Monsoon Summer by kaoruhana
Block-Prints, Shopping, and a Bad Visit
A/N: The scene at the end is reminiscent of a scene I experienced. I can't really blame the men for acting how they did, but I do wish they had the chance to be more open-minded. I have some formatting things I need to fix after I post so bear with me. As for the people Kagome meets: look up kutchi people and you should have a slight idea. I hope I covered everything :)
* * * * *
Kagome gave a smile in greeting to Neelam as she thought about what she was doing today. Anita had mentioned that they were going to go shopping in the afternoon when she was free but right now, in the morning, she was visiting the Kurta making cluster. As it was, this trip was purely going to be a test of both Kagome and Neelam’s patience. And later, when she saw Anita again, it would be a test of Anita’s patience in answering all the questions Kagome had.
Kagome knew a little about the cluster she was visiting, mostly from what Anita had said and then the reading material from yesterday. As it turned out, Neelam’s cluster was one of the earliest that HORD had created and was one of the most successful. She was excited to see it, especially after the photos she had seen in the HORD booklet that Anita had given her. The driver ambled out of the Okha township that HORD created and turned onto the highway to lead them towards the next town that was three kilometers away.
The drive was silent but Kagome enjoyed it. The day was hot and humid already and Kagome was glad she had picked a cotton blouse to wear over her jeans. She had grabbed the scarf that Anita had given her as well and had tied it off artfully. Kush slowed down and she peered out the window to see what had caused it. A narrow dirt lane lay up ahead on the right. All around it were the desert like shrubs and a rocky terrain. Her eyes widened as Kush turned onto the road and she eeped as the first bump made itself present.
Five minutes on that road was all it took to reach their destination. For Kagome, those five minutes were hell. She wondered why there was no road leading to this place since this was one of the oldest clusters HORD had. Her answer came in the form of a coconut tree. On the outskirts of the village was a road- a paved road that veered off in a different direction from the bumpy one that they had taken. The tree had blocked a portion of it and it was this roadblock that had caused them to take the road less travelled. Kush maneuvered their SUV into the village, honking to let any stray animals know they were coming, and parked the car in a large open space at the center. A building sat to their right, a barn to the left, and houses on all the other sides.
“Here.” Neelam stated in the meager English she knew. Kagome got the hint and stepped out of the vehicle. She stood aside, letting Neelam leave as well and followed the young woman to the large building on their right.
The building was different than the one she had visited yesterday. It was split into two rooms- an archway in between connecting them- and outside the window Kagome saw a large backyard where there were cotton sheets being dried. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that they bore the same pattern as her scarf. Curious, she held it up to the window and compared. Hers was blue with white patterns, while the one outside was a dark brown. Neelam tapped her on the shoulder and Kagome turned to her.
She pointed to the connecting room. “Kurta ka block- printing udar karti.” Kagome narrowed her eyes in thought. She knew what a kurta was now. She couldn’t recall ever hearing about block-printing though. At least not since history class. She followed Neelam to the room and watched as a few woman demonstrated what block-printing meant.
One woman held out a cloth died in a dark green hue while another mixed a batch of chemicals. As Kagome watched, the woman holding the cloth, which she would learn was cotton, let go of it and the other woman moved her hands away from the chemicals that she was mixing in the bucket with a spatula. She picked up the bucket and poured it into a tray which the woman holding the cloth earlier now held. Moments later, the cloth was once again held tight and a big block was placed into the chemical mix. After swirling it around a few times, the lady stood and pressed it hard with a loud thwack onto the piece of cloth. When she pulled away, a small design lay on the spot the woman had pressed.
Kagome fumbled with her bag and took out her camera, pressing record to get a video of the process. The women faltered for a moment but when Neelam said something in the local language, they continued with their task. As Kagome kept recording, they kept printing on the cloth. At the end, they then took the cloth out and hung it up on one of the clotheslines Kagome had seen from the window. She turned to Neelam, wanting to ask about the drying process of the block-print ink. Pointing to the cloth, she asked about the black ink and pointed to the scarf.
"Why black and not white?” Neelam narrowed her eyes, trying to come up with an answer. Finally, she help up ten fingers and spoke.
“Das minute- change hoti.” Kagome tried to understand based on the gestures. Something was going to happen in a certain number of minutes. She understood that much. And whatever that thing was it was a change. Not knowing what else to say, she nodded and waited to see where Neelam could take her next.
The young Indian woman pointed to the blocks that looked like wall decorations on the shelves. Kagome hadn’t paid much attention to them on the way in but now, she took them in and understood what they were. The block print blocks came in many patterns including mango shapes, flowers, and intricate looking leaf designs. Kagome went up close with her camera getting detailed pictures of the blocks. She was surprised to see that they resembled large wax seals with rubber coverings. Lost in her perusal, she started when Neelam tapped her shoulder.
