Ambar's wedding
The pretty bride..
my joy!
The end of the year washed over me like a wave, bringing much with it, leaving behind some great memories. there was a reunion with the kashmiri side of my family, a wedding in Jammu. some photos of my nephew and his pretty bride...
The wedding was in Jammu and it was a chance to revisit the north. We made the journey from Delhi by train and the nostalgia that the fields and villages, canals and dusty evenings at railway crossings awoke was full of good memories of train journeys past. My last visit to Jammu had been as a college girl with cousins. This time the cousins were all grown up with children as old as I had been. Jammu could have been any other town in the north of India with rickshaw pullers, noisy autorickshaws, chaotic traffic, narrow bazaars, except that the bazaars were full of walnuts and dried apples, baskets overflowing with the rich harvest of autumn. Heavy milksweets and small red yellow, sweet and sour "tung" apples with razma, small kashmiri almonds rich in oil, (the large ones have most of their oil extracted to avoid getting oily!), dried mushrooms from the valley and pinenuts, all these were the difference between Jammu and other towns. The shops were festooned with colourful hand embroidered shawls and kurtas and saris. Beautiful colours of the valley, the very european taste in pastels and the mughal jewel colours. Minute detailed papier mache art and wonderfully worked whimsical designs in wood, all these make Jammu special, a showcase for things to come if I had chosen to cross the magic pass into the enchanted Vale of Cashmere!I have promised to do it in 2013! back to roots!
In December came the much awaited WIN Christmas bazaar. There were crowds at the white elephant stall and the old books! We still have alot of people not afraid to reuse and reread and recycle!! It was a day to enjoy creativity and entrepreneurship and woman's work! the dyllic setting of Neena's charming house and gardens going down to the river makes for a lovely venue for this yearly event and and its with a feeling of sadness that I heard the next bazaar would have to be somewhere else as there were too many participants now! That is the good news!!! this time the bollywood baubles, very indian christmas tree ornaments (or diwali or whatever) were much admired and the liquid soap was popular. People have asked for more which means that that works!!!
All the crimes against women has left me with a niggling feeling of danger and of wanting tolook over my shoulder most nights, even in Pune. Loved the letter that Bizwiz wrote from the dented and painted brigade! Its on fb and very tongue in cheek! Thanks!
January is the time to visit Goa and so looking forward to that! Bye peoples and happy new year!!!
