Naggar, Please!

Well, yesterday was an absolutely fantastic day! We took a little day trip to a neighboring town called Naggar with the Indian couple from our guest home. We visited intricately wood carved temples, went to the home/museum of a famous Russian artist, and stopped at this little roadside restaurant on the way to Naggar and back. Kuldeep and Surrenda have basically adopted us. Kuldeep planned this entire outing for us, which for us non-planners was god sent. She will single handedly be the only reason J.R. and I accomplish anything in this town. I love that J.R. and I are at the point where mothering is welcomed and highly appreciated. I mean, we both felt like we were hanging out with our parents and couldn’t have loved it more. They practically force fed us at lunch until I had to roll J.R. back to the car (luckily the top button on my jeans is broken otherwise I would have had to do the pants unbuttoning trick). They ordered us awesome Indian food that we would have never thought to try on our own and it just kept coming and coming. We learned so much about Indian food, got a crash course in Sikhism, and just enjoyed being with good company. I think J.R. was relieved to have Surrenda take over the role of dad for a day.



My favorite motherly moment from Kuldeep was when she and I went to rent a taxi for our day trip. J.R. had mentioned to her earlier that day that he ( HE rather than WE is crucial here) was thinking about renting a motorbike for a day or two, and Kuldeep had only winced. So while she spoke Hindi to the travel agent, I picked up on a few key phrases, mainly “motorbike” …Hindi …..”safety”…..more Hindi …”windy roads.” After this exchange, she turns to me and says “the travel agent says it might not be safe to ride on the winding hills on the motorbike…you and J.R. should think about it…please just think about it.” It was totally touching and comical at the same time. By the way mom and dad, we are thinking about renting a motorbike.
So hanging out with Kuldeep and Surrenda also got me thinking about arranged marriages. Most marriages in India are still arranged and if that’s the case with Kuldeep and Surrenda, sign me up. I completely acknowledge that there are problems and huge limitations to having an arranged marriage (getting to choose your husband or wife for one). I’m not arguing to get one or anything. But just playing devil’s advocate for a minute, I wonder if having an arranged marriage takes the pressure off of having a flawless marriage based on love. Maybe people in arranged marriages go into it expecting turmoil because of course you’ll experience hardships being with someone you barely know. Maybe rough patches aren’t as rough because that’s just part of making a marriage work. In any case, even if I wanted an arranged marriage, I don’t know where I’ll get this hefty dowry….so alas.

Also, my favorite comment from Surrenda of the day was when I learned Kuldeep was a teacher and he responds saying, “The only problem with Kuldeep teaching is that she doesn’t stop when she comes home.” Classic.

Not too much planned for the next few days yet but some items on the short list include motorbiking, zorbing (!!!), rafting, hiking, and other outdoor activities. But what will most likely happen is J.R. and I will get lazy and sit on our porch, drink chai, read, and enjoy the ease that is Manali!