Sankar thieves and is replaced

October 18, 2016

Some days are difficult here. I no longer read the Times of India because it is filled with distressing news. But today I have a workman in the kitchen banging away and Sankar was cleaning the floor in the area where I work on the computer so I went outside to wait for Sankar to finish his task and I picked up the newspaper. Big mistake. Two young people committed suicide because they were unhappy with their grades. A 13 year old girl died of cardiac arrest after her parents allowed her to do a religious fast for 68 days drinking water only. They held a big celebration inviting everyone to attend to where there would be all kinds of food and sweets to celebrate her fast ending. She started consuming food again with some soups and that same day died. Thirteen years old! What parent can assume this is a good idea for 68 damn days. I should never have picked up the paper.  Some things about India drive me crazy.

On this same day Sankar broke his promise that he would never steal from me. He talked the service person into adding 200 rupees to the bill and  Sankar would pocket the money. That is about $3.00.  The service man asked Rahul to make out the bill in English and said his hands were greasy. Rahul complied feeling under pressure as I was standing there as was Sankar. I saw the first bill on the counter for 1100 but that bill was taken away and the new bill presented to me. I had assumed since it took two hours to service the cooker that the bill was increased. They had said it would take one hour. Later in the day Rahul came to me and said ‘Madam do not trust Sankar anymore. Do not leave anything precious out. He is making my job very difficult’. I said I didn’t trust anything Sankar said anymore because he lies all the time, quite easily. Later I wondered why Rahul said this and he had seemed quite disturbed. I went outside where Rahul sits and asked what had happened today with Sankar that had upset him so much. He asked me to promise to not say anything to Ron or anyone else then told me what happened. He felt badly because he was dragged into it and he had felt under pressure because I was in the room with the three men.

I was sick to my stomach when he told me. We have been with Sankar just over six months. Next weekend starts Diwali and he had already asked how much his bonus would be. Rahul asked me not to fire him three times. And I think he felt uneasy ratting on Sankar but he feels a great deal of loyalty to us. I told him I would tell Sankar I had asked Rahul why there were to different bills with a price discrepancy.  Once I decided to fire Sankar I needed to tell Ron but first had to clear it with Rahul because I had promised not to tell anyone. He quickly agreed because he believes marriages should have that kind of ‘transparency’ to use his word. Ron readily agreed that this was the right thing to do.

The next morning before Ron left for work Sankar arrived and I asked that the four of us sit down. I needed Rahul to translate. I explained what happened and that Rahul had told me about the 200 rupee extra charge. BTW Sankar offered to share his bounty with Rahul. Rahul refused it and told Sankar he had done a foolish thing to which Sankar replied ‘no one will find out’. As Donald likes to say ‘wrong’. When confronted Sankar’s response was ‘the serviceman took 100 and I only took 100’ as though that somehow made it okay. Then he asked me to give him a second chance. He knows from me firing his wife there are no second chances with me when it comes to stealing. He had begged me three times to take her back and I refused. I handed him a plastic bag and instructed him to gather up his clothes that he keeps here outside in the servant’s area and to take all the recyclables that he has been storing up here: metal (cans), newspapers, plastic and glass. He loaded his rickshaw and I walked over to give him two bags he had not gotten. I said “I am sorry it ended this way”. He said nothing and drove away.

The next day Kamla sent Sankar’s relative (I think they are cousins)  over to see about replacing Sankar. Narian has worked on our society for 20 years. I was told Sankar had called Narian twice to ask ‘what was the big deal about 200 rupees’. I am so curious about people who have no moral compass but say they are deeply religious. Sankar travels great distances to go to various temples, he refuses to wear shoes because god told him not to, he said he doesn’t eat sugar for the same reason, etc. I told Narian to tell Sankar I didn’t matter to me if he stole five or 5,000 rupees. I did not want a thief working in my house and he was to never come here again. Ron had told Sankar if he even came to our gate he would call security. So by the end of the day I had a replacement gardener and housekeeper thanks to my saintly neighbor Kamla..

