Behind the Burka

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Christina here:
Just a quick note from London. I wanted to share this in India, but didn't have time. When we went to Hyderabad, we were in a Muslim area, & I got to see a different view of the whole burka issue. For example, one day in the famous ''Laads Bazaar'' we stopped at a shoe shop. Now, this wasn't an ordinary shoe shop. It was the kind that would make either Paula or Cherie (Happy Birthday, Cherie!!) dump all the contents from their suitcase so they could fill it up with these shoes. It was like the Indian version of ''Manilo Blahnik,'' and no, I have no idea how to spell that correctly. Ask Cherie. Anyway, we looked in and the place was filled with burka-clad women, all trying on these sparkly, wild, colorful shoes! (I think this is where my old paradigm about burkas started splintering, and it hasn't recovered, which by the way is quite delightful. A good paradigm-buster is welcome.) We watched the women try on shoes, and ever since I look down when I see a burka--I'm checking out the shoes. Some of the women also don bright saris underneath. And they laugh, and carry babies, and have picnics--just like other people. I know this is all obvious. But somehow it was really shocking to me. Here's a few pics we took in that area.

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Comments

[lala]

just maybe
My first thought when seeing the pictures and the smiles: maybe they carry their beauty on the inside! Where it takes a relationship to be given the key to unlock it.