It's not easy being brown

The theme over the weekend and into this week has been India. Saturday afternoon the Jaxx, her friend D and myself watched Born into Brothels. I had seen it once before but still fell in love with the children who lived in brothels in India but had so much spirit and life. They understood so much about their surroundings and nothing went unnoticed by them. Hardship had made them very wise.
For anyone who hasn't had the opportunity to watch the film it is a documentary about a woman from Europe who lives in the brothels and teaches the children photography. She then uses their photos to raise money for their education in hopes of getting them out of the brothels.
Saturday night was the C4C late costume bash, which was smashing by the way. Having scrapped the idea of a house costume (we had planned on being Mormons, but that didn't fly) I quickly decided of fulfilling my dream of being Indian (from India, not pocahontas) for at least one night. At VV I uncovered a beautiful cloth (that may have been a real sari) of sheer gold and red and silver trim. My hair was wavy, a special ruby clip held it part way up, an indian charm (ok, earing) dangling just belong my hairline, a red jewel on my forehead, a nose ring (fake), sandals. Basically perfect from head to toe. But wait you say....You are so white! Ah, the finishing touch: some very dark bronzer applied liberally all over my face and neck. What a sad moment when I had to wash that off. Another highlight was being able to throw in an accent here and there and claim racism when things didn't go my way.
By far the most rewarding part of "week India" was finishing "A Fine Balance" by Rohinton Mistry. I had started the 800 page novel in the summer but had given up somewhere around 300 when things started to get busy and the book got slow. This week I returned to it, determined to finish and it was a great decision. When asked about it I answered "India, in the 1970s." The easiest reply and the one that made me sound the smartest. But really thats not what it was about. It was about people. How lives and choices are intertwined. How there is something to be learned and gained from every person. As the name suggests, there is a very fine balance between complete despair and hope. The book was heartbreaking. I wanted nothing more than to see the characters happy, I would have left the book unfinished if it meant they would stay at that point forever. After 800 pages I wanted more so that somehow everything could be fixed. As a person who doesn't read books twice I finished it this afternoon and then promptly began again. I think it should be read twice, there are so many subtle comments in the first few pages that are easily forgotten but are intricately tied to the last pages.