y shopped until we physically dropped on a staircase in the middle of a 5-floor jewelery store.We started in a mall where I bartered successfully according to Vidya, and we all worked together to boost the Indian economy!
Then came time for us to buy Saree's. The kurta (shirt) and salwar (pants) are traditional young women's and casual clothing. The saree is the outfit fit for an adult, professional woman. At this stage of adolescents in our lives, this purchase was symbolic in a mental and physical way. Unfortunately, the store where we made our purchases did not have appropriate petticoats for Sara and I. So Vidya took us to
another shop to attain those garments, which we had to walk to.Walking past the street-salesmen and begging children had been a strange experience in Bangalore, but it was completely different here in Chennai. We had only seen these parts of the city from behind the glass window in our air-conditioned bus. And it was when a begging mother was holding her baby in her left arm and clutching my shoulder with her right that I truly started to understand poverty.
This woman was obviously ill, but her child was not. She was barely clinging to the jewelery and clothing that identified her with her culture, yet had wrapped her baby in a cotton blanket and I saw her take out a few rupees and buy him an orange after we left. What her situation was, I will not pretend to know. I don't know where she went at the end of the day or whom she went with. I simply know what I observed. Which was a mother trying to protect, nurture, and feed her baby by any means necessary.
In the theme of Pongal and Thanksgiving, I just want to thank all of those who have nurtured me in physical and maturity growth. And all of you who are reading this and supporting my mental and academic growth. Happy Pongal.
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