The Gujarati woman pointed outside and Kagome followed her gaze to the cloth that had been hung outside a while ago. The dark colored design was slowly becoming white. It was a chemical process, she surmised, peering out the window. As she looked closer, she realized what the cloth was for- a kurta. Eager to capture more of this process, she snapped pictures with her camera. She wanted to know more about it but knew that she wouldn’t get the answers today. So, she merely smiled and showed Neelam that she enjoyed what she saw. Neelam returned it with a grin of her own. It was obvious that she knew the sight of the color change would interest Kagome.
Neelam led her back to the first room and towards a huge shelf that housed numerous pieces of cloth. She picked out a blue one, then a green, and laid them out in front of the intern.
“Dress materials.” She stated opening the blue pile. It was in three pieces and Neelam explained what each piece was. “Kurta.” She indicated the long blue piece with designs. “Pant, dupatta.” Kagome made a face at the last word, fingering the smaller piece of decorated cloth. Neelam seemed to understand and pointed to the scarf that Kagome wore. So that was what a dupatta was.
Kagome pointed to the cloth and hesitated but asked anyway. “Sample?” Neelam seemed a little confused but as Kagome gestured with her hands it became clearer to the woman. Taking the dupatta, she gave it to Kagome. Kagome looked confused for a moment but as Neelam kept pushing the cloth into her hands, she thanked her and placed it into her bag.
As she left the cluster, a half hour later, she was pleased to note that not only did she have a sample of cloth but had been witness to a unique experience. As they got into the car, Neelam pointed to the camera in Kagome’s hands. Not hesitating, Kagome turned her camera on and showed Neelam the pictures and video that she took. They made it back to Okha, a little after lunchtime, a journey that took fifteen minutes. Before she left the car at her stop, Kagome made sure to thank both her and Kush for the morning drive.
Sunil greeted her as soon as she walked into the building, catching her attention before she went upstairs to her room. Kagome waited to see what he wanted.
“Do you have a copy of your passport? I apologize but I forgot to send it to the police station when you arrived.” Kagome nodded. She had had to give copies of her passport to the police in Indonesia, so she was used to this.
“I’ll bring it on my way down to dinner.” She answered trudging upstairs. It took her five minutes to store her stuff and grab the passport copies from her carry-on bag’s hidden zipper. When she came back downstairs, Sunil took the copy she presented and se went inside the dining room for lunch.
As usual, there was roti and rice, two items that Kagome had gotten quite used to. She took a few roti and some rice along with a small bowl of dal and a potato and squash curry. Then she came to the soup- a new item on the menu. It was yellow in color and looked. Shrugging, she decided to take a chance and took a bowl of that as well before settling down at an empty table. It was still unnerving to eat all alone but it was getting easier to do so.
She took a bite of the curry first, liking it and eating the rest of it with the roti. Then she took a sip of the soup using her spoon. It was sweet! Unsure if she had imagined it, she took another sip of the soup and made a face at the still sweet taste. She hated to leave it though, so she pushed it away to eat at the end. She finished her dal and rice and then the soup, before standing up and making her way out of the dining room. It bothered her that someone had to pick up after her, but she got used to it in the time she was in Mithapur.
Kagome charged her camera, storing the videos and photos on her laptop. She then moved back to the secret zipper at the back of her carry-on and pulled out the wad of cash. Before coming to India, her mother had taken her to the bank and given her 20,000 Rupees of spending money. Now, in her hands, she took out 4,000 and packed it away in her purse. She figured that it would be enough, but just in case, she planned on checking with Anita before setting out on her shopping trip.
By the time Kagome put away her camera and laptop, Anita called her down by contacting Sunil at reception. Kagome arrived downstairs armed with her tote bag from the day before. In her tote she had packed away her purse, and just in case, a bottle of water. She discreetly asked Anita how much she expected to spend, mindful that there was a snoopy receptionist right behind her. Anita reassured her that the money she had was enough. Anita led her outside and Kagome was surprised when she didn’t see a car.
“The store I’m taking you to sells things by clusters.” Anita began, noting Kagome’s confusion and seeking to alleviate it. “It’s within the township of Okha because we wanted to showcase the products made by our clusters.” Anita walked out of the Okha Mahel complex and Kagome followed her. She recognized the direction they were traveling in.
“Is the store by the HORD office?” Kagome asked recognizing pieces of the route.
