July 10, 2016
On Friday I decided to visit Okhai, an organization that
helps rural women by selling their hand made textile products: bed covers,
clothing, bags, etc. Its website says sponsored by Tata Chemical. Tata is a
huge Indian firm with many divisions: cars, chemicals, hotels and on and on and
on. I showed Rahul the address and he took me right to it. Rahul usually stays
with the car whenever we go somewhere.
I walked up to the building and walked into the foyer which
was dirty. The stairwells up and down were filled with all manner of boxes and
big cloth bags filled with who knows what. I knew I was in the wrong place. I
looked at the directory and the 4th floor slot had no one listed,
affirming my conviction that we were in the wrong place. I went back out to
tell Rahul. He brought me back into the building and we went into the elevator
which was filthy. Rahul pointed to a spattered wall of the elevator and with
his classic quote which starts with “These people…”. We go to the fourth floor
and the landing there hasn’t been cleaned in ages. There is one door and Rahul
opens it and lo and behold there is an office staff, confirming that this is
indeed Okhai. My contact person was out today because it is Eid (end of
Ramadan) holiday. My contact had invited me to shop in the office although this
is an on line company. When it comes to textiles I really do want to see them
up close to inspect the quality and the colors. The staff person invited me
back on Monday. When we left I told Rahul ‘Here’s my stereotype of any Tat
company and went on to describe how I
assumed it would be first class and not located in a physical space such as we
had just visited. He laughed and said ‘This is India!”. We both laughed. India
tourist ad reads ‘Incredible India’. It is in many ways!
We decided to get out of town for a day so I looked in
Lonely Planet for day excursions and found a great trip to two nearby cities:
Patan and Modhera. Patan, 130 km from Ahmedabad, has two points of interest.
One is a step well built in 1063 and the other is a small group of three
families, down from 700 families that have kept alive a unique form of weaving
called Double Ikat. Modhera has a Sun Temple and step well built in 1026.
The major roads in Gujarat are excellent for the most part.
Apparently when Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat before becoming PM made
improving roads a priority. We decided to get up at 6:45 and leave by 8:00 so
we could visit both sites in Patan and see the Sun Temple in Modhera and be
home before dark. Somehow Ron misunderstood and set the clock for 5:45. Neither
of us slept that well but when the clock went off I jumped up and got into the
shower. As I was dressing I put on my watch and was shocked to see it was 6:00.
OY! We could have benefitted from that extra hour but by then we were both
fully awake.
Off we went and were pleased that the traffic wasn’t heavy
but busier than I had expected. We got onto a toll road and learned that motorcycles
were not supposed to use the toll road. Like all of the rules of the road here
none are observed because there are NO consequences for non-compliance. So
motor cycles, which are prohibited on toll roads, whizzed past us darting in
between cars, some with more than the legal limit of two to a bike. Overloaded
rickshaws with up to five or six passengers which are limited to three
passengers and one driver were in abundance. We also saw numerous van buses,
some full to the brim. Some passengers rode with the tailgate up which creates
suction to draw in carbon dioxide from the exhaust system right into the
vehicle. We also learned that the four lane highways aren’t supposed to have
speed bumps and they were at all major intersections. This is India!
Once we got onto a two lane roads we went through numerous
small rural villages. Camels pulling carts were frequently on the road. They
are built to handle extreme temperatures. 
We also saw women carrying huge loads
of green vegetation ( feed for animals perhaps) on their heads, wrapped in a
large sheet size cloth. The loads would dwarf the women in size.
When we arrived in Patan we visited one of the families that
still weave double Ikat saris. These are called patola (silk) of Patan. They
cannot be bought in any shop and all are custom ordered with the buyer
furnishing the design they want woven. This art goes back 900 years. The double
Ikat means that the design is equal on both sides. The wearer cannot tell the
difference from one side to the other. All are hand woven and silk. The threads are tie dyed BEFORE weaving and
the design is created by the tie dying in a way that the weaver can create the
pattern. See photos and you can also Google, of course, to get a better idea. 
We then went a little further down the road and visited the
Rani-ki-Vav, a step well, built in 1063 by a queen to commemorate her husband.
NO cameras were allowed however there was no problem using cell phones to
photograph this incredible structure, covered with ornate carvings. Can anyone
explain to me why no cameras but cell phones okay? Or is it ‘This is India’.
Again we were approached and asked if we would allow our photos to be taken.
Young men love to be photographed with Ron and his hat! Ron got some great
shots of the structure with his cell phone.
We also visited another weaving family’s beautiful museum.
They had a display of many other cultures that do Ikat but none do double Ikat
as we understand it from our guide at the museum. It takes three men four to
six months to weave a sari using these techniques. The garment will last 80-100
years and the colors 300 years. Because this is a unique and treasured form of
weaving, a sari which is six meters (a little more than six yards) costs
between $22,800-$45,450. I purchased a
scarf that was single Ikat and it did NOT require a short term loan!
We also briefly visited the Patan museum which was closed.
The security guard at the entrance was lying on his cot and told us to go in.
It contained remnants of former historic structures and Ron got two great shots
of a Red-wattled lapwing. I continue to enjoy identifying various species of
birds here and I am pleased how many I have been able to identify without my
binoculars which I plan to bring back with me in August.
On our way to Modhera we stopped at a hotel to eat lunch.
There were one or two tables with diners and we sat down. Ron and I looked at
the heavily stained tablecloth and had the same reaction: shades of east Sri
Lanka. When Rahul asked what we wanted to eat before stopping I said ‘someplace
where we will not get sick’. I have had enough food poisoning in my travels to
last me the rest of my life. Rahul made suggestions from the menu and we had a
terrific meal and no Delhi belly! The meal was traditional Punjab: rich, veg,
and oily. I wanted a nap afterwards. By the time we finished the restaurant was
full.
The setting for the Sun Temple, built in 1026-27, was quite
beautiful. We had read that some of the carvings were erotic and sure enough
Ron found several. See photos. Right below the temple was a very large step
well with many niches, each containing a statue. We opted to not walk all the
way down to the green water as it was pretty warm at 3:00 pm. We were really
lucky today as most of the day there was a cloud cover keeping it much cooler
(that is a relative term folks as we have yet to truly experience cool here).
Again we had photo opts with a large family and some very pretty women. When
people ask me
‘which country’ I always say ‘USA…Obama!’ and get a great
response. Today when I said it to a man he responded ‘We are from Modi!’. Touché.The sun temple has a number of carved panels that are ancient erotic art. Remember these are about a 1000 years old.
We left and spent a little less than two hours getting home.
We were tired but had a terrific day, seeing so much beauty, both in the
ancient structures and the silk weaving. I loved the ride through the town
center of Patan as it was what I like to call Pure India. I sometimes catch myself as I am walking or in this
case driving through a village or town that is typical of India with honking
horns, bustling people, saris blowing in the wind, cows in the middle of the
road, dirt everywhere…I feel like I am in a time warp or in a movie that I have
seen about India and it feels magical to me. There are other times I am almost
disgusted with the experience. But I have no regrets about being here even
though we both find it difficult on an almost daily basis. It’s the experience…. Right?
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