Back to life
Wishing no more than sleeping off the heat and waking up somewhere in October, I was so reluctant to leave out my soaked scarf and meet some people. Yet, once I did the surprises came.
On Sunday I was to meet with a girlfriend of a friend – the meet up was much anticipated by both of us for different reasons. On my part, I was happy to spend some time with Indian GIRLS as I hardly get a chance to. I should do it more often and then I would probably get a somewhat wider prospective on Indian people as such, put aside men-only perspective. In fact I have to rethink my exalted post on Indian males as friends .. It appears that once you are a guest in this country it would not be only men taking care of you. “Atithi Devo Bhava” cuts cross gender. Girls can be very protective and caring when it comes to taking you out, depending on the person, of course. In many instances, you’d feel small and … guarded. Taking care of your transportation, paying the bills, giving cautions in this and that and hardly letting you raise your finger is not a male prerogative here. See, these are not only Indian men can be terrific friends as I stated earlier. Indian women can be too… It’s just that for a foreign girl it is way easier to get to know the former than the latter.
Udita and her friend took me along for some shopping at GK-1, this upscale (or at times – simply overpriced) market. It is there my ideas of a traditional wearing of saree were challenged once I got exposed to the young girls' aspirations - open holt-blouses and fish petticoat. We roamed around masses of counterfeit Diesel pants and Morgan tops and piles of unbranded, yet at least H&M level priced stuff. This is what GK-1 is about. However skeptical I was about the place I had nice time shopping and dining with girls. Not everyone who loves GK-1 is pathetic after all, forget your stupid pre-conceptions…
The next day I got capable of my own shopping undertakings. The location was picked without any doubts: I go for Sarojini, Sarojini and Sarojini once more. Long live export-rejected clothes!!! Janet, my Korean-Canadian flatmate came along and again the occasion favored changing my views, or preconceptions that take over with such an ease. And after all I pride myself on being open-minded… imagine those who do not then.... This twenty-year-old girl who seemed totally outspaced during the first days actually found her way around. For instance, through the local church she got into Korean community now lending immense support to her. Having figured out that the NGO she is working for cannot offer her something rewarding, she immediately found the second one to volunteer for. Managing fairly well, to put it short.
The next batch of insights came during the shopping at Sarojini itself. As determined by the occasion I got into my fight-your-deal mood and the outcome was not in coming. For some 450 backs ($ 10) I got 3 beautiful skirts, 3 shirts and 2 tops, so did Janet. I realized there is a whole big difference for me between getting around with Indian people and being my own/with some trainees. It’s very often you would hear Indians saying that the safest way to avoid cheating and get good deals for foreigners is to stick with Indian friends. For me it does not work; moreover, it works quite the opposite. Whenever I am with Indian people who, as noted above, tend to be very protective, I feel very tourist, very helpless, clueless and taken care of – this would be hard to bargain for me to the full capacity just because my self-confidence just would not be there. And, according to my observations, Indian people may not go to extremes as far as the bargaining is concerned. Yet, once alone I feel I am out there on my own and unless I adopt kick-them-all attitude I am in trouble with impudent rikshaw-wallah, fruit vendors, traffic and… people on the streets….So, I do – kick them all on full power. The feeling even re-enforces once I am with other trainees as I feel the responsibility to take care of those and they all know as a tough bargainer….
Yet, after sufficient amount of kicks exercised it felt simply divine to relax at Mocha cafe and sip my cold freshly squeezed lemonade. That night I planed to meet with a few people and for one time sake I decided to bring them all together. Not really a fan of mixing friends I gave it a try. And whatever apprehensions I had everyone appeared to be very cool and people mixed well. Amit, a good friend of many trainees, a tall and good-looking guy, and a model on the top was flattered with he attention of four girls. Girls were curios how I got to meet this hot one ;o) But even more amusing it was to realizes that all the four girls were trainees for NGO – first time in India I got to be in an “NGO gang”. We were sharing experiences of taking busses, being hassled on the streets and working for a social cause. The girls came to India just some time back. I realized that meeting newcomers helps you revise your own experience and challenge the things you’ve already started taken for granted. It was so funny, to get questioned by Lynn, this very observant and equally good in wording her observations Malaysian girls who stays in the States. She was asking, “Do you guys say yes in Indian way?”... “Do you drink water without touching the neck of the bottle?” I had no option but to nod in a tilting motion from right to left This is how I express my agreement these days.
