Being American Gets Us Free Stuff

On Friday, we went to Wembley Street, affectionately known as "Little India" by our new family. At the mendhi party, everyone had an opinion about where we should talk and that we should NOT under any circumstances accept the first price quoted to us. Fortunately, we had Kavita with us. Kavita, the young woman who has never paid full price for anything.

We walked along the street, looking at sidewalk displays of shirts, sarees, sandals, etc. A couple of silk shirts caught my eye and pretty soon we were inside and the fun was on. Once we determined what size I wear (VERY, VERY VERY LARGE) the woman working at the store brought out everything in my size. There was a blue suit that the store owner wanted me to buy but which didn't fit and, frankly, I didn't like all that much. He kept lowering the price and I kept saying no. At the end of the day, he reduced my final price by $30 PLUS threw in a free shawl PLUS threw in the blue suit for free.

I needed a petticoat for the saree that I am wearing to the wedding so we asked if this store had any. Of course they had some....unfortunately, none of them were my size. How did I know there were none my size? Because the woman helping us insisted that I try one on over my head and I got stuck in the frickin' thing. Yes, we have pictures. Yes, it was hysterical. I thought the shop owner was going to have a stroke! It was shortly thereafter that he started giving us free stuff.

(Kimber here) Wembley Street stretches in the shadow of the famed Wembley Stadium, but it feels like another continent. Parking is hard to come by, so everyone seems to be on foot, which makes it easier to soak in the colors, sights and smells. This is the home of everything Indian. Sari shops. Groceries. Restaurants. Indian funeral homes. Even an Indian "gospel" storefront church. So wonderful to stroll past the open air markets, with boxes and shelves brimming with fresh fruits and vegetables and things that we've never laid eyes on before. Bargains abound, though Kavita was absolutely right -- haggling and standing firm is the name of the game. When it came to clothes, we were finding things 50% (or more) less than what you could find in the states. I snatched up a silk Kurti blouse for mother, sweet white cotton eyelet punjabis for the girls, sparkling bracelets (bangles) for the Saturday night saanji and wedding day, stick-on mendhi designs for the girls, a pretty sari (miles of fabric) for my mother-in-law -- you name it, you could probably find it here on Wembley -- which is honestly about as close as either of us are likely to get to India.
Many of the girls we met acknowledge that they prefer to fly over to India for their clothes shopping. The prices are even cheaper than what you will find on Wembley and the selection is magnificent. In fact, Priya and her mother had already been to India to select wedding clothes for all the women of the family. We can hardly wait for THAT red carpet moment!
Tonight I will attend the saanji in Priya's home wearing a terrific punjabi borrowed from our darling Kavita -- a deep coral-pink shade with a bright marigold-colored trim. Can hardly wait!

(Sarah back) Friday night was a low key saanji (son-gee), or singing, and didn't last too long which was good because Saturday is an early, early morning and a long, long day.