Anita gave her a smile making Kagome proud of her small accomplishment. “Close, it’s in the hostel next door. They don’t use the ground floor rooms so we rented the largest space and use it.” Kagome nodded trying to remember how long the drive was from where she stayed to the HORD office. She wasn’t looking forward to walking a long distance in the hot weather.
“It’s a ten minute walk.” Anita stated, when she asked. “Do you think you can familiarize yourself with the route? I am afraid that I might be able to pick you up for your excursion tomorrow.” Kagome immediately felt her mood better as she paid attention to Anita’s directions. It was nice to be able to do some things on her own in this place.
“Take a left after you leave the gates of Okha Mahel. Then, keep walking down the road until you get to the dead end. Turn at the dead end and you’ll find the HORD office.”
“Those aren’t complicated directions.” Kagome felt a little disappointed at the simplicity of her task.
Anita let loose a small laugh. “No, they are not.” They continued and about halfway into their walk, Kagome heard an odd sound.
“Are there stray cats here?” She asked. Anita raised an incredulous eyebrow at Kagome who patiently waited for an answer. She wondered what had been so odd in her wording.
“There are no stray cats here.” Kagome wanted to believe Anita, but she heard the sound again.
“Then…” She hesitated but continued. “What was that sound we just heard?” Anita listened closely as they continued their walk and the next time Kagome murmured about the sound, she laughed and answered.
“That sound comes from a peacock.” Kagome blinked and stared at Anita now the shocked one.
“Peacock?” She clarified feeling a little stupid. She knew that birds made odd sounds, but she’d never heard one that sounded so much like her lazy pet cat.
“You’re not the first to think that. We had an intern from England last year and she thought she heard cats too.”
“Are they common here?” Kagome asked thinking of what she had seen at the beach. “And what are those…” She tried to think of how to describe he animals from yesterday. “They were large, grey, and they- they looked like the Shika deer of Japan.”
Anita thought about it as they turned onto the street where HORD was located. “I think you are talking about Nilgai. They are normally shier than peacocks when it comes to humans.” She turned curiously to Kagome. “Where did you see them?”
“The beach.” Kagome replied noting that the hostel was right behind the HORD office as Anita mentioned. “Sunil gave me directions and they were at the end of the beach road.”
“I see.”
Anita walked into the hostel complex and Kagome followed. They walked into the actual building and then outside to a large courtyard. Stairs led upstairs to what Kagome assumed were the hostel dormitory rooms. Another set of stairs led to the courtyard and garden. All the doors but one were closed and it was to this that Anita led Kagome.
The store was called “From Okha” and was set up like any other store Kagome had visited. In one corner were tote bags and wallets. Another corner housed the kurtas Kagome was here to buy. A shelf took over the entire back area of the room with a wooden counter in front of it. Kagome recognized the cloth being stored there- dress materials. She looked around for the cashier station and found it to her right with a lady sitting behind it. She stood when Kagome and Anita arrived. Her clothing was a little more modern- jeans replaced the pants worn underneath the kurta top. Almost immediately, Kagome knew that this woman, like her, was an outsider and not from the nearby area.
“Kagome, this is Puja. She’s from Ahmedabad and she handles our store. Once every two months, she goes for two days to Ahmedabad and checks the store there.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” Kagome held out her hand and Puja shook it.
Kagome nodded as she perused the dresses. A green dress with full sleeves caught her attention first. It was decorated with embroidery done in a bright pink. As she pulled it off the rack, she noticed that a few mirrors were part of the embroidered design and were shaped into a flower pattern that lined the middle of the kurta top. It reached her knees with slits reaching mid-thigh. Peeking at the size, Kagome noted it said medium. Confused, she looked to Anita who walked towards her and offered the help she needed.
“What is it?” Kagome pointed to the size.
“It says it’s a medium. Do you think I’ll fit into it?” She held up the dress again to show Anita. “How does it look on me?”
Anita stepped back a few paces to look better at Kagome. “That color really suits your skin.”
Kagome bristled for a moment but figured that Anita didn’t realize what she said could have been taken as an insult and a compliment. Still, she was pleased that she had apparently made a good decision and turned to pick out a few more. At the end, she chose a brown half sleeve kurta with tan embroidery, a lilac one with dark purple designs stitched in, and two red ones that were covered in the same white block prints that she had seen that morning. Puja took them and matched most of them with their embroidery for the leggings and dupattas. She hesitated when she reached the block print ones.
“There’s only one pair of white leggings that fit you. And one red dupatta. You’ll have to share them with both of the dresses.” Kagome shrugged. She wasn’t going to use these clothes much when she left India.
“That’s fine.” She watched Puja pack the outfits and took out her wallet. “How much is it?”
