Saturday, March 1, 2008

Bling & Naan - My Own Personal Paradise




Some people come to India seeking spirituality. My motivation is much more shallow, and I make no attempts to disguise it. I've often wondered if in a prior life, I may have been Indian. My evidence, you ask? Let me explain.
1) The Bling Factor: There's something about the oppulence of colour and explosion of glitz that I associate with India that has always appealed to me immensely. While it's possible I've just watched one too many Bollywood movies, I don't think that's it.
2) The Naan Factor: I am obsessed with naan bread. I love it, love it, love it, much to my thigh's disgust. I'm contemplating installing a tandoori oven in my imaginary future home, just so I can have a constant supply of naan.
That's right. I ended up in India determined to satisfy two of my favorite hobbies - shopping and eating. Last Fall when my friend Farah spontaneously suggested that I meet her in Mumbai to help shop for her wedding, I hesitated for only a nanosecond before I started mentally rearranging the itinerary of my trip so I could squeeze in a trip to India.

By setting myself the goal of experiencing Bling and Naan, Indian-style, I think I've probably got it easier than those here in search of a spiritual awakening. My gurus came in the form of the Mullick ladies, who quickly introduced me to the magic that is shopping in Mumbai. My days were filled with sarees and silks, bangles and ribbons, and an exhausting selection of jewelery. I've never shopped so hard in my life - and it was fantastic.

But the Bling extended beyond the shops and the markets. Mumbai is a city dripping in jewel-toned hues and fairy lights. Mosques that sparkle at night like a tiered wedding cake, lit with a thousand candles. On a daily basis we'd drive past 5 or 6 Hindu weddings in full-swing, canopied tents leading right to the sidewalk, garishly festooned with strings of flowers and twinkling lights. At the Gateway of India tourists can catch horse-drawn carriages and ride along the bay. But they were blinged-out carriages, punched tin pieces of art elaborately decorated with pulsing lights - it was like riding along in your own mobile carnival. And everywhere, women and young girls walking through the streets of Mumbai, their sarees painting the city every colour imaginable.

And as for the naan? I'm happy to report that its even better than I'd hoped. In India I've been introduced to buttered naan, which is nothing more elaborate than the name describes, but frightfully tasty. I'm slightly bitter at my years of wasted opportunities, before I knew buttered naan existed. But discovering it here in India somehow makes it worth the wait.

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