Wedding in Mumbai for the first time. part 1
Let’s face it, only two crazy people created in the Baron family can take a flight to Mumbai (formerly Bombay but I keep getting confused) for 4 days.
It was inevitable, we had been invited to the wedding and after I had missed such an opportunity once, there was no chance that it would happen again. I was told that weddings in India are something that should not be missed.
At that time I closed my 40th year (which we will discuss later on in other posts I will tag here) and it was at the end of the year which gave me an opportunity to celebrate there.
The reason we were invited to a wedding in india is connected to a youth movement called CISV , we had been a part of since the age of 11 and there we met friends from all over the world. One of Michal’s ( my sister ) best friends – Reedy is an Indian girl from Bombay and she’s the one who invited us. Michal was at her wedding, which I missed. This time her sister was getting married – and we were not going to miss it 😜
Everyone has a lot to say about India, but it never attracted me, I traveled all over the world and India was not on my favorites list. Maybe it was all thats they said about the mess and how dirty it is and maybe because I never liked Indian food?
Michal talked a lot about the smell in Mumbai, the smell that sticks to you and you cannot get rid of it, a wonderful smell of dirt. In SHANTARAM the book you can also read about the smell of Mumbai and India in a very precise way, its a fantastic book highly recommended.
In any case I was ready, got off the plane (to a new and stunning airport), waited for my nose to feel the famous smell – and nothing happened. We drove into the city and Michal said that the city was clean now, cleaned of all filth. Or maybe after so many cities around the world it does not feel different? India is becoming a superpower and is not what I thought it would be?
Michal insisted not to go to the hotel but to Riddhi’s house (which she knows well because she was already in India four times). The henna ceremony is a very special ceremony and we were so lucky to get there and not miss it. There were many professional mehndi artists that apply henna in intricate designs to the hands and feet of the bride and other women in the family and friends. These intricate designs symbolize joy, beauty, spiritual awakening and offering. The bride’s mehendi sometimes goes half way to her knees Only women adorn themselves with amazing henna paintings for the wedding. We did it only with our hands, but they decorated the bride for a whole day – it takes hours but it feels like magic and it was so nice to see and meet all the family.
The food in Riddhi’s house was something else. I have not yet tasted such food, and only to think about it now I get hungry.
Riddhi’s family is Gujarati, and their food is vegan but its taste is amazing and makes me want to be vegan right now. I’ll try to give you more information about what we ate later in the post.
After such a warm welcoming I was so excited and was ready for 4 days in Mumbai.
I did lots of research work and booked us in one of the most popular hotels in the city. What I did not notice was that I ordered and upgraded room and when we arrived there was a very nice surprise of a separate floor (we never went to breakfast because we got it on one of the top floors). It included a corner room and a lot of treats from the hotel.
A very good choice when visiting mumbai – Trident Nariman Point, Mumbai
In the evening we had a free night and went to the recommended restaurant Trishna https://trishna.co.in/
I went into the restaurant not expecting much, it did not look good, but the line of people outside seemed promising. We ordered the heritage shrimps and the crab with garlic and butter – words cannot describe the feeling of taste in the mouth. I’ll put the picture of the shrimp in the green sauce – it looks awful, but it’s the best thing you’ll taste in your life (very spicy) – not to be missed.
In addition, we got instructions to buy a sari for all the wedding events. because its a local tradition to change your outfit for each event ( and there were 4 events coming up ) … We started searching in the center of Mumbai and found some charming shops
to be continued – pin for later – share & care
יופי של תמונות ממש מרגישם את החוויה
thanks it was like magic:)