari my father had purchased for me two decades ago.  I told the man exactly what it looked like and sure enough he found it!

After much consideration, I decided against purchasing it.  I knew that my days of playing dress up were long gone and that the opportunity to wear it would probably never arise.  Also, the process of putting it on was just too complicated for me.  I did, however, purchase a kurta and a gorgeous blanket; two things I knew I would get a lot of use out of.

On our way out of the store I saw a woman spinning yarn.  She looked beautiful in her sari and it made me question whether or not I made the right decision.

But, then I thought, well now I have yet another reason to come back to India!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Andi Perullo de Ledesma

I am Andi Perullo de Ledesma, a Chinese Medicine Doctor and Travel Photojournalist in Charlotte, NC. I am also wife to Lucas and mother to Joaquín. Follow us as we explore life and the world one beautiful adventure at a time.

More Posts - Website - Twitter - Facebook

22 thoughts on “India: Day 5 (Part 7)

  1. Nitin

    heyy…i am from jaipur….i have come here through your twitter account ……….you have taken a nice pics of lake called JALMAHAL(in english can be translated as WATER-PALACE)….and the other pic is the way of amber fort…you are really a fantastic photographer…wish you good luck

    Reply
  2. LoveK

    ahhhh that sari is gorgeous! i would have bought it and figured out some way to display it in my home 🙂 and i love that print – very cool.

    Reply
  3. TravelingTeri

    Oh Andi-you should’ve bought the pink sari! You look stunning and you’re NEVER to old for dress up my dear. As always, I love your photos. Thanks for sharing. BTW, the sales person is correct, you DO look like a movie star! 🙂

    Reply
  4. Aurora

    What a lovely post! The pictures are beautiful and reading this made me really want to go back to India again! When I was there several years ago my mom, sister an I went shopping for Indian clothes too. It was quite and experience, a nice one. I remember that more or less the whole shop was involved in finding us things, and we did end up buying some gorgeous clothes (not saris, but I can’t remember what they were called… Salvar…??). I admit, it’s not so often that I get to use what we bought, but they are so pretty it’s nice to just look at them! 🙂

    Reply
    1. Erin

      Hello there, You have done an excellent job. I’ll certainly digg it and personally recommend to my friends. I am sure they’ll be benefited from this web site.

      Reply
  5. Lorna - the roamantics

    you look gorgeous! but i think your instincts were right. i was a bridesmaid in an indian wedding and the mother of the groom gave me a beautiful red mysore silk sari to wear in the ceremony. i loved it, wore it at the wedding, and now it sits in my dresser. love the man with the stamps!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *