Mehndi! (Henna)

For our final evening in India, we all got the chance to have some Henna designs done on our hands and feet! The lady who did the artwork was Rajiv's neighbor and now travels all around the world to do it for people - she was amazing and so fast!!
Henna, or Mehndi in the Hindi language, is a natural dye from ground henna leaves mixed with an oil. The paste is applied to the hands in the same way frosting can be applied to a cake with a decorating bag. I told her she should open her own cake decorating store!! The paste can be applied in thin or thick lines and usually forms intricate lace-like designs. The henna paste dries on the skin in about an hour and is then rubbed off, revealing a light orange tattoo. Throughout the next 24 hours, the dye will change from light to dark pretty durastically. Henna stays on the skin for about 1-3 weeks following application.

It was really fun for us to watch this form of Indian design and take a little piece of Indian culture back home with us. Here's a short video of the process and a photo of the finished product!

a few more pics...

The best auditorium seats at National Institute of Design.

Paparazzi!

With our driver, Menice!

Learning how to spin thread from cotton!

papa-papa razzi!

Hey all! Just a few quick updates...we're currently in Ahmedebad for day two of three! Yesterday we toured the National Institute of Design, the National Innovation Center, and then finished off the day shopping for fabrics and various other trinkets. Today we visited the Calico Museum (incredible!), visited where Gandhi spent 15 years of his life and got to learn how to spin cotton into thread. Then Casey, Peggy, Haley, and I ventured out VIA RICKSHAW to a little market in the Old City. Besides Peggy distracting a motor-scooterist and causing him to hit a man...we managed to stay safe on our own! It was quite an experience! Tomorrow we are meeting with Arvind- a denim weaving mill and then heading back to Mumbai. Sadly, Lauren will be leaving us tomorrow night and heading back to the US, but I'm sure she's about ready after her 3 months here. We've loved being able to travel with her and having her here to answer all of our many questions. She really fell in love with India this summer and her experience is truly inspiring! Be sure to check out her blog http://culturevagabond.blogspot.com/ for more!

So about this paparazzi--- We were in Mumbai for two days before Ahmedebad, and we did some touristy sightseeing to the Gateway of India and Fashion Street. We quickly learned that wherever crowds are- we are likely to be picked out of that crowd and the camera phones start clicking! We had to keep moving so that the crowds wouldn't gather, but as soon as we stopped.....they were following right behind us. Casey had a good solution of just taking pix of them back, and she managed to get some nice inspiration shots of the crazy jeans the Indian guys wear. Our trip to the mall tonight included some paparazzi as well...but also some delicious cookies and chocolate shakes!

