If you read my post from last week 10 Days in India, then you know what a great time I had there. You know I made some new friends with my husbands coworkers from MTX. You also know about the end of the year awards party we went to and our dream coming true to visit the Taj Mahal. Lets not forget the tiny video of me trying to Bollywood dance at the end of that blog. What I didn’t tell you about was all the treasures I bought while I was in India. I mentioned the stuff a little bit, but nothing in detail so I thought I would tell you all about the things I bought while I was there. My treasures from India.
So the first thing I bought was a traditional Indian dress to wear to the MTX end of the year party. I tried about three or four dresses before I decided on the pink one. It was also the last dress I tried on which was picked for me by one of my husband’s coworkers. She was extremely helpful to me that day and I will be forever grateful (Thanks, Khuban!). Let me tell you, putting on some of those dresses wasn’t easy. It was a serious workout getting them on and off! As I said I am very pleased with the dress that was picked for me and when my husband saw it on me for the first time the night of the party he was stunned — in a good way. The look on his face that night and hearing him tell me how beautiful I looked in that dress meant a lot to me. All the comments I received the rest of that night were so nice to hear as well. It allowed me to have a little bit of confidence in myself that I don’t always have.
Did you know Hyderabad India is know for their pearls? I didn’t. Not until I got there anyway and we were taken to a jewelry store that sells pearls. I had planned on only looking. My husband on the other hand did more then look, he bought me a pearl necklace with a matching bracelet. Both look beautiful! While in that store some bangles caught my eye and my husband bought them for me too. The pearls I wore with my new Indian dress at the end of the year party. The bangles I have been wearing here at home.
There is a store we went to in India that sells different sized carpets along with lots of different elephant sculptures and other animal sculptures. We ended up buying a wall hanging for me and a tiny colorful stone elephant that has a smaller elephant inside it with a lion that is attacking it. The intricacies of that particular elephant are quite something. The longer we stayed in this store the longer I noticed the dishes they had of the Taj Mahal. I didn’t say anything to my husband at the time, but I was impressed with how they looked.
It wasn’t until we went to the Taj Mahal, Took a tour of it and had the opportunity to see all of it’s beauty that I was really impressed with that place. After the tour we went to a local store and watched some of the men making the plates with the Taj Mahal on it. That’s where my eyes locked onto this one black dish that had a mostly gray with some pink Taj Mahal. That plate my husband bought for me!
If you read my blog 10 Days in India, hopefully you will remember reading about the Shilparamam market place we went to there. That’s where I bought two shirts and my husband bought a blue scarf that we are using for a table runner. We didn’t buy anything else at the market, but that’s okay since walking around it was an experience all by itself.
On our last day in India we went to the mall that was across from the ITC Hotel where we were staying. I was hoping to buy some more Indian tops or dresses along with the leggings that go under them. We hit the jackpot with the third store we went into. I tried a pink and gray top on, but didn’t like how it looked. But we did find the leggings I was looking for and bought three pairs in different colors. We also bought some clothes for our daughters.
Oh, before I forget I did find a simple every day dress I loved in a different store while we were in that same mall, only on a different day. On the last day that we were in the mall there was a market type area where I found another simple dress to wear.
Chocolate, yes I bought chocolate. The ITC Kohenur hotel has a chocolate store in their lobby and my husband and I bought a dark truffle chocolate bar there one day to share. It was beyond good. In fact it was so good we made sure we bought another one before we left, to take home so I could share it with our daughter.
Lastly, while we were at the airport waiting for our flight I bought some bangles to share with my daughter. There was a set of two in a package which was perfect for us. You it’s kind of funny you never know how much you’re buy when you’re away until it’s time to pack everything. Thankfully we did manage, but I was concerned about my Indian dress that I wore to that big company party. It made it into one of our suitcases with out getting wrinkled.
Kathleen Smith is an author, blogger and she has her own podcast called Kathleens Korner. You can read about her growing up years and more in Good-bye Brooklyn Hello Upstate OR Brooklyn Raised Livin’ Upstate