“Seven hundred for the four and four hundred for the one that I couldn’t match.” Kagome nodded and waited until Puja packed all the clothes and took them to the cashier. She placed them into two bags and took the money Kagome handed her before giving her back some change.
“Thank you.” Kagome picked up her bags and turned to Anita. She hoped that she did these clothes justice. For now though, she was tired from her shopping excursion and wanted to go home. Anita understood for she led the way out and with one last wave, the two disappeared back towards Kagome’s current lodging.
* * * * *
Mudhvel was far from Okha. Not too far- but a forty minute drive tended to feel that way. They drove on a paved highway for most of the trip before taking a right turn onto another smaller paved road. As they drove, Kagome noticed a temple they passed with a giant statue in front of it. Anita told her it was Nageshwar- a holy site to Hindus and that if Kagome wanted, she could try to take the girl there before she left. Kagome nodded. Something about the place drew her to it and she knew better than to curb her instincts. Her grandfather always stated that god had a plan and if he ever gave you nudges you should try to follow them. She counted this as one of those.
The town of Mudvel itself was split into two with a road separating the two communities. One side had a brick wall with an opening, while the other consisted of houses and in the back a field of windmills. She descended the car with Anita, adjusting her scarf to cover her chest like Anita had told her to, and waited to see which direction they were going. Anita walked towards the gap in the brick wall and entered the closed off part of the village. Extremely self-conscious now, Kagome followed her.
The village was dusty. The dry climate and the abundance of clay soil coupled with the strong wind made the town look much worse that it was. Anita walked towards a woman dressed quite differently from the woman Kagome saw before. She was wearing a blouse tied off at the back with only one string, a skirt that ended at the ankles. Her ears were pierced with large gold jewelry and her cartilage housed an earring that was the same size. She bit her lips to stop herself from making unwanted judgments and sat down with Anita on the woman’s porch stairs.
Kagome had no idea what the conversation was about but as it continued, she noted that more women came to gather around the porch- some sitting down, some standing around them. At some point in the conversation, the woman whose porch they were sitting on, picked up her toddler and breast fed her. It was new to Kagome and she turned to stare at the ground not wanting to seem rude if she looked at the where the conversation was taking place- around the mother. A binder was brought out and arguments made, but it seemed Anita was able to gain the upper hand. Kagome felt sad for the woman but she couldn’t blame Anita for it. No one knew how to read or write, relying on Anita to make sure the bookkeeping was accurate and the HORD employee was writing a lot of zeroes next to names.
A kid came running through and collapsed onto the steps in front of Kagome. He looked at her and then at the ladies that had assembled. Whatever he said was lost to the intern but she understood the urgency in his voice and felt a sense of dread creeping in. Moments later, Anita stood up and motioned for Kagome to follow her actions. She picked up the binder and tucked it into her own tote before bidding a quick good bye to the woman and heading out of the village walls. Kagome ran to keep up with her fighting the dust that was kicked up by the wind and obscuring her face. She wanted to ask Anita what was wrong but held her tongue. Something was wrong and she doubted Anita had the time to answer her now.
“Kush!” Anita called only to pale at the sight that she saw.
Kush was a little further up the road- a mere ten paces- but he was surrounded by a few of the village men. They glared at Kagome as she stepped out and Anita realized that she had made a grave mistake today. The town they visited was conservative- she’d had to lobby for three years just to get an SHG set up. The men were unsure of what the outsiders were teaching their women and it scared them. They didn’t understand what was happening and were scared. Now seeing Kagome, they probably thought that Anita was here to do something to their women. She pushed the younger intern behind her and waited with baited breath as they watched Kush placate the men with words and drive back to where the women were.
They climbed into the car but not fast enough for the men who forced Kush to open the windows and asked Anita who the woman in the car was. Kagome tried her hardest to shrink into the seats. She quickly realized that it was her that was the problem with all the glares the men were shooting her way. Anita promised them that nothing was wrong and with a quick nod to Kush, the car started, the windows were rolled back up, and Kush reversed the car. The men scattered and the trio fled.
“Anita-bein, Sesshomaru-baiya…” Kush started but stopped at the glare he received. He instead focused on his driving as Anita fumbled with her cell phone and spoke into it.
“Sesshomaru-sir.” She stated as soon as he picked up. “We just… we had an incident.” She grimaced and even Kagome could hear Sesshomaru’s loud voice demanding details on the phone. “The men- they cornered Kush. We are fine- no one is hurt but we had to leave. I think they were not happy with Kagome.” She paused and then continued when he let her speak. “I understand sir, we’ll meet you there.” She put her phone away and spoke to Kush before addressing Kagome.
“We’re going to the HORD Office immediately. Sesshomaru sir wants to speak with us.”