A super day!

The saying “When in Rome, do as the Romans” surely must also apply to being in Mumbai. So, when in Mumbai, do as the Mumbaians. I feel we have already tried to live as normal as a life as possible, but we are still facing some difficulties. One of them is the incredible staring wherever we go. Hanna’s blond hair is certainly not blending in so well, nor is our Western skin color. The dress code around here is slightly different from what we understood it to be. The main thing is that you try to do your part to keep the guys from getting a peek at….well, you know. So, short sleeves are fine, tank tops with a wide shoulder strap are ok too, but be careful with the necklines and the armholes. Also, anything see-through or tight is not ok. However, we have a job to do here so I need to figure out how to move on from being the tourist attraction.

Most of the women here wear saris or tunics with long, loose, flowing pants and a scarf around the shoulders, or a tunic with leggings that are so long that they kind of bunch up at the ankles. I went ahead and bought a tunic from one of the production groups. I just loved the hand embroidery work and found in the local store a pair of leggings. I was slightly apprehensive getting dressed this morning because it is so different from anything I have ever worn, but I was willing to give it a try and blend in a little more. I feared however, it might be terribly hot.

It was most certainly not too hot, in fact today was one of the most comfortable days so far. It was, however, a ridiculous look on me but it accomplished the objective.

Today we visited the government agency The Weaver’s Center in Mumbai. They have several centers throughout India and we started with this one. When you visit a government agency in India, you need to add a lot more respect to your approach than we are used to in the US. Our visit started by Pooja calling the Zonal Director yesterday. She explained that as English speaking visitors, we might have received a flat out no, but since she called, the doors were opened and then they don’t mind speaking English. Even though she yesterday had received the ok by phone, she still had to write a very formal and respectful letter on letterhead and bring it with her today that explained who we were and why we wanted to visit the center. Then, before we left this morning, we had to wait until Pooja one more time by phone had spoken to the director and gotten a final ok. When we arrived, we were welcomed and all information was wide open to us. Thank you Pooja for not letting our ignorance close a door to a phenomenal resource!

The center is basically a really well run place that had examples of ALL types of dyeing, weaving, and printing of fabrics. We were not only given a detailed explanation of the various processes but also shown fantastic manual looms, including a jacquard loom. The center is also open for people, including foreigners, to come for a 4 months course in becoming a dyeing expert!! After an extensive tour of the facilities, we got to sit down with the Technical Assistant Director and ask how ever many questions we wanted to. Then he wrote down the numbers of the centers located in the areas we will be visiting and told us to tell them he sent us. Wow!!!! What a reception and help. We are so grateful. We paid our Rs200 ($5) fee and left.

Afterwards, it was time to extend our cultural experience in daily Mumbai life. Pooja treated us to a Mumbai specialty which consisted of something on a bun, bought from a street vendor. I have no idea what it was or what it was called (yes, I asked but between the language barrier and the Mumbai traffic I had no chance on earth understanding what it was) but it was so incredibly delicious. A little spicy, but delicious.

Afterward, she took us to an Ikat store where we bought the most beautiful fabrics for the astonishing price of $7! And then, our final experience for the day: the public train. Pooja had deliberately waited until a time during the day where it wasn’t busy. We got tickets and found out that the trains in India include three cars that are for women only!! Not to keep us women away but to keep the men away. Apparently, there has been some harassment and spitting happening on the trains and the railroad responded with adding cars that are strictly for women only. Love it!

I am glad this was the non-crowded time of day, because as the train ride continued towards our destination, more and more and more and more people boarded. We sat “snug” 4 on a bench that in the US would at the very most host 3 and were at a certain point told to slide over. "Vendors" walk through the cars, selling anything from jewelry to candy. I also found out I am definitely taller than the average Indian. Nevertheless, the experience was great and we managed to get home with a much cheaper mode of transportation than the rikshaw. Hopefully tomorrow morning will go well when we meet Pooja to head out to visit our first fabric producer.
All in all, a super day!!