Contrasts – The Unexpected is the Norm! Street Scenes, Coffee Shops and Indian Ladies
Hi all,
It is now almost 11 AM and Ravin went this morning for a job interview and I decided to be dropped off alone to look for shoes-but no shoe shops in this exclusive area except for designer shoes-certainly do not sell what I need-so walked up to the main road and actually walked quite casually and comfortably among the cars, bikes, rickshaws-but found no shoe stores and was getting quite hot so headed back to this fancy little street-lined with all types of designer shops, same place we were at when we went to Cotton House last week and that same nice coffee shop.
This is a very exclusive area and the contrasts persists-Garbage from fancy villas is still dumped by the maids directly onto the road side for collection-no bins of any type..so depending on when you walk up the block you may see a pleasant, fairly clean street with even a kind of sidewalk and trees etc., or you may see the roads strewn with fresh garbage-Quite difficult for me to reconcile!..even when the roads are fairly clean they compare to the areas in Israel where there is an open market like mahane Yehuda, Shuk HaCarmel, even a local shuk like netanya or Hadera, so clean is a truly relative word here...
I am now sitting in another coffee shop called Barristers-quite western-menu lists:cappuccino, caffe mocha, caffe latte, grande, espresso italiano, americano, latte bianca, caffe borgia, etc. and there are nice little sandwiches, fuccacha, cookies in glass jars, muffins of all sorts-the decor is any good coffee shop anywhere in the world-I have chosen to sit on a a side sofa and relax while waiting and am sipping a lovely ice coffee-strong and quite enjoying the AC for a change. By Indian standards it is not cheap-coffee ranges from 20 for a small espresso up to 80 for special stuff and what I have is 33 rupees. I am taking home a tray place mat explaining all the types of coffee and how they are made (note: one of those things which never made it home this trip!)
I am also trying to get used to my new glasses-making an effort but so far it is difficult.
The thing with the contrasts here, true juxtaposition--sitting inside here and looking out the window at the street scenes-is something completely accepted by Indians as normal-they see nothing unusual about any of this
Just as I find it amazing to see a woman dressed in a beautiful silk fabric garment, lovely enough for any evening affair-streaking past my view on a motorcycle,, or a barefoot child in rags walking alongside a 4x4 highly polished beautiful maroon colored recreation vehicle which I wouldn't mind owning myself-
A woman walked in now with what are obviously VERY expensive clothes, Indian style dress-not western-designer leather pocket book, designer coiffure and manicured hands and pedicured feet-if you have money here you really can live well-I feel really "scrumpy" sitting here with her nearby-she is quite "classy" compared to me.
I find that all Indian woman, rich or poor, have a way of carrying themselves-some inborn finesse or way of holding themselves- that makes all of them "classy" in a very feminine way, no matter what they are wearing (as long as it is Indian dress)
There are moments when I think the ideal life for me would be to live here for 6 months and spend the other 6 months at home with my family and friends.
Just saw a sign in the coffeee shop for "no smoking" which says:
"The only thing you should inhale here is the aroma of fresh coffee"
I would love to take pictures of the billboards here but I am always on the bike and cannot manage it. Very clever, and gentle but pointed advertising.
Another young woman just walked in dressed in "western clothes" very stylish slacks and sleeveless man-tailored shirt-quite nice-but something is missing-it in no ways compares to the beauty, to the elegance of the sari or even the more popular shalwar kameeze. Quite a shame. But I doubt it will ever make any big inroad in the fashion taste of the majority of India women. I certainly hope not.
By the way-in the background on the TV is a music channel-Indian dancing at it's best-done to the kareoke sountrack from Shrek!! Talk about contrasts...it never ends here...the unexpected is the norm. I love this place!!
Just saw another sign here:
"Drugs, racism, OUTSIDE FOOD-just some of the things we are strongly against"
Ok...now to wait for Ravin...
It is now almost 11 AM and Ravin went this morning for a job interview and I decided to be dropped off alone to look for shoes-but no shoe shops in this exclusive area except for designer shoes-certainly do not sell what I need-so walked up to the main road and actually walked quite casually and comfortably among the cars, bikes, rickshaws-but found no shoe stores and was getting quite hot so headed back to this fancy little street-lined with all types of designer shops, same place we were at when we went to Cotton House last week and that same nice coffee shop.
This is a very exclusive area and the contrasts persists-Garbage from fancy villas is still dumped by the maids directly onto the road side for collection-no bins of any type..so depending on when you walk up the block you may see a pleasant, fairly clean street with even a kind of sidewalk and trees etc., or you may see the roads strewn with fresh garbage-Quite difficult for me to reconcile!..even when the roads are fairly clean they compare to the areas in Israel where there is an open market like mahane Yehuda, Shuk HaCarmel, even a local shuk like netanya or Hadera, so clean is a truly relative word here...
I am now sitting in another coffee shop called Barristers-quite western-menu lists:cappuccino, caffe mocha, caffe latte, grande, espresso italiano, americano, latte bianca, caffe borgia, etc. and there are nice little sandwiches, fuccacha, cookies in glass jars, muffins of all sorts-the decor is any good coffee shop anywhere in the world-I have chosen to sit on a a side sofa and relax while waiting and am sipping a lovely ice coffee-strong and quite enjoying the AC for a change. By Indian standards it is not cheap-coffee ranges from 20 for a small espresso up to 80 for special stuff and what I have is 33 rupees. I am taking home a tray place mat explaining all the types of coffee and how they are made (note: one of those things which never made it home this trip!)
I am also trying to get used to my new glasses-making an effort but so far it is difficult.
The thing with the contrasts here, true juxtaposition--sitting inside here and looking out the window at the street scenes-is something completely accepted by Indians as normal-they see nothing unusual about any of this
Just as I find it amazing to see a woman dressed in a beautiful silk fabric garment, lovely enough for any evening affair-streaking past my view on a motorcycle,, or a barefoot child in rags walking alongside a 4x4 highly polished beautiful maroon colored recreation vehicle which I wouldn't mind owning myself-
A woman walked in now with what are obviously VERY expensive clothes, Indian style dress-not western-designer leather pocket book, designer coiffure and manicured hands and pedicured feet-if you have money here you really can live well-I feel really "scrumpy" sitting here with her nearby-she is quite "classy" compared to me.
I find that all Indian woman, rich or poor, have a way of carrying themselves-some inborn finesse or way of holding themselves- that makes all of them "classy" in a very feminine way, no matter what they are wearing (as long as it is Indian dress)
There are moments when I think the ideal life for me would be to live here for 6 months and spend the other 6 months at home with my family and friends.
Just saw a sign in the coffeee shop for "no smoking" which says:
"The only thing you should inhale here is the aroma of fresh coffee"
I would love to take pictures of the billboards here but I am always on the bike and cannot manage it. Very clever, and gentle but pointed advertising.
Another young woman just walked in dressed in "western clothes" very stylish slacks and sleeveless man-tailored shirt-quite nice-but something is missing-it in no ways compares to the beauty, to the elegance of the sari or even the more popular shalwar kameeze. Quite a shame. But I doubt it will ever make any big inroad in the fashion taste of the majority of India women. I certainly hope not.
By the way-in the background on the TV is a music channel-Indian dancing at it's best-done to the kareoke sountrack from Shrek!! Talk about contrasts...it never ends here...the unexpected is the norm. I love this place!!
Just saw another sign here:
"Drugs, racism, OUTSIDE FOOD-just some of the things we are strongly against"
Ok...now to wait for Ravin...
posted by Jane @ 6:09 PM
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