Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Kash and Javak







This dress was bought last year, the design as you see is not something you see everyday. I think this design was very new, and only some tailors in Z-dan sew this model. However I would not wear this dress, (it's not mine!), but I like the way the tailors play with their fantasies, in order to reach more costumers.


The dotch is however a Kash and Javak, and is a classic dotch, I feel a connection with this dotch, because all my aunts and the eldery have a least one Kash and Javak. It is the dotch that is most wanted, most expensive, the most complicated to embroid, the oldest but still the dotch that is always "modern".


I remember how my aunts and grandma used to explain the difficulties with embroiding a Kash and Javak, often eye-irritations as a consequence. And I also remember how outside I felt, whenever I visit my cousins. All of my cousins, age 10 up, were embroiding their dotchs, and I could only watch and be fascinated.
I think it is important to know the HARD WORK that is required when embroiding most dotchs, and we who buy/wear them don't think about the work and effort behind it. It's not "just embroiding", it is spreading and keeping a culture alive. Thumbs up for u guys!


Now I know that most people who embroid dotchs, do not do it because they want to "spread and keep the culture alive", they embroid because that's their only way to earn money. The balochi ladies are mostly at home, and not working at offices, so embroiding dotchs is their job, their way to make a living and is a big help, especially for those whose husbands are jobless, or drugaddicts. Therefore the competition between the different dotch-embroiders is very high, so one has to come up with different ideas so that their dotchs are the most unique.

Friday, May 9, 2008

Love On Daneshgah Street in Z-dan


I often wonder how it would be if life was not how it is today. How would my life be growing up in Z-dan amongst relatives and balochis, instead of being the only black-haired girl on the bus?

Would I have the ability to do the simpliest things I can do today, like going out and taking a walk? Could I be a student, in Daneshgah Azad (Azad University)?

Mentioning the Daneshgah Azad, gives me flashbacks from those summers in Z-dan, when I used to take long walks on the Daneshgah street in Z-dan. That street was quiet famous because it had more than 5-6 internet-cafés and was the place to hang out for the students in Z-dan.


Whenever walking on that street, especially Thursday nights, was a moment to enjoy. I felt as if I was part of a Naguib Mahfouz-book, don't ask me why! (Cairo and Z-dan has nothing in common, but I got that feeling anyway:P )

The girls, wearing heavy make-up, and tight dresses/mantos, were walking on the street with a self-confidence one could kill for.
(I was wearing balochi clothes, black chador and some comfortable slippers, the only "make-up" I was wearing was some moisturizing skin cream I rubbed on my face just before leaving the house!)

The guys on the other hand, had 3 kilos hair-gel rubbed on their hair, and with worn-out jeans and tight t-shirts they would check out every girl passing by, and often being so brave/rude that they would follow the girls and change numbers after a short conversation.

I thought this was amazing, the way everything was so crystal-clear;

guy sees girl, guy like girl, guy gets girl


The funny thing was that I never saw balochi girls on that street, but a lot of balochi guys....and I sure checked them out! :D

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Always Cheers Me Up

This video is very dangerous, it might cause dancing fever, and the body will react with moves that you can't really control...





Anyone knows how I can separate the song from the video clip?

Monday, May 5, 2008

PinkyPink





This dress is not a complete dress yet. With that I mean, the embroidment is finished, but not the dress as a whole, the dress is in "pieces", sleeves apart etc.




It was ready the day before my flight from Z-dan, so I just picked it up from the tailor and put it directly in my bag.


The tailor, who has embroided this dress, works in a store called "mecka"-store, on Khayyam street, in Zahedan. He actually finished the dress in less than three weeks, an emergency-situation. The fabric was bought in Chabahar, and I think it matches with the embroidment quiet well. Chabahar is heaven for good fabrics, the fabrics there are not so "heavy" as the ones in Zahedan....got the word "heavy" from Ck who mentioned it in a comment!:)

This embroidment costs $30, cheap cheap cheap!:) I'm planning to give some plain tunics to the tailor, and get them embroided too, so I can wear them outside Z-dan...




I have just booked my ticket, in about 30 days I will be in Zahedan, with a chador and complete hijab :) Will upload pics from there too, so don't worry! Can't wait to show u guys the town, the ppl and everything that I found interesting....

Just have to find a good digital-camera, and it got to cost less that $200, anyone who wants to give away a camera for charity?:D