Narian may turn out to not be as good a housekeeper as Sankar but frankly Sankar had one disaster after another in his life, all of his own making due to very poor judgment. He had asked for his bonus early so he could pay is rent. He had asked for it the week before so he could go to his village two weeks before Diwali to give his family gifts. Everyone tells us you don’t do that . Diwali is celebrated when it is Diwali. Sankar was to have the whole week of Diwali off and he knew that. So who knows why he wanted the money before Diwali when I had already told him no. So I anticipate less emotional upheaval and family drama. I can only assume that Narian has integrity or he could not last in this small society of 75 houses for 20 years.

More from Sankar and a Garba to remember

October 16, 2016

We returned from our road trip Tuesday afternoon. I had given Sankar Sat-Tues off while we were gone. He worked on Tuesday then left for his village and didn’t return until Saturday. During that time, Rahul and I tried to keep things together here. I washed our clothes daily by hand and ironed, something I do enjoy doing as long as it isn’t a basket full. Rahul quickly swept the floors and mopped a couple of rooms daily. I dusted the table tops in the living area and cleaned the glass table tops. Not too much work but also it wasn’t up to our usual standards with Sankar gone. I did not bother to hand wash sheets and towels. I tried that once when I was a hippie in my youth and quickly realized it was not my cup of tea.

Today Sankar announced he got divorced from Hosha, his second wife. And that she has remarried. Can you really get a divorce in less than a week here? I have no idea but I also know that Sankar is not a truthful person so I no longer believe anything he says. Sankar never bother to divorce his first wife before marrying Hosha so who knows how all that plays out. The phase ‘what tangled webs we weave’ comes to mind. Anyway he seemed quite happy and relieved to be done with her. Frankly it was a good move on his part because she was an anchor around his neck. She didn’t work. He said he would come home from work and she had not prepared any meal for him nor had she cleaned the apartment they lived in. She stole money from me and she took money from him and bought saris like there was no tomorrow. No wonder he smiled when he told me she was gone from his life. They had been married less than a year. He also said she has remarried. Keep in mind that she left two weeks ago. Like I said I don’t believe a word he says. According to Rahul who was divorced before remarrying and he said you need to get proper paperwork and lawyers and appear before court to get a divorce. I truly think Sankar has told yet another untruth.

On Friday Asopalav Society where we live held their annual garba, a dance festival associated with Navratri, the nine day festival. Much work went into decorating and setting up the garden where is was held on the property. Our garba had been cancelled last week due to the rain but we had a perfect evening on Friday this week. 

On Friday afternoon Kamla appeared at my door with a festival dress to wear that Pooja wore the previous year. I felt like Cinderella going to the ball thanks to the magic of the fairy godmother. Kamla asked me to try on the top to see if it would fit. It needed altering and by 5:00 she had it completed. A miracle worker. Around 7:00 one of her servants, Jinal, came to the door with a jewelry case and inside was a traditional necklace and earrings of oxidized silver, so very Indian in design. Does it get any better than this? Ron had brought his traditional outfit that Raju had given him 10 years ago when he did his professional exchange.

So at 8:00 we went next door to have Kamla help be with my dupatta, a very long scarf because it is draped in a very specific way in the front and back for this festival. We took photos with Kamla and Dayal whom we always call by his last name, Badlani.  We walked over to the garden which is very close just after 8:00 and hardly anyone else was there yet. We stood for a while and were introduced to various people as they came into the garden. Since the Badlanis have lived here for 16 years and he has served as president of the society for 12 years, everyone knows them.  

Around 9:15 things got going and the first order was to do the ritual blessing which is part of this festival. Many candles were lit and placed in a shrine with a picture of the Hindu goddess Durga. The blessing included singing and waving a brass tray of votive candles. The tray is passed around to anyone who wishes to participate. We were invited to do this. So each of us held one side of the tray and waved it in a circle several times then passed it on.

The music was great but extremely loud. Multiple drummers, probably six or seven with various kinds of traditional drums, singers and other musicians were on a stage that had been set up the previous day. We sat and watched dancing once it started. It really is lovely and quite free form. The dancing was mostly women and a few men. Everyone was in traditional dress making a kaleidoscope of bright colors. We managed to stay until about 11:30 and the music stopped a few minutes after midnight so we could go to bed as our house is right next to the garden.

