Dreamcatchers

“Oh wow you look so beautiful!! Are you a movie actress?”

The voice woke me from my languor and I saw in front of me a 17 year-old- old girl, unloading her sacks of clothes and a box of jewellery and settling down on the sand, making herself comfortable. I was enjoying a chilled mojito on a beach in North Goa soaking in the lovely expanse of  beautiful deep blue sea.

 ‘You have such beautiful skin. I have an anklet that will look perfect on you’.

 I was amused at the casual yet bold comment of the girl and there is not the slightest bit of fakeness about her as she continued to smile and chat.

She quickly eased into a conversation with me asking me if I wanted to buy any clothes from her.

I couldn’t help but like her instantly. I was suddenly so proud that she was conducting herself so bravely in a world that is filled with harsh realities. She said her name was Anjali and she came to Goa for the first time when she was 10 years old with her friends from Hubli, Karnataka, to sell jewellery on the beach and make some money. Since then she has been coming every year to Goa and got married a year back to a boy who was also from her village. Eight months pregnant now, she walks bare-foot on the hot beach from dawn to dusk selling trinkets and clothes, making friendly conversations with the tourists in English, Hindi and Russian. It amazed me that her diction was quite sophisticated and she was very easy with striking a conversation with complete strangers in front of her.

Many like Anjali who come to Goa to make money as pedlars are extremely adaptable and learn a foreign tongue within days. They move from one place to another, sometimes avoiding the watchful eye of a police constable, who makes it his responsibility to drive these hawkers away from the beach. ‘We give him a few hundred rupees and he leaves us alone”, laughs Anjali, sharing her secret.

As I was engrossed in conversation with Anjali and trying out anklets and bracelets, Pushpa, a friend of Anjali, approached eagerly to sell her wares, hoping to convince me in to buying a few baubles from her too. Sarita, a close friend of Anjali, makes quick buck selling coconut water on the beach every day. Another lady goes around giving head, neck and foot massages on the beach. All of them come every year to Goa during the tourist season from different parts of Karnataka. They stay from October – March, make a little money and go back to their native place by the end of the season. The rest of the year they work on the fields as farm hands. This year Anjali and Pushpa, (who is also seven months pregnant) plan to go back early to their native place, in time for their delivery. With an unpredictable future in front of them, but undaunted by the huge responsibility on their shoulders, these ladies look happy and contented with what they have and seem to take life in their stride and live for the moment.

“I feel very happy talking to you didi  (‘sister’ in Hindi). Please wish me luck. I am going to have a baby,” said Anjali with a broad smile of her face, as she picked up her sacks and turned around to talk to another prospective buyer.