I think I mentioned briefly meeting Bela and getting a more in-depth introduction to the history of CCS and a little outline of the ways of India.
Bela talked about some of the values that are most important here in India. I don't think my list is complete but the few that I remember are: family, respect of elders, religion, and hospitality.
We talked a little bit about sexuality and how India is full of contradictions in many ways. Women don't bare their shoulders but the traditional sari will show off your belly and back. (Which is why I will not be wearing one.) Kissing in public is considered somewhat obscene but there are temples that display Kama Sutra statues. This is all stuff that's generally more of an issue for women than men. If you're out long enough you will see a man peeing on something. Guaranteed. They get a pass on many of the contradictons and complications.
Another thing that she discussed is punctuality. Here in India, on time is early and late is on time. It's a much better system than the one most people are used to at home. If someone is 15-30 minutes late, don't expect a profuse apology. If they are an hour late then you may get a "oh sorry, this thing came up" and then you carry on. It's not a drama, all is well.
Lastly, she talked to us about a sort of lack of privacy. People here will ask you about what they want to know and tell about what they want you to know. It's not bizarre for you to hear the life story of someone near you on the train. Since I've been out and about with a man people feel free to ask if he's my husband, boyfriend, friend, or what exactly my relationship is to him. If you seem hesitant they will sometimes back off but that's been with men so far in my experience. I suspect a woman might stand and wait for an answer no matter what. Some in the group thought it was bizarre to think that they might be expected to divulge so much information to a stranger, but like most of the other things she talked about, it seems perfectly normal to me.
CCS invites a couple speakers to come and talk to us about Indian issues and India in general. It's like going to class without having a test so I quite like it.
The first speaker that we had was Jaya Srivastava, she came to talk to us about women in India. She told us about some of the movements that have been taking place in which women have played a very important role, and lower caste/class women specifically. She told us about several women who have risen from the lowest classes to have a great amount of power, none of which I can remember the names of but it was interesting. We talked quite a bit about the massive problem here of people killing off their girl children because they are hoping for a boy. It's a whole convoluted system of dowry, tradition, and reluctance to progress. She said a common misconception is that this is done mostly by lower class families but actually the higher percentage of people doing this is the middle class. She said there's been a bit of a push to start teaching sex education in India which I think (hopefully) would help various things all over the place.
She enjoys working with women from the forest and small villages. She said that they really listen and embrace what she is trying to teach them and appreciate the importance of it all. On the other hand, she's not terribly fond of doing conferences with educated masses because they don't listen. Educated people sometimes think they already know everything so it's like drops of water on a sponge in a bucket full of water. It's not going to do so much good. I'm sure there's exceptions on both sides but she was quite funny.
Marianne asked Jaya if she considered herself a feminist, she sort of laughed, and thought about it a moment. She had the same response as I do, that she doesn't like the term. I think she might like the quote that I couldn't remember at the time but it came to me later, that says: Feminism is the radical idea that women are people. In her opinion, the poor and lower caste women in India are the most oppressed group of people in the world and I can't think of a really good reason to argue that. At least here in India all citizens are legally granted full equal rights (as of 1950); it has it's pros and cons but they didn't have to fight for it like a lot of the world did. Now if only they can begin to fully take advantage of that fact for the good of all of India.
Her son, Aseem Srivastava has written a book called Churning of the World, about the globalization of India. With a mother like her I imagine he's quite an enlightened and interesting fellow.
Our second speaker was Mr. A.K. Ray, a professor somewhere that I've forgotten. For those of you that know Dr. Goodlett, this was his Indian counterpart but without any discussion of movies and music.
He explained some of the history about how India was created, who invaded, who took over, the reasons behind the creation of Pakistan and Bangladesh, etc. He was pretty interesting but gave us SO MUCH information. Here's a little outline:
He talked about pre-Vasco de Gama India, and post-Vasco de Gama India. Apparently that's sort of a turning point for the whole lot.
5000 years of history means 5000 years of baggage.
He said- "Get shocked if you want to but don't dismiss it as irrational." regarding some reactions to different cultures and behaviors.
Kerala is "God's own country" and he and his wife debate on whether the girls or boys are more beautiful there.
I don't remember the context but he said something about Americans mistaking Sikh men for Osama Bin Laden, which was funny.
Some time in the past there was a group of people seeking asylum in India or a region or something. The story says that the King, being generally hospitable and not wishing to say no outright, sent a jar of milk full to the top. He said to them that this jar represents India and if you come in the milk will start to spill out. The people wanting to come over added a spoonfull of honey and returned the jar to him to say that their arrival will only sweeten the milk but will not overflow the jar.