Friday afternoon the gas company came by for an inspection and told us we needed to change the hose to the gas cooker that sits on our kitchen counter. Only two of the three burners work because this is an old cooker. The last time a tech looked at it he told us he could not get replacement parts. So I have been cooking with two burners only for months. Kind of tricky some nights. Anyway when Ron took off the old hose to attach the new hose a part broke. We went by the store that specializes in gas stove parts three times over the weekend but the shop was closed. Today Rahul is trying to find a replacement part but if he can’t find one we will purchase a new cooker and deduct it from the rent. It has been two days since I have been able to cook anything. We went out to eat Saturday night and Sunday for lunch. We had enough leftovers to get through the weekend but after lunch today we will be out of cooked food. Never a dull moment in this adventure.

Some textile gems for the collection and a place for liberals to escape to if Trump gets elected

October 13, 2016

Kachchh trip continued

On Monday we started the day with a visit to the home of AA Wazir, an antique textile collector who
specializes in embroidery. His collection includes about 3,000 pieces and about half are for sale. He is older, I assume our age or older. He speaks in a very soft voice so we had to lean close to understand what he was saying. He was very generous with his time and showed us of a number of pieces from different communities/tribes/ ethnic groups. Each group has unique features. Our first purchase was an Andhra Pradesh inhoni, a headgear ring used to carry water or other vessels on the head. It is covered in cowry shells and has a gala (piece to cover the neck and to sway while walking to make an attractive appearance) made of cowry shells. It is about 20 years old.

Next we debated over two gala. One was 60-70 yeas old but the embroidery
wasn’t as fine as the second one. The design of the first piece was more interesting however that that was the deciding factor.  The piece was from the Banjara who are a nomadic community that is from the NW belt of India but they is now spread throughout India.

Our final piece was a chakla from Saurashtra about 25 years old. It is a square piece of embroidery about 20 X 20.

After leaving Wazir’s we headed to another part of town to meet up with Faiz, who was going to show us how bandhani was done. The word bandana comes from bandhani. This is the original tie and dye. We briefly watched men dipping stoles into vats of dye. One part of the stole was encased in some sort of device to protect it was the dye. I have bought several of these where the ends are one color and the center is another. It was interesting to see how that is done. We walked further down the street and met Faiz’s mother who came from the kitchen to give us a demo. She sat on the floor and proceeded to blow us away with this most tedious of tasks. A stainless steel device is placed on her middle or fourth finger and looks like a long finger nail on a ring. She then pokes the fabric from underneath with the metal fingernail, adjusts the fabric with her other hand to get the fabric to have a good tight stretch over the metal fingernail then she proceeded to take a very fine thread that is run through a small tube about two-three inches long. This is so she can grasp the tube and begin to wrap the tiny piece of fabric with the thread which will prevent the dye from coloring the tied part.


There are two photos showing you the end results with very small tied dots and a different style with the larger dots. I see why a small scarf can take one to two months using this technique. Women will sit and do this for 20-30 minutes then need to take a break starting again at a later time. The largest pieces take a year to make.

By now you can imagine we were ’textiled’ out! Ron was incredibly patient with me going from one village to another and with me visiting shops. But I didn’t think we would come here again and this area is the mecca for textiles in our state. Ron did enjoy seeing the various techniques. He loved the hand block printing and rogan painting the most and he truly enjoyed choosing the antique pieces with Wazir.

We had lunch then rested before heading out to the Kachchh museum. It was a two floor museum and took all of thirty minutes to see. Textiles were prominently featured. There were vignettes of tribal scenes with mannequins dressed n ethnic clothing.. Ron noted that each one featured a man sitting smoking a pipe or relaxing in some way and a woman working on a textile such an embroidery. We had dinner and did one final shop that was in the hotel where we had eaten our first night. I found two embroidered cushion covers for a gift and we had another good conversation with the gentleman who runs the shop about the work his group does to preserve the traditional techniques. I would have to say this shop had the finest quality we have seen. Our first visit there I got four small wallet/purses with embroidery.

