Designer

Freezing weather again today; it was really hard to get out of bed. Even an hour of yoga didn't really warm me up. Nonetheless, I am very close to reaching a goal...maybe an inch away from touching my nose to my knees! So it was worth bearing the cold. After my Nepali class with Sushila (which has totally hit a barrier, now that we're into verb conjugation and I have about a 100-word vocabulary to remember), Tais and I decided to check out the design workshop of a woman we met at the Losar festival last week. Incidentally, her line of clothing (Khandoma) sells at the Rubin Museum shop. Her name is Pema Khando Terab, and she gets most of her fabrics locally and from India during trips to Delhi twice a year; her aesthetic is really classy and contemporary--totally marketable in New York, which is where she's looking to sell to wholesale buyers right now.

Anyway, we got to see her workshop and showroom (which is under construction) and then spent two hours browsing the current collection in her office. Her clothes are really beautiful, and since she's just getting started, the prices are remarkably low (pieces that would sell for an average of $400 in NYC are priced around $60-80)...it was a fun afternoon. She also has a line of modern chupas that are fantastic. The shape and silhouette isn't changed at all (since the traditional cut of a chupa is actually very modern), but she's made two- to six-piece chupas instead of the traditional single piece of fabric. They look like Matisse would have made them; hot pinks and oranges in these fantastic shapes fit into a traditional chupa pattern cut. I think they'll sell outrageously well at RMA.

Back at home I'm having the pleasure of washing my laundry by hand, bending and using buckets, something I'm definitely not accustomed to doing. I've made a great mess of water on the roof and probably haven't gotten my jeans nearly as clean as they should be, but it's a skill quite worth having, and I feel very spoiled and abashed about not having done it before. I know they're laughing at me! But no matter, as long as by the end of today the clothes are dry and I won't have to wear the same pants for the fourth day in a row.

Ama-la made fried eggplant for lunch and it was amazing. I really have to spend more time in the kitchen with her...I'm so excited to learn how to cook. I'll feel validated as a woman if I can prepare good meals! For Nepalese and Tibetan women, though, it's not nearly so frivolous. A woman's prospective in-laws come to visit and expect to see exactly how diligent and skilled she is at housework--if she can't cook well, prepare a nice tea, and clean quickly she's not a suitable candidate for a wife. Of course, this is nothing new, but it's interesting that this way of choosing a spouse has endured and remains totally intact even for the generation of girls growing up now. I see Diki in the kitchen with Ama-la learning to cook almost every evening if I'm downstairs. And as a result of these expectations, mothers know how to care better for their children, not just tend to their husbands...when visiting students get sick, Ama-la knows what kind of foods to give them to ease digestive trouble.

Ahile ma kunai Nepali shabda lekhchu. Bastabmaa, malai kehipani thaahaa chainna. Mero Nepali bhashaa na raamro. Ke garne? Maanche Nepal maa ghyaani cha; wahaile ke ma bhannchu bujhnu bhayo. Mero Nepali saathi chaahinchha. Thik cha, mero kuraa sidhiyo!

I think part of the middle of that is grammatically incorrect. Oh well...I'm getting there, and in speaking it's much easier. Sushila really doesn't give me a break...two straight hours of conversation at a completely normal pace...my head swims by the end of it! It's almost 5 now and Dr. Kopila still isn't here. It's too cold to stay at home. Maybe I'll head over to the Hyatt for some warmth and energy, instead of drinking ten cups of tea an hour to maintain a reasonable body temperature.