Apparently curry was something that the Portuguese brought over, the professor says "blame the Portuguese for your Delhi belly."
From what I can remember of his bit about the creation of Pakistan it came from this- after the British vacated the newly independent India, it would have a strong Hindu rule. Much of the Muslim population was worried about this and asked for their own piece, as it were. Gandhi was against breaking up the country because he believed that they could all peacefully coexist just as before but eventually Pakistan and Bangladesh were created. India gained independence August 1947. There's some story about Midnight's Children here too but I can't remember the details of it. Basically they waited until midnight on the 15th or 16th of August to make it official, which had some significance that I can't remember. It's also a book by Salman Rushdie, which looks pretty awesome. I've never read it.
According to Professor Ray, a great success of India is that since gaining independence from the British, they have "survived in one piece, as a democracy." I agree that it's quite impressive.
The other successes and failures he outlined were this:
India is self-sufficient in food PRODUCTION. Food distribution is still an issue; 25% of India still goes to bed without food.
They have a diversified economy; vs the Middle East which essentially has oil and nothing else.
They have a plethora of skilled human resources in the area of technology. He noted that it's interesting that years back parents might say "Finish your food, there's kids going hungry in India," whereas now they are telling their kids to finish their homework because someone in India will get a better job than them. The downside of this is that they are unable to provide free education for all children. They have not abolished child labor in practice. It's illegal but there are only so many ways to enforce it.
Power outtages are common, drinking water is not readily available.
"Health tourism" as he called it (people coming here for cheap medical treatment) is doing quite well but care is lacking for citizens.
It is, as I've heard many times, a bundle of contradictions here.
In his opinion, the worst issue India is facing right now is "corruption and criminalization"; a disturbing amount of elected leaders have any number of things on their criminal record.
So as he gets up to leave us he says, "I can see the depression I have spread all around." However, his hope lies in new social movements, and people standing up for themselves and bringing things out that need to be seen and fixed. That goes for the rest of the world really in these bizarre times we live in. The only hope that there is lies with the people who realize that you can't turn a blind eye to all things. Reality will eventually come knocking on your door no matter what. If India is broken, the world is broken.
Bela talked about some of the values that are most important here in India. I don't think my list is complete but the few that I remember are: family, respect of elders, religion, and hospitality.
We talked a little bit about sexuality and how India is full of contradictions in many ways. Women don't bare their shoulders but the traditional sari will show off your belly and back. (Which is why I will not be wearing one.) Kissing in public is considered somewhat obscene but there are temples that display Kama Sutra statues. This is all stuff that's generally more of an issue for women than men. If you're out long enough you will see a man peeing on something. Guaranteed. They get a pass on many of the contradictons and complications.
Another thing that she discussed is punctuality. Here in India, on time is early and late is on time. It's a much better system than the one most people are used to at home. If someone is 15-30 minutes late, don't expect a profuse apology. If they are an hour late then you may get a "oh sorry, this thing came up" and then you carry on. It's not a drama, all is well.
Lastly, she talked to us about a sort of lack of privacy. People here will ask you about what they want to know and tell about what they want you to know. It's not bizarre for you to hear the life story of someone near you on the train. Since I've been out and about with a man people feel free to ask if he's my husband, boyfriend, friend, or what exactly my relationship is to him. If you seem hesitant they will sometimes back off but that's been with men so far in my experience. I suspect a woman might stand and wait for an answer no matter what. Some in the group thought it was bizarre to think that they might be expected to divulge so much information to a stranger, but like most of the other things she talked about, it seems perfectly normal to me.
CCS invites a couple speakers to come and talk to us about Indian issues and India in general. It's like going to class without having a test so I quite like it.
The first speaker that we had was Jaya Srivastava, she came to talk to us about women in India. She told us about some of the movements that have been taking place in which women have played a very important role, and lower caste/class women specifically. She told us about several women who have risen from the lowest classes to have a great amount of power, none of which I can remember the names of but it was interesting. We talked quite a bit about the massive problem here of people killing off their girl children because they are hoping for a boy. It's a whole convoluted system of dowry, tradition, and reluctance to progress. She said a common misconception is that this is done mostly by lower class families but actually the higher percentage of people doing this is the middle class. She said there's been a bit of a push to start teaching sex education in India which I think (hopefully) would help various things all over the place.