We'll try to post more pix soon! bye for now,
~~~Christine

Hey everyone!
Christine nicely put today's adventure into the market by saying it was "quite an experience." I must be honest and say that it was absolutely insane! I feel guilty for causing unintentional distractions on the rickshaws... although I can probably blame it on Haley's blond hair (people can't help but stare her down - and the bold teenagers don't shy away from a personal pic with her!) The market is packed with everything... from goats, cows and dogs to rolling suitcases, bananas, and stuffed elephants! Rickshaws and motorcycles were coming in all directions and I was honestly holding hands with Haley to stick together. All in all, we had a great time and I will never forget this Ahmedebad market.

I am excited for Arvind Mills tomorrow. Their clientele includes GAP, Calvin Klein, and Levi Strauss!
I realized I haven't posted anything about the Taj Mahal. It was pretty incredible and I love the story behind it...how it was built out of love by the King for his wife. It is also amazing how many talented hands went into carving the marble. You see the amazing architecture from afar, but the intricate designs in the marble are just as impressive.
More later! Thanks for following!
-Peggy

Rewind: JCP visit!

We have to rewind a few days to talk about our JCPenney visit!! It was FANTASTIC! A huge thank you goes out to Tom Gorski at our Dallas office for connecting us with the Mr. Adil Raza, the Vice President and Regional Director of South Asia, Middle East, and Europe.

We were able to tour the JCPenney offices and meet the wonderful people who work there. Peggy even got to meet one of the ladies she corresponded with while at JCP in Dallas! Mr. Raza shared with us his role overseeing all aspects of JCPenney's business on this side of the world and also shared his outlook on the direction of the garment manufacturing business in the next ten years. As the wealth of the current labor force increases, business will move to poorer parts of the world. He believes a lot of manufacturing will remain in Bangladesh for at least 10 years because they have a huge population to sustain it. After this eye-opening meeting, we were able to see two of the nearby factories JCP works with: Sarla Fabrics - a fabric dying and printing factory, and Shahi Exports - India's largest garment manufacturer.

Sarla works with many top apparel companies such as H&M, JCP, Zara, Target, Wal-Mart, and GAP, and we even got to see 60,000 meters of material being printed for GAP! We were impressed by the many processes the fabric must go through PERFECTLY in order to pass color, hand feel, and strength tests. Every little step has to be precisely calculated, closely monitored, and perfectly executed! We know from experience how precisely designers check these aspects, so it's incredible that these factories can deliver! After a brief Q&A over some delicious Dominos pizza, we proceeded to Shahi Exports.

Shahi produces apparel for companies such as Hugo Boss, A&F, Calvin Klein, JCP, Kohls, H&M, Target, and Zara. Mr. Rohit Kaushik, Divisional Merchandising Manager, showed us around and answered our many questions. We toured the factory and saw all processes from pattern making, cutting, embroidery, sewing, approval, and preparation for shipment. Seeing how each of these steps occurs on such a huge scale was enlightening...the seemingly small decisions we make as designers, such as changing the color of one stripe on a plaid, creates quite a bit of work in the factory! It was helpful to hear tips from Mr. Kaushik on communicating clearly.

Out to dinner at the Great Kebab Factory

Dinner with Rajiv's family.

Hello tourist.

Peggy attempting to help the ladies at Sahaj!

The gorgeous sunrise over the Ganges.

PICTURES!!!!!

V-A-R-A-N-A-S-I

Three forms of transportation in one day can wear you out! 5 hour car ride from Agra to New Delhi. 1 hour flight from New Delhi to Varanasi, and boat ride on the Ganges!!

I don't think I have ever put a hand in the Ohio river, let alone bathe or wash my clothes in the water. I am fortunate! Imagine the Ohio river 5 times wider, 50 times muddier, although somehow 1,000 times more remarkable! We walked down the dirt road to the river banks and a wood plank boat was docked at the side. It was pitch dark and I totally trusted the boy with the striped shirt (only about my brother, Michael's age - 16) to hold my hand and step over the murky water onto the boat. The boy started the motor and the man with the grey beard in the back steered. Instantly it was like we were in a different world! My camera was useless as I tried to get the stars, the bridge, the silk shops, the steps going into the water, the people playing, bathing, and washing clothes, and the street vendors that could be seen through the building gaps. I felt so safe, calm, peaceful and appreciative...until Christine and I started flipping out about the possibility of a hole in the boat or running out of fuel.  We pulled up to the banks, and walked up the steps to the market. It didn't take long to bargain and spend 1500 rupees on beads. :)  I gave a little boy a piece of my Trident gum and he gave me his autograph with a heart around it!! The hospitality at our cottage in Varanasi is most appreciated! I can't wait to wake up in the morning to explore the area and see the town in daylight.
I am so thankful for the water we have at home - for the shower, washing machine, drinking water, swim club :) Whenever you are around clean water today, give thanks!
 P.S. John- When I get home, I will pull a "John McGrath" and put my head directly under the sink faucet! 
-Peggy

