The Scandalous Scammer of the Beach!

 Remember how I mentioned in the previous blog about unsuspecting beach goers being "grabbed" by tatoo "artists"?! Well... 

This super scammer-- clearly polished, most intrepid-- really did literally grab me as I was ambling down the beach. Of course, if she was out to do a REAL tatoo on my arm, I would have reacted quite violently. But when I saw she only had stamps and pads of henna, I cautiously relented. I have always liked the elegant, decorative patterns of henna on women's hands in India. As I understand it, etching henna on the hands is traditional at bridal parties before a woman is married off. I am envious of those gorgeous designs! So... I waited to see what this woman would do, and this was it:

Pretty cool, eh?! Not so much so when she began "adding up" the charges! You see, her English was scant, and when I asked her "how much" as she began forcefully stamping my fingers, hands and arms with lightening speed, she replied, "30 rupees". "OK, reasonable enough", I thought to myself. 

When she finished--and admired--her work after a mere 5 minutes or so, she then began to count each, individual stamp mark! One leaf, one flower design, one swirl... each one noted, for a total of 30... or so she claimed. (when I counted myself, it was actually only 28!) She then asked me for a whopping NINE HUNDRED RUPEES!!! A clear scam was in progress!!!! 

I protested vehemently, saying loudly that she told me the work would cost only THIRTY rupees! "Nai, nai", she responded, "thirty EACH!" Then, she showed me--on her CALCULATOR, no less-- that 30 stamps times 30 rupees EACH did indeed come to 900!!

I protested louder and we drew a crowd of unabashedly curious onlookers. They were clearly amused by the exchange! I, on the other hand, was NOT! Nothing riles me more than a scammer... someone who tries to cheat me just because I am a white woman and a foreigner. 

When she realized I was NOT, by any means, going to pay her this outrageous sum, she then began to haggle with me. "OK, how much? 600 rupees?" she queried. 

"Heck no!" I replied. (At an exchange rate of 82 rupees per dollar, 900 was equivalent to $11.00. 600 would be $7.30. )

This HUGE amount (for an Indian, mind you... ) for a mere five minutes of work, stamping me with some tacky, henna stamps? Not even using the ancient artistry of actually DRAWING original designs on my skin? I was getting mad by then, feeling like a total dupe... 

The haggling continued, the crowd grew... I turned to a couple women watching, and asked THEM what this cheap, henna stamp job was worth. They shook their heads and wouldn't answer. Finally, after what seemed like hours, we settled on 150. We shook on it. I asked her how long the henna would last, and she promptly responded, "15 days".  As so typically happens with haggling in India, once the price is agreed upon, all parties smile and walk away happy. This was no exception!

However, I found out later that even 150 was still a scam! 100-150 per hand was a going rate for personal DRAWING on the hand, NOT some cheesy stamps! Furthermore, the henna started washing off immediately, and after 24 hours was almost totally gone. (By contrast, the normal, drawn-on technique really DOES last a couple of weeks!) 

I was mad all over again! I just KNOW that woman walked away thinking what a dumb westerner I was, and probably continues to tell the proud story of her scam to this very day!