Saturday, January 17, 2009

Running after women


I admit it. When I go running, I wear rather short running shorts. Just like I don't like things constricting my feet, I don't like things encumbering my legs when I go running. I never have. Sometimes I even get funny looks in Central Park.

So you can imagine the scandal it caused yesterday when I went running for the first time in India. I don't know if it was my short shorts or just the fact that a tall bald white man was sprinting down the main drag, but I caused quite a stir, with men pointing, women blushing, and kids not sure what to do, since they had never seen anything like this in their lifetime.

Despite Slumdog Millionaire and everything we hear about the high-tech industry here, India is still a very conservative place. In the streets and markets of Delhi, for example, easily 90% of the people you see in public are men. Where are the women? Most are hidden away inside courtyards or residential neighborhoods. When I took the subway once, I got to see how many women are up on the rooftops with the laundry. And almost all the women still wear saris and many other versions of colorful flowing garments. Again, I have seen a tiny piece of this country, but the women I have seen wearing jeans or other obviously Western gear here I could count on one hand.

In a rickshaw in Delhi once I looked up at the buildings (there is so much going on in the streets you never look up!) and saw a number of women looking down from windows and balconies. See if you can find the women here -- I really had to zoom in to get this shot.


4 comments:

  1. You seem to be traveling around a bit. Where do you sleep? -Merv

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  2. Hey Merv. Just figured out how to reply to commments. I've been staying at backpacker hotels, clean but no-frills. Average cost: $5 per night. Should have taken a picture of one of my hotel rooms to show you.

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  3. Hi Sean, What a nice picture of you and the Taj Majal. Good to know that you are safe. We pray for your safety in and on your way to Nigeria, and we will continue to pray to have you come back home safely. We're happy to read and follow your adventures. Take care. MIRO Radican

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  4. Yes I have always thought your running shorts were very short hehehe :-)

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