A flight only lasting 50 minutes from New Delhi to Varansi had us anxiously waiting for the next chapter in this Indian journey. We landed in the smallest airport I think any of us have ever been to. So cute yet hectic. Peggy and Haley, lucky holders of the window seats on our flight, informed us isle seaters of the beautiful scenery they witnessed of Varanasi. We were instantly excited for the city we were about to explore. Driving through the village, we noticed the drastic change from villages and towns we had experienced prior. There was a cleanliness and happy aura about the town that definitely had an effect on us. Snapping our cameras left and right, we captured images that appeared to be torn from pages of National Geographic as Peggy and I have continuously stated. The many aromas of the city we breathed in were ones of fresh mint leaves and burning wood. Monkeys climbed the rooftops much like Abu from Aladdin. The architecture, hanging clothes lines, outside markets and Indian dress screamed Aladdin to me. Being my favorite Disney movie of all time, we started singing its songs "street rat" and "a whole new world"! Singing is nothing out of the ordinary for our long car rides on this trip. We finally reached the most adorable and quaint cottage/guest house. Though it was dark when we arrived, we heard peacocks calling. I can't wait to see their bright feathers in the daylight tomorrow morning. Dogs, like in the rest of India, rest on the stone walkways, cooling off. Not to anyone's surprise, Peggy grabs my arm and obviously makes me go first, claiming they are going to get her or touch her as if it's a lion, tiger or bear, OH MY! Needless to say, we managed to walk by with no problem. ha Oh Pegs! :) The cruise on the river was the highlight of this trip for me thus far. This is exactly what I pictured India to be, but I was proven wrong. The scene we were gliding by was better and more than I could ever imagine. The local people celebrating their religious ceremonies near the river with fire and lit lillypads that they set off into the water, gorgeous stacked architecture layering on top each other, monkeys and dogs climbing the steps, and locals diligently at work. When we finally docked after a tranquil ride, we experienced real India. We were the only "tourists". We bargained with the merchants for beads and jewelry/stones. As Peggy previously mentioned, she and I met the most adorable little boy I have ever seen. He was about 7 yrs old and was bilingual, communicating to us with charm as he drew Peggy a heart with his name scribbled inside. How American! We took the same wooden boat back to the cottage and enjoyed a yummy Indian dinner prepared by the wonderful staff. Peggy and I cannot sleep as we are sweating in our beds with a very slow ceiling fan, no AC, and open windows. It's 110 degrees, easy. We're awaiting a 5:45 am alarm to get up and hike the trails, only to sweat some more, as if we haven't dripped sweat enough this trip already! We have had minimal sleep this trip- what's another day? I don't sleep anyways even at home in the Nati. This was quite the post tonight...it's the heat talking. Goodnight loves :) -Casey

The crazy life of fabric Part II

Dahod was great to see the smaller side of India's talented handicraft work. Sitting down with the villagers and actually talking and working with them was unforgettable! We were all laughing about the smallest things...how I put the wrong color beads on the stuffed elephant ornament, or how we all put yellow flowers in our hair. It was like we were all respectfully staring at each other, imagining our separate lives and how we were happy to meet, in the "small 100,000 person town."  On the way back from Dahod we were all getting tired, hungry and morale was low. Then Birla Cellulose appeared...the light at the end of the tunnel. We pulled into the courtyard area with the sign marked, GUEST HOUSE. First, it was the four bedrooms and bathrooms they provided, then it was an amazing five course dinner that awaited us! we were immediately impressed! Thank you Mr. Nymberg for this connection! We were happy to be off the congested road, and have space to walk around! Haley and Casey celebrated while doing cartwheels on the lawn. I attempted. The servers were laughing and watching from the kitchen area.
The next day Mr. Samuel, Senior VP of Marketing from Birla planned for a tour of their R&D center and the plant. Haley summed it up - fabric is not as simple as you may think! With the engineers, the impressive machinery and chemical processes, fabric has no limitations! It was something that we had all wondered about, and had an "idea" from school but to see the process up close is entirely different! The next thing we knew we were talking to Mr. Samuel over tea about future endeavors involving University of Cincinnati students and Birla Cellulose! I will let the others expand on JCPenney yesterday. I will say that it was a cool moment to meet Nidhi, the lady I had been emailing the past few weeks, regarding my design samples while at JCP!!! We got a pic :) Okay, almost to Agra...Taj Mahal here we come!
Miss everyone! Love, Pegs
p.s. Mar, thanks for being the best blog follower. I love you! wish you were here, although you would be super car sick! Traffic is the biggest surprise. I guess that is what happens when you have about 13 million people living in one area...go figure ha

The crazy life of fabric

Look at the shirt you're wearing; do you know the travels it's been through? Thanks to Birla Cellulose, we now have a better idea!
On Tuesday, after hosting us overnight in their guest house, Birla Cellulose provided us with an amazing tour of their facilities: fabric making behind-the-scenes. Seeing their sign "Birla Cellulose" I wasn't sure if I should expect something really scientific or burlap or what! Actually, Birla cellulose has an intense start-to-finish process of creating Viscose, Modal, & Excel from wood, wood pulp to be more precise. This means that all of their fabric is totally eco-friendly, beating most other sustainable fabrics by a long stride.
We had the chance to tour the entire plant, seeing the planks of hard wood pulp turned into smaller chunks, going through really scientific processes (you would probably laugh if we tried explaining any of those in depth; that's what we have Rajiv for!) and coming out strands of fibers! Wow! And the next part was just as outstanding where it was turned into material.
