Jain Doorway
Vadodara, India 2009
The mop hanging by the door of this small home is used by the Jain nun who lives here to sweep away invisible living creatures from her path where ever she walks. She will brush the road before she takes a step hoping to gently cast aside bacteria, insects, larvae, etc. To see a group of these white-clad nuns and priests walking in groups across the countryside, wielding their mops is transfixing.
A Jain Religious
A Jain nun sits in her humble home.
There are about 4 million Jain people in India. They are known as keen business men. I recommend finding a shop run by a Jain as their principles for living a good life include not stealing. We were led to a wonderful antique shop in Jaiselmer (owned by a Jain) and purchased several old miniatures and a container for opium made of wood covered in silver filigree. We didn’t buy them all on one trip. The merchant could see that we wanted these items and put them aside for us. He knew, even though we didn’t, that we’d be back one day.