Shopping

Events:

Day before yesterday was my last day before more guests arrived.....spent the afternoon hanging out on the balcony of sanhitas dadu(grandad)'s place, while san took some much needed sleep. Then we hit the shops.... first jewelery stores, then clothing stores where I acquired salwar kameez suits and indian cotton tops suitable for travelling. All in all it was quite an overwhelming experience.... I do not have any sense for what looks good or bad, what is expensive of inexpensive in a salwar kameez, how one should acessorise, what is fashionable or not.... plus it is not a case of simply rooting through shelves at your leisure and walking into roomy changing rooms.... security guards guard the doors, and about 5 assistants search for colours and styles that they think would suit you....for me this is perhaps a little too much attention.... for san this seems to be normality.... yesterday, due to a political controversy in Bengal there was a 12 hour 'strike', with no taxis or other transport running, and no shops open...dave and the others had just arrived, so i used the time of the strike to catch up with them...

Thoughts:

I've realised just how much I appreciate my adopted home city berlin, its freedom and tolerance with regard to gender, sexuality etc. Adjusting to a situation where men do not look me in the eyes, do not take me seriously when a man is present, being required to remain 'modest' all the time, not feeling comfortable doing things that dave does with ease.... never before have i been so thankful for what my feminist foremothers achieved in making the life i live possible....