We are running low on time right now; must get out to explore New Delhi, so you will just have to wait in anticipation to hear what else Birla offered! - Haley

Dahod

Hey Everyone!

Sorry for the day off yesterday, we were in a rural village, Dahod, having an amazing time seeing the company Sahaj (where Lauren worked for the summer) and finding out about how a smaller company like that works. Starting off the day from an overnight train ride (definitely a new experience) and a 4 hour drive through India country, it was really nice to meet a lot of warm Indians who were excited to show us their work. They create crafts and basically all parts of the business are done in house so it's really cool to see how such a small organization works through all the pieces. We also visited an even smaller village and temple, and got stuck in the middle of their town in a traffic/people/rickshaw jam! It was quite funny.
We drove to Baruch late in the evening and arrived to Birla Cellulose Campus' guest house where we were treated to a wonderful dinner.
We are excited to learn more and tour the fabric factory (the largest of its kind in the world) today!
-Haley

Who do you know?

My dad always said "its not what you know but who you know"...and Rajiv knows some wonderful people! Our first day in India was greater than we could expect. Waking up to warm chai was only the start; we quickly headed into Mumbai to meet the store designer and owner of Ethnicity, a store that features Indian designs from around 80 villages. It was amazing! The designs in the store were awesome-i got the cutest pillow.
This was followed by an amazing experience from Deepa Ganpule who showed us how the company she works for contracts with huge European labels to do their embroidery and beadwork. We saw every part from start to finish, and it was literally mind blowing the way they hand stitched every detail perfectly. A few of the labels we saw in process were Valentino, Gucci,& Armani...so beautiful!
We capped off our night having a dinner out with the generous Somans. Rajiv's sis-in-law entertained us girls all night long with her wonderful stories of her business & personal past, present, and future. I loved her philosophy of life saying, if you want something bad enough, you will get it! I think I can speak for all of us when I say it was lovely conversation. Mrs. Soman is such a wise and wonderful person and I'm awaiting her book,that I requested she write;]
So my question to you is...who has made the biggest influence on who you are as a person?!
-Haley

I feel like I have seen, heard, smelled and tasted so much of India today! I saw three cows on the street, slums and high rises, the Arabian Sea, bustling people everywhereee, an amazing and welcoming family (The Somans), talented artists creating intricate embroideries, and a little kid happily squating and poopin on the side of the highway....not in Cincinnati anymore! I heard car horns all day... people show no mercy on these roads! I smelled chai tea when I woke up! spicy Indian food at Dinner, a little BO at the mall, and hot rain water as it poured this evening! I just tasted rice, chicken, saucy and spicy veggies, ice cream that looked like turkey (but was actually delicious) Clearly, I don't know the proper names for anything I tried tonight, but hopefully I will learn and eventually know exactly what to order at Ambar when I get home! :)
It was an incredible first day. I am so tired so I gotta get some sleep for tomorrow! We are taking a train overnight tomorrow. We will be going to Bardoa, Dahod, Baruch and New Delhi. may not have internet for a few days :( 
Love, Pegs
p.s. kate, tell Ellie I am sorry but I will not be touching any dogs on this trip, let alone bringing one home...and an elephant is a wholeeee other story! haha I don't think so! It is 1: 55am in Mumbai. goodnight.

Wow! What a day!! I think Haley and Peggy covered most of what we did today...but I'd have to say I was most impressed by the embellishments we saw! At the ethnicity store, we saw where a man does custom embellishments...you can bring in any embellishment design and he can finish one that's about 5x5 inches or bigger in about an hour! It was phenomenal! They let us keep a sample swatch of some he had done and I couldn't stop staring at how sparkly and beautiful it was! We also got to see Shevi Exports and the embellishments done by Deepa Ganpule's team. It was AMAZING! I kept thinking back to my first two weeks at White House Black Market when I was sorting bins upon bins of trims, beadwork, and embellishment samples...completely in awe of how intricate each design was. When I was sorting through all of them, I was trying to imagine what kind of machines could do this type of beadwork....and now I know! NO MACHINES! We went into a little room where there were about 20 men sitting on the floor in front of these large wooden frames that had fabric stretched on them. Some designs were large with about 4 men working on the same beaded and sequined designs while others were on small pieces of chiffon that were sewn onto a larger canvas to hold them in place. They were so fast!! We also saw two other rooms where they sew embellishments onto the fabric pattern pieces, adjust paper patterns, do quality control checks of all of the work, and package and send the trims and embellishments to the design houses. The men who worked in these rooms had to have at least 10 years of experience and go through a 2-3 day "interview process" where they show the quality of their work. Even though the embellishments are done in India, all of the pattern pieces are sewn together at the design houses and therefore "Made in Italy" or "Made in France". I feel like those tags should say, "Made in Italy...and India". haha....well since that probably won't happen, just think about that the next time you see something with intricate beadwork or embellishment...chances are, it was done in India by some very talented people!
~~~Christine

