getting ready
we got the wedding photographer to shine his light on us and take this one
family lines up to get a picture taken with the bride and groom
i think these are Mr. Sinha's many lovely sisters
the bride doesn't smile too much! but, contrary to this photograph, the groom was beaming all night long
I'm not sure I've written enough about the great big love of the Sinha family!
The Sinhas are family friends from when I was little; me and Andrew were best buds with their kids Tanya and Famid when we were in elementary and middle school. Our lives have tended to criss-cross... Mrs. Sinha even worked together with Tia Gisi for several years and they became good friends too. Since those days in Roanoke, Hasina and Jabil - Mr. and Mrs. Sinha - have moved back to a half-and-half lifestyle; they bought an apartment here and spend about half their time in Dhaka with their family.
This happen-chance thing, of having these friends in Dhaka with me, has been one of the very best parts of my time here. The Sinhas have been my family away from home, and have included me and welcomed me (and my housemates) on so many occasions. They are so generous, and we've grown really close. I have spent a lot of Saturday afternoons eating snacks and napping and watching cricket at the Sinha house - which is just about a mile away from my house in Dhaka. Isn't that wacky?
It's nice to have family here, which is how it feels when the Sinhas are in town. But they give me something else - the Sinhas are so full of life and so proud of their roots that they show me beautiful aspects of Bangladesh that I wouldn't have discovered alone... they have helped me be more intimate with culture and people. Mrs. Sinha shows me how one can interact with Bangladesh's seeming distress with grace and generosity - she shows me how it all works.
Also, Mrs. Sinha is a wicked good bargainer; she is the force behind the beautiful bridesmaid dresses and shawls that we'll have at our wedding in December, inshallah. They will all be made-in-Bangladesh by the tailor Mahsoud, from Bangladeshi silkworms - cool.
Last weekend we went to an engagement party for Mr. Sinha's niece. It was really, really fancy. The party took place at one of the country's finest hotels. We spent the whole afternoon getting ready to go - hanging out in a salon with all the aunts and cousins of the bride. Bangladeshi Steel Magnolias! I have never worn so much makeup in my life. The coal stayed on my eyes for 4 days after.
The green sari that I am wearing in these pictures was a gift from Mrs. Sinha to celebrate my engagement :) Isn't it amazing?
