I had an eyeopening talk with a teacher earlier this week. She was telling me how lack of resources is a big problem. For instance in "computer class" not only do they not have computers, but almost none of the students have ever seen one. I asked her if that was the biggest problem. She said, no, the biggest problem was teacher turnover. Only women teach and their parents marry them a year or two after they finish school. Therefore, teacher turnover is astoundingly high.
Arranged marriages account for a vast majority (90%) of marriages here. Many of the other marriages are partly arranged. I've heard multiple stories of couples "running away" to marry because they weren't of the "right" caste, background, or family. Once a woman marries she is moved to her husband's house and her life is dictated by her in-laws. As my opinion on this subject is very skewed, I've decided to not talk about "women's lives in India" on this blog. I think it's too public, and fear I would end up bordering on being culturally insensitive. Despite being a "woman in India" I am not an "Indian woman." Plus that's not what my project is about. That being said, art in schools is not what India is about. But, I knew that, and that's part of the reason I'm here.
Speaking of marriages... (look at that transition.)
My house is on a "marriage yard" which is basically a large field where women in gorgeous saris and men in jeans eat, and then stand there, before a few of them (about 10 of the few hundred) have a mosh pit to the incredibly loud music playing. The bad news is this means my housemate and I generally have to forgo conversation on nights where there's a wedding (I'd say 2-4 times a week.)
Also, I can now sing this song:
The good news is that there's free entertainment on our roof. We act like fashion magazine editors: commenting on the outfits while really wishing we could eat all the food.
The wedding I mentioned in a previous post ended in a very interesting display and I got to be right in the thick of it. Just call me the international entertainment.
The procession to the wedding yard on the third day starts from the house of the groom. He rode a horse, which in this case, had splendidly painted pink hooves.
The sweetest moment of the night was when his grandmother was lifted up to say goodbye to him. My housemate captured this beautiful picture:
To the incredibly loud beating of drums the profession went through the neighborhood. The entire way women were dancing and spinning. The large group in attendance was lined by a series of large lanterns carried by hired hands.
I think we were invited to go to the actual wedding but declined... I was about to come down with stomach flu so I'm glad we did!
Speaking of marriages... (look at that transition.)
My house is on a "marriage yard" which is basically a large field where women in gorgeous saris and men in jeans eat, and then stand there, before a few of them (about 10 of the few hundred) have a mosh pit to the incredibly loud music playing. The bad news is this means my housemate and I generally have to forgo conversation on nights where there's a wedding (I'd say 2-4 times a week.)
Also, I can now sing this song:
The good news is that there's free entertainment on our roof. We act like fashion magazine editors: commenting on the outfits while really wishing we could eat all the food.
The wedding I mentioned in a previous post ended in a very interesting display and I got to be right in the thick of it. Just call me the international entertainment.
The procession to the wedding yard on the third day starts from the house of the groom. He rode a horse, which in this case, had splendidly painted pink hooves.
The sweetest moment of the night was when his grandmother was lifted up to say goodbye to him. My housemate captured this beautiful picture:
I think we were invited to go to the actual wedding but declined... I was about to come down with stomach flu so I'm glad we did!
I wasn't properly up for dancing.
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