On Tuesday morning we left at 8:00 and drove home with one coffee stop and one photo stop at the Wild Ass Sanctuary. Ron said if Trump gets elected he has found the place for us liberals to hang out until his presidency collapses. The five hour 20 minute drive of 208 miles took 6.5 hrs. That is due to roads that were torn up in some parts, truck drivers who hang out in the right lane (the passing lane here as they drive on the other side of the street from the US) and cows sometimes being herding and taking up an entire lane. Since cows can get spooked it is best to slow way down when they are on the road which is often. It was a terrific trip and we came back with a greater appreciation for the traditional textiles and a small suitcase of gifts for women friends.

Observations

Every Indian driver I have ridden with pulls the seat all the way up so that their knees almost touch the dash board, making it difficult to get in or out of the car.

Kachchh is quite flat and mostly desert. When the monsoons come the ground has standing water for a while then grass comes up and the nomads move their buffalo and cows to where there is fresh grass. The nomads live in very primitive camps. They milk the cows and hitch a ride to town and sell their milk. Back in the day when it was more difficult to get to town and there was little or no refrigeration, they boiled the milk to condense it to help preserve it. Herdsmen in town and in the country wear white turbans, blousy shirts and dhotis, a length of cloth wrapped around the waist then the back hem is brought up between the legs and tucked into the waist band, making something that sort of looks like pants. Very common in Kachchh.

Kachchh borders Pakistan and Muslims are the majority here. In the 1970’s there was a war between Pakistan and India and many Sindhi ( a caste/community) migrated to India where is was safer.

Women here carry all sorts of stuff on their heads. Their ability to carry incredibly heavy loads like 12 construction size bricks comes to mind, is daunting. While traveling on this trip we were behind a lorry that had stopped to pick up a group of villages and they climbed into the back of this truck. This was not a pick up but a large truck. One woman had a load on her head yet climbed up and into the lorry with the load ever steady on her head.

India has a high tolerance for dirt. I observed that the toll booths’ windows were so dirty you could barely see in or out of them. The same for buses here.

It is not uncommon to see ‘water springs’ along the highway. These springs have a concrete tank so I often see men bathing outside the tank, using a bucket to port water over their heads to get wet and to rinse. They usually bath in their underwear.

Some textile gems for the collection and a place for liberals to escape to if Trump gets elected

October 13, 2016

Kachchh trip continued

On Monday we started the day with a visit to the home of AA Wazir, an antique textile collector who
specializes in embroidery. His collection includes about 3,000 pieces and about half are for sale. He is older, I assume our age or older. He speaks in a very soft voice so we had to lean close to understand what he was saying. He was very generous with his time and showed us of a number of pieces from different communities/tribes/ ethnic groups. Each group has unique features. Our first purchase was an Andhra Pradesh inhoni, a headgear ring used to carry water or other vessels on the head. It is covered in cowry shells and has a gala (piece to cover the neck and to sway while walking to make an attractive appearance) made of cowry shells. It is about 20 years old.

Next we debated over two gala. One was 60-70 yeas old but the embroidery
wasn’t as fine as the second one. The design of the first piece was more interesting however that that was the deciding factor.  The piece was from the Banjara who are a nomadic community that is from the NW belt of India but they is now spread throughout India.

Our final piece was a chakla from Saurashtra about 25 years old. It is a square piece of embroidery about 20 X 20.

After leaving Wazir’s we headed to another part of town to meet up with Faiz, who was going to show us how bandhani was done. The word bandana comes from bandhani. This is the original tie and dye. We briefly watched men dipping stoles into vats of dye. One part of the stole was encased in some sort of device to protect it was the dye. I have bought several of these where the ends are one color and the center is another. It was interesting to see how that is done. We walked further down the street and met Faiz’s mother who came from the kitchen to give us a demo. She sat on the floor and proceeded to blow us away with this most tedious of tasks. A stainless steel device is placed on her middle or fourth finger and looks like a long finger nail on a ring. She then pokes the fabric from underneath with the metal fingernail, adjusts the fabric with her other hand to get the fabric to have a good tight stretch over the metal fingernail then she proceeded to take a very fine thread that is run through a small tube about two-three inches long. This is so she can grasp the tube and begin to wrap the tiny piece of fabric with the thread which will prevent the dye from coloring the tied part.


