Sunday Afternoon Shopping

Today while waiting for the tailor to come back from lunch, I found the meat vendors in the local market. The air was heavy with the smell of recent death and the sound of unhappy roosters, awaiting a messy fate. The crowing of the roosters was what originally drew me to that corner of the market:

(These guys are tied to cages that hold hens snuggly beneath them. PETA would have a collective meltdown in a place like this.)

I was tempted to take photos of the market once I entered, but then decided that it wouldn’t be fair to show photos of bloody alleys, layered shelves of fatty flesh, and dried goat heads to a reading public with potentially weak stomachs.

It’s been over eight months of cooking vegetarian food at home. Today confirmed that it may be another eight months of the same.

Once back at the tailor, I handed over a receipt and was handed a beautifully-made, Indian-sewn suit in return. I noticed however, that the string that makes a suit “drawstring” was missing, so I inquired of the tailor where I could buy one. Instead of charging me the infamous “white tax” for a small piece of string, he walked next door, bought a string, and handed it to me, completely free of charge. In a world where almost every interaction I have in public is tainted by the color of my skin, this interaction gives me hope for a near future where the people in my neighborhood recognize me and trust me (and vice versa) despite the fact that our only point of intersection until now is an exchange in a market stall. Moments like the one with my tailor make me feel more and more at home in my neighborhood, renewing my desire to get out of the house, explore, and take in every possible site and sound of my corner in South Asia.

If you pray, you probably believe that prayer has the power to do some pretty big and awesome things in the world. In that spirit, pray for the end of bonded labour in India. I think it can happen in our lifetime. A few weeks ago, my boss joined two released bonded labourers for a special show on India’s CNN-IBN. If you’re interested in learning a bit more about bonded labour, click and watch, here. On a more tangible note, please pray for safety as my roommate and I cross the main road every day in our area. Traffic is always heavy and I have heard of one death there already since the walkway underneath closed two weeks ago.

A more thorough update on IJM and my work is coming soon. Thank you so much for the support you have shown thus far! It is truly sustaining.

Love,

Alice

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