On a hot, sunny day, when shade enables pause and rest, it allows several people engaging in pause, rest or socially significant activities to interact and mingle with each other. For example, in the Indian context, the kattes surrounding trees like banyan, neem, peepal or others create gathering spaces for local residents. A vast set of users use these spaces - they create spaces where older adults gather to discuss their thoughts, read the newspaper, and gossip over a cup of tea; they create spaces where women seeking respite from domestic responsibilities gather to catch up with each other; they become spaces where children and pets play. Kattes surrounding temples act as spaces for people to gather and interact with each other. 

 

Our studies demonstrate that women’s leisure in the Indian context is often attached to the idea of legitimacy. For many Indian women in such scenarios, the act of going to the temple for leisure is seen as an act of leisure with legitimacy - many women across studies report how they like to visit temples for leisure as they find it easy to get ‘permission’ from their families to do the same. 

 

With leisure within the public realm being a highly gendered act in itself, the temples located underneath trees provide legitimacy to women seeking leisure. The act of going to the temple, in itself, provides them opportunities to gather, mingle, and chat with others seeking rest from domestic responsibilities.

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Have you witnessed instances where shade facilitates social interactions? Tell us more about them!