Frustration and life lessons

Today I am relaxing a bit. Have my dance lesson later in the afternoon today which gives me time to blog, and make calls, set up arrangements, and finish other such tasks needed to make a travel bounce.

The Padam is going well, it is a beautiful popular Padam and I don't want to say too much as some day I will perform it and wish to save the beauty of the details for that performance. To say a little.... it is a wonderful, popular Padam. A well-known favorite among South Indians. The character and theme suits me greatly. I am enjoying learning it and each day as each lesson continues it gets more fixed in mind and body. Little by little it builds, Rome was not built in a day (or week) neither was Tanjore. It will take a while for me to get it "performance-ready".  I will work at it.

A second dance note: Kalabharati is awarding me a certification in dance. I have worked very hard this past 30 days and my Guru and the school feel I should be awarded a level certification. That is above and beyond what I expected and thought I could accomplish. Thank you sincerely to the school for offering a recognition. It makes me proud indeed.

 A third dance note: I have on order two gorgeous Bharatanatyam costumes. One is a very standard costume in green and pink (two fan/pajama) the second is a dual costume which means it has both Bharatanatyam fittings and Kuchipudi fittings. Its a two-in-one costume. I chose the second, because I wanted something that looked a little more elaborate for possible fusion or semi classical pieces. It is in blue and maroon with an amazing decorative brocade on the entire costume. Very ornate, very elegant. They will be completed sometime next month. I am so excited to see and try on the final product. I will have to arrange a lesson with Aparna in how to wear all the pieces. Ajith will be here by that time, I will commission him to take some great pics of me. Bharatanatyam costumes are very elaborate. They have specified jewelry, hairpieces, and the costume itself is very complicated to wear. 

Bharatanatyam has elaborate hair rings and hair pieces if the dance chooses to wear them. (Some dancer don't wear all the pieces, just the jewelry.) All the hair bindings and pieces are black (fit for an Indian dancer)...you cannot get them in other colors. So, being the crafty costumer I am...I am making my own hair accouterments! Many Non-Indian dancers, or light haired dancers, often color their hair dark, or don't wear the elaborate hair pieces. I am working around that. I have acquired some very good jute fiber, pulled apart the original ring and decorations, and I am reworking the hair-rings to fit my hair color and hair type. I am trying to even make it look like real hair, instead of just a colored plastic ring. Pretty genius if I do say so myself. I have limited supplies here, there is no Michael's, or even a concept of a craft store in India. When I return home I can make the elaborate hair braids, but while here i am working with what I can get. So, when I finish I will make a shout out to all the blonde/redheaded/brunette classical dancers...."Get your specialized hair pieces right here!!"



It is very difficult getting these dance items, if I did not have Aparna I don't think I would have been able to stand a chance in this shop designing and placing complicated stitching orders. Additionally, I would not have gotten fair prices and good quality. Internet purchasing is possible, but price is high, and the quality of the items are very poor. I am glad I got to get these items while here.

Speaking of custom made clothes and shopping in general in India. It kinda sucks. My apologies it might get a bit "ranty" ahead, but I feel the need to express this interesting/frustrating difference in culture.

 India is this awesome place where you can get lots of great items we covet back home. We love the exotic and decorative fabrics. Most tourists don't get access to what it is actually like to buy stuff in India. Tourism trade is kinda a front for foreign travelers here, you really only get cheap glittery, over-priced kitsch in any place that caters to foreigners. Clothing for tourists is the lowest grade, mostly sequined, not high quality work.  In the real India a tourist would be lost in the complicated transaction. Buying items here can be complicated, language alone can be an issue, bartering with Indian sales people is nearly impossible, if not a native. I think it is like that in many places, I can really only speak to my experiences here.

It is a widely held misunderstanding that all items are less expensive in India. Also, most non-Indians really have a different taste in style, and a different consideration in what is something of quality. I am one of those foreigners...glitter it up, make it sparkly and I love it. It is true of some items, specialized items like these dance costumes are in fact less expensive here, and custom made clothes here are less expensive compared to custom made in USA. However, items of high quality, high craftsmanship, and good design are expensive here. In India you get what you pay for. Labor is cheap, so having someone sew an entire garment is less expensive comparatively, however, the quality is very, very poor. To get good clothes that fit well and that are sewn well, with quality fabric, that will be costly.

Example: I had to go to no less then three shops to get a very simple adjustment on my anarkali suit. All the shops were very poor in their alterations, very unskilled, and potentially ruined a very pretty ($100) suit. I finally had to take it to a friend, of a friend, of a friend, who does tailoring and could be vouched for to make the right corrections. She was good, but she was not cheap.

Service in India is not like in the USA. For instance, in the states the idea of the customer being always right, or satisfaction is at the center of how we do transnational business. Um, not in India. In India a transaction is always about how much someone can get out of you. It's never at the surface, its always a tight negotiation, and if they fuck it up it's always your fault.

Example. My father in law wanted to have me made a gorgeous churidar. A lovely gesture. In the shops what you do is pic the fabrics (they'll have designs/matching combos/trims usually laid out for ease) I chose a gorgeous red/gold/cream brocade of middle grade silk. Was gorgeous fabric, beautiful combo, was so thrilled to have it made. We paid the down payment, measurements and design was established and they had it ready in a week. So far so good. I went to pick it up yesterday and what they had ready for me was a COTTON hot pink and sea foam green churidar with ugly green/gold trim. I said "Oh sorry, you have this wrong,  this is not what I ordered and paid for!" The response was "Yes it is, and even if its not you have to pay for it." The shop lady suggested that I could have my father in law put in another order for the correct fabric, but the work on THIS ONE is done and I owe them money.

I was livid. Not only was this suit a lower quality fabric, and hideous, but the attitude was it was my fault and I have to take it. I thought because I was foreign I was getting ripped off. I wanted to make a scene, my father in law did not, and I could tell was getting embarrassed by my anger and refusal to pay. In the end we paid. My family assured me that I was not getting ripped off, it had nothing to do with me being foreign, and told me something WAY more shocking. My sister in law said...verbatim.. "This is how it is here in India, out of 10 times you will get maybe 4 things correctly." Tailor shops are the worst. WTF???

So, look forward to seeing my ugly churidar that, frankly, I would never wear in public. I feel poorly about it because my father in law wanted me to have a nice one made. Thanks ladies at Rangoli Designs on Pallukad road for making that beautiful gesture a ugly lesson in the reality of trade in India.

Frustrating, but a life lesson.
Namaste,
Christy