There are two photos showing you the end results with very small tied dots and a different style with the larger dots. I see why a small scarf can take one to two months using this technique. Women will sit and do this for 20-30 minutes then need to take a break starting again at a later time. The largest pieces take a year to make.

By now you can imagine we were ’textiled’ out! Ron was incredibly patient with me going from one village to another and with me visiting shops. But I didn’t think we would come here again and this area is the mecca for textiles in our state. Ron did enjoy seeing the various techniques. He loved the hand block printing and rogan painting the most and he truly enjoyed choosing the antique pieces with Wazir.

We had lunch then rested before heading out to the Kachchh museum. It was a two floor museum and took all of thirty minutes to see. Textiles were prominently featured. There were vignettes of tribal scenes with mannequins dressed n ethnic clothing.. Ron noted that each one featured a man sitting smoking a pipe or relaxing in some way and a woman working on a textile such an embroidery. We had dinner and did one final shop that was in the hotel where we had eaten our first night. I found two embroidered cushion covers for a gift and we had another good conversation with the gentleman who runs the shop about the work his group does to preserve the traditional techniques. I would have to say this shop had the finest quality we have seen. Our first visit there I got four small wallet/purses with embroidery.

On Tuesday morning we left at 8:00 and drove home with one coffee stop and one photo stop at the Wild Ass Sanctuary. Ron said if Trump gets elected he has found the place for us liberals to hang out until his presidency collapses. The five hour 20 minute drive of 208 miles took 6.5 hrs. That is due to roads that were torn up in some parts, truck drivers who hang out in the right lane (the passing lane here as they drive on the other side of the street from the US) and cows sometimes being herding and taking up an entire lane. Since cows can get spooked it is best to slow way down when they are on the road which is often. It was a terrific trip and we came back with a greater appreciation for the traditional textiles and a small suitcase of gifts for women friends.

Observations

Every Indian driver I have ridden with pulls the seat all the way up so that their knees almost touch the dash board, making it difficult to get in or out of the car.

Kachchh is quite flat and mostly desert. When the monsoons come the ground has standing water for a while then grass comes up and the nomads move their buffalo and cows to where there is fresh grass. The nomads live in very primitive camps. They milk the cows and hitch a ride to town and sell their milk. Back in the day when it was more difficult to get to town and there was little or no refrigeration, they boiled the milk to condense it to help preserve it. Herdsmen in town and in the country wear white turbans, blousy shirts and dhotis, a length of cloth wrapped around the waist then the back hem is brought up between the legs and tucked into the waist band, making something that sort of looks like pants. Very common in Kachchh.

Kachchh borders Pakistan and Muslims are the majority here. In the 1970’s there was a war between Pakistan and India and many Sindhi ( a caste/community) migrated to India where is was safer.

Women here carry all sorts of stuff on their heads. Their ability to carry incredibly heavy loads like 12 construction size bricks comes to mind, is daunting. While traveling on this trip we were behind a lorry that had stopped to pick up a group of villages and they climbed into the back of this truck. This was not a pick up but a large truck. One woman had a load on her head yet climbed up and into the lorry with the load ever steady on her head.

India has a high tolerance for dirt. I observed that the toll booths’ windows were so dirty you could barely see in or out of them. The same for buses here.

It is not uncommon to see ‘water springs’ along the highway. These springs have a concrete tank so I often see men bathing outside the tank, using a bucket to port water over their heads to get wet and to rinse. They usually bath in their underwear.

In the clutch of Kuchchh and being the stooge of Bhuj

October 9, 2016

WOW! We have just ended our second day in Kachchh (pronounced Kutch) the textile region of Gujarat about six hours drive from Ahmedabad. On Friday I visited with

Mazharkhan, an antique textile dealer in Ahmedabad who gave me some suggestions of what to see here. I had already been given names and other suggestions from Kamaldeep, a textile designer who has become a friend.

