I go shopping in Vijayawada with 2 friends who work in the orphanage. Zakeera is Muslim but often wears “regular” clothing; jeans and a punjabi top but sometimes she likes to cover up. It is a very strange sensation to spend the day with someone whose whole face (minus the eyes) is covered up and i find myself losing a lot of subtle comprehension with her facial expressions hidden. Chandra was an orphanage kid. She started out in a hostel in Vijayawada and now is working in the office of the orphanage in Buddawaram. She is waiting to go to college and to eventually get a job in tourism.
The Saris are beautiful…60 gram silks and gossamer light, they are expensive by India standards…3500 rupees (more than €50) and way beyond my budget. I allow myself €100 per month. Actually you can buy very nice saris for 400 or 500 rupees or less… guess the girls have been saving up as wages are low. When women buy here its a serious business i have watched them have 100’s of saris displayed before walking away purchasing nothing…not easy to be a salesman here…The frocks are also for very special occasions and are also an eye watering 3500 rupees!!!
the universal pursuit of napping…
The universal concept of napping… is very much part of life round this part of India. When you arrive in Hyderabad airport you can hire rooms by the hour (not for that!) that are known as napping rooms and they are a truly marvellous invention…Round these parts, be they younger or older, you will always find someone taking a nap after lunch in the various houses of the orphanage…
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Posted in commentary, india
Tagged nap, siesta, sleeping on the floor