I type the blogs, organize the pictures, and stack them up until I can get online.  It's a feast or famine situation--no blogs for a few days, followed by a glut.

Monday we went to a tailor with the fabric we purchased in Amritsar.  For one tunic, the fabric itself dictated the neckline, for the other I got to choose the neckline, and for both I chose the sleeve length (short, but long enough to cover the bat wings).  The tailor measured us while two young men worked diligently on treadle machines no less.  Two tunics, matching pants, and two shirts for Hank, will be delivered before we leave for Mumbai on Wednesday.  How's that for industrious?

And how's this?


 

At street level, they were just beginning to notice me.  By the time they'd mounted the steps and hauled their loads to the top of the house, they knew what I was up to.  I don't blame them should they think that if I'd don one of those donut things on my head and haul bricks up a building all day long, weight problems would be a thing of the past, and my balance and posture would be superb.  Some of them wore thongs on their feet, others were barefoot skipping across the gravel.   I was duly impressed and in awe. 

 

Another worker hauled a different building component in a metal dish though I never figured out what:

 

Their lunch pails sit on a sill and the photo depicts the solid brick and concrete construction--no wood is used except for temporary supports.  For finishing the brick is covered in a concrete stucco, and lots of tile, marble and granite are used for floors, kitchens, and bathrooms.


 

Women working continued as a theme when we left the construction site and returned to Simran's parents' house.  Two young women were working on Rashi's hands and lower arms.  The tool of their trade:
 


Many of the women are having Mehndi decorations applied to their arms (and feet if they choose and are married) for the anniversary celebration on Friday in Mumbai.  I chose to have my left hand decorated, thinking, wrongly, that it would be useful to have my right hand unadorned so that I could shower and shampoo with ease.  Well, it turns out I could have done tht anyway! Here's the start of the process:



The henna is mixed with an oil (eucalyptus) and is quite thick.  It is squeezed out of the carrot bags and applied similarly to icing a cake.

Hand complete:



After it is dry the pigment flakes off.  The design appears a light brown which darkens over the next few hours.  Here's the front of my hand this morning.  The design on the back of my hand is slightly different, with my finger nails appearing very white:



Women's work.