So armed with loads of information we set off at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday and first drove to Dhamadka where we met the family of Jabbar Khartri. This family has been making hand block printed fabric for generations and we were enthralled watching the process. One member of the family took time to explain the process from fabrics used, how to prepare the fabric for printing and about how they make the paint used. We ended our visit with me buying five scarves done in traditional designs. 

Next we visited Imran Adam, who made textiles using the Shibori technique which is a Japanese manual resist dying technique. After watching how this was done we left with two pieces that we think will make a tablecloth. 

By then we were hungry and needed a break so drove in to Bhuj and checked into the hotel and ate a good hearty Indian lunch of veggies and bread.

After lunch we went back in the direction we had come from and went to Bhujodi about five miles out of Bhuj. We met with Samji whose family are well known pit weavers and who do beautiful work. I managed to leave without buying anything. 



We next visited a shop, Shurjan, that specializes in traditional embroidery. They had wall hangings, clothing, purses, cushion covers, etc. By then we were all exhausted after getting up so early to come to Bhuj.

On Sunday we were met by Bacha (Kumar) who is a local taxi driver. Kamaldeep had suggested using him to find women and men in the villages who make the various textiles. We drove for a couple of hours due north and arrived at the checkpoint for entering the White Rann of Kachchh. This is a large salt desert. Police permission is required to visit this region because it is right next to Pakistan. Kumar had failed to get the permission required when we passed through the previous town.  So Kumar and the policeman on duty got into a heated discussion. When we handed over our passports he let us in and Rahul told us that Kumar had said the office had been closed and the policeman said you are lying and the policeman was correct. While this was going on three women came over to show their permission slips so it was evident that the office had been open.  He asked who Rahul was and Kumar said that our car had broken down in Bhuj and we had hired Kumar to bring us to the Rann. He said this because only one driver is allowed to go with us. My experience has been some people have no problem making stuff up on the spot. This was an example of that. I  don’t care for lying. Sankar has done it so much I do not believe a word he says as a result.

We drove a short distance and parked the car and climbed onto a camel cart to take us to the point out in the water with a viewing station that was being repainted.  None of us knew that the Rann was seasonal so right now it is under two feet of water. So I renamed it the Wet Rann of Kachchh. We were disappointed but it is all part of the adventure.

We left after chatting with the three women and taking photos and proceeded to Dhordo, a sweet village of round houses that have some form of thatch roofs and met Sophia, a lovely woman who invited us into her home. She is quite artistic and has created a beautiful home. 

On the interior she has completed mud work in the circumference of the house and around the window. This involves using small mirrors and embedding them in the mud and creating designs with the mud which is then painted. 

Next she brought out her embroidery which is very fine and lovely. She spoke English and was self taught. We were blown away by her. She had two small wall hangings and a myriad of strips that contained a number of small embroideries. I learned that these are bought by the piece for 100 rupees for each piece on the strip, then cut out ad sewn into a garment such as a kurta or blouse. Ron and I liked both of the wall pieces and I asked if they were for sale. Yes and I asked how much. She said 1200 rupees. That’s $18. for each one and I asked if we could have both of them and she said yes. I gave her the money and she looked at the money and said “I am so happy” and I said “So are we.”  

We left and drove to Hodka where we were taken to a place that makes those cotton quilts made from pieces of hand block print fabric. The three guys must have pulled out 15-20 quilts but none were right for us. The colors were all wrong. I felt badly even after I learned that the owner travels to a famous textile show in Santa Fe and sells them for $400 each. He was asked $75 here. As we were leaving he bought out some hand block print scarves so I bought five of those.  Several of the local women and girls came to watch us buy.

