Saturday, January 15, 2011

Sari Charlie

We went to a wedding last night for a friend's daughter. She just turned 17. She married her cousin who is around 22.



I decided to wear a sari. A sari is the long, six yards of material, indian dress. They really are beautiful. So I bought one and took it to the tailor to make a blouse for underneath and the lining. When I bought the sari the fabric seller told me that there was extra material for the blouse. And even when I took the sari to the tailor he said there was extra material. But when I picked it up from the tailor there was only the plain material blouse and not the pretty sari fabric blouse. He said there wasn't enough material. Since I have never been good at confrontation, and especially not in Hindi, I just said, "Thank you" and left.

Other times when I have worn a sari I have had friends wrap it for me. But now we are in a new place and I don't really know the people around me, so I decided to wrap it myself. (That means to put it on) I found an instructional video on Youtube and went for it. I wasn't quite pleased with the results so I finally gave in and went next door to a neighbor I have talked to a few times. I asked if she would help me wrap it better but she just praised me for doing such a good job, so I felt better about my work.



I knew I was going to hear from the ladies at the wedding if my sari was not wrapped well, and boy did I. I went over to a group of friends and they liked the sari itself, but then they asked me who helped me put it on. I told them I did. They laughed. I said that I didn't think I did a very good job. The decision was made that I should go have someone help me. So it must have looked pretty bad. I went into the room that the bride sits in with her friends and relatives and found another friend there to help dress me. She had to unwrap the whole thing and start over. The ladies in the room all got a kick out of the whole process. Glad I could be the entertainment. And sure enough, my friend told me that there is extra material for the blouse. So now my sari is too long. And the blouse that the tailor made for me is too loose. So the ladies are all talking about my clothes and "tsk tsking". They laugh some more and get me all dressed. It was a two person process. One lady who I didn't know. I figure it is a good way to make friends. Show up at a wedding and stand in front of strangers in my slip. So anyway, I got all dressed and went back out and got the approval of the other ladies.



Now, what am I going to wear to the reception?

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