Wallah-Wallah
One of the things that continues to astound me about India is the number of people that make up the workforce. From "boys" at the hotel to rickshaw drivers, everytime you need a job done (and often when you don't), there are at least three people waiting around to do it for you. An interesting contrast with American society is that most people have a very specific job to do. At the market it is not uncommon for one person to select a good piece of produce for you, another to bag it, and yet another to take your money. Also let it be known that this is not a Walmart nation; each store often sells very few varieties of items. If you go food shopping it is necessary to visit the spice guy, the veggie guy, and so on.
Wallahs are at the heart of the Indian job market. A wallah is a sort of merchant, often with a very specific trade they are good at. Some wallahs are nomadic; they sell their trade walking down the street or they come to your house. Others have a shop and you come to them. Some examples of wallahs are the ubiquitous rickshaw-wallahs (they drive the little motorcycle-taxis which our host in Bombay called the mosquitos of the road), the door-to-door dhobi-wallahs (they pick up your laundry and wash it by hand, bringing it back at night), the shoeshine-wallahs, and the knife sharpening-wallahs (they carry a bizarre contraption on their backs consisting of a bicycle wheel which spins a smaller wheel made of stone). But by far my favorite wallah to date has been the puncture-wallah that fixed the tire of the bicycle-rickshaw we took in Agra. He was just there by the side of the road, equipped to fix tires of any shape and size. He also had two young (under ten) assistants, who offered us seats on some of the many tires he had lying around.
One of the classic things you see on the roadsides in India are the barber-wallahs. Often they just have a chair and mirror set up under a tree. They will cut your hair, shave your beard (leaving the moustache), and give you a vigorous head massage. Derek has not indulged in (ventured?) one of these yet, but as he is badly in need of a haircut, I think he will soon have a full report.
The award for most bizarre wallah goes to the bathroom scale wallah. This is just a guy who squats by the side of the road with one or two scales placed in front of him. He is not selling them; rather, you can weigh yourself on them for a few rupees. The award for scariest wallah (in honor of Halloween, which passed with no celebration here) goes to the ear-cleaning wallah, who will cleanse your canals by the side of the road.
And lastly let me attempt to explain the wallahs on the train. Unlike your classic Western train (I can speak for Europe and the US here), there is no dining car. Instead, numerous wallahs walk up and down the cars selling various types of food. You usually hear them before you see them, because they announce what they are selling as they approach. "Chai...chai," "Coffee......coffee," "Coke, chips, chocolate...," "Chicken lollipop..." I wasn't sure I heard the last one right at first, but as this wallah repeated himself numerous times on our 12-hour train trip to Goa, I am now certain I heard him correctly (however I am still uncertain as to what exactly chicken lollipop is).
...
After 6 days in Mumbai staying at the homes of friends and eating the best food of our trip, we have arrived in Goa. Goa is mainly known for its beaches and its parties. We have been going to both. The main way of getting around here is by scooter, which makes traffic feel like a video game. Don't worry, moms, we are wearing our helmets.
By the way, we finally uploaded more pictures of Rajasthan. We have broken them up by city but you can look at them all from here.
Wallahs are at the heart of the Indian job market. A wallah is a sort of merchant, often with a very specific trade they are good at. Some wallahs are nomadic; they sell their trade walking down the street or they come to your house. Others have a shop and you come to them. Some examples of wallahs are the ubiquitous rickshaw-wallahs (they drive the little motorcycle-taxis which our host in Bombay called the mosquitos of the road), the door-to-door dhobi-wallahs (they pick up your laundry and wash it by hand, bringing it back at night), the shoeshine-wallahs, and the knife sharpening-wallahs (they carry a bizarre contraption on their backs consisting of a bicycle wheel which spins a smaller wheel made of stone). But by far my favorite wallah to date has been the puncture-wallah that fixed the tire of the bicycle-rickshaw we took in Agra. He was just there by the side of the road, equipped to fix tires of any shape and size. He also had two young (under ten) assistants, who offered us seats on some of the many tires he had lying around.
One of the classic things you see on the roadsides in India are the barber-wallahs. Often they just have a chair and mirror set up under a tree. They will cut your hair, shave your beard (leaving the moustache), and give you a vigorous head massage. Derek has not indulged in (ventured?) one of these yet, but as he is badly in need of a haircut, I think he will soon have a full report.
The award for most bizarre wallah goes to the bathroom scale wallah. This is just a guy who squats by the side of the road with one or two scales placed in front of him. He is not selling them; rather, you can weigh yourself on them for a few rupees. The award for scariest wallah (in honor of Halloween, which passed with no celebration here) goes to the ear-cleaning wallah, who will cleanse your canals by the side of the road.
And lastly let me attempt to explain the wallahs on the train. Unlike your classic Western train (I can speak for Europe and the US here), there is no dining car. Instead, numerous wallahs walk up and down the cars selling various types of food. You usually hear them before you see them, because they announce what they are selling as they approach. "Chai...chai," "Coffee......coffee," "Coke, chips, chocolate...," "Chicken lollipop..." I wasn't sure I heard the last one right at first, but as this wallah repeated himself numerous times on our 12-hour train trip to Goa, I am now certain I heard him correctly (however I am still uncertain as to what exactly chicken lollipop is).
...
After 6 days in Mumbai staying at the homes of friends and eating the best food of our trip, we have arrived in Goa. Goa is mainly known for its beaches and its parties. We have been going to both. The main way of getting around here is by scooter, which makes traffic feel like a video game. Don't worry, moms, we are wearing our helmets.
By the way, we finally uploaded more pictures of Rajasthan. We have broken them up by city but you can look at them all from here.
posted by Liz C at 10:35 PM
1 Comments:
Hi. This is B.J. (Matt Kotzen's friend from the wedding). I love the blog. I'll be in Mumbai starting Monday and then for about a month and I was hoping to chat with Derek or yourself about it. My email is bjrosen1000@hotmail.com. I hope you read comments on this thing.
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