Sasha’s Birthday party.

Last Thursday we attended Sasha’s 1st birthday, as mentioned in a previous blog… Shreyansh’s little boy. To get there we started out in one state, traveled through a second and attended the party in the 3rd, on the other side of Delhi. Not sure how long it took us to get there, but some time between one and 2 hours?? We got lost a few times.

It was an interesting time. They rented a hall where it was beautifully decorated and MUCH food! Much GOOD food. The ladies have such pretty outfits! They had music and a funky make-shift dance floor that felt like sheets of aluminum over another floor covering drains and unevenness.

It was an experience walking in to a crowd of family and friends, the only foreigners, with little guidance, being unfamiliar with customs, etc. I think Joel felt the oddness of not fitting in more than I did. Probably because most of my PERSONAL faux-pas were made unseen by the masses and Joel was there to correct. So it worked out OK... for me anyway. And, I spent a bit of time busy on the dance floor. NOT that, that, club dancing in India, doesn't come with its own cultural confusion.

I brought a gift that I carried for a bit till we found the gift table, then after placing on the table Joel realized that we oopsed since people looked at us like we growing additional heads. Perhaps we were to present the gift to the parents. We had sort of intended on giving it to them, but they were sort of running about a bit as well. They do not open gifts in front of people. Kind of a bummer in the interest of learning what others get for gifts here and just general culture understandings.

Poor Joel scared some little kid who’s dad wanted him to meet Joel. But the little boy freaked as Joel approached. BIG SCARY WHITE GUY!! He had a more successful meeting with Shreyansh’s wife’s niece who was 5. Joel and I were the first foreigners she had ever seen.

A few of Joel’s co-workers were there as well as Ramya. She drove with us there, but not back home.

We left as things were winding down. And getting out of the area was interesting. DARK. NO street lights, and this was very much a neighborhood we were clearly out of place. Many people walking about…. Handy for when our driver needed directions.... and he did. But a bit uncomfortable and uneasy making as well. Dead ends that Rajpal had to drive in reverse to get back out of, dark spaces and corners... People hanging out in those dark corners. Perhaps just chatting during the cool part of the night?? People sleeping where they could on sidewalks or what ever. Shops and houses all very closed and dark. Not to mention the random cow and stray dog protecting his territory barking at our car.

We found our way back to the main roads and back to home by a bit after 1 AM or so.

Having the gift wrapped was its own set of fun. I went to a shop in DT mega mall where there is a stand to purchase gift bags and other package and some decorating bling. The paper is all hand made and REALLY pretty. I settled on a light blue with soft flowers. I figured it was safe yet very pretty and SO SOFT!! The guy at the shop took many pains to wrap it beautifully. He measured out the gift with a ruler, NO tape, but a glue gun. Same with the ribbon. He took much care in making it perfect. It was quite impressive. I’m still trying to figure how I can sneak this guy in my suitcase to wrap all gifts at home.

Left to right, Shreyansh's wife, Sasha, Shreyansh, Judy, Joel.

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Left to right, Ramya, Co-worker from Genpact, Sasha, Shreyansh.
(sorry about cruddy picture quality.)