She enjoys working with women from the forest and small villages. She said that they really listen and embrace what she is trying to teach them and appreciate the importance of it all. On the other hand, she's not terribly fond of doing conferences with educated masses because they don't listen. Educated people sometimes think they already know everything so it's like drops of water on a sponge in a bucket full of water. It's not going to do so much good. I'm sure there's exceptions on both sides but she was quite funny.
Marianne asked Jaya if she considered herself a feminist, she sort of laughed, and thought about it a moment. She had the same response as I do, that she doesn't like the term. I think she might like the quote that I couldn't remember at the time but it came to me later, that says: Feminism is the radical idea that women are people. In her opinion, the poor and lower caste women in India are the most oppressed group of people in the world and I can't think of a really good reason to argue that. At least here in India all citizens are legally granted full equal rights (as of 1950); it has it's pros and cons but they didn't have to fight for it like a lot of the world did. Now if only they can begin to fully take advantage of that fact for the good of all of India.
Her son, Aseem Srivastava has written a book called Churning of the World, about the globalization of India. With a mother like her I imagine he's quite an enlightened and interesting fellow.
Our second speaker was Mr. A.K. Ray, a professor somewhere that I've forgotten. For those of you that know Dr. Goodlett, this was his Indian counterpart but without any discussion of movies and music.
He explained some of the history about how India was created, who invaded, who took over, the reasons behind the creation of Pakistan and Bangladesh, etc. He was pretty interesting but gave us SO MUCH information. Here's a little outline:
He talked about pre-Vasco de Gama India, and post-Vasco de Gama India. Apparently that's sort of a turning point for the whole lot.
5000 years of history means 5000 years of baggage.
He said- "Get shocked if you want to but don't dismiss it as irrational." regarding some reactions to different cultures and behaviors.
Kerala is "God's own country" and he and his wife debate on whether the girls or boys are more beautiful there.
I don't remember the context but he said something about Americans mistaking Sikh men for Osama Bin Laden, which was funny.
Some time in the past there was a group of people seeking asylum in India or a region or something. The story says that the King, being generally hospitable and not wishing to say no outright, sent a jar of milk full to the top. He said to them that this jar represents India and if you come in the milk will start to spill out. The people wanting to come over added a spoonfull of honey and returned the jar to him to say that their arrival will only sweeten the milk but will not overflow the jar.
Apparently curry was something that the Portuguese brought over, the professor says "blame the Portuguese for your Delhi belly."
From what I can remember of his bit about the creation of Pakistan it came from this- after the British vacated the newly independent India, it would have a strong Hindu rule. Much of the Muslim population was worried about this and asked for their own piece, as it were. Gandhi was against breaking up the country because he believed that they could all peacefully coexist just as before but eventually Pakistan and Bangladesh were created. India gained independence August 1947. There's some story about Midnight's Children here too but I can't remember the details of it. Basically they waited until midnight on the 15th or 16th of August to make it official, which had some significance that I can't remember. It's also a book by Salman Rushdie, which looks pretty awesome. I've never read it.
According to Professor Ray, a great success of India is that since gaining independence from the British, they have "survived in one piece, as a democracy." I agree that it's quite impressive.
The other successes and failures he outlined were this:
India is self-sufficient in food PRODUCTION. Food distribution is still an issue; 25% of India still goes to bed without food.
They have a diversified economy; vs the Middle East which essentially has oil and nothing else.
They have a plethora of skilled human resources in the area of technology. He noted that it's interesting that years back parents might say "Finish your food, there's kids going hungry in India," whereas now they are telling their kids to finish their homework because someone in India will get a better job than them. The downside of this is that they are unable to provide free education for all children. They have not abolished child labor in practice. It's illegal but there are only so many ways to enforce it.
Power outtages are common, drinking water is not readily available.
"Health tourism" as he called it (people coming here for cheap medical treatment) is doing quite well but care is lacking for citizens.
It is, as I've heard many times, a bundle of contradictions here.
In his opinion, the worst issue India is facing right now is "corruption and criminalization"; a disturbing amount of elected leaders have any number of things on their criminal record.
So as he gets up to leave us he says, "I can see the depression I have spread all around." However, his hope lies in new social movements, and people standing up for themselves and bringing things out that need to be seen and fixed. That goes for the rest of the world really in these bizarre times we live in. The only hope that there is lies with the people who realize that you can't turn a blind eye to all things. Reality will eventually come knocking on your door no matter what. If India is broken, the world is broken.
very fascinating, thanks for sharing! "If India is broken, the whole world is broken"...how true.
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