The long shadows stretching out on the road behind this brightly clothed Rajasthani lady show that it is the evening of the day.
A hard day’s labor … with a good home-cooked meal
For this lady carrying her tiffin lunchbox, it was the end of what was probably another hard day of labor, most likely at a construction site. The tiffin consists of a stack of 3–4 separate containers, which are latched together to enclose the contents. The bottom tier usually contains rice, while the other 2 contain some tasty vegetable dishes.
Many Indians prepare their own tiffin lunch and carry their lunchbox to work. Even many white-collar workers take a 4-tier tiffin to the office. (Of course, the tiffin lunch of any white-collar worker will have been prepared by their domestic helper.)
A bright spot
As you can see, lower-caste laborers such as this lady do not have special “work clothes” of any sort. In fact, many of them have only one set of clothing. If they are lucky at the end of their day, they might have a chance to wash it at a pump or a spigot. Maybe not.But at the very least, their vibrantly colorful clothing provides one bright spot in the rather drab environment.
