Bazaars and Earrings

February 12, 2008

Today Chan and I went on an adventure to Burra Bazaar. This is the main outdoor market in Kolkata, where you can buy everything imaginable. I was there to get some fabric and jewelry making supplies. Cramming into 2-foot stalls, haggling with the shop owners, and having an influx of sensory images has never been so thrilling. We were on a wild goose chase for 2 hours trying to find headpins for the earrings, but eventually found them. It's certainly not an efficient way to procure materials, but the best way I've found so far. The two hour bus ride home made me think of how much time is literally wasted in travel time here.

After gathering the materials, I was able to start teaching the earring making to the young women in Destiny. We used the glass beads made by the women of MSEMVS, as well as small "filler beads" that I got at the market. They were very keen to learning and one of them has an excellent design sense so she made several samples. Eventually, we will move them into other styles of jewelry, like necklaces and watches, but the earrings were a great start. Look for them for sale online in the upcoming weeks!