Of Women, Men-Women, and Mosquitoes

On my first day here, we were fortunate enough to see three hijras. For those of you who are unfamiliar, hijras are transvestites who form a, if not valued, then accepted part of the Indian social structure. Men who dress as women (our friend Manbhir assured us that all hijras are eunuchs), they show up at Indian social events and dance until paid to depart. The hijras are endowed with a certain folkloric power; if you displease them, they curse you, while if you please them they have the power to bless you. On the subway to the center of the city, one of the hijras was giving me a beckoning eye. I’m pretty sure that counts as a blessing. If so, it is arguably the strangest blessing I have ever received.

We are catching the eye of not only Indian transvestites, but some Indian women as well (we are proud to announce). As of this moment, I am still quite jetlagged, but I will have you know: a curious glance from a dark-eyed young woman in a brightly colored sari will do more to wake you up than the strongest cup of coffee. Our good friend Danishbhir (Danish; not pronounced like the pastry) has informed us of when women were talking about the “goras” behind our backs. But we’re getting fairly good at figuring that out for ourselves. Gora means “fair skinned”, and Elliot has discovered that it’s an easy word to hear in an otherwise impenetrable sentence. Several times he’s remarked on hearing young girls loudly exclaim “Gora!!” as we walk by.

Elliot has also been especially popular with another subset of the Indian population: namely, the mosquitoes. His right arm is covered in bites; I wryly joke that he’s “the flavor of the month.” We also threaten to leave him in a leper colony if he gets any worse. Elliot replies that if he contracts leprosy, he’s taking me with him. But in all seriousness, it is odd that mosquitos seem to gravitate to him; my “Flavor of the Month theory is currently our best explanation.

Namaste, Salaam, Sat-Sri-Akal,

 -James and Elliot