Over the past two days, I have made a lot of site visits with Monami, meeting women and girls who are earning income through their work as artisans, as well as young girls and boys receiving child care when they’re not in school. At each stop, I am welcomed very warmly, given a chair and a fan, and for the first few minutes, all eyes are on me. If I’m with girls or children, the woman in charge at the site inevitably asks them to sing and dance for me. I’m pretty sure this is a typical way to welcome guests, and it’s lovely. There are usually a handful of great dancers and singers who are eager to demonstrate their talents. I’ve watched some beautiful dances and heard renditions of traditional Bengali songs, along with Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and the ABCs.
However, at the individual level, most of the girls I meet don’t really want to stand up and put themselves on display. They look slightly pained as they work their way through a folk song or try to remember dance steps. As I look at them with the most encouraging expression I can offer, I think, “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t want to do this either. Especially for some random guest I know nothing about, who gets to use the only fan in the house!” One group turned the tables yesterday, when, after performing, invited me to join a game that required the loser to get into the middle of the circle and dance or sing. Guess who lost first? Yes, me. I tried putting my face in my hands, but they weren’t dissuaded from pulling me up. Luckily, they were content with a simple twirl and smile.
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