Chandigarh + a long lost Auntie

How were your weekends dear readers? I've been in Chandigarh for the past 5 days, hence the radio silence.

Chandigarh is in the northern state of Punjab and is the only planned city in the entire country (hah). It is so clean and not polluted I almost forgot I was in India.

My grandmother's older sister and her family live there, so I headed north for a visit. It was the first time I'd really spent time with them and was shocked at how similar my great aunt is to my grandmother. They are practically twins! Not to mention she's adorable and talks with a super high British accent. What other 89 year old woman do you know that can pull off strappy sandals like that? I mean, come on.

My auntie's house is like Anthropologie on crack. It's stunning. And she has a whole team of servants to do everything and anything for you. Need a shirt ironed? Done. Want some water? They'll bring it to you on a tray. Feel like a massage? You're in luck because their masseuse comes every Sunday. Ken was super distraught to hear all this--anticipating the ramifications of my new found level of spoiledness.

My 5 days with them were fabulous and went by entirely too fast. I was reminded of just how incredible my visit was when my plane landed in Chennai last night, and I was greeted by a swarm of mosquitoes and the smell of rotting fish.

Oh Tamil Nadu, how you charm me.


[photos via alkeemi]