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| Boondi (Indian Sweets) |
I had a busy day on Friday! In the morning, I went with cousin P and her daughter visit an aunt and uncle. Uncle has just come home after being hospitalized after falling and breaking his hip. We visited for a short while and then, we went to an area known as Little India to do some shopping.
But first, we had lunch at a Nepalese restaurant that served Indian food as well as Nepalese food. I treated my cousin and her daughter. Afterwards, we went shopping for saris for my cousin and her daughter to wear to a wedding. We went to four sari shops and each sari was prettier and more expensive than the other! I don't know why the saris in the shops were so expensive. But the cheapest ones were $50 each, on sale! Eventually, after looking at many saris, cousin P picked a gold embroidered pink sari and her daughter bought a dark blue sari. Cousin's sari came with a matching blouse that she will need to have altered to fit her; her daughter's sari came with an extra piece of fabric for the blouse, but the blouse was not pre-sewn. Some of these shops also had what were called "made up saris". A regular sari is 6 yards of fabric that one drapes around the body with pleats in the front and a portion draping over the shoulder. A "made up" sari has the pleats already sewn in place and the whole thing looks like a wrap around skirt, which hooks into place, and then, you just drape the last bit over the shoulder. Makes it very easy to wear a sari.
I fell in love with a red embroidered sari, but I didn't buy it. I really don't need saris, as I have several, already. My saris are old, though, and are of a different style (more woven brocade borders and ends) than the newer ones (more embroidered borders and ends). But, I think I will be able to manage with what I have for the two weddings that are coming up in July (a cousin's son's wedding and a friend's daughter's wedding). However, I wouldn't mind buying a new sari for my daughter.
Our final stop, after buying the saris, was at an Indian sweets and snacks store. Cousin ordered some savory items to take home and I bought the sweets known as "boondi", shown in the picture at the top of this post. It is made by dropping small amounts of a batter into hot oil to deep fry them and then, soaking them in a sugar syrup. It is one of my favorite Indian sweets.
The shopping took a lot longer than I expected. We left a little after 10:30 a.m. in the morning and didn't come home until after 6:00 p.m.! I had barely enough time to have a cup of tea after I got home when it was time to pickup friend R and go to the meditation session!
The meditation session started at 7:00 p.m. and it lasted a little over 1 hour. We did two type of meditations - the first one was the Loving Kindness meditation when we began with wishing ourselves well and spreading out those well wishes in ever widening circles - our family, friends and neighbors, strangers and enemies, residents of our country, in other countries, in the world, and out into the universe to infinity. The second type of meditation was the Breathing meditation, when we focus on our breathing. Afterwards, there was a short recitation of blessings and the evening concluded with the serving of light refreshments (tea, cookies) and a question and answer session. My friend and I didn't stay for the question and answer session. But we both agreed that it had been a good experience and we are both planning to attend again, if not every week, then, at least every other week.
Afterwards, I invited my friend to dinner, but she declined, as she had had a long day, herself. So, I dropped her off at home and came home. I had some of the leftovers from my lunch for dinner and video chatted with daughter.
Today, I am grateful for:
- A fun day spent with my cousin and her daughter
- Being able to visit aunt and uncle
- Having lunch out with cousin and her daughter
- A favorite Indian sweet
- Going to a meditation session at the temple
How was your Friday? Have you attended a meditation session? If so, did you like it?
I have a friend who married into an Indian family and has to wear saris from time to time. She has several beautiful ones, but are old fashioned according to her mother-in-law. This causes a bit of contention, but my friend is not buying new ones. Quite frankly, I've never seen a sari that I didn't think was beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI share your opinion that all saris are beautiful. Since I wear saris only to weddings and other similar functions, I never paid much attention to how styles change. The majority of my saris are over 25 years old; the only newer one is one that I made when one of my cousins celebrated her 60th birthday and wanted everyone to wear black and white to her party. I bought 6 yards of black chiffon and appliqued several white lotus flowers that I drew and embroidered on the portion that drapes over the shoulder and I attached several yards of a gold and white embroidered edging to the border. Maybe, when my daughter comes down for the Memorial Day weekend, we might drive down to the Indian shops to see what they have and pick out a sari for her - I'd like her to wear something that is a little more in style than my old saris, although she really doesn't care. :)
DeleteI love to see sari fabrics - the colours are often very intense and the fabrics can be beautifully embroidered. I've always thought it would be lovely to wear the (salwar and kurta?). Do let us see a picture of you in traditional dress.
ReplyDeleteYes, a lot of saris are very colorful. I have till July to decide what I will wear, but, in the meantime, it would help to narrow down the choice so I can start making the blouses. The shops wanted between $50 to $75 to make a new blouse! I refuse to pay so much!
DeleteEloise, I also want you to know that I tried to post a comment on your blog, on the polenta post, but my comment wouldn't go through, even though I tried three times. Just don't want you to think that I was ignoring your posts. :)
DeleteThat's odd, Bless. I am convinced that these blogs have a life of their own sometimes. I am totally unable to leave comments on Blogspot blogs where the author doesn't offer the name/URL option. There are several that I read and would like to comment on, but I just can't do it!
DeleteI don't understand it, either. It might be because I am having issues with my computer. But I will try again. :)
DeleteSometimes I miss wearing a sari and dressing up. :)
ReplyDeleteI missed all my friends' weddings and the last time I wore a sari was for my sister's wedding a couple of years ago. Though I don't have an opportunity to wear a sari here, I still have two in my closet, just in case. :)
Mmm boondi! Enjoy 😀
Always a good idea to have a sari or two on hand, Nil; you never know when you might have the occasion to wear it! I bought just a small amount of the boondi, because once I start eating it, I can't stop! It's all gone, now!
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