This is the embroidery sample we were allowed to keep! Imagine doing this in an hour! uh-- whoa!

It is hard to believe it has only been one day- it has felt like we've experienced an entire week! I am so excited to meet the other girls and see India through their eyes. Since I've been here nearly three months, a lot of the way of life has become so normal to me that I don't notice the cows or honking anymore. Watching them soak it in has allowed me to remind myself, "Hey, you are in India!" Regardless, I am going through a bit of a culture shock. The India I have known and loved over the past weeks was rural India where the food was fresh, the roads were dirt, and the lifestyle was slow. Now that I am in Mumbai, the malls look as though they have been directly transported out of the U.S.  I never expected myself to need to adjust to things so mundane as AC and toilet paper, but now I find myself walking around the flat making sure all unneccessary lights are out, I feel uncomfortable when I see women wearing revealing outfits, and I prefer to use my hands to eat. Hopefully this trip will prepare me for my arrival back in the states and I'll continue to learn a lot each day. Already, it's been one of the the most inspiring experiences!
 -Your CV,
   Lauren (culturevagabond.blogspot.com)

Hello Mumbai!

We officially made it and are all moved into Rajiv's brother's flat that he graciously let us crash in! It is definately a different culture already, which we've seen bits of on our way driving here. We've met up wih Lauren who has been co-oping in a small village of India for the entire summer, so it is really nice to have  her along to get us accustomed to the area and foods a little quicker!

