Footprints on the Mountainside

I travelled on a local train yesterday (its rare). In the ladies compartment, there was a bunch of about 12-14 Muslim girls chattering away to glory. All of them wearing a burkha. They were going on a picnic somewhere.

They seemed quite educated in terms of conversation, some topics even included affairs - typical girly stuff. Quite unexpected, considering their clothing, but it suddenly made me awake to the fact that they still were young college girls, with all the usual interests.

I got a call from a team member, about some equipment requirements for the AECS students programme, and had a brief discussion about mountaineering equipment and the set up we’d be using for the rappelling at Sanjay Gandhi National Park. One of the girls noticed and asked me about my profession. I explained the best I could, in terms of relevance to their interests. She was curious, and I elaborated in the directions she probed.

More girls caught on to this conversation and there was genuine interest about outdoor adventure. We spoke about adventure options near Mumbai including hikes to forts, mountaineering opportunities near Mumbai on the many forts and rafting possibilities. Most of them were keen to experience adventure, but some were apprehensive about the response they would get at home.

Surprisingly, a girl in full veil was completely gung-ho. She wanted to come on a rock climbing expedition. I was skeptical. Considering her clothes, i wouldn’t have thought that her family would allow her to pursue such “tomboyish” interests. She however was confident that her brother would also want to come along and seemed to think that together, they could convince her dad as long as other females were present as well.

I pointed out the clothing factor. Burkha is a definite no-no, as wearing a mountaineering harness makes trouser-type clothing essential. She said that she would wear trousers and a burkha on top, and simply remove her burkha when needed. After all, if she could trust someone with her life when she was climbing, surely she could trust the person not to have “evil intentions” about her for that short period of time. They all giggled uncomfortably at the thought.

This girl inspired me with her extremely practical approach. I saw in her a willingness to follow her dreams, while conforming to cultural expectations - an admirable combination of assertiveness and cultural identity. I doubt if I’ll even meet her again (she took a card, but the rest of her gang was not as sure about climbing). What remained with me, was her practical attitude. Somewhere down the line, we assume that people who are conservative also lack the spark it takes to go beyond standard expectations in hot pursuit of a desirable goal. This girl wore the burkha, bacause it was a cultural thing and she had grown up expecting it to be the clothing of a modest woman, but could see that here was something she really wanted to do, that did not allow it, and was equally willing to be practical, even if the idea seemed strange.

She had laughed when I said that the burkha looks confining to me “It is strange for you. For me, it is normal, like those aunties wearing saris everyday. I think they will wear salwar kameez, if they want to ride a horse on a hill station too. Why wouldn’t I?” Definitely progressive thought and a valuable insight into the mind of a “category” of people I was not very familiar with.