Apr 11 2009
My Fair Backpacker – or – An American Goes Sari Shopping in India
Sari, Mehndi, & Bangles! -- photo by Nicole
In India, everything is beautiful. Well, okay. Not everything. But the women are gorgeous. Stunning. In fact, I noticed this even before I got to the subcontinent. While sitting on the plane and waiting to take off, anxiously anticipating the twenty-something hour flight from San Francisco to Bangalore, it was hard not to notice that the airline attendants — all women — could pass for models. It was also hard not to notice my dirty, holey cargo pants and extra baggy, don’t-harass-me shirt in comparison to their sleek pencil skirts and perfectly coiffed hair.
It was a theme that would be repeated during my stay in India. I even heard local women in Bangalore complain about the appearance of backpackers one day. “They come from all these rich countries and they are always dressing the same. They look so dirty and smelly…” Well, I could only assume they weren’t talking about me. But I decided then that I was going to ditch my unisex travel uniform of khaki pants and boring black top. I was going to dress like the beautiful Indian women I saw everyday: like the South Indian housewives who pinned jasmine flowers in their hair and dripped with gold and jewels for only a trip to the neighborhood market; like the professionals who floated through offices in silk salwar kameez; like the college students who sauntered through the high-end shops on MG Road in designer jeans. In short, I decided to look like a lady instead of another “dirty” backpacker. I decided to buy a sari.
Read more: Bangalore, India, Sari, Shopping, Textiles, Travel, Travel Tips and Resources, World Fashion
