About “Wonder Road”

In November 2004 I taught a painting workshop in northern India and had the opportunity to explore the cities of Jaipur, Jodphur, Udaipur and many rural areas in this ethnically diverse region. I discovered that India is a fascinating place, both visually and culturally. Instead of the desperate widespread poverty I’d anticipated, I found a thriving small scale economy and a dignified population. I saw beauty in even the poorest places: the intense hues of women’s clothing amid the landscape’s subdued neutrals; the subtle layers of pastel paints and faded graphics on ancient walls, vibrant displays of produce and packages in shop stalls. I was lucky to be there during the celebration of Diwali, and everywhere were piles of marigolds and greenery for “festival of lights” decorations.

I did see poverty: villages in need of infrastructure, families living in makeshift shelters on the streets, children in obvious need of medical care. But the busy small-scale industry and bustling local economies of the places I visited also made a deep impression on me. Ingenious inventions turned bicycle tires into lathes and front yards into micro-factories, neighbors sold their produce and products to each other in artfully arranged displays, cauldrons of mysterious sweets and savories bubbled in food stalls on every corner. The Indian economy I saw on the street level made me think of the economy my small Vermont town lost decades ago: people making things, and selling them to each other, an economy based on relationships.

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