buy puffy pants - 6/18/2011

today, i met the rest of the family living upstairs. shivi's uncle's younger brother and his family (wife, father, and two children) live there. they interrogated me a little about my life as we waited for the daughter trupti (spelling?) to finish her shower so she could tell us about good places to shop. they were all very friendly.

shivi's uncle, mahendar, and i went around and did some shopping. we first went to general bazaar which was a little alley of shops that stocked just about everything you'd need like clothes (saris, kurtas, scarves, accessories, children's clothes, all of it!), furniture, some electronics, fruits, everything. it was crowded, but people still managed to ride their motorbikes through the throngs wandering through the shops. there was even an old man and his cow!

then we went to a couple of other stores and then some for chaat (a snack) at this place. i forget what it was called, but they had sandwiches and curry puffs (which i'll get to momentarily) and cakes. we had an egg puff, which was basically filo dough and a hard boiled egg in the middle. it sounds really odd, but it was quite good. mahendar kept trying to have me eat, but the puri and potato from breakfast has actually held me over for the entire day (plus, i don't think i've completely digested last night's dinner). we went to GVK mall in hyderabad afterwards. it was enormous and beautiful. we were stopped by this promotional station thing, and he sang a hindi song (quite beautifully, actually) and we were rewarded with little chocolate bars. i didn't sing...i got a little shy to sing a random song IN A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT COUNTRY. in the mall, there was an aldo (thank god i didn't have a credit card), mango, tommy hilfiger, esprit, all kinds of western brands. but i didn't come here to buy stuff i could buy back home. i had a mission: to buy puffy pants (salwar). there was a store called fab india, and i bought three gorgeous cotton pairs in yellow, sage green-ish, and navy blue for only 1300 rupees, which is actually a great bargain since it's only about $30USD. 

after shopping, he wanted to buy me lunch which i declined again (see?! i told you they're trying to pudge me up!). but we did have some ice cream: i had mango and it was divine. and we had a nice little talk about weddings, philosophy, religion, all of that. he's a really friendly guy. i guess i didn't know how worn out i was until the car ride, because i kept on falling asleep. i swear, the heat sucks all the life out of you: the reason they eat so much is so they can stay energized.

we got back a little before five, and we had some chai and biscuits. so he's insisting i rest (which i actually could use) and then we'll go to the krishna temple after i've woken up and washed my face in an hour. [we did not go to temple because i didn't wake up from my nap hahah!]