A Day in Udupi!

Despite all our talk for a fun night out on Saturday night, Rachel and I sadly fell short. We had planned to go to one of the local bars to watch the US- England match on the big screen. But thanks to our long workweek, we barely made it past nine. But after to getting to bed so early, I woke up early  as well and went to the early Mass at Christ Church. After Mass all the kids divided up into their CCD classes. I am planning to ask the priest if I can be some kind of assistant to one of the teachers, hopefully one of the Sisters. I think it would be so fun to get to work with kids! And it would be a fun way to meet some more people and get involved in the church. 

Walking back to our apartment, I stopped to buy some things to make a delicious brunch for Rachel and myself. We had delicious fresh mangos, eggs with tomatoes, onions and cheese, and potatoes. I love breakfast, so this was absolutely wonderful after the long, damp walk from church. After our feast, we got ready for another trip to Udupi with Nitu. This time we were picking up our sarees and getting measured for our blouses. In addition, we were picking out matching jewelry and hopefully some souvenirs as well. We opted to take the bus, and after a short ride complete with lively music we were there! Since it was too early to go to Saree Palace, we hopped off the bus and ventured over to the temple district. We were quite impressed as Nitu skillfully navigated the crowded streets. 

Our first distraction was a great little jewelry store Nitu took us to. It has earrings and bangles and necklaces galore! We sifted through a thousand different kinds of earrings, studs and dangling, plain and glittering. I found rings for myself and my sister, and a few pairs of earrings. We also looked at the wall of bangles for a while, where I found some great black and gold bangles that have “Wofford” written all over them! It is funny though, black and gold jewelry here is like wearing a diamond ring on your left hand.  Although black and gold is reserved for married women, that didn’t stop Rachel and me from buying that combination! In the necklace department, a very simple, but very beautiful (and very Indian looking) gold necklace won me over. I am excited to give it to my mom when I get home. It was only our first stop and I had already picked up souvenirs for 

my mom, sister, and a few friends!

Our second distraction along the way was a clothing store. Rachel and I were shown kurtha (a long shirt) after kurtha. Rachel scouted out one for her mom, her sister, and her roommate. I however, was lured over to the salwars (an outfit consisting of loose fitting pants, a long tunic-type shirt, and a shawl).  I had been commenting on how comfy they looked and couldn’t resist buying a pretty teal and beige one for myself. Excited about our purchases, we finally made it to the temple district without any more distractions.    

The temple district was full of many temples, idols, and little shops. It was incredible to see the sheer size of the temples.  Each was enormous and intricately decorated.  There were thousands of devotees, and little religious shops surrounded the temples. It felt like I was in a Hindu version of the Vatican! Walking around, Nitu explained that Udupi is believed to be the birthplace of “Lord Krishna” and accordingly attracts Hindu’s from all over the world. There were also a lot of things dedicated to “Shiva” and many other lesser gods as well. Nitu also told us about the different religious festivals and showed us the three chariots used in processions. There are three chariots, one made of wood, one of gold, and one covered in stones. The chariots were absolutely enormous; the wheel alone was taller than me! There were lots of cows everywhere, which is normal by now, but we also got to see an elephant! Now, keeping in mind that the only time I have seen an elephant is when I go to the zoo to see “Joy the Elephant.” The elephant we saw in the temple district was so big and we were so close! We watched as people brought bananas to feed her, amazed at how gentle she was.  She was even trained to “bless” people when they give her coins. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures of her.  After

 gaping at the elephant, we decided it was time for lunch. Keeping in mind that it was pouring most of the time, we were more than ready to get out of the rain as well. 

Nitu took us to one of the oldest “veg” (vegetarian) restaurants in Udupi. We sat down, all wet from walking around, and surveyed the menu for something delectable. By now the names of dishes are starting to look familiar, however we still don’t know what they are. With Nitu’s help, we selected the North Indian Special and a rice dish called Moghalpuri Biryani. It feel like she was having to act as our tour guide, but we sure appreciated it! The North Indian Special was a kind of sampler dish. We started with a very tasty tomato soup. The main dish included rice, two types of bread, three different gravies, raitha, and yogurt. It was all delicious, and it was so fun to learn about all the different foods from Nitu. The rice dish was full of nuts and spices and also a bit of gravy. As Nitu explained that she always prefers to eat with her fingers instead of cutlery, I decided to give it a go. Eating rice with your fingers is much more difficult than it looks! I felt silly and kept laughing at myself, but Nitu was a good teacher and I promised to practice. Hopefully I’ll be a pro at eating with my fingers by the end of the trip! After the meal we had ice cream with fruit and also tried a dessert that was along the lines of carrot cake. It was carrots and sugar with raisins along with a few other things, baked in a dish. Not only was it a scrumptious meal, but also a very educational one, thanks to Nitu. 

After lunch we did a bit more shopping before going to Saree Palace where we were measured for our blouses. We even got to walk away with our beautiful sarees in hand. By that time it was after six o’clock and we were getting tired. After picking out beautiful matching bangles and earrings, we called it a day and journeyed back to the bus station to go home. Nitu came back to our apartment with us and we laid out all our treasures from the day. Nitu showed me how to drape my sari.  It was so beautiful; I can hardly wait to wear it to the wedding next weekend! Next I tried on my salwar. I looked so funny in it, but it was so comfy that I didn’t want to take it off! With a bindi and my “Indian” earrings Nitu declared I could pass for Indian! Until I started talking that is. After looking at all the jewelry and scarves we got, we were quite impressed with our work. We had completed over half our souvenir shopping! 

After Nitu left to go home, Rachel and I decided that we should probably have dinner before crashing, so we opted to try China Valley, a Chinese restaurant right beside our apartment complex. Even though we were at a Chinese restaurant, I still ordered Indian food! It is so good, that’s all I want to eat! Rachel had egg-fried rice, but I tried Palak Paneer. It was a green dish that was at the same time sweet and spicy. As Rachel and I trudged back to our apartment, I mentally added another dish to my growing list of preferred Indian food. As we fell asleep, I could hardly believe all that we’d done that day and how lucky we were to have Nitu.