Next the driver suggested we look at leather work which wasn’t on the agenda and I regret saying yes. The leather purse were pretty but not my style at all. A grandmother started laying out her bead work on the floor right at my feet as soon as I sat down, again nothing I would ever wear. I even tried to get Rahul to pick something for his daughter and he said no. I looked across the room and saw a quilt that looked like appliqué work and asked where to get them, within minutes people started flowing into the room with quilts and at a closer look I realized they were prints of appliqué. So I quickly said ‘stop, I made a mistake’ and we made a quick exit. On the way out of the village another man stopped our car to ask if we wanted to see leather work and we declined. We are here to see textiles.

Our next stop was the village of Nironi. To get there we traveled on a newly paved one lane road with two way traffic, yep you got that right. It was an accident waiting to happen. If a bus or truck was coming towards you , you had to move off the road which had a narrow shoulder. Scary to say the least. If it was another car coming your way, it felt a little like the game of chicken seeing who would move over enough to pass. OY! Coming back on the road I realized the right side dropped off about two feet in preparation to build the second lane so there was no way to move off the road without dropping off two feet and crashing your car. Double oy! 

In Nironi we met Abdulgafur and Sumar Khartri. Their family has been doing rogan painting for over 300 years. It was an amazing process to watch. They make the paint from a based of castor oil that has been boiled for three days before adding pigment. The paint becomes elasticized somewhat like silly Putty. They use a metal tube and dip it in the paint then the artist lays a ‘string’ of paint onto the fabric. The artist pulls the string from the tube and keeps a consistent string width, constantly pulling and laying down the paint. Members of the family hae won awards for their works. Some are incredibly intricate. I bought a simple stole. The only place to buy rogan painting is from this one family in this village. They had two old skirts and old one small table cover between 50-60 years old and they were much prettier than the new paintings. The colors had been muted and bled into the cloth. I will ask my friend Mazharkhan if he ever gets any old rogan pieces. 

The same small village also had a copper bell maker. We got a demonstration then bought a single bell and bought a gift for Rahul as he was pretty keen on the bells. He chose a wind chime and we got another wind chime for Sankar. 


Our driver announced ‘lacquer ware next’. I quickly spoke up and said we didn’t want to see lacquer ware. We have seen it being made in many countries and it isn’t an art form we are that interested in. It was getting late in the day and none of the villages had restaurants and we had one more stop to make before heading back into Bhuj. Again we reminded ourselves that our priority was textiles and learning about the various techniques this region is known for. So we drove to Sumrasar to see Kala Raksha Textile Museum and their shop.

We spoke with a staff person who told us about the organization and some fo the ethnic groups they worked with. Their work was truly beautiful. IN 2005 the organization started a design school and 135 of these women have graduated . You can read about them on line. By the time we got out of there we were exhausted. It had been a long day and although it started off cool it got quite hot. It was so late we decided to skip lunch and eat dinner at 7:00 as soon as restaurants opened in Bhuj. We went back to our hotel, arriving around 5:00 and rested until time for dinner.

Old Friends, Navratri Diwali prep and getting by

October 4, 2016

Manvita and son Kinnenek with Tricia

This past weekend was relaxing. On Saturday we got a 90 minute massage and just hung around the house. Saturday night we went to a friend’s house whom Ron met in 1999. Manvita and Ron have worked on some projects together over the years and have remained friends. Manvita has her own organization that works with local governments and she is a dean at CEPT.

Manvita lives in a compound that includes her home where she lives with her elderly parents and son who is a computer science student at CEPT. In addition another couple joined us. The woman just got a job working with the City Management Association of Gujarat so she works with Ron also and her husband teaches neuro-science at CEPT Their nine year old daughter came also. It was a lovely evening with delicious Indian cuisine and stimulating conversation.

We are now in the midst of Navratri, a nine day dance festival. It is Gujarat with nine nights of dancing (garba)  It turns out the CEPT has the best garba in town. We were invited to go on Sunday night so took advantage and arrived around 9:00. The setting is a large sandy circle on campus. This area was recently renovated and it was imperative to leave this sandy patch for the festival. 

