A Sari Trunk Show

Last weekend, I attended a Sari Trunk show with some friends in town from Mysore. The designer, Julie Kagti, was exhibiting (and selling!) her newest collection of saris. She started weaving when she was only 4 years old... A few snaps from the evening, courtesy of her personal paparazzi and on loan from Facebook...

Her sweet little one room shop is situated in a historic bungalow off Cunningham Road. Named "Hatworks Boulevard" for the former business it housed, Imperial Hat Works began production in the 1920s, supplying caps to the armed forces in WWII and pioneering pre-tied turbans which became popular with the Maharajas.

Julie carries on the property's legacy of innovative design. She is pictured on the left in a her own sari and blouse, which seems to be missing its sleeves...(but we like it better that way!)

Please note the change in daylight from the photo above...to the one below...

Between the three of us (Nancy, Laura and I) we must have tried on every sari in the store...here Nancy considers one covered in hand embroidery.

A final peek into her space. I am being draped with the sari I eventually took home. (This shot looks like I used my twin (Ryan!) as a body double. Where did those muscle-y shoulders come from? I look more Greek god than goddess. I think (hope!) it's just the angle...) I still have to have the blouse tailored, how nice to have an excuse to go back!

Find Julie on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/JULIE-KAGTI-My-Shop/315524731197?ref=mf&v=wall#!/pages/JULIE-KAGTI-My-Shop/315524731197

"Who are you calling helpless!"

BBC is bound for the northern states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar...

Majboor Kisko Bola! ("Who are you calling helpless!") is a thoughtful radio programme produced by the BBC WST to educate vulnerable North Indian populations on labour rights, government programmes and the risks of entering into bonded labour agreements.

Thank you BBC for giving a voice to this issue! We would love to see your work reach similarly vulnerable peoples in South India someday soon! http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/trust/whatwedo/where/asia/india/2010/05/100507_india_bonded_labour_majboor.shtml

H1N1 Pasta Recipe

As it turns out, I don't have Swine Flu. (PTL!) So last night I decided to laugh in the face of danger, stick it to the pig and make a meal that contained...what else? BACON.

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H1N1 PASTA
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"So easy, you can even make while on three different flu medications!" - Sara Crewe

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups fusilli pasta, cooked al dente
1 heaping tablespoon pesto
.5 cup olives (mix of green and black)
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1 small purple onion
4 strips overcooked bacon
5 day supply of Tamiflu

Serves: two

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare pasta according to the package directions.

Heat a skillet on the stove, tossing in at least 2 strips of bacon per person. Err on the side of crispy bacon, to make sure the pig doesn't get revenge.

When the bacon is done, put it aside to cool, then crumble the strips into bits.

Keep the bacon grease and caramelize the onions in it. Setting the burner to medium heat and stirring for about 2 minutes.

Toss pesto with the pasta, then incorporate remaining ingredients.

Plate. Sprinkle with grated parmesan, and share with your fatalist roommate!

Initiation

As an expat, there are a number of milestones which can mark your initiation into your host culture. Whether it's successfully navigating a new public transportation system, bargaining down the price of a purchase to what a local would pay, or cooking a meal that requires extensive calculations: Fahrenheit into Celsius and cups into liters, overcoming a daunting task can give the expat a sense of ownership in their new home.

My initiation came this morning, when I had to go to the hospital.

Americans consider a hospital their last resort, but for Indians, it's almost a national pastime, and they will go for the most minor malady. Exhibiting typical American reluctance to tread those sterile hallways, (or worse, what if they weren't sterile!) I made my maiden voyage to Columbia Asia (CA) hospital early this morning, just to make sure a pesky week long cold wasn't something more...

CA was the very model of a modern majorly general (hospital). After my car pulled into the perfectly landscaped parking lot I was greeted by a crew of administrators all dressed like they worked on a cruise ship: matching floral blouses for the women that coordinated with the ties men tucked into their buttoned navy suits. "Welcome to Columbia Asia." "How would you like to pay." "Sign here." Then after 20 minutes in the waiting room, wondering why one man was allowed to wander around clad only in boxers (This is the first time I've been scandalized by an Indian's standard of modesty) I was ushered into the "emergency" room. Within the hour I was on my way home.

Consultation: Rs. 150
Prescriptions: Rs. 581
Car with driver: Rs. 400
Diagnosing my case of Swine flu in time: PRICELESS

For the next 48 hours I am being quarantined in my apartment for possibly having H1N1. So my second official act as a gov relations specialist is filing my case of Swine Flu with the government. Ironically, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the H1N1 pandemic officially over TODAY--as reported by WSJ: http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2010/08/10/h1n1-pandemic-officially-over-says-who-cites-lessons-learned/ Apparently I'm a late bloomer...

CA was such a good experience it may not count as an initiation after all, though contracting Swine flu while in a developing nation certainly will. While in solitary confinement I'm aspiring to catch up on some long overdue updates. Postings will also provide my mother with periodic assurance that I'm still alive.

Do they know something I don't?

Two weeks ago I took a business trip to Chennai. I booked my tickets late so the outbound seat (pictured here) was a seventh the cost of the bougie return ticket. Since it is the Indian equivalent of Fall right now I thought "No AC? No Problem!" But I didn't anticipate the windows only having bars for cover, and an afternoon cloudburst had found its way into the car. So upon stepping into my train car I encountered a massive puddle where I was supposed to sit. I intended to capture the questionable conditions of my train car in the above photo, but the afternoon light filtering through the door makes it look rather romantic--the only indication something is amiss is the ladies covering their face with their sarees. I wonder if they're currently quarantined for H1N1...

A few more pictures of the scenery en route to Chennai:

This is one of the tech parks on the outskirts of Bangalore: an anachronistic compound of over 20 eerily identical buildings. A shocking lack of branding makes me wonder if they're in use, and if they are, whether everyone inside goes about the same tasks simultaneously, citizens of an Indian Camazotz. *

But most of the ride showcased rice paddies and mountains and monkeys playing on the rooftops of deteriorating Hindu temples. My images of farmland didn't turn out well, since all these snaps were taken with my iPhone. But I think this shot of a little railroad town is sweet. (Again, the black lines are the bars on my window.)

*Camazotz is the fictitious planet of extreme, enforced conformity, ruled by a disembodied brain named "IT" in Madeline L'Engle's children's book, A Wrinkle in Time. Thankfully, IT has been a catalyst for change and innovation in India, rather than the oppressive force of L'Engle's world.