Friday, June 24

Gnomes

There is tremendous diversity in Indian culture and appearance across this large subcontinent, but the villagers from the northern hills are particularly distinct.

The woman sitting next to me on the bus may not be a woman at all. I think she started out human, but she is at present at least one quarter gnome. Her facial features are big and expressive leaving only a little room on her face for warts to protrude. Her ears are particularly large and I will venture to call them floppy, although it may be the row of brass piercings along the top ridge of her ears which make them fold over. Her teeth, slightly yellow, are surprising still in tact despite her advanced age. When she smiles her teeth come out to stare in an uneven row.

She is dressed as a gnome should with a warm cotton blouse under a wool dress that falls below the knees. Her hair is tied back and covered by a brown scarf. She has some ornate jewelry that appears to be a mismatch of pieces collected over a couple generations. To top off the woodland appearance, she is inexplicably short and carries an expression as though she knows a secret. Perhaps there is magic in the foothills of the Himalayas. 

1 comment:

  1. AnonymousJune 25, 2011

    whoa... cool description.
    Arlene

    ReplyDelete