T2: Light of the Night

Last night I attended a typical Rajasthani reception in celebration of the daughter of one of the villagers (and employee) of Sariska. Entering through the brightly lit entrance of patterned shamiana I felt all eyes on me; I, who was in my maroon t-shirt and black scrub pants that were torn at the ends. Still, I tried to pretend I couldn't see anyone and walked casually into the abode of a conservative, uneducated and simpleton Rajasthani family where the women wear their traditional attire of ankle-length skirt, matching blouse and a dupatta wrapped gracefully over their upper body, head and as a constant veil to the face.

Bright summer colours against the backdrop of a dark clear sky and a cheese-coloured full moon pasted onto it, food, the latest Bollywood music and a crowd segregated based on a tacit understanding of hierarchy determined by socio-economic status, education and job description. I sat with the ACF and DFO and some other abbreviations. I, a woman, was entitled to a meal with the men because I belong to this privileged upper social stratum.

I had a nice conversation with my recent PhD student-friend while waiting for dinner to be served which put me at ease. Dinner was a typical Rajasthani spread of puris, chana, sabji, boondi raita as well as various types of sweets like rasagollas, kaju barfi and sooji halwa. People eat in a certain order (read: hierarchy) and men eat before women (except, of course, in the privileged group). The food, needless to say, was finger-lickin' good with a perfect spice content. I found this surprising because in this region of the desert state of Rajasthan, as I'm told, people survive on one meal a day which consists of thick rotis (bread) and a "chilli-curry" of sorts (= way up high in the spice-o-meter, eye- and nose-watering category, if that helps). Vegetables are rare constituents of the local man's meals due to (I'm guessing) affordability. Instead, liquor is consumed in generous amounts to make up for the obvious nutritional deficit..!!