1-28-09

Today I went for another walk along the ghats with Mom at around 7:00 am. It is, I think, a good time to go. It was nice and cool. In fact, Mom wore her shawl. I had originally thought it a bit silly of her to bring her shawl, but it seems to come in handy. People, with the exception of most teenagers, seem to be happier in the morning. I had a fantastic time and am determined to repeat the experience tomorrow. To tell the truth, I have never been particularly attracted to cities, preferring the lonely magnificence of nature to any manmade beauty. But there is something here in Varanasi that calls to my heart. Varanasi, with its holy, polluted river, its narrow crowded streets, its poor begging in the shadows of dilapidated palaces – remnants to a faded, but not exterminated, glory. Varanasi, in a sense, is India, the land of differences, condensed into a single city.
Enough of me waxing poetic! I’m not very good at it anyway. In the afternoon, Mom and I decided to go sari shopping and Dad tagged along. He actually took the lead and I had to slow down my pace considerably to avoid tripping over his heels. I was not always successful in my attempts. We’d asked one of the hotel employees what a good shop was and he recommended a place called Jalan and gave us directions. For some reason, we assumed it would be located on the right hand side of the road (the closer side) even though he had not specified this. But after walking for some ways and not finding it, we decided to return on the left hand side, just in case, but were not very hopeful. As we were walking along, I was keeping my eye out for signs, I spotted it. Jalan, written only in Hindi script. “There it is!” I said gleefully, pointing at the sign. Dad asked me how I knew. “It says it there, on the sign.” And I started tracing the letters in the air while spelling out “J, A, L, A, N.” I was quite pleased with myself. You see, in South India, they so not speak or write Hindi, so I could not put to use what I had learned in my Hindi class. So I was pleased to be in a place where my hard earned knowledge could be used and, of course, admired. (Actually, it was not a very difficult class, although it was informative, and I don’t really care that much about admiration, although it’s nice once in a while.) Mom wanted to get a Benares silk sari as a present for somebody (I won’t say who) but by the time we had finally decided on the nicest sari for the best price, Mom had fallen in love with the sari in question. I’ll admit that it is very nice, although not my style. So we bought the sari and Mom has put off until later the question of which sari – the one from Benares or the one from Kanchipuram – to give and which to keep. I also wanted to buy a few synthetic saris, also as presents, but Dad was a bit antsy. I was a little put out because it was supposed to be a shopping spree for Mom and I with him tagging along, not leading, but I’d had fun anyway. We can always go back.
When Dad discovered that Mom still had to be measured by a tailor, and that the tailor was not in the same building, he went home. Or back to the hotel, rather. We still have a few days together. After Mom was finished being measured, we wlked back to the main street and perused a few stalls. I got a set of green glass bangles and two packets of bindis, but was not entirely satisfied. You see, I want the real Bangle Experience. I went to a lecture last semester called India and the Art of Modern Dress, or something like that, which was about how Indian women present themselves and how they can display their individuality while still adhering to cultural norms and traditions. One example given was about bangles, how the bangles can be sparkly or plain, one solid color or embellished with gold or silver, how a woman could wear many small bangles that jingle a lot or two large ones that remain quite while still being brilliant. The professor also told about her own experience bangle shopping. She got to mix and match and try lots of different colors and textures and qualities until she found just the right combination. It sounds like fun, so I will try to go bangle shopping soon. I guess you have to actually venture into a real store instead of merely visiting the street vendors.