Purse Lady

Purse Lady

Dunbar Square

Kathmandu, Nepal

December 2, 2017

She approached me as so many other merchants had today.  But she was persistent.  I wished her "Namaste" and then walked away, ignoring her.  But she stayed with me and got in my way, demanding that I look at her pursue.  She shows me the tag that states, "Made in Nepal." She frantically points to herself, "Me!" she lets me know.

"Beautifully, just beautiful," I tell her, "but no thank you." I continue walking and she continues to pull on my arm. She gets in front of me, in my way and shows me all of the hand stitchery. She shows me the four different compartments to her purse.  She is bursting with pride.  She admires the beautiful, glittery fabric. And nods to me, "You, you. Only 100 rupees, one dollar."

We are stopped now and she is leaning in to me so I quickly take this photo.  When I look at the photo, I am caught.  She has me.  That beautiful grin of hers now owned me.  I look at her and estimate that she must be 75 or more.  And she is still on the streets, trying to squeak out a living.  Why don't I just buy the damn purse?  But I don't want it and I don't want to buy it and throw it out.  But I can't walk away from this face, this attitude, this persistence.

I reach in to my damn backpack and find 100 rupees and hand it to her.  I indicate that I am not going to take the purse and she is grateful.  And I said to her, "And don't tell anyone I gave you any money or I'll kick your ass."  I worry that others will see this interaction and I will be flooded with beggars.

She takes my money with gratitude and I am grateful she didn't understand my off the cuff, rude comment to this delightful human being.