Oh what a night.... an Indian holiday and how a party wasn't one

Last evening, after some meetings in Delhi, we went to see another performance of the ancient Dastangoi, the art of storytelling in the Urdu language. I wrote earlier about it here. Again I did not understand a word, but the setting this time was beautiful. Outside, in the Ancient Fort, a large compound of different buildings in a park-like setting near the Yamuna river, we sat in a small amphitheatre listening to what seemed to be, again, fun stories.

Look at the nice moon on the left just above the horizon

After the performance we were invited by friends to go to a party of Marie Claire, a woman's magazine on fashion and what more. A beautiful restaurant laid out in a garden, decorative lights in the trees, a wonderful buffet, good drinks, nice music, but..... no guests. We were surprised to see all but 3 tables empty, the food could serve a 100 people at least, only 25 showed up. The western representatives of Marie Claire that were invited, as our Indian host told us, must have been quite disappointed...

Where are the guests?

Ok, I did take a goodies bag home :)

It did not spoil our fun though. We talked amongst others about today's holiday, Karva Chauth, where married women (or women longing to be with a certain man) fast from sunrise to moonrise for the safety and longevity of their husbands. Nice :)


They also ornate their hands with henna, in the most beautiful fashion. One of our friends hands can be seen here below.

Beautiful hands