Buying singing bowls

Over spring break my best friend came out for a visit and we headed to Nepal for the week. While there she was on a mission for her mother - to buy a set of seven nested singing bowls. Traditionally made of a copper mix these bowls are said to date back to the time of the Buddha Shakyamuni (560-480 BC). The deep and rich notes that are produced by the larger bowls are considered to be a help in relaxing, thus allowing a person to slip into a meditative state easier. After the first few days of walking around Kathmandu we were not at all sure that we would be able to find a nested set; there were plenty of places that were selling single bowls but nothing that looked like there would be large enough ones for her. Then we took a wrong turn looking for a restauraunt and stumbled across a small store full of brass and copper products, including an entire wall full of singing bowls of various sizes. Thus begins what turned into about a 45 minute experience of selecting singing bowls (and debating if seven of them would weigh too much for our luggage - not if you carry half of them on). To begin with we asked for a set of seven. The man and his assistant began sorting through piles, trying to find the right sizes, gauging how big we wanted the largest one to be. The first set was too small. The second closer. But wait, shouldn't each successive bowl actually be smaller than the one it is inside of? Can we change this one? But once it looked right we also needed to make sure that they sounded good. After all it would be a shame to carry home 20 pounds of bowls only to discover they aren't pleasing to the ear. That is where the vendor really came in, playing each bowl for us - both with a mallet and a stick; raising them up to our ear and out so that we could hear the difference and insisting we touch them to get a sense of the strong vibrations (as you can see in the video below - or here). In the end we did walk out with a set of seven - plus one for me. How could I resist after that type of shopping experience?

sari shopping

Saturday I took off to go shopping for a sari. Little did I know it would turn into an 8 hour adventure. First stop was a little sari store where the process reminded me quite a bit of shopping for a carpet in Turkey. Having 10 people there meant they were willing to pull out a lot of different saris out for us to look at, although I'm not sure if that was good or bad. We sat in two rows facing away from each other in the center of the shop and soon enough there were saris flying through the air over our heads as they tossed them back and forth. Saris were being pulled out of clear plastic bags and draped on the platform after being held up by one of the workers. There I sat; just waiting for one that caught my eye and whose texture was appealing to my fingers. I think I only touched 3 or 4 in the 3 hours we were there (most had a bit too much bling for me) and the only one I picked up to really look at I ended up buying after having it wrapped around me to try it on. Its a dark teal with a red border and lots of little mirrors stitched around. Have to say saris aren't cheap, but then I didn't expect them to be.

After 3 hours we decide a lunch was needed and so off we went for a well deserved break. The debate then turned to should we have the cholis (the shirt that goes under the sari) made now? Most of us voted "yes" as we just wanted to get as finished as possible. The sari shop had cut the fabric off of the end of the sari for that and gave it to us, so we headed out to a tailor who specializes in making cholis. There were tons of designs on the wall, samples hanging around, and more choices then I wanted to deal with at that point. Here is where our timing for the day went a little awry. We walked in, checked what we needed to do and were told to stand in line. Okay, we can do that. This lady was in there and had a ton of cholis to be made. After watching her pull fabric after fabric from a bag we were finally told that we had to have an appointment. Aargh! Turns out making an appointment just meant putting your name on a list, but by this time everyone who came in after us already had their name down and we now had another hour to wait. We'd come so far though that we decided to persevere. Eight names got written down, and off we went in search of tea for a brief break. Just had to make sure we were back in an hour.

Luckily once we walked back up the stairs to Eve's we didn't have long to wait. Decisions just had to be made and explained well enough for the tailor to draw a sketch. What shape in the front - round or v-neck? How should the back go (this is more important as you actually see the back of the choli)? Should it tie? If so you need to step over there to that cabinet afterwards and pick out your dangle. Trim? Where should the zipper go (front or side)? Padded support or not? Gosh, I wasn't quite ready for that many choices. I let a few people go ahead of me then managed to come up with an idea. After explaining  it was time to step around the counter and get measured. I never knew you could take so many measurements for a top! Some I expected: bust size, length from shoulder, across the shoulder, around the rib cage (after all the cholis and short), arm width, down an arm....but then there were at least 5 more measurements. How deep cut in the front, how deep in the back, around the arm in three places, across the upper chest...this thing should fit quite well!

So after eight hours I found myself back home with nothing concrete to show for my day's adventure. The sari was at the store getting the fall put in. The choli being made at the tailor. I suppose I did bring home a matching colored simple petticoat, but that hardly seems like enough to show for such a day! I hope I'll be happy when I get to wear my sari for the first time, and will be sure to share pictures then.