On the road again!

After spending more than a month in industrial Gurgaon, gathering a lot of information for our project by interviewing, making surveys and researching, Laura and me were happy to make a move to the 'pink city' Jaipur a few days ago. Here, in the old town, one can see the 'full package' of real Indian life - traditional craft makers, traders and service providers are everywhere and a walk through the small streets is more exciting than the best documentory.








We went to the traditional area of the gemstone polishers where men (and some little boys) were sitting in their small stalls on the floor, often green of stonedust, concentrating on the cutting of the stones. People were friendly and smiled at us, and, when asked, agreed straight away on being photographed. In another little stall, sari-makers were working on stitching and glueing crystals on the fabrics which often takes more than a day to finish. In between, goats and chicken dominated the little street which looked like one of the poorer areas of the town.















In this quater, we came to talk to Amir, a son of a gem trader who really want to become an art teacher, who brought us to his uncle's shops (without pressuring us to buy) and then gave us a crazy ride on his motorbike back to the centre.

Yesterday, we visited a great project for streetkids called 'Ladli' http://www.ladli.org/, where girls are given a peaceful and protective shelter and were thaught to make jewellery. It was a heartwarming experience to see the happy faces of the girls after reading about some of their horrible childhoods.






Another day, a friend of Laura brought us to a gorgeous palace 40min out of Jaipur which has been used as the setting of a 'bollywood series' and we could watch the actors running around, fighting or just waiting. Later in the evening yestereday, we went up to the 'tiger' fort on the hill where we had a fantastic view of the surrounding lights of the city and the redish moon in pleasant silence.


And tomorow, we fly south to PONDICHERRY!! Sea, more sun and french food..:)