The Past Is Still Alive And Well by Ciambella
Ha Noi is a city of traditions, and although the need to become part of a modern society has inadvertently put an end to various customs, many old practices are still visible to observe.There is nowhere but in this city where one sees a blind person walking from street to street selling handmade brooms. Brooms have been made and sold by blind people in Ha Noi for a century if not longer. The same method of gathering and binding is still being used today as in years past, and the meticulous way of tighten the fiber around a bundle of stick is still mastered by the people who see everything through the acute sense of touch instead of sight.
The sight of a blind person silently moving through the street with the aid of a walking stick, with brooms swinging over one shoulder and bag over the other, trying to detect among the traffic noise a call for a sell is a touching image and one that brings to my mind many tales told by my parents from the past.