The Women of Leh are such...

The women of Leh are such- that one night over there, some 3,600 metres high, not far from Tibet, where the Zanskar glitters all day, and at night, the stars, not to be outdone, seem to grow larger, let themselves sink down closer to the mountains- while the moon always disappears by midnight, cut off by the horizon, always on the other side of some huge rock-one night in that place I dreamt and I saw Gertrude Stein selling horseradishes and carrots. There was no mistaking those shoulders- but she fit in so well with her looking- straight- at- you eyes. And yet, even the traditional Ladakhi hat she wore could not disguise her face. She said jooley to my jooley with the others, all lined up along the main street- she slapped the head of a hungry dzoand I walked back, several times, back and forth, pretending  I couldn’t decide what to buy. Then she turned aside to talk with the tomato seller, Still keeping an eye on the dzo– it was hard to believe but there was no mistaking that poise.

– “The Women of Leh Are Such” from Point No Point by Sujata Bhatt