On Sunday I was to meet with a girlfriend of a friend – the meet up was much anticipated by both of us for different reasons. On my part, I was happy to spend some time with Indian GIRLS as I hardly get a chance to. I should do it more often and then I would probably get a somewhat wider prospective on Indian people as such, put aside men-only perspective. In fact I have to rethink my exalted post on Indian males as friends .. It appears that once you are a guest in this country it would not be only men taking care of you. “Atithi Devo Bhava” cuts cross gender. Girls can be very protective and caring when it comes to taking you out, depending on the person, of course. In many instances, you’d feel small and … guarded. Taking care of your transportation, paying the bills, giving cautions in this and that and hardly letting you raise your finger is not a male prerogative here. See, these are not only Indian men can be terrific friends as I stated earlier. Indian women can be too… It’s just that for a foreign girl it is way easier to get to know the former than the latter.
Udita and her friend took me along for some shopping at GK-1, this upscale (or at times – simply overpriced) market. It is there my ideas of a traditional wearing of saree were challenged once I got exposed to the young girls' aspirations - open holt-blouses and fish petticoat. We roamed around masses of counterfeit Diesel pants and Morgan tops and piles of unbranded, yet at least H&M level priced stuff. This is what GK-1 is about. However skeptical I was about the place I had nice time shopping and dining with girls. Not everyone who loves GK-1 is pathetic after all, forget your stupid pre-conceptions…
The next day I got capable of my own shopping undertakings. The location was picked without any doubts: I go for Sarojini, Sarojini and Sarojini once more. Long live export-rejected clothes!!! Janet, my Korean-Canadian flatmate came along and again the occasion favored changing my views, or preconceptions that take over with such an ease. And after all I pride myself on being open-minded… imagine those who do not then.... This twenty-year-old girl who seemed totally outspaced during the first days actually found her way around. For instance, through the local church she got into Korean community now lending immense support to her. Having figured out that the NGO she is working for cannot offer her something rewarding, she immediately found the second one to volunteer for. Managing fairly well, to put it short.
The next batch of insights came during the shopping at Sarojini itself. As determined by the occasion I got into my fight-your-deal mood and the outcome was not in coming. For some 450 backs ($ 10) I got 3 beautiful skirts, 3 shirts and 2 tops, so did Janet. I realized there is a whole big difference for me between getting around with Indian people and being my own/with some trainees. It’s very often you would hear Indians saying that the safest way to avoid cheating and get good deals for foreigners is to stick with Indian friends. For me it does not work; moreover, it works quite the opposite. Whenever I am with Indian people who, as noted above, tend to be very protective, I feel very tourist, very helpless, clueless and taken care of – this would be hard to bargain for me to the full capacity just because my self-confidence just would not be there. And, according to my observations, Indian people may not go to extremes as far as the bargaining is concerned. Yet, once alone I feel I am out there on my own and unless I adopt kick-them-all attitude I am in trouble with impudent rikshaw-wallah, fruit vendors, traffic and… people on the streets….So, I do – kick them all on full power. The feeling even re-enforces once I am with other trainees as I feel the responsibility to take care of those and they all know as a tough bargainer….
Yet, after sufficient amount of kicks exercised it felt simply divine to relax at Mocha cafe and sip my cold freshly squeezed lemonade. That night I planed to meet with a few people and for one time sake I decided to bring them all together. Not really a fan of mixing friends I gave it a try. And whatever apprehensions I had everyone appeared to be very cool and people mixed well. Amit, a good friend of many trainees, a tall and good-looking guy, and a model on the top was flattered with he attention of four girls. Girls were curios how I got to meet this hot one ;o) But even more amusing it was to realizes that all the four girls were trainees for NGO – first time in India I got to be in an “NGO gang”. We were sharing experiences of taking busses, being hassled on the streets and working for a social cause. The girls came to India just some time back. I realized that meeting newcomers helps you revise your own experience and challenge the things you’ve already started taken for granted. It was so funny, to get questioned by Lynn, this very observant and equally good in wording her observations Malaysian girls who stays in the States. She was asking, “Do you guys say yes in Indian way?”... “Do you drink water without touching the neck of the bottle?” I had no option but to nod in a tilting motion from right to left This is how I express my agreement these days.
posted by Olga Tikhonova | 1:18 pm
1 Comments:
Hello,
Its nice to read your blogs.You can read my blogs on Organic clothes and food and on Ecotourism if you have time.
Regards,
Arun
New Delhi
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