Cork woman shares story of her life-changing travels in new book

AN intrepid Cork woman had always planned to write about her travels to India, before she had ever even landed in the country.

But what Elizabeth O’Brien could never have imagined was that she’d meet her future husband there, and together they’d embark on a wonderful life adventure.

Nearly two decades later, and staying true to her word, Elizabeth, from Inniscarra, recently launched her memoir, Curry, Chaos And Love – The Story Of An Irish Girl’s Life-Changing Journey To India, where she shares her charming tale of travels and escapades, and how she met “a cheeky, chocolate-eyed Rajasthani boy called Alex”.

“As a teenager, I always thought I was going to become a professional cellist – I even studied cello at the Royal College of Music in London – but I ended up leaving the intensive world of classical music for the romantic languages, rich culture and sunny lifestyle of the beautiful Mediterranean,” said Elizabeth.

“My early twenties were spent country-hopping around France, Italy and Spain, working various jobs as a nanny for wealthy families or as a bar-tender in Irish pubs in places such as Paris, Monaco, the Spanish coastal city of Valencia and the tiny town of Saló by Lake Garda, northern Italy,” she remembers.

All the time though, as she continued her travels, India called to her.

It took a long time to build up the courage to finally go there. 

"I could never give a satisfying reason for having to go, particularly given how daunting it was. When I eventually booked the tickets to Mumbai, my reason was always the same: I just have to go. Looking back now, I think I know why that was!” she said.

Elizabeth’s first trip in 2007 was supposed to be just four-and-a-half months backpacking around the subcontinent.

“I planned to immerse myself in the deep spirituality of the land through meditation and yoga. What actually happened was that I befriended two wonderful European backpackers and the three of us took endless overnight bus rides around the vibrant northern state of Rajasthan, chilled out on Goa’s beaches, partied quite a bit, and fast became wannabe hippies!” she laughed.

Two months into her trip, after they had departed for Thailand, she bumped into “a sweet, funny crew of Jaipuri boys living and working in Kerala”. One of them caught her eye ... and her heart: Alex Ali, who is now her husband, and father to their two children, Bowie, aged five, and Summer, aged 10 months.

“My four-and-a-half months became 10 (with a brief sojourn to Sri Lanka to acquire a new Indian tourist visa) and there followed yet more overnight journeys (India is huge!), an intensive introduction to Alex’s entire extended family during his niece’s wedding, the dreaded delhi-belly while in the Himalayas and, right at the end of the trip, a deeply transformative 10-day Vipassana meditation retreat.

After a few months back home, working non-stop, I returned to India in November, 2008, for another six months, then moved back to Cork for good finally in May, 2009.

“I was tired of living out of a backpack and in serious need of the quiet space and lush nature of Ireland.

“In August, 2010, we had a colourful wedding in India and after a year of doing hard long-distance stuff, Alex finally moved to Ireland where we’ve been based ever since,” she said.

The couple run an ethical jewellery business called Caraliza Designs.

“It grew out of our special love-story. Alex is from Jaipur in India, the global gemstone ‘capital’, and was already selling fine jewellery before we met. The name Caraliza contains both our names (Ali and Liz) and the Gaelic word Cara which of course means ‘dear one’ or ‘friend’. We both design the pieces and they’re handcrafted in sterling silver using traditional tools and methods by a fantastic goldsmith in Jaipur, Ashis, who’s been with us since 2015,” she said.

They also sell luxuriously soft, pure merino wool shawls in a range of vibrant colours and patterns.

Elizabeth was always toying around with the idea of writing a book.

“It was always a plan in my mind before I ever landed in Mumbai and I kept a journal of the entire trip for that reason. But it took a long time for my inner critic to get out of my way and let me start writing it.

“Over the years, any time people asked me how I met my husband, they always said the same thing: ‘You should write a book about that.’ So I finally did!”

She feels strongly about supporting independent retailers, which is why she chose Snout Gifts and Homeware in Ballincollig for her book launch.

“Shops like Snout are exactly the kinds of business that we should all be supporting wherever possible, moving away from generic, cheap mass-production to unique, quality products that are more sustainable, original and make the ideal gifts.

“Snout’s proprietor is Esther Weekes and we can make a real difference to the character and charm of our towns if we can support these kinds of stores!” said Elizabeth.

Herself and Alex feel so strongly about supporting local that they collaborated with Esther.

“Caraliza Designs has been stocked in Snout since 2022 but in April we took on a bigger role where we share the costs of running the store and I’m in the shop Tuesdays and Thursdays,” said Elizabeth.

Seeing her book complete is a dream come true.

I decided to go down the route of self-publishing because I knew it would give me more autonomy over the book and also because I thought it could take years to finally get a deal with a traditional publishing company or agent. 

"It’s a challenging and expensive process if you want to do it properly, I’ve invested a lot into the process, but I’m glad I have as I’m extremely proud of the end result.”

Curry, Chaos And Love – The Story Of An Irish Girl’s Life-Changing Journey To India is available in Snout, Ballincollig and from www.caralizadesigns.com.