More Shopping and Cultural Experiences

Saturday began with a bit of work meetings during which we discussed exciting plans of our future training strategy involving very interesting work and potentially travel. Afterwards, we went to town for lunch and more shopping. For lunch, I had a huge paper-thin dosa (pancake) with potatoes inside, which is a traditional south Indian dish (could be eaten for both breakfast and lunch).

Our first shopping stop was at a handicrafts/jewelry store owned by my boss’s friend. This man is really interesting: he is a Sufi (mystical branch of Islam) and believes and writes about healing with crystals. He fed us tea and delicious peach cake and talked to us about his belief in the power of gems to heal. While his doctrine was definitely weird, it was interesting to listen to him talk about Indian culture. In his opinion, both Christianity and Islam have contributed significantly to the development of the country and its cultural heritage (schools, hospitals, Taj Mahal), while Hinduism has only left people in underdevelopment. His store is also very interesting since he collects many Indian antiques and contributes part of the earnings to the anti-dowry movement in the state of Kashmir.

While I don’t really wear or get excited about jewelry, but there was something at this place almost magnetic that was drawing me to the jewelry. Zafar showed us a number of antique pieces and several loose gems (most gorgeous blue topaz) which made me wonder that such beauty has weird powers over a human heart. I did end up buying some souvenirs at his shop and taking pictures of the beautiful pieces he showed us (he even let me try this gorgeous antique yellow topaz necklace which just made my skin tingle:)



After the jewelry/crafts store, we had a traditional local snack/drink: coconut water and soft coconut. It had a very rich taste, but made me realize that I prefer hard coconut. We then stocked up on some Indian tea and met a collaborator for a brief meeting and dinner.