A Day as an Indian Princess

Today, I put on a gold and teal salwar Kamis and felt like an Indian princess.


Entering the wedding guest house

I was happy that I had an appetite in the morning, which was the first time in a while. So once we started the day with a good breakfast, we headed off to Malini's guest house to witness the Hindu rituals that she and her family were practicing. The room was very smoky and uncomfortable at first. There was lots of chanting.


 One thing I secretly didn't agree with was eating foods that was offered to the gods. Someone passed out some sweet balls that was from an offering. I was told that eating it was to symbolize sharing in the blessing from the gods, but I from the conviction of my Christian faith, I couldn't (Daniel 1:8). I quietly excused myself to the bathroom and flushed the sweet ball down the toilet. I wondered if anyone noticed that I didn't eat it. I didn't want to appear judging, but I guess I couldn't hide that I was not into the rituals.

After Malini's Hindu home rituals, we went to the gateway of India and Elephanta Island. The gateway of India was put up to commemorate the British leaving India. Nearby is the Oberoi Hotel that was bombed 2 years ago by terrorists. From the gateway, we took the opportunity to hop on the last ferry to Elephanta Island. We were quite a sight being foreign girls in Indian dress. We got a lot of stares and some people followed us around... Like this group of young guys looking like they were out of an Indian soap opera. They came up to us for a photo. Elephanta Island had ruins of hindu shrines and statues. Though they weren't very old (about 200 yrs), it was a pretty cool place to explore.











After the one hour boat ride back to the main shore, we had dinner at a hole-in-the-wall joint where I had masala dosa and got sick from it during the night. Ugh.

After dinner, then happened...

The Most Impacting Moment to Remember: Michelle got hit by a car crossing the street in Mumbai! 
Michelle and I were crossing a busy street near our dinner restaurant. We were standing a moment in front of a stopped car and next needed to step into the next lane to cross. I was a little more hesitant in stepping out, which ended up saving me. Michelle made a dash forward and suddenly a car came up. The front headlights hit her knees and she fell forward with her hands on the front hood! It all happened so fast. Thank God she walked away unscathed. #1 rule in crazy street crossing: walk, don't run.