MyPropaganda!

Monday started with the usual delicious breakfast in Kameel's garden which was made a little unusual by the presence of the contents of his reception room. The reason for this was for a ceremony called Pooja which (I think) was to bless the house.

We all took off our shoes and sat cross legged on the floor. There was lots of prayer and offerings were given to a small fire. We were then all given a dot on our forehead and a piece of string was tied around our right wrist.

After that there was a ceremony that involved covering the groom in a paste of yogurt and turmeric that was meant to make his skin glow for the wedding. That was fun. We all got a chance to paste Kameel in the stuff. He took his revenge on some people by giving them a quick hug. My fingers were yellow for about two days after but got of easy compared to Andy who now has a nice shirt relegated to painting duty.

Next up was the Mehndi ceremony. This was the painting of the hands for the women (with henna). The amount of detail in the designs was amazing. The men got tatoos on their arms and so I have one on my shoulder and one on my lower arm.

Around this time my camera ran out of power and with my charger left at the hotel I am photoless from the evenings activities.

Edith, Kat, Ben and myself head to Fabindia for a bit. Edith's bags had gotten lost somewhere during transit so she needed to buy a wardrobe of clothes and the rest of us were just after a browse. Whilst Ben and I were waiting for the girls to finish trying things on we waiting outside which was probably a bad idea during mosqito hour. I got my first bites that evening and many of them.

There was then a party in the garden tent and much merryment was had. Ben and I met super cool barman Sean who makes the most awesome cocktail ever. I went up and asked for a fruity cocktail and he produced a green concoction which he had named lichicola. It contained (if I remember correctly) lichi juice, pinapple juice, bacardi, tequelia, dark run and blue cacao. There was enough for two glasses so I have one to Ben and from there we let most other people taste it and by the end of the night the place was infested with the stuff. We got our Indian dance on for a bit, ate some food and then went to bed because there was a very early start the next day...