The music was dominated by wonderful drums, horns and singing. The dance is a very specific series of steps and turns and it resembles a line dance such as a conga line or the hora. So the first circle of dancers is near the center of the sandy plot. When that circle gets full, another circle is started next to it and as the crowds swells more circles are added going out to the edge of the plot.

a celebration dedicated to the worship of the Hindu deity Durga.  It is celebrated in Gujarat with nine nights of dancing (garba)  It turns out the CEPT has the best garba in town. We were invited to go on Sunday night so took advantage and arrived around 9:00. The setting is a large sandy circle on campus. 

This area was recently renovated and it was imperative to leave this sandy patch for the festival. The music was dominated by wonderful drums, horns and singing. The dance is a very specific series of steps and turns and it resembles a line dance such as a conga line or the hora. So the first circle of dancers is near the center of the sandy plot. When that circle gets full, another circle is started next to it and as the crowds swells more circles are added going out to the edge of the plot.

This is also a time to wear traditional regional clothing and some people buy an outfit or an accessory

such as a dupatta, an extra long neck scarf, for each night they plan to go out dancing. So it couldn’t be any more colorful because this state is known for its traditional textiles which include highly embroidered clothing with mirror work. I spied one fellow dancing that I wanted to pull out of line so Ron could photograph his outfit. He had on a harem style pants and a man’s full blouse totally covered with bright embroidery and mirror works. It was truly a spectacular outfit. Although I would guess the majority of participants were under 40 there were kids and folks our age also. One little boy who was probably 10 or 11 years old was heading up a line of dancers and anytime some others decided to join the line and got in front od him, he would race to the front of the line. He had all the steps and turns down pat. It was a joyous and colorful event to watch. I declined the invite to dance. With two left feet, no sense of rhythm and an inability to remember complicated sequencing, I thought it best to sit it out so people would think I could dance rather than being found out!

Diwali is the biggest holiday of the year in India I believe. It starts October 29^th -November 6^th. Most places shut down for the week. Ron will have the entire week off from CEPT. It is a time of visiting family and friends and gift giving, usually sweets apparently. Servants get bonuses of up to a month’s salary if they have been with you for at least one year. New clothes are bought or tailor made this time of year. It is common to help others with money so in our case we will give some rupees to the two morning sweepers who manually sweep the entire ‘road’ that runs through our society. It is actually swept twice a day. I will give some rupees to the veg vendors family also. It is a time of celebration.

So I will start looking around for Diwali cards, gift bags and items to fill the gift bags.  Ron has ten people at work to give gifts to so I will start my search today. We will leave town on Oct 29^th , first day of Diwali to go to the extreme NE corner of India to visit Naga villages in Nagaland and move on to Kolkata before coming back to Ahmedabad.

October 5, 2016

Indians love carbs and eat a lot of them. Today I went to what is called a snack shop with Kamla, my neighbor. There were walls covered in packages of fried carbs of every description. I recently discovered a snack shop that carries baked or roasted snacks and made the switch because sometimes bad oil is used for frying and my stomach can’t handle it. Now that Kamla is partially recovered from her surgery she is cooking up a storm and frequently send dishes over for me to enjoy for lunch  or for us to have for our dinner. She is so kind and a great cook. She loves cooking for others. This week twice she sent me a four carb special: one day it was potatoes with onions, two kinds of rice (plain and one with dhal), and chapattis. Today there was a sweet noodle dish, potatoes, a dish that I have had before but that I can’t determine if it is bread or idly, and one more that I am blanking on. I realized after eating three of the dishes that I need some veggies and protein. We are going out for dinner tonight and trying another Italian place. I see a salad in my near future.

Yesterday was gray and gloomy and it got me down a bit. I guess it reminded me of Portland this time of year. It was a day where I was tired of India and just about everything bothered me: the incessant honking horns, the traffic and the drivers who squeeze in or race ahead or do all those things that make driving impossible here. Anyway I am fortunate as I told a friend, I do not know how to do depression. When I am down it is short lived. Today Rahul and I went out to run errands and instead of being intolerant with the traffic/drivers, I admired a woman’s sari that was a bright orange Creamsicle color over a fuchsia top. Spectacular colors. She was sitting behind the motorcycle driver who was wearing a lime green long headscarf. My eyes were dancing over these fabulous colors which is one of my favorite things about this incredible country.