Old Update I Found from India:
An Update on the Past 3 or 4 Days
Two nights ago - I think. The days tend to blur together here - was Sangrapati, the biggest giving holidy in India. It's a day when you're supposed to give things to the poor, etc. and I think it developed out of astrological beliefs. Indian cultures revolves around a lot of astrology - horoscopes and auspicious days. There are certain auspicious days to get married, hence there are about 20 weddings in one day. There are auspicious days for various other undertakings but wedding season is the most notable.
To celebrate Sangrapati, we were invited to the home of a priest who works at the temple at the building where Smita has a community center for women from the slums and lower socio-economic status - aka lower castes. They are taught English and how to sew and other useful life skills. The following is an interesting example of caste and gender relations.
When we first arrived at their home, there was a man there, who tried to stop us from going inside because there was no "proper" place to eat inside, etc. Aka we're foreigners and of higher class so we should not be going in there to eat. But Smita said that we didn't care and we went anyway. There was also one other family who came as guests, which have hosted an FSD intern in the past. The husband is the first person in his family to interact with "the poor people" and it was a very big honor for the family that we ate at their home. I don't think it had ever happened before - ever. They served us pakora, which is essentially fried food and a fried sweet. It was so heavy that Andrew and I couldn't finish. I could just feel my insides churning. We also got pepsi and some cake because it was their sons birthday. There home consisted of 2 rooms and I didn't see a bathroom. The kitchen was a stove on the floor. I don't think they have any running water. They gather their water the traditional way - by going with a steal water jug to the nearest water tap/pump, collecting it there, carrying the water back on their heads, and storing it in big clay pots to keep it cool. They had pictures of all of the gods in their home and a lot of pictures of their family as well. The family had one daughter and one son. The daughter was there and spoke to us a little in English. Her brother left early on for some reason but the daughter-in-law was there. The difference between the daughter and the daughter-in-law was apparent right when we walked in the door. The daughter was dressed in a sari and did not have her head covered. She greeted us and talked to us. The daughter-in-law was dressed in a lunga chunni, had her entire face covered, never said one word to us, and whispered whenever she spoke to anyone. Smita told me that when the daughter is with her in-laws, which is where she lives, she has to cover up in the same way. Apparently the daughter-in-law used to go to classes at the community center but then lost interest. I just couldn't even imagine living that way. I realize that part of that is the way I was raised and I'm not even very good at adapting to a situation in which I am not living independently of a family (either my own or host-families). But it just seemed like she was silenced and was essentially a servant. There was also a great contrast between herself and her husband. While she dressed traditionally, and followed the traditional rules for married women in India, her husband dressed in Western clothes and is allowed to go do whatever he wants on his motorcycle. This man can't even see his wife's face on a regular basis and he can wear whatever he wants. Maybe the woman wouldn't want to dress differently - the lunga chuni is very beautiful traditional dress and if I could get away with wearing it I would, but it just felt like she lacked choice. It's the way it is here. She's pregnant so I was at least glad for her that she would get to return to her mother's house to give birth to the baby and be able to have more freedoms in her own home. But I felt bad for her because I also knew that she was not motivated to go to classes to learn things that could improve her life and that could be a big loss for her. However, it also could have greatly disrupted their family structure. But it's a really good example of how if you have never experienced something before, you don't realize that you're missing out. Smita explained that because she has never experienced independence, autonomy, or education, she simply doesn't value those things. In all likelihood the community center was a very foreign and uncomfortable place for her that deviated from the way in which she was brought to live. If you haven't experienced or been taught about something how can you know the benefits it will bring you?
That was the same day that there was a solar eclipse. We tried to see it and failed miserably. In India they think that you should stay inside when there is a solar eclipse and we heard one story of someone who was pregnant last year when the solar eclipse occurred and everyone told her to stay inside and not move. Her friend brought her a coconut to ward off evil and she was told to hold it in front of her stomach and not move around while the solar eclipse was happening - but the woman is a more liberal thinker and moved around without listening to them. Afterwards (I don't know how long afterwards), she had a miscarriage and people would say, "Oh it's because you moved around during the solar eclipse." Kind of like when people here say "She ate an apple at night and that's why she got sick. - Oh yes of course that must be why she got sick," but obviously this was a bigger deal and a more sensitive issue than catching a cold. (In India there is a saying, "Fruit in the morning is golden, in the afternoon it's silver, and in the night it's lead," so they think you will get sick if you eat fruit in the evening. It has to do with how it sits heavily on your chest.)
Last night we were invited to a dinner with musical entertainment. We thought it was going to be traditional music and maybe some dancing. When we got there, our host explained that himself and two of his friends are actually an amateur singing group and they meet every Saturday to practice. So then we were expecting them to sing together Barber Shop quartet style with three part harmony. Then one of the pulled out an ipod and the evening turned into glorified karaoke with each person singing along to their favorite classic Bollywood song individually. It was very unexpected. Occasionally Gabriel would interject beat boxing into it from his seat in the small audience, which just made the night even more, well, interesting aka hysterical and Andrew and I were both trying to stifle our laughter, which meant we also couldn't make eye contact. In general the singers were very good though. Our host's daughter sang and another girl did as well and they were both very talented. Interestingly, our host is a Brahmin descended from Bangladeshi royalty. His family used to live in the palace in the capital of Bangladesh until it was incorporated into Pakistan and they migrated to India because they are Hindus. Now the palace is used as a school.
