So today was a beach day with the girls, and we hadn't been on there for more than 5 minutes when a young girl in a blue dress came over carrying what looked like the entire stock from a local shop.
The first thing she said was "Where you from?", "England" we said.
"Ahhhh, London is groovy baby yes?", she said almost before we finished telling her which had us all in stitches.
She quickly followed with "Want to buy something? Cheap as chips, cheaper than Primark for you".
After we caught our breath the girls started to look through her inventory, I couldn't believe the stuff she was carrying, sarongs, sarees, jewellery, beaded bracelets, girls tops, everything.
The girls decided to look keep her happy because she had made us laugh so it just seemed rude to ignore her or tell her to go away as you do with all the other 20 or so sellers you see in the short time you’re on the beach!
At least she was making an effort!
As we chatted to her we found out she was actually 14, she had been taken out of school at 12 to go selling for her parents on the beaches of Goa, her parents live in Chennai on the opposite coast of India!
Her name was Nikita.
Nikita was expected to spend 5 months of the year working for and sleeping in a beach hut shop in Harmal, Goa sending the money to her parents in Chennai.
I actually learnt a lot from her in the hour or so she was trying to sell her items to us.
She had her nose pierced which she explained was for good luck when you become an adult and leave childhood behind, when I pointed out she was only just 14, Nikita told me when she went home in April she would be meeting the man she would be marrying in June!
We asked her if she would want to wait a while before marrying someone, but she said she just wanted to settle down now and have children to look after. I do respect other cultures, but I don't know where I stand on this as it seemed more forced on her and sounded script like, rather than something she really felt.
She said she could probably earn 1000rs a day which is about £11.50, but out of that, 25% goes to the police in bribes to let them sell on the beach for a day, or a minimum of 150rs depending on what stock she had sold. And another 25% went to the Russian mafia.
Errrr excuse me?
Nikita told us that the Russian mafia owned a lot of property in Goa, that they then rented to the locals to run as shops and restaurants. They charge them rent as well as taking a percent of the takings each week.
They use the property and shops to launder money into Indian accounts that then gets digitally transferred, clean, back to the motherland!!!
I really didn't believe her at first until I chatted to a waiter while having dinner who said that the Russian mafia actually owned the restaurant we were eating in, he was more surprised we hadn't heard about it as it's no secret in Goa.
Well, I've been her just over a week and something new still surprises me each day. I guess that's India, you just have to accept that it has its own way for everything and you either embrace it, or are repulsed by it. After getting over the culture shock, I think I could start to embrace it actually.
(Yes the girls bought a sarong each, and after getting in and out of the sea and then laying on them a few times, they had lovely dyed legs!)
From my on/off travelling journal February 13th 2008
(My first ever week in India)
Harmal, Goa, India
The first thing she said was "Where you from?", "England" we said.
"Ahhhh, London is groovy baby yes?", she said almost before we finished telling her which had us all in stitches.
She quickly followed with "Want to buy something? Cheap as chips, cheaper than Primark for you".
After we caught our breath the girls started to look through her inventory, I couldn't believe the stuff she was carrying, sarongs, sarees, jewellery, beaded bracelets, girls tops, everything.
The girls decided to look keep her happy because she had made us laugh so it just seemed rude to ignore her or tell her to go away as you do with all the other 20 or so sellers you see in the short time you’re on the beach!
At least she was making an effort!
As we chatted to her we found out she was actually 14, she had been taken out of school at 12 to go selling for her parents on the beaches of Goa, her parents live in Chennai on the opposite coast of India!
Her name was Nikita.
 |
| Nikita |
I actually learnt a lot from her in the hour or so she was trying to sell her items to us.
She had her nose pierced which she explained was for good luck when you become an adult and leave childhood behind, when I pointed out she was only just 14, Nikita told me when she went home in April she would be meeting the man she would be marrying in June!
We asked her if she would want to wait a while before marrying someone, but she said she just wanted to settle down now and have children to look after. I do respect other cultures, but I don't know where I stand on this as it seemed more forced on her and sounded script like, rather than something she really felt.
She said she could probably earn 1000rs a day which is about £11.50, but out of that, 25% goes to the police in bribes to let them sell on the beach for a day, or a minimum of 150rs depending on what stock she had sold. And another 25% went to the Russian mafia.
Errrr excuse me?
Nikita told us that the Russian mafia owned a lot of property in Goa, that they then rented to the locals to run as shops and restaurants. They charge them rent as well as taking a percent of the takings each week.
They use the property and shops to launder money into Indian accounts that then gets digitally transferred, clean, back to the motherland!!!
I really didn't believe her at first until I chatted to a waiter while having dinner who said that the Russian mafia actually owned the restaurant we were eating in, he was more surprised we hadn't heard about it as it's no secret in Goa.
Well, I've been her just over a week and something new still surprises me each day. I guess that's India, you just have to accept that it has its own way for everything and you either embrace it, or are repulsed by it. After getting over the culture shock, I think I could start to embrace it actually.
(Yes the girls bought a sarong each, and after getting in and out of the sea and then laying on them a few times, they had lovely dyed legs!)
From my on/off travelling journal February 13th 2008
(My first ever week in India)
Harmal, Goa, India
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