Lovely Ladies

During the training today I sat at the farthest end of the table facing the projection screen. This allowed me to see everyone during the presentations. There was only one gentleman and the rest were all ladies. These were not just any ladies but beautiful Indian women with jet black hair, brown skin, and amazing eyes that are so dark brown they are almost black. They were all dressed in traditional Indian clothing including saris as well as salwar kameez (essentially a long tunic over either tight or loose pants). Regardless of the type, they all were quite colorful and accented with gold necklaces, earrings, and many bangles on both arms.

These are some of the strongest women in my group and our main discussions the past couple of days have been around leadership. I guess it just struck me during the meeting that these women looked so feminine and traditional yet are strong in the workplace. These women were dressed as women - not in business suits as many of us in the US and Europe would have been. Some of that is the culture and some of it is because we in the US do not really have traditional attire for women these days. Don't get me wrong - I love to wear pants and am happy to put on a business suit. But the girly side of me was a bit jealous today of these women getting to wear these beautiful outfits and lots and lots of jewelery. Am not sure I could pull of the vibrant colors since I essentially wear black, however, I think if I were wearing a black salwar kameez I would gladly accentuate it with a very colorful dupatta (the long, thin scarf that is draped backwards around your neck) and lots and lots of bangles on my wrists.