From our guest editor Martin Horner of Soucie Horner:
Today, we visited The Ganges River, a revered holy site that is both fascinating and disturbing at the same time. Again, so many contrasts can be found here in India. The river was rife with pollution and poverty, while people floated beautiful candles adorned with marigolds. Bodies were being burned and ashes dumped in the river while people bathe, wash clothes and meditate in the murky waters. We then walked by the temples on the way to our car and it felt like the longest walk of my life. It had rained the night before and the ancient streets were paved with mud and muck. Cows were everywhere and then there were the unexpected surprises! Monkeys swinging from electrical lines — little ones, big ones and babies clinging to their mothers. Then two white rabbits appeared with pink eyes hopping down the street.
People were throwing their trash from above. Chanting and begging, like a scene from Dante’s Hell. All of us were so surprised…if this is such a sacred area, why is it so dirty? We were then told that this is where people come to die. We stopped under an eve to catch our breath and absorb all of this. We then entered their most sacred place, the “Golden Dome.” Sadly the gold had faded into rust. Security was high with metal detectors and body searches. And of course, the poverty and squalor was heart-wrenching. To get through this, I pulled myself out of my body and watched from above, and reflected again on the contrasts I witnessed. Here we were, Americans in blazers, Gucci loafers and cashmere scarves, in a place so defined by both poverty and holiness. Back to the car, I realized how powerful and disturbing this experience had been.
Editors note: otto wants to thank Martin for his honest and poignant depiction of this portion of Soucie Horner’s trip to India in search of inspiration for its new rug collection. Design is often portrayed as all glamor and beauty, and the harsh realities of the world around us — the world that many of us depend on to create the designs and products we use everyday — are forgotten. JL
