This was one of my earliest sights soon after settling into my apartment in Varanasi – a group of women making their way to a wedding – all dressed in incredibly colourful silk (no doubt Banaras silk) sarees. It was such a wonderful blaze of colour suddenly appearing on a perfectly ordinary day, and they were accompanied by a loud banging of drums making the atmosphere electrifying. If I had any doubts about whether I really was in India until that moment, there would be no doubts any more!