I try not to wear these shoes too often. They are a memento of a trip to India as much as they are a very functional shoe. I like that the hand crafting is obvious. The stitching is perfect. They remind me of the fun that I had discovering India and the contrasts I found there. They remind me that happiness and beauty can be found everywhere.
I was visiting a friend who was then living in Delhi. We had travelled by train from Delhi for nearly 30 hours to Jaisalmer, which is in the North West of India in the state of Rajasthan.
I have three very strong memories from that train ride and my visit to Jaisalmer. One. For the first two hours leaving Delhi we were on a commuter train. Women are not frequently seen in public places in India. Let alone two white women, travelling alone. If white women are seen alone, the assumption is that they are hookers. For those first two hours we were surrounded by more than 30 men in a compartment that seated 9. I felt like shark bait.
Two. About 20 hours into the journey we stopped for a short time at a platform in the middle of the dessert. Katie and I were the only two left in our compartment at this stage and we hung our heads out the window to get some air while we were stopped. A man carrying his little daughter was walking along the platform looking in the carriage windows, clearly waiting for someone. The little girl would have been no more than three years old and had the widest most beautiful black eyes I have ever seen. I was about to smile at her when those beautiful eyes widened even further and looked directly at me, clearly completely petrified. She buried her head in her father's chest and, after some murmurings in Hindi, she turned back, giggled and smiled at me.
I have light green eyes. Katie, who was learning Hindi, explained that the little girl was scared because she had never seen coloured eyes and, also, had probably not seen white skin. Once her father calmed her down she thought I was hilarious, a circus freak perhaps. Whatever the case may be, she was the cutest little thing and I am happy to have been her first friendly green eyed monster.
Third. Katie bargaining for these shoes. After our long trip we were exhausted but Jaisalmer, also known as the Golden City, was too tempting. I had embarked on this journey with Katie less than 24 hours after landing in India, so I hadn't had any experience of shopping in India yet. Usually serene, she suddenly became a rottweiler. I couldn't care less about the price, which was embarrassingly low, I just wanted the shoes. After a lengthy negotiation in Hindi, which involved us walking out several times and then being dragged back in, Katie settled a price and the purchase was complete. She later explained that if she hadn't suddenly morphed into this aggressive bargaining machine that I would have had a following of salesmen, traipsing around the city with us at all times.
It was the first of many important lessons in India. I was only there a short time but I loved the country and can't wait to go back. I'm going to wear these shoes more often to remind myself to hurry up and go back.
x