An Update on the Past 3 or 4 Days
Two nights ago - I think. The days tend to blur together here - was Sangrapati, the biggest giving holidy in India. It's a day when you're supposed to give things to the poor, etc. and I think it developed out of astrological beliefs. Indian cultures revolves around a lot of astrology - horoscopes and auspicious days. There are certain auspicious days to get married, hence there are about 20 weddings in one day. There are auspicious days for various other undertakings but wedding season is the most notable.
To celebrate Sangrapati, we were invited to the home of a priest who works at the temple at the building where Smita has a community center for women from the slums and lower socio-economic status - aka lower castes. They are taught English and how to sew and other useful life skills. The following is an interesting example of caste and gender relations.
When we first arrived at their home, there was a man there, who tried to stop us from going inside because there was no "proper" place to eat inside, etc. Aka we're foreigners and of higher class so we should not be going in there to eat. But Smita said that we didn't care and we went anyway. There was also one other family who came as guests, which have hosted an FSD intern in the past. The husband is the first person in his family to interact with "the poor people" and it was a very big honor for the family that we ate at their home. I don't think it had ever happened before - ever. They served us pakora, which is essentially fried food and a fried sweet. It was so heavy that Andrew and I couldn't finish. I could just feel my insides churning. We also got pepsi and some cake because it was their sons birthday. There home consisted of 2 rooms and I didn't see a bathroom. The kitchen was a stove on the floor. I don't think they have any running water. They gather their water the traditional way - by going with a steal water jug to the nearest water tap/pump, collecting it there, carrying the water back on their heads, and storing it in big clay pots to keep it cool. They had pictures of all of the gods in their home and a lot of pictures of their family as well. The family had one daughter and one son. The daughter was there and spoke to us a little in English. Her brother left early on for some reason but the daughter-in-law was there. The difference between the daughter and the daughter-in-law was apparent right when we walked in the door. The daughter was dressed in a sari and did not have her head covered. She greeted us and talked to us. The daughter-in-law was dressed in a lunga chunni, had her entire face covered, never said one word to us, and whispered whenever she spoke to anyone. Smita told me that when the daughter is with her in-laws, which is where she lives, she has to cover up in the same way. Apparently the daughter-in-law used to go to classes at the community center but then lost interest. I just couldn't even imagine living that way. I realize that part of that is the way I was raised and I'm not even very good at adapting to a situation in which I am not living independently of a family (either my own or host-families). But it just seemed like she was silenced and was essentially a servant. There was also a great contrast between herself and her husband. While she dressed traditionally, and followed the traditional rules for married women in India, her husband dressed in Western clothes and is allowed to go do whatever he wants on his motorcycle. This man can't even see his wife's face on a regular basis and he can wear whatever he wants. Maybe the woman wouldn't want to dress differently - the lunga chuni is very beautiful traditional dress and if I could get away with wearing it I would, but it just felt like she lacked choice. It's the way it is here. She's pregnant so I was at least glad for her that she would get to return to her mother's house to give birth to the baby and be able to have more freedoms in her own home. But I felt bad for her because I also knew that she was not motivated to go to classes to learn things that could improve her life and that could be a big loss for her. However, it also could have greatly disrupted their family structure. But it's a really good example of how if you have never experienced something before, you don't realize that you're missing out. Smita explained that because she has never experienced independence, autonomy, or education, she simply doesn't value those things. In all likelihood the community center was a very foreign and uncomfortable place for her that deviated from the way in which she was brought to live. If you haven't experienced or been taught about something how can you know the benefits it will bring you?
That was the same day that there was a solar eclipse. We tried to see it and failed miserably. In India they think that you should stay inside when there is a solar eclipse and we heard one story of someone who was pregnant last year when the solar eclipse occurred and everyone told her to stay inside and not move. Her friend brought her a coconut to ward off evil and she was told to hold it in front of her stomach and not move around while the solar eclipse was happening - but the woman is a more liberal thinker and moved around without listening to them. Afterwards (I don't know how long afterwards), she had a miscarriage and people would say, "Oh it's because you moved around during the solar eclipse." Kind of like when people here say "She ate an apple at night and that's why she got sick. - Oh yes of course that must be why she got sick," but obviously this was a bigger deal and a more sensitive issue than catching a cold. (In India there is a saying, "Fruit in the morning is golden, in the afternoon it's silver, and in the night it's lead," so they think you will get sick if you eat fruit in the evening. It has to do with how it sits heavily on your chest.)
Last night we were invited to a dinner with musical entertainment. We thought it was going to be traditional music and maybe some dancing. When we got there, our host explained that himself and two of his friends are actually an amateur singing group and they meet every Saturday to practice. So then we were expecting them to sing together Barber Shop quartet style with three part harmony. Then one of the pulled out an ipod and the evening turned into glorified karaoke with each person singing along to their favorite classic Bollywood song individually. It was very unexpected. Occasionally Gabriel would interject beat boxing into it from his seat in the small audience, which just made the night even more, well, interesting aka hysterical and Andrew and I were both trying to stifle our laughter, which meant we also couldn't make eye contact. In general the singers were very good though. Our host's daughter sang and another girl did as well and they were both very talented. Interestingly, our host is a Brahmin descended from Bangladeshi royalty. His family used to live in the palace in the capital of Bangladesh until it was incorporated into Pakistan and they migrated to India because they are Hindus. Now the palace is used as a school.
posted by Marisa @ 7:17 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home