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It’s impossible to visit this area of southern India without noticing the beauty of these people. Their skin is creamy and rich, their teeth sparkling white. Girls have hair so long, it has not been cut since a ritual head shaving early on. Hair is shiny black, braided or twisted into neat, groomed styles, sometimes adorned with small, fresh flower strands. In this area, gold is a must. Many villagers in other areas do not have the opportunity to own gold, but in this community, it is not an option but is part of their lives in a way we could never fully understand. Adornment is expected and it is highly respected. I can’t explain it, but the ladies we curious to know why Ellen, the Wall Street Journal Journalist, was wearing small pearl earrings and no gold chains or bracelets. She explained it is different for our culture, but they giggled at the idea of wearing ornate gold only for special occasions.
These pictures are just a small glance into the faces of the people of this region. I don’t think they are more beautiful anywhere else in India. It’s also their nature. People who barely had food to eat still offered us tea and cookies, like small biscuits, in every home we visited. The children are curious but respectful, engaging and smart. The adults are gracious and the women have a subtle elegance about them. They look you squarely in the eye, proudly show their modest homes and their “farm” in the yard of the house, consisting of perhaps one banana tree, one jack fruit tree, two rubber tress from which raw rubber is harvested and sold, and one small ox for milk if they’re better off. The water comes from a well; the kitchen stove is a small burner only. The toilet is an outhouse in one corner of the yard. Throughout the village area, there are also other types of homes.
As a family increases their income, they build and improve, perhaps buying a small plot of land nearby with several rubber trees harvested in rotation, then selling the raw rubber. Not all live in “hut” type homes. Our Manager, “Mohan” (actually P. Mohan) resides in his own home with his parents, expectant wife and one small son. It’s a nice home made of smooth walls, tile roof and a 4’ wall dividing the house from the street with scripture painted on the wall “to encourage the Ladies” when they come to work. The home consists of two floors – the downstairs is the living area with furniture and a small television, fans and an attached bathroom. The top floor was added so one of the displaced Lace Units could temporarily have a place to work. It’s just two rooms; one is the workroom, the other an office and pressing room. Mohan, a very active member of his local community church, owns a car and a motorbike. He’s a busy guy running from temporary Unit to Unit since the main workshop was destroyed by the Tsunami. Even in this region, pockmarked by Communist symbols and primarily Christian, Mohan is able to advance with the help of his family and has purchased a lovely plot of land filled with rubber trees, marked for harvest rotation. An ambitious nature can reward a hard worker, and the people here are certainly not lazy – they are humming about, busying themselves at any and all things possible. I informed Mohan he should plan to be even busier once America and others learn of the plight of the Lace Ladies. He smiled and said “no problem.” |
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If you would like more information regarding the process, history or our efforts to preserve this fine art form from extinction, please contact Victoria at D’Angelo Home Collections, Inc., info@dangelohome.com, or call: 877-745-5278 |
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