leggings and more

Leggings and More

My clinic is on one of the widest roads in Vellore, though you would not realize that if you come there in the mornings. There is a HUGE crowd lining both sides of the road. No, they are not waiting for me---- there is a market lining the road where you can buy everything from meat and fish to vegetables T shirts underclothes and a variety of “fancy items” (bangles, clips, hair accessories.)

One day the crowd was larger than usual and I was not able to proceed further. A lot of women seemed to be running around yelling and screaming. I honked a few times. It was a futile exercise. I don’t even think the horn could be heard above the cacophony. Finally I got out of the car. I decided to abandon the car, walk the rest of the way and pick up the car in the evening.

As I neared the crowd, I realized what was going on. Two men were selling 10 pairs of printed cotton –lycra leggings for the princely um of Rs. 500. There was no choice, you just had to accept whatever was given to you , pay the money and leave. Women were borrowing money from each other, they were sharing the leggings, they were asking the market vendors for a loan

I did not think you could go far wrong with Rs. 500 so I also bought a collection. I then went back to the car to put the leggings inside.

Suddenly there was a lot of noise and chaos. I locked myself in the car. Two men had arrived with the police in a official van. The men abandoned the leggings and ran. The women dispersed helter-skelter. I pushed the leggings under the seat.

A police man came to the car.

“Why are you parked here?”

I looked pathetically at him, ‘’I cannot proceed further. My clinic is that blue building. See there. What is happening?”

Apparently the leggings were being transported in a truck in cartons from the factory. The driver decided to sleep for a while in the night on the side of the road. Thieves ran away with half the  cartons. That was what they were selling on the road. The irate owners of the factory had located them and brought the police. (the police had not deduced this themselves or found the thieves). The women ran away with whatever they had. A few managed to escape without paying.

The leggings were of really good quality. I wore them when I travelled the following week.

“Be careful,” said my daughter, “ they might catch at the security in the airport and say take them  off! ----after all they are  stolen leggings!