Pre-afternoon birdwatching, Sarah M and I took a trip to Chennai Silks. Turns out Saratha's is like Macy's, and Chennai Silks is like Nordstrom's. I refer to Nordstrom's as Nordys, that is my level of devotion to that establishment, so clearly Chennai Silks was right up my alley. I think the trick with Chennai Silks, is that it's very bright, and very white, and the sari floor is even more glamorous. Upon seeing the bridal saris, I'm thinking marrying an Indian, so I can have an Indian wedding, is not the worst idea I've ever had. I went to senior prom with an Indian, clearly marriage is the next logical step. It is to be noted, that the bridal saris cost about as much as a wedding dress in America, that is how beautiful and bejeweled they are.
Our actual mission at Chennai Silks was to get an Indian style shirt for Sarah's dad. When we finally found the "ethnic" men's section, it was in a corner next to bejeweled wedding jackets, that's how small the section was. The men here almost exclusively wear Western style clothing, while the women are extremely traditional.
As a young American woman, having to wear long, modest clothing every day, is becoming a little oppressive after a month. It's easy to think about the women here as oppressed too, when you, the American, are sweating out gallons of sweat and just in general, melting in the Indian sun. It's such an American way of seeing though. You can get trapped in this internal dialogue, that these women should be free to wear shorts and tank tops, and run about no toe rings, and zero responsibility, like us American women. But what if these women like how things are? The men here wear Polos and Levi's, but the women still wear all of their beautiful clothing and jewelry.
I don't think women in India are so much oppressed, as they enjoy their culture, their version of beauty, and their traditions. If not for these women, where would "India" be. You can build cities, skyscrapers, create clean tap water, and run an impressive no littering campaign, and India will begin to look different and modern, but these women are the reason that India will always be India. If she wants to wear shorts, then she should absolutely, but I am a guest in her culture, not some sort of star spangled savior. I hope that anyone who travels to this extraordinary country will be mindful of that.
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| Fabulous |
At some point between bending in the wind like a daisy and almost falling over onto a cow, I found out why they call this Wind Monsoon season. To put it into relatable terms, I was half expecting to see the Wicked Witch of the West riding her bike in the wind. That was what I was dealing with today. As I watched the birds crash into each other, as they were tossed by the wind, I realized they were even less amused than I was.
The cows also seemed to be in a fowl (see what I did there) mood today. One cow was hog tied on the ground, getting reshoed, and he was NOT happy when he got up. Then another cow came running down the road. For the record, the cows don't run, they mosey. This cow, however, was running. She soon rejoined her cow friends at one of our sites, so Shiva made us go to the sites out of order, for fear of being caught up in the cowpocalypse. I asked if I could say hello to my baby cow, but Shiva vetoed that, and I was forced to declare my love out the window as we passed by. I know my baby cow heard me though, our bond is deep.
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| From Left: Shiva, me Shyam, DJ, little boy, security guard |
The little boy who works at the crematory was back today. It was perfect timing, because Shiva has had a little bag of school supplies and a chocolate bar for him in the car since we first met him. Shiva asked me to give the bag of treats to him, which I thought was ridiculous. Shiva should get the credit for the gifts, right? Shiva refused to give him the bag though, so I gave the little boy the gift. He looked genuinely confused when I handed it to him, but when he realized it was for him, a smile spread across his face. The boys later explained to me, that as a foreigner, I'm "special" to them and it means more for me to give the gift than for Shiva to do so. I thought this was odd, to me, the gift was an incredibly thoughtful gift from someone that the little boy could look up to. In any event, I am continuously moved by how kind and good the people in India are, I think Shiva is well placed in the Social Work Department.
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