So hubby is going over to pak for a huge wedding. we are giving more than we can afford to the bride, willingly and with our very best wishes and hopes for her…we are also sending gifts for the family…
I have never asked for things in return but this time, I really want my hubby to bring home a couple of things - a tabla, a sitar, a fancy hat and 3 shalwaar kameezes for boyz. Is this too much to ask for? I have NO ideal what a tabla or sitar will cost and I hate to ask for these things but well its not like I can go round the corner and purchase them, know what I mean? will they be annoyed or is this typical?
Thx for advice!
table and sitar would be a bit awkward to carry back. maybe he can get them shipped back. it would be weird asking for them for sure, but i'm sure you can get them. as for the hat and shalwar kameez..why stop at 3? since your boys are still kids there is tons of ready wear variety for boys, and hats are like everywhere. i don't think the family will be annoyed. i mean as far as i've seen the families back home do send little tidbits for the person who's come over to visit them. if they aren't willing to buy them, then they could guide your husband as to where he could buy them himself.
and they aren't tacky :D i think they're awesome gifts.
My nephew is an awesome musician, he masters most any instrument you give him. And for the holidays, I wanted to give him something special...what more special than a tablaa or a sitar that cannot be purchased here. this kid has had a really tough time and came thru tough times like a real champ...just want him to know how much we admire him, his abilities etc etc....
the shalwaar kammezes are for MY 3 boys, i think they are already purchased :) cant WAIT to see them all dressed up lol!
awww cool! when he does master the instruments make sure you take a little recording of it and put it up here :D there are other really nice south asian instruments, like the rabab. i'm a big fan of it.
So hubby is going over to pak for a huge wedding. we are giving more than we can afford to the bride, willingly and with our very best wishes and hopes for her....we are also sending gifts for the family....
I have never asked for things in return but this time, I really want my hubby to bring home a couple of things - a tabla, a sitar, a fancy hat and 3 shalwaar kameezes for boyz. Is this too much to ask for? I have NO ideal what a tabla or sitar will cost and I hate to ask for these things but well its not like I can go round the corner and purchase them, know what I mean? will they be annoyed or is this typical?
Thx for advice!
Where is your Husband going, I mean which city. The cost of a sitar would be close to $100-250. And these are the mass produced ones not the specialized ones. For tabla Im not very sure. The carying would be hard so my recommendation would be have a crate or something as its a really delicate instrement. Also please .ask extra strings as the strings get broken a lot. I can let you know where they can be bought.I have a sitaar back home which I havent been able to bring here as of yet:)So I would like to know his experience too if he gets to bring it:)
^^ its available here…that sure is a better bet, I see one that has a customized case with it…thats just wonderful.
Mama I would say it would be better to get it from here but if a case like this is available in Pakistan then get it from there as it can be shipped like being counted as one piece of luggage. Again the extra strings and mizrabs (I had forgotten what they are known:cb:)are a plus
i want the exact same things from pakistan...for decoration purposes...i think it would be a good idea to get them shipped so that they don't get damaged on the way back. maybe if they have some contacts in PIA, they could get a good deal...otherwise i don't think it would be that expensive!
aray arayyy what abt bangels for you.., some fancy shalwarr kameez .. and some other kind of jewlery,, pls.. when u go to pak.. it is like a farz to bring back atleast 3 suit cases fllled with stuff.. :)
^^ yes what she said you can get awesome local decoration items. like woodwork from chiniot, or sheesha work quilts from…well they are available anywhere now. awesome costume jewellery, not to mention shalwar kameez and stuff. ohhhhhh dry fruit! get like chilghozay and raiwariyan.
Thank you all for useful advice! Hubby has been and come home and wow! he did a GREAT job!! He has a friend in peshawar who comes from a musical family and had 2 rebabs made, one plain for us to have and one fancy one for my nephew, its just stunning! It was quite the adventure for him to bring them home safely but he managed beautifully! And we have 2 instruments now that you just really cant buy here in the USA. He even got an instructional dvd for my nephew to learn how to play it - only thing is that nephew has to learn pushto to learn what it says lol!
Thank you all for useful advice! Hubby has been and come home and wow! he did a GREAT job!! He has a friend in peshawar who comes from a musical family and had 2 rebabs made, one plain for us to have and one fancy one for my nephew, its just stunning! It was quite the adventure for him to bring them home safely but he managed beautifully! And we have 2 instruments now that you just really cant buy here in the USA. He even got an instructional dvd for my nephew to learn how to play it - only thing is that nephew has to learn pushto to learn what it says lol!
Nice. Since family is from the NWFP, I hope the rebab is from the dabgiri area of Pekhawar or from Afghanistan. Rebabs can be extremely fragile pieces, so I would recommend that you handle with care amd keep a local Middle Eastern (Afghan, Lebanese) instrument shop in mind. Some of the Pakistani and Indian music places claim to know how to restring/repair rebabs but are likely to not do a good job. Tabla is more of an Indian instrument so their familiarity is greater.
you can get awesome local decoration items. like woodwork from chiniot, or sheesha work quilts from…well they are available anywhere now. awesome costume jewellery, not to mention shalwar kameez and stuff. ohhhhhh dry fruit! get like chilghozay and raiwariyan.