Home again

I'm back and working on returning to this time zone. A few more days.....

India was fantastic. I can't believe how exotic and colorful it is. The thing that struck me the most was seeing almost 100% of the women wearing either sarees or salwar chemise outfits. So beautiful and feminine. This includes women who live in tiny huts who must carry water from a village well and business women in the cities. They all wear the draped textiles even to do heavy labor. Silk brocade, chiffon and cotton voile either printed or plain, beaded and sequined or embroidered. Always in strong colors, often with lots of jewelry. I felt ashamed of the way we dress here. It seems so dull and lazy. About the only females not wearing the traditional dress were young girls and they wore school uniforms. Even the girls uniforms were varied and colorful. Only a few teenagers in the big cities wore jeans and then usually with an embroidered tunic or blouse.

The men are rapidly giving up the traditional draped clothing in favor of trousers or jeans. Our guide told us they didn't want to take the time to do it anymore. Not many wear the turbins anymore, for the same reason.

I brought home one silk sari which I will probably cut and use as fabric. Also many other textile things.... table cloths and placemats, wall hangings, silk scarves, wool shawls. I had planned to buy more but I didn't have as much shopping time as I needed.