The weekend after Lael left India, I went to Honavar with Mallappa and his (new) girlfriend for a wedding of the brother of a friend of Mallappa’s. Honestly, I was not looking forward to the weekend. I had been going non-stop since getting back from the US and was desperate for some rest and alone time. But I had committed to going and didn’t want to back out. We left Bangalore at 10 pm or so for optimal driving conditions. I slept in the backseat, Savi slept in the front seat, and Mallappa drove for 8 hours to our destination. Honavar is on the west coast of India, ocean on one side, and a beautiful river on the other side. It was so green and so hot. We stopped for breakfast before checking into our rooms by the river and I was still wondering what I had gotten myself into. I reminded myself that 48 hours in Honavar goes as quickly as 48 hours anywhere, and that I’d be okay.
I worked that day (got some rest and alone time, as well) but that night, Chandhu (Mallappa’s friend) came by to hang out. We sat around their room – they drank, I watched – laughing and telling stories. I learned when Mallappa and Chandhu met, how they had become so close. I’d met Renu the week before, a friend of Mallappa’s in Bangalore who happened to be dating Chandhu so it was neat to put some pieces together.
That night was another surreal event for me. Sitting around this woodsy homestay, on an Indian river, with my driver, his girlfriend, and his best friend singing Indian songs (Chandhu was floored when he realized I know some DJ Honey Singh music and can sing long – not words, just sounds), eating delicious Indian food, and telling stories. We talked about Mallappa’s first impressions of me, what he told Chandhu about me. My first impressions of Mallappa, and how our friendship evolved.
The next day, we got up had breakfast and took a back-water boat ride to a cove full of lotuses. Mallappa had asked if it was okay for him and Savi to take some pictures and I agreed. It then became clear that they had planned to use this outing as a proposal photo shoot of sorts. It was so hot; I was dripping in sweat as we moved from picturesque location to picturesque location for the photo shoot. Later, moved hotels and met up with a friend of Savi’s and the friend’s boyfriend. We tooled around Honavar, went to the beach, a temple, for food, ice cream, etc. It was so hot but also so beautiful.
On Sunday we got up and got ready for the wedding. I wore my purple lehenga with Indian jewelry and boy did people love it. Since Honavar is more remote than Banaglore and Jaipur, I knew to expect more staring but my god. When we got to the wedding (which again, is not a wedding like we’d see in America), I was honestly scared that I was getting too much attention. EVERYONE was looking at me, whispering about me, pointing, some coming to talk to me, some wanting pictures. Because the wedding is more like sitting, eating, and lining up to take pictures with the couple, it wasn’t as awkward as it would be at an American wedding, but I haven’t been stared at like that since Trichy in September 2023.
Mallappa’s friends were so great. So nice and it was so neat to see inside his world a little bit. We drove the 8 hours back to Bangalore after the wedding. I’m glad I went but god, I won’t be taking any other 8-hour road trips.
Emily in India 
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