A new adventure

We've been back in London for a week now. Our honeymoon in India was a whirlwind trip from Calcutta to Gawahati to Jamshedpur and back to Calcutta again introducing M to both sides of my spralling family.

M was a big hit, not least for the fact that he devoured the Bengali fish dishes made from rui, hilsa and pabda. They all loved that! He enjoyed himself because it was his first experience of India not as a tourist but as a member of a Bengali family. He got some insights into everyday Bengali living.

My parents loved it because they could see their brothers and sisters again. When our family gathers together in India there is much singing, dancing and joking. My father's family in particular - he is one of thirteen - is very musical and jocular and virtually every night produced some form of hilarious impromptu entertainment.

Needless to say, as fun as it was, it was also exhausting and we were both eager to retreat to the luxurious privacy of the Oberoi Grand in Calcutta for our last two nights in India. We recovered with alot of sleep and some spa treatments. On the plane back, we were already planning a second, quieter, honeymoon in Japan later this Fall - just the two of us.

And then it was back to work for me (M has a few weeks off before he begins his new job) and our regular routine of cooking (lots of grilled fish), eating out (the Kurdish Tara and Sardo which is not as refined as Passione but perfect Italian comfort food nonetheless), visiting art galleries (Amrita Sher-Gil at the Tate and Alvar Aalto at the Barbican), shopping (new Spring blouses for me now the weather is warming up), as well as just chilling.

Our usual routine, except that we're married now. I'm still myself and yet different. It goes beyond the wedding ring and the new surname. As a former anthropologist, I get a kick out of having formed a new, legally recognised, kinship unit together. I feel a little more grown up, a little more stable, a little more secure. Intensely lucky that I found him. We've embarked on a new adventure together.