There is plenty here that is drab, gray-brown, and dull. But the Bangladeshi women certainly make up for it in the clothing department!
This is the cloth shop where I purchased the fabric for my first shalwar kamizes. The shops are three-sided and open onto the alley, somewhat like an open-air strip mall. In order to be helped, a woman must sit down on one of the stools and wait to be assisted by one of the young men. She tells them what she is looking for, and maybe a color, and then they spread choices before her. As a Westerner, I have to file this in the "Could things possibly be more different here?!?" category. I got a bit impatient with them spreading things that either looked like nursing scrubs or were covered in sequins before me, so they eventually allowed me to use a stick as a pointer to select things I'd like to see. Now that I've been around a bit and learned a little Bangla, my shopping skills are coming right along- I recently went in to buy fabric for a sari, and they bought me a Coca-Cola! : )
This is the cloth shop where I purchased the fabric for my first shalwar kamizes. The shops are three-sided and open onto the alley, somewhat like an open-air strip mall. In order to be helped, a woman must sit down on one of the stools and wait to be assisted by one of the young men. She tells them what she is looking for, and maybe a color, and then they spread choices before her. As a Westerner, I have to file this in the "Could things possibly be more different here?!?" category. I got a bit impatient with them spreading things that either looked like nursing scrubs or were covered in sequins before me, so they eventually allowed me to use a stick as a pointer to select things I'd like to see. Now that I've been around a bit and learned a little Bangla, my shopping skills are coming right along- I recently went in to buy fabric for a sari, and they bought me a Coca-Cola! : )
We'll have to have "International Garb" days every other week or so through the summer so we can wear our salwar kameze and sarees! There's enough of us now that have them! :)
ReplyDelete