Tired to the core after last week's journey and my bones are aching just to think that I have one more to do next week. But I've decided I will - don't know when else I can. Journeys are not fun anymore. You hardly get to sleep lying in all sorts of positions to accommodate the kid and the amount of peace you can get otherwise depends so much on her. She behaved pretty well in the daytime I must admit, though nights were anything but conducive to sleep.
The trip was good overall but as usual left me with a feeling of dissatisfaction that I should've done something else or something more to leave everyone happy. I don't know what it is and may be it's just that the time we spend is too short; even the kid didn't get used to anybody this time, except for her cousin's pair of slippers.
And, I did watch English Vinglish the week before I left, though the images are blurred already. Felt bad for Laurent, all the while knowing that it couldn't have been otherwise. Even if Shashi hadn't learnt English and 'risen' so easily in the eyes of her family, she would've never left them anyway. She would've gone on grinding for them and may have only become a stone at heart one day.
And no, I didn't watch the movie alone, I took my son along. And unlike the Sarod concert, he was all eyes and ears and told me later that it was all very interesting and he wished he could see it once more. And when Laurent was holding Shashi in his arms, asked me if he was going to kiss her!! Wonder where he got such an idea from!
Just like Shashi's niece tells her in the movie, I did experience how judgmental people are with ladies clad in a sari, on the journey onwards. Our compartment had all Tamilians - one set a father and son duo and another, a gang of new software guys going to Hyderabad to meet a friend or something. When P had gone somewhere, the father asked me where he worked, his qualifications and all that and in the end asked me if I was a graduate. I told him that my husband and I work for the same company and I could see he was surprised. Next, one of the young girls wanted me to move so that she could get her berth setup but she didn't know which language to talk to me in, being unsure if I spoke English. I understood and resolved her difficulty by speaking myself and after that she kept staring at me everytime I spoke. But I think had I not plaited my hair or had I applied sufficient make-up, even a saree wouldn't have produced these results. It's just that a plain lady in a sari, cuddling the kid the way I do, evokes certain stereotypical reactions from people.
The trip was good overall but as usual left me with a feeling of dissatisfaction that I should've done something else or something more to leave everyone happy. I don't know what it is and may be it's just that the time we spend is too short; even the kid didn't get used to anybody this time, except for her cousin's pair of slippers.
And, I did watch English Vinglish the week before I left, though the images are blurred already. Felt bad for Laurent, all the while knowing that it couldn't have been otherwise. Even if Shashi hadn't learnt English and 'risen' so easily in the eyes of her family, she would've never left them anyway. She would've gone on grinding for them and may have only become a stone at heart one day.
And no, I didn't watch the movie alone, I took my son along. And unlike the Sarod concert, he was all eyes and ears and told me later that it was all very interesting and he wished he could see it once more. And when Laurent was holding Shashi in his arms, asked me if he was going to kiss her!! Wonder where he got such an idea from!
Just like Shashi's niece tells her in the movie, I did experience how judgmental people are with ladies clad in a sari, on the journey onwards. Our compartment had all Tamilians - one set a father and son duo and another, a gang of new software guys going to Hyderabad to meet a friend or something. When P had gone somewhere, the father asked me where he worked, his qualifications and all that and in the end asked me if I was a graduate. I told him that my husband and I work for the same company and I could see he was surprised. Next, one of the young girls wanted me to move so that she could get her berth setup but she didn't know which language to talk to me in, being unsure if I spoke English. I understood and resolved her difficulty by speaking myself and after that she kept staring at me everytime I spoke. But I think had I not plaited my hair or had I applied sufficient make-up, even a saree wouldn't have produced these results. It's just that a plain lady in a sari, cuddling the kid the way I do, evokes certain stereotypical reactions from people.
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