Hookah Bars- My First Time

The first time i went to a hookah bar, i was in new york city. i was visiting for a weekend with my family and i had plans to hang out with my friend sacha. when she told me what the plans were for the evening i was so shocked that i became speechless. we were going to a hookah bar to smoke some shisha! i became ecstatic and kept on asking her, "wait you mean there are public spaces and bars to smoke hookahs?" what a great idea! so we were off to the east village where we stopped in a lovely little, dimly lit bar with low couches and pretty curtains separating everyones smoking entourage. The bar was called Karma. i loved this idea of the hookah bar name from the onset. Although the creation of hookahs are decidedly a middle eastern cultural concept, and karma is a sanskrit term derived from ancient india meaning "action," i figured this was the perfect action to engage in on a friday night in nyc. this posh east village bar was a perfect fit for the type of lifestyle i wanted to pursue in nyc. the cultural concept of hookahs and the relaxing act of smoking some fine shisa was a perfect match for my relaxed personality and my desire to engage in traditions of other cultures.