We each want to write about our first impressions so I'll start off!

So the plane ride was a little crazy, as you'd expect any 20 hour ride to be! But the meals were amazing, Peggy and I even got special treatment with "special meals" which I think meant vegetarian or sooomething! Besides the babies crying and my tv not working on the first flight, I would say it was pretty successful! I'm excited to see what is in store for us these coming days..
-Haley

Yeah-- about those babies...there were about 5 surrounding us, and the lil one in front of us was absolutely determined to crawl over the seat and grab us!! Between the chorus of babies and failing to come up with ways to sleep "comfortably", I think some of us have only had about 6-10 hours of sleep in the past 3 days...
Driving from the airport to Rajiv's brother's flat was really interesting. I couldn't believe how many people were still out. Some just sitting in front of buildings, some still doing construction work at 2 AM (??) and a million stray dogs roaming and just chilling in the middle of the road.
Well we only have a few hours to get some sleep before we meet with Rajiv's sister-in-law and her company tomorrow, so I'll pass this off to Casey!!
~~~Christine

Hello friends... So we've been on 3 planes in 3 countries in 3 time zones in the past 2-3 days. Needless to say, we are exhausted and can't wait to sprawl out on beds in Rajiv's brother's flat. We were welcomed with such wonderful hospitality. Bottled water stocked. We've been seated in terrible positions in airplane seats for 9 hours at a time. No activity is a killer. But so excited and relieved to finally be in Mumbai and about to engulf in an amazing Indian journey ahead of us :) -Casey

Hi everyone!! It is now 4 in the morning here and we are supposed to wake up at 8 for a full day of plans for Saturday! ah! I guess I am running off of excitement! Right now, I am easing my way into Indian cuisine, with my Kroger peanut butter and some of the ParleG Indian crackers that Rajiv's brother left for us. mmm :) The first flight to Paris was a breeze - movie, dinner, and a nap and we were there! Mom, 1.99 travel pillow was the best thing! thanks! The second flight was a bit longer and I think I was served frozen fish... I was skeptical and had vanilla yogurt with leftover Delta cookies instead :) They didn't have the country music options like on the first flight (Tim McGraw album Lady Antebellum and Sugarland!) sooo I watched a documentary on Indian cuisine hah and read a national geographic on Indian agriculture... the time went by slower. 50% of my luggage made it to Mumbai. One bag is still in Paris! I am sure I can survive without my rice cakes and granola bars. :)
Thanks to Rajiv, for waiting at the airport until 2am! Lauren, you are clearly far more knowledgable about India than the rest of us... so sorry we will be drilling you with questions, and thanks for answering! More tomorrow! I have safely arrived on the other side of the world and I am sooo excited for our adventures ahead! -Peggy

Flight to India

How long does it take to get to the other side of the world?
Roughly 20 hours in a plane!

So the four of us are flying out of lovely Cincinnati's airport at 3:30 tomorrow (Thursday). Because of the time difference, we will not be arriving in Bombay, India until 11 pm on Friday!
Our flight has one layover, unfortunately we have to make a stop.....in PARIS! I wish I could say we are going to run around the city between flights, but all the running we will be doing is to get to our next flight on time! So with 10 hours down, we hop on another flight, for about the same amount of time, to India.

I'm pretty excited because on most US flights, the best you get is a Delta cookie (ok admit it, you enjoy it every time, I secretly do.), but for this, we got to request our ethnic meal of choice. Trying to be very diverse in my travel mentality, I chose Asian...fitting for traveling to Asia! I've been taught to cook authentic Asian meals in the past, and am excited at the possibility of crab rangoon and potstickers...or maybe I'm thinking a little far-fetched.

At any rate I'm trying to think positive for 20 hours in a plane. I have a lot of books to finish, and my brother recently handed over his old iTouch, which I'm excited to be able to use to update this during the flight!

Talk to you all before we fly out!
-Haley