I've received some helpful advice from a number of people I know who have traveled to India recently and I've noticed that almost everyone has given me a few words of warning about the way to dress while I'm there. My friend Nicole advised against tank tops, shorts, skirts, etc and told me that it's a good idea to find a balance between smart Western wear and Indian clothing. Sierra, my cousin who has spent 6 months of almost every year for the past 10ish years living in India has also stressed the importance of the way I dress while I'm there, especially given the interracial couple thing Anil and I have got going on. Sierra said that he approaches a visit to India like he does an invitation into someone’s home -- when he is there, he does as they do, accepts their advice and recommendations, and follows their cultural guidelines... no matter how bizarre they may seem. He says that a western woman dressed in Indian clothes will get the benefit of the doubt and be treated with much more respect than a woman who ignores the cultural guidelines around dress. Anil on the other hand can do as he likes because he's a good Indian boy.

All this has lead me to do some research about it online. I stumbled upon many forums about what women should wear while they're traveling throughout India and it seems like the consensus among female travelers is to wear Indian garb. Not only is it the respectful thing to do, it's smart in the sense that Indians know best what to wear to keep cool. Most people said that the most practical outfit to wear is Salwar Kameez (aka Punjabi Suit). It's a sort of "suit" that consists of a short (or long) sleeved loose-fitting shirt that usually goes to about mid-thigh length with a pair of like-patterned/coloured pants (your choice of tapered leg, straight leg or loose leg... I know I won't be going for the tapered variety). This is what I'll probably be wearing a lot of the time, except for when we're in transit I guess. I can just imagine how funny I would look in my Salwar Kameez with a great big backpack on my back. We shall see...