Some censuring Readers will scornfully say, why hath this Lady writ her own life? Since none cares to know whose daughter she was or whose wife she is, or how she was bred, or what fortunes she had, or how she lived, or what humor or disposition she was of? I answer that is true, that 'tis to no purpose to the Readers, but it is to the Authoress, because I write it for my own sake, not theirs. ~Margaret Cavendish in 1655

Monday, September 12, 2005

i'll give you a conk...

So, I survived the weekend and got a little adventure out of it to boot. Roomie Carrie, PCV Helyn, newbie Bideshis Eric and Danielle and my own lonesome took a taxi to an old part of Dhaka, hopped onto rickshaws to go to an older part of Dhaka to a particular Hindu conk shell seller (dokaner) and proceeded to drop quite a bit a Taka on conk shell bracelets that Hindu wives wear to show they are married (the Christian equivilant is the wedding ring). They are so beautiful and artisic, its unbelievable that they can make such things. The shopowner gave us lovely conk shells (whole) that are carved. Hindus blow on the conks every evening at sunset and light incense to pray to the various Gods and Goddesses. Its so nice to have Hindu neighbors and to be able to listen and smell their traditions every evening. It was also nice to go into this minority neighborhood and enjoy the differentness that Hindus have from Muslims. It can show a person the differences that religion influnces or changes a culture. I think that I will make my way back there again with a bit more Taka in my pocket.

1 comment:

Andrew said...

That sounds totally cool Laura. The bracelets sound beautiful- maybe you could post a picture on here. It is always interesting to learn about other cultures and religions.