After two months on the road – and traveling through Iceland, Spain, England, India, and the UAE – I returned to the States last week. I took a couple days off, but then it was back to studying at the GM House in Richmond.
I was more than happy to leave the chess scene behind for a couple weeks with family in India after my finish in Benidorm. Most of my trips to India have been planned around some special event, and this one was no exception. My younger cousin, Sushma, was getting married!
I had attended some Hindu weddings in the US, but this was my first Hindu wedding in India, and it was quite an experience. Between the wedding ceremony and various other religious rites, the wedding stretched over a few days. Here’s a picture of the bride and groom (Abhishek):
The wedding was massive, with about 700 people in attendance. Food was served in the traditional style: on a banana leaf while sitting on the floor. As I’m no expert in this, I ate with a plate instead.
Finally, a picture of me, my brother, and most of my cousins (the only one missing is Sushma):
Front row: (Left to right) Anoop and Chinmayi
2nd row: (Left to right) Stuthi, Yamini, Sphoorthi, Anusha, Sandeep, me
3rd row: (Left to right) Sharana, Amit, Varuna, Harish
Back row: Harikishan
There and Back Again 
Good luck to your tourney GM BHAT!
Goodluck in montreal tournament.