Questions answered
Trip Start
Nov 11, 2008
1
17
23
Trip End
Jan 13, 2009
Darjeeling,
West Bengal,
India
Friday, December 26, 2008
A tout is a very annoying man who's job is to get you into a store, often belonging to his uncle, brother, father or friend. They hang around the front of the store and either call, scream or harrass you more inappropriately as you walk past. Touts may begin the process of driving you into their stores from outside your hotel, or as you are walking up the street. They follow you, wait for you outside restaurants, tell you wild stories and are generally really annoying. Some towns are worse than others. Agra had vicious touts. Leaving the hotel compound was awful because they would all just run over to you and surround you. You had to literally fight your way down the street, it was so exhausting. In Jaipur the touts would jump out in front of you, stopping you from passing by shoving their wares at you and yelling in your face.
'Buymypants!' They would scream, 'YouneedshawlbuymyshawlTHATskirt5rupees! Or just BUYMYPANTS!'
If you hesitated and waited for even a second they would have their friends out throwing shawls all over you and herding you into the store. It was so crowded so pushing past them was a real difficulty. If you looked a little upset they would whine 'Why so angry sister?'
And they lie...they don't really have what they claim they do, it's all just a rort to get you in and spend money.
I really really don't like touts.
It's the vendors who throw around fabric, quite dramatically too. As soon as you enter a shop they rip open every packet (there are no hangers in shops, everything is frustratingly packed up on shelves) and throw things around. Within minutes you can have 20 shawls draped all over you and you've only asked the direction to the internet cafe. I always feel really guilty because the poor little shop boys seem to spend all day folding and refolding every item in store.
It doesn't make a difference what time of day or night it is, vendors will just tell you any rubbish to try to get more money out of you. Ridiculous!
I also really really don't like haggling! How do you ever know the worth of anything that you buy? It may all just be rubbish, you just don't know. I'm not very good at haggling either, which doesn't help.
A ghat is just a series of steps leading down to the water. People live out their lives on these ghats, it's very interesting to watch! Every river has ghats, and often the ghats are 'owned' by groups or different towns.
A salwar kameeze is a delightful outfit worn by women here in India. Truly, the most comfortable and flattering outfit any woman can wear.
Ah ha ha ha.
Actually it's designed to hide the body and be cool to wear at the same time, so it's stunningly uncomfortable and makes everyone look bad. If you've got the money you can get nice ones that fit, but I've mostly gone for the el cheapo 'free size' sets. These are inevitably gaudy, loud and ridiculous. I'm planning on turning them into cushions when I get home.
The kurta (long top) is alright actually. You can get really lovely ones, even some very trendy ones, and some women wear them with jeans which looks quite nice. You have to pay extra for ones that actually fit properly though. I've found a nice shop that sells lovely ones, so I'm planning on bringing a few back with me. They'd be perfect with leggings or my blue jeans.
The salwar pants are not fun at all. There is enough material to fit out a quilt, so I've had to roll up the bottoms and still constantly trip up on them. The top is quite literally free of all size altogether, and bunches up in a highly unattractive manner just under my armpits. When I have to undo them they puddle all over the floor - which of course means getting soaking wet everytime I go to a bathroom (Indian bathrooms always remind me of small creeks - the floor is a constant river of flowing water). I'm sure people laugh at my attempts to walk up stairs whilst wearing the equivalent of an entire room's worth of curtains hanging from my waist, cinched in at the ankle. The alternative to salwar pants are churider pants, which I much prefer and splashed out on in a fit of vanity. They are still ridiculously shaped at the top (female bodies must be hidden), but taper down to a very fitted leg, and then bunch at the ankle. They are much more comfortable and are worn by many of the younger women.
The last piece of the set is your dupatta, or scarf. I'm constantly fighting with my dupatta. The girls at Ankur Kala have shown me a variety of ways to wear it but its presence is enough to make me sob with frustration. It is never removed, not even whilst cooking over the cooking fires - a little dangerous but the alternative is showing a bit of shape, and that's even worse than setting yourself on fire.
But a scarf is a multi-functional piece of equipment in India. You can use your dupatta;
As a hair-net whilst preparing food
To keep your head, face and neck warm
To cover your head in temples
To protect your nose and mouth from the deadly sewerage smells
Or save your throat and nose from the toxic traffic fumes
To wipe your mouth
As a privacy screen when using a beside-the-highway toilet
To wipe the sweat from your face
As a pillow on public transport
As a blanket on public transport
As a bag protector and hider on public transport
To put over your dirty pillow
Plus many other fun uses!
Were there any other questions? Let me know and I will endeavour to impart my knowledge.
Comments
But wait there's more
Now I understand the multi-purpose scarf.