Travelling within a country dominated by men and religion can be somewhat daunting. Men will speak to David, ignore me or literally stand and stare. I smile at the women and mostly get a smile or clasped hands and ‘Namaste’ (welcome), or nods in acknowledgement. And occasionally, usually with a young woman, a conversation would go:
‘Where are you from?’ ‘Scotland…England then Scotland UK’ ‘How are you?’ ‘I’m fine how are you?’ ‘I’m fine’ ‘You are so beautiful’
With that, I ponder the thought that in tuthfulnes is it more what I represent, western culture, women’s equality, rather than any aesthetics attributed to me.
Gandhi was vehement about women’s equality and education and his influence is everywhere from women’s health clinics to education. The respect for tradition and family, together with the current impact of social media, creates a coexistence that somehow holds everything together.
Always, the contrasts of this country, whether it’s the people, food, history, colour, traffic, will never fail to amaze, inspire, astound and give me much pause for thought.
