We were in Dallas a couple of weekends back and decided to head to the Texas State fair held every year at Dallas. We were there on the day when the UT played against OU and we were in a sea of orange and red. And here is my take on the state fair.

Some of my fondest memories of growing up are the visits to the exhibitions (rather eggibition in the local slang!) aka porutkatchis that made regular appearances in summer and the festival season at the neighborhood school grounds. It was such an exciting event and off we went! The merry family ohing and ahhing over everything.

The smell of the dust mingled with assorted fried foods, the dripping ice creams, the sweaty bodies added another dimension to the whole evening. And did I forget to mention the blaring loudspeakers? Lit up like a birthday cake, the exhibition was a sight set to attract people of all ages. The milagai bhajis, Delhi appalams, karmpu charu (sugarcane juice) and the pink panju mittais (cotton candy) were a treat to enjoy. Fast food, the Indian style served with on disposable plates made our mouth water and yeah we went to the exhibitions for the cheap trinkets, the thrilling rides and the amazing food!

The State fair of Texas was definitely bigger than any exhibition I had ever been to, after all it is Texas, everything is but big in Texas. The Texas State fair, showcases and sells not just the typical household items but also ranch animals like cows, pigs, goats. So in the market for a painted pony? Just head out to the state fair.

Quite a change from the typical fair foods I was used to in India, the Texas state fair does offer some yummy food. Corn on the cob with butter and cayenne chili powder for the kick, corny dogs, fried cheesecake, fried bananas with chocolate and nuts and cream, fried coke, fried cookie dough, fried latte and the list goes on! Yes! I know many of these names sound really weird and yucky but believe me they taste amazing. Just reinforcing my belief, anything fried and sold in the fair tastes good.

Oh yeah, it is no where close to the eggibitions from the growing up days in India but something is definitely better than nothing. Stop by, stay Howdy to Big Tex (the official mascot of the fair), show unwanted stuff, dream about expensive luxuries, listen to loud blaring music, ride the skyway and try your luck at some of the game stalls, attend a few shows and top off with some amazing fair food!

But be warned it will leave the desi in you carving for real eggibition food, milagai bhajis and delhi appalams here I come!

The mascot, Big Tex