Gorubathan Monday Market

On Mondays we don't have school because it is the weekly Gorubathan market, where all the people from neighbouring, even smaller, villages come to sell their wares. If we did try to have school, absolutely no one would come - they're all busy shopping or working their family's shop. 

My Budi (aunty) bargaining 

Types of dahl (lentils): 20 rupees a packet

Some flowers for the kitchen table

And some minuscule potatoes! 

Darjeeling Style

Ever since arriving in Kathmandu one of the main things which I've been obsessing over is the way people in this neck of the woods dress - which is to say, very well. I love the colours, the fabrics and the cuts; this is partly because here it is poorer people who go to tailors, and richer people who can afford the 'luxury' of ready-made. In an old copy of Indian Marie Claire I read recently, a letter to the editor notes the irony of Hermes selling the 'craftsmanship' of their 'Indian summer' collection (a few years ago) to 'this nation of crafts people.' 

My lovely colleague Anu invited me back to her home for dinner, tea, massive chats, a sleep over and a look through her family's photo albums. I promptly fell in love with her mom; both in her photos and in real life. Here are a bunch of badly taken photos of photos with bits of cotton wool to keep the plastic cover off the photo. Hehe. Isn't Rebecca one of the most gorgeous and badass people you have ever seen? Above, with her dog and below, as nurse. 

Anu teaches dance (Nepali, Bollywood, Western) in her very sparse spare time, but she's taking next Monday off to escort me to the famous hill capital of Darjeeling, where we will stay with her family, visit the famous red panda zoo (I hope!) and drink copious cups of tea. 

Anu engaged in Nepali dance

The Men

Anu with her mom Rebecca in the present day