Well, we suspected as such.... the last 3 days have indeed included a spa visit, a factory visit and a project visit! We've seen the epic industrial scale of manufacturing cloth in India, the impact of a small fair trade exporter on local individuals and squirmed as our toes were scrubbed, poked and polished.
So now to the details... we chose red polish.
Anna Louise's factory was HUGE! We're talking several, or at least two football stadiums worth of dying, spinning and weaving machines plus a design studio to dream about, another fancy showroom and a whole lot of Pooja. This is a ritual that takes place over a week once a year and is all about remembering the night before the great battle of Ram when he and his army prepared their weapons. They won the battle, so today, everyone here frantically cleans and then decorates their 'weapons of work'- so cars, computers, spades, you name it!- as a way of saying thanks for the tools that allow you to live. In the mill, this meant that each machine was adorned with garlands of flowers and palm leaves and shrines incorporating bobbins of thread could be seen in every department. And each and every person left work with a delicious box of Indian sweets- we were jammy enough to be included in this!
Today we went on a bit of a wild goose chase to find the Jacob's Well project- thankfully our autowallah had his meter on! Tucked away above a row of typically cluttered shops, this small unit was a haven of order and tranquility. Though the project itself is in a time of real change, we were able to have a fantastic conversation with it's overseer and production manager. Once again there were striking similarities of vision and hurdles with our own endeavours back home. We'll definitely be keeping in touch.
Along side all of this we've been having 'fun' trying to find internet access in this I.T capital of the world- with experiences ranging from freebies in 5 star hotels to shower cubicle compartments with the slowest connection known to man, we've waited in the "Senior citizen, Physically challenged, Foreign tourist" queue in the train station and continued to see people stretch the limits of what they can fit onto a 'two-wheeler'. Our favourite items so far being a 3ft oil painting, a PC monitor and a stack of chairs. You name it we've seen it- no item too big, too clumbersome or too many!
We're leaving this sprawling leafy metropolis tomorrow for the pastries, beaches and boulevards of French colonial Pondicherry. It's a hard life.
So now to the details... we chose red polish.
Anna Louise's factory was HUGE! We're talking several, or at least two football stadiums worth of dying, spinning and weaving machines plus a design studio to dream about, another fancy showroom and a whole lot of Pooja. This is a ritual that takes place over a week once a year and is all about remembering the night before the great battle of Ram when he and his army prepared their weapons. They won the battle, so today, everyone here frantically cleans and then decorates their 'weapons of work'- so cars, computers, spades, you name it!- as a way of saying thanks for the tools that allow you to live. In the mill, this meant that each machine was adorned with garlands of flowers and palm leaves and shrines incorporating bobbins of thread could be seen in every department. And each and every person left work with a delicious box of Indian sweets- we were jammy enough to be included in this!
Today we went on a bit of a wild goose chase to find the Jacob's Well project- thankfully our autowallah had his meter on! Tucked away above a row of typically cluttered shops, this small unit was a haven of order and tranquility. Though the project itself is in a time of real change, we were able to have a fantastic conversation with it's overseer and production manager. Once again there were striking similarities of vision and hurdles with our own endeavours back home. We'll definitely be keeping in touch.
Along side all of this we've been having 'fun' trying to find internet access in this I.T capital of the world- with experiences ranging from freebies in 5 star hotels to shower cubicle compartments with the slowest connection known to man, we've waited in the "Senior citizen, Physically challenged, Foreign tourist" queue in the train station and continued to see people stretch the limits of what they can fit onto a 'two-wheeler'. Our favourite items so far being a 3ft oil painting, a PC monitor and a stack of chairs. You name it we've seen it- no item too big, too clumbersome or too many!
We're leaving this sprawling leafy metropolis tomorrow for the pastries, beaches and boulevards of French colonial Pondicherry. It's a hard life.
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