W
ith scenes from “Eat Pray Love”
acting as my only point of reference for
Indian culture, it’s safe to say that as the
plane descended onto the runway, my
expression (or lack thereof) can only
be described as speechless.
I was in New Delhi, India as the international
brand ambassador for dress label Belluccio,
the official designers for Miss World
Australia. They had decided to act on their
plans for world fashion domination and first
we would take on the Indian market, but
I soon learnt they had one other intention:
To give me an incredible taste of the country,
the culture and of course, the curry.
“An-bah” and repeatedly ordered the crowd
to “Rock your bodies!” was cause for multiple
laughs, incredible photographs and hilarious
memories.
As a girl who loves to cook, trialling Indian
cuisine was high on my to-do list. As Belluccio
have their own property in the suburb of
Nizamuddin, approximately 15 minutes
from the hustle and bustle of the city, I was
fortunate enough to eat truly authentic Indian
food made by their chef, who was a mere
13 years old. I can safely say I consumed my
weight in butter chicken and Naan bread and
repaid the favour by teaching my Indian chef
the concept of a salad. I was actually the first
person to show him what a lettuce was.
“It’s just like a green ball?” he said.
Whilst still attempting to tackle the terrors
of jet lag, official duties beaconed and work
began. I was at Pragati Maidan for Tex Trends I had visited Humayun’s tomb in the heart
2012, a trade show to exhibit Indian textiles
of Delhi, where a snake charmer played his
and apparel. Belluccio
flute and lured not one,
was showcasing their
but two cobra snakes out
collection and garment
of a basket. (Note: I have
manufacturing to the
a horrific, yes horrific,
international market for
phobia of snakes. So
the first time and dressed
this activity resulted in
red carpet ready in a
a screaming, sprinting
Belluccio gown, I attended
westerner, much to the
events, worked with the
amusement of the locals.)
media and walked my first
I had been instructed
international catwalk to
though, that I was not
promote the brand.
permitted to leave India
But as soon as work
without seeing the Taj
was over, the fun really
Mahal and I was more
began. A meeting
than happy to oblige.
with an esteemed Indian astrologer, who
The Taj Mahal is found in the city of Agra,
also happened to own the infamous F Bar
approximately four hours from Delhi by car.
franchise in India, led to
Taking an incredible 20 years to build, the
my first taste of the nightlife. The music
white marble mausoleum was an absolutely
was loud, the drinks flowed freely and whilst
breathtaking sight and certainly des erves
the dancing style was... a little different,
its award as one of the seven wonders of
fine tuning my DJing abilities with the
the world.
house DJ who pronounced my name
“India was an
incredible
experience, but
having only seen
one city, another
visit is definitely
necessary and
I cannot wait
to go back!”