Arambol - Day 2

Greetings friends,

Yesterday provided Mel and i a day full of adventure. we woke up with what has become somewhat of our morning routine - ooohing and ahhhing at the sun as it lifts the morning fog from the roaring Arabian sea, while reading our respective books that we trucked along with us. after that, we do our "research reading" for the day which helps outline our day. we then lazily made our way down the narrow dusty path lined with merchants selling fabric purses, colourful clothing, precious metals and other natural resources from the land, including spices! this dusty path leads us to our cliffside breakfast place where we eat for about an hour or so, sipping on freshly squeezed fruit juices and masala chai tea. fantastic. did i mention that i havent' really stopped eating curries, including for breakfast? :) what i pay for about $15 (shahi paneer with naan/roti) at home, i can get for about $1.00 here!

we decided to wander over to neighbouring Querim Beach - about a 45 minute hike along yet another narrow dusty path...this path, however, was carved into what appears to be a mountain made of rock...so i guess you could say we went rock climbing! methnks Mel will be elaborating more on that part of our adventure so i'll leave it to her...

After lazing for a couple of hours, we caught a taxi back (by far the most entertaining cab ride yet...our driver seemed to know everyone in the neighbourhood honking and waving hello to children and adults alike!) to Arambol where we began our walk down its "shopping strip". now, this isn't your typical shopping strip like Robson St. in Vancouver. it resembles more... a back alley crammed with stalls selling clothing, pottery, jewellery, offering ayervedic massages, yoga, fresh fruit stalls...the laneway is suitable for...one car and maybe a bike...but somehow people still manage to fit 2 cars on the laneway, along with dozens of motorcycles, scooters, dogs, and pedestrians. it's a nice agreement that everyone has in order to function well on such a cramped street[s].

we found a henna stall where Mel proceeded to get some beautiful henna on both of her arms. while she sat, i wandered off into a nearby shop where i chatted with the shop owner, Amin, for about a half hour. while our conversation initally began with my interest in a silver bracelet, it soon turned into a fascinating sociological conversations about arranged marriages. Originally from Kashmir, and the youngest of 3 siblings, Amin works in Arambol about 8 months of the year, when it is good weather ie NOT monsoon time... he shared that his sister is due to be married this year and once she is taken care of, it will be his turn. we got into a discussion about the difference between "arranged" marriages and "family" marriages. it was a little bit difficult to understand but the heart of the conversation centered on the family aspect of marriage. Amin shared how early on in life, the parents of a woman and man begin their search for a suitable mate for their son/daughter. while money plays a role, Amin emphasized that "money is not everything, but neither is love". along with those two important elements in a marriage is responsibiity. and so, each set of parents begin learning about the person for their son/daughter...then learn about their parents and family history, then learn about them thru other references such as friends, colleagues or teachers. what a lengthy process. at the end of the conversation, i was left speechless and thankful for this conversation that gave me a face-to-face understanding of how the family unit operates differently here than in north america.

after Mel finished with henna, i brought her back to meet Amin where we began another conversation about bartering. the key thing in this conversation was the word "respect". Amin shared about other cultures walking into his store, asking him how much such and such is, and then responding with, "are you crazy?!" with no idea how something should or does even actually cost, the consumer usually offers 1/5 the price that he begins with. he began to break it down for us...there's rent, there's paying your workers, there's purchasing the actual raw materials...and there's profit. and this is were it becomes adjustable...a merchant needs to cover at least the first 3...and can use discretion on the 4th...but really, it's a business and a business is meant to make a profit...why should a consumer be determined to strip every possibility of profit away from a business owner?...what Amin pointed out, however, is "you can make more profit, or you can make less profit". but the point of bartering isn't to rip each other off. it's an interaction where both parties respectively go back and forth until there is a mutual agreement. i like this way...whatever is "fair" is relative to each culture... so using my North American consumerist lens to assess how much a piece of jewellery is worth here does not prove to be helpful...i need to begin entering into the local's perspective and operating from that place.

i think im just blabbing now...sorry. i just really enjoyed that conversation, and we hope to visit him again this afternoon before we take off in the morning back to Mumbai.

thanks for all the comments, everyone :) we love reading them, every single one of them!

we are now in Mapusa, where we will have our day away from the beach and in the "city". more posting to come!

much love,
dL