Despite the limitations on women, particularly in public, those fortunate to live in moderately affluent homes, manage to enjoy a fairly active social life. They have innovative ways to enjoy a day in the bazaar, shopping with friends, and even stopping for a much-needed ice cold refreshment - a welcome break from the heat of the burqa in 35+ degree Celcius weather.
This particular ice cream shop is approximately three meters wide and about twenty meters long. At about the half-way point, it is divided by a curtain that stretches across the width of the room. Women head straight for the curtain, alleviated from the heat of their chandris as they emergy on the far side to lift the blue or white burqas over their heads exposing warm and friendly faces. The room is small with tables and benches packed tightly for maximum capacity. On the walls are the faces (sometimes in erotic fashion-advertisement style) of favorite Indian movie stars. There is a plastic container with complimentary water, and soon a young boy emerges through the curtains to collect the order.
The ice cream is a somewhat icy soft-serve type served either in a pink or yellow cone, or in a bowl with a spoon. The taste has a distinc cardamom flavor, not unpleasant. I am informed that the ice cream is "from the milk from the cow."
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