Upsides to Underdevelopment

While there are some serious drawbacks to underdevelopment--power cuts, a lack of clean water, or safe, regulated roads, or sidewalks, or infrastructure more generally-there are some ways in which underdevelopment actually nourishes a different kind of economy. I've been so impressed with the artisans I've met here, the men who turn fabric into quilts and garments, or marble into art. While many of them also make an art of salesmanship, there are very few 'super stores' here, and so many small, family businesses.

Today, after buying a saree at Nalli's (*the* place to go for them, apparently; I had no idea what I was doing there), I showed my friend Renuka the fabric. She approved and said, 'ok, let's go to my tailor'. Apparently, what I'd purchased was just one part of the saree; there's the jacket/blouse (worn underneath); the petticoat (like a slip); and the 'fall' (which helps it hang).

So we went: to her tailor, who took my measurements and cut the fabric from the saree itself for the blouse; to another shop for a petticoat and fall (made to measure), and to another shop for bangles. Renuka took her mother with us; together they were able to tell the tailors exactly what to do (in Hindi; they'd occasionally translate for us). I would have been completely lost/overwhelmed. Instead, I just watched in dazed amazement. These women were such pros.

In the US, we're used to buying stuff off the rack, to shopping in stores where we can find a variety of sizes, and wearing what fits, more or less (often less). And while I would go completely crazy if I had to shlep around Boston to put a single garment together, I love the attention to detail and the craftsmanship here. What will happen to these small stores, the tailors who work out of their homes, or in a market, the man whose sole job it is to stitch small pieces of fabric to sarees so they hang, just so? I hope India manages to retain these artisans, to find a way to protect them from the malls shooting up in Gurgaon, in Noida, in Mumbai, and in Delhi. I would hate to come back in twenty years to find a GAP Saree.*

*it's also spelled sari. I'm unclear which is the 'correct' spelling.