The town of Udaipur is a lot like Varanasi, but alongside a lake rather than a river. Like Varanasi it is made up of narrow lanes leading down to ghats which, unlike Varanasi, are used mainly for non-religious purposes such as washing and, today in particular, swimming - it is a cool 39 degrees by 11:30.
Above: Udaipur ghats
Above: Traffic Jam
After walking around and getting our bearings in the early morning, we decided to get henna tattoos before the hottest part of the day when we can lie around doing not very much. The woman, Durga, who does our henna shows us pages and pages of henna designs to choose from. Her 13 year old daughter Latika shows us some drawings of her own henna designs which are very complicated and very good. I quickly choose a design for my foot whilst Alex and Charlotte spend a while umming and ahhhing. I choose a relativley simple pattern (in comparasion to some of the others) because they look like they will take a while and there are three of us to get through. Durga however works very quickly, almost to fast to follow what she is doing. I can barely feel the black mixture as it goes onto my skin although it is thick. When the mixture has soaked set, soaking into our skin, it is flaked off and the pattern underneath will be a red-y orangeish colour. She finishes the patten in about ten minutes.
As Durga works she tells us about her family. She has three children, two girls and a boy. The younger two shuffle in and she explains that they are not at school because it is a sunday - "and anyway, it is too hot for school". She tells us that she got married when she was seventeen, showing us the toe rings on each foot (a sign of marraige when worn on what would be the 'index' toe). She had never met or even seen her future husband - he was chosen for her by her father and brother. She then shows us pictures of her wedding and tells us about the hundreds of guests, the heavy jewellery she wore and the dancing and eating - with the whole celebration lasting for three days. The books of henna designs show intricate wedding patterns. They reach right up to the elboews and can take eight hours to draw. Apparently the darker the bride's wedding henna sets, the more the groom loves the bride. Durga tells us that her wedding henna was very dark, but her husband's was not, a fact he commented on to her father. Pointing to her henna he said 'I love your daughter very much but...', he points to his pale hands, "...she does not so much". She said "I've known you only one day!".
Above: Wedding henna featuring Rama and Sita, stars of the religious Hindu epic the Ramayana
When Durga fnishes my foot Latika asks if she can do a design on my hand. I was planning for just the one on my foot, but she is enthuastic and it will be good practice. I needn't have worried, she is very good although not as fast as her Mum, who keeps glancing over and giving advice in rapid Hindi, barely pausing from her own work. When Latika has finished the design on my hand, she asks me if she can show me her favourite pattern on my other hand. I must have looked reluctant, because she says "Don't worry its very simple - you like peacocks!?
We spend a couple of hours chilling out in our air conditioned room (we cracked and forked out the extra 100 rupees after a hot and sleepless night). By this time the henna has set very hard, forming a crust which cracks when I bend my wrist or clench my fist. It is very difficult not to pick at it. When we go back to have the crust taken off with oil, Durga asks us what we had for lunch and laughs when we say 'sandwiches'. She says "No, sandwiches I think are for breakfast, you should have a thali". We have had these lots before, mainly because they are very cheap (between 30 and 80 rupees), but she goes on to list the different componentd of a thali - rice, pickle, potato curry, veg curry, rita and chipatti. "Do you eat rice and chipatti in England?", she asks. We say that yes we eat lots of rice but not chipattis - "We don't know how to make them", I say. At this she looks incredulous - its as if we've said we don't know how to make a cup of tea, she really can't believe it. "Indian women...", she says, "...are making chipattis three times a day, morning, afternoon and evening." Later that day we book a cooking course which, among other things, teaches how to make chipattis and cups of tea.
We spend a couple of hours chilling out in our air conditioned room (we cracked and forked out the extra 100 rupees after a hot and sleepless night). By this time the henna has set very hard, forming a crust which cracks when I bend my wrist or clench my fist. It is very difficult not to pick at it. When we go back to have the crust taken off with oil, Durga asks us what we had for lunch and laughs when we say 'sandwiches'. She says "No, sandwiches I think are for breakfast, you should have a thali". We have had these lots before, mainly because they are very cheap (between 30 and 80 rupees), but she goes on to list the different componentd of a thali - rice, pickle, potato curry, veg curry, rita and chipatti. "Do you eat rice and chipatti in England?", she asks. We say that yes we eat lots of rice but not chipattis - "We don't know how to make them", I say. At this she looks incredulous - its as if we've said we don't know how to make a cup of tea, she really can't believe it. "Indian women...", she says, "...are making chipattis three times a day, morning, afternoon and evening." Later that day we book a cooking course which, among other things, teaches how to make chipattis and cups of tea.
No comments:
Post a Comment