On the train to Amritsar I was adopted by a Holy man and his British
Indian "aunt". I was whisked off to a one bedroom dirt floor house in
a village where everyone has the same name. Despite the flies
everything was very clean with plenty of beds for all.
Nine people were staying in the well run house there. The daughter
who was slatted for an arranged marriage did the bulk of the cooking
and cleaning. The poor girl would move in with the groom and his
parents and most days the mother and son would be meeting men and
negotiating. Her marriage will be in January even though they haven't
found her someone yet. You can see why female children are frowned
upon. The parents would raise her til 21 and then they would pay a
dowry to the family she would marry. The dowry can be cripplingly
expensive. She would then wait on her new family hand and foot. A son
is a much better deal. Clinics in India will not provide parents with
information on the sex of their child before they are born.
The father and son were in charge of home expansion and were building
a new kitchen while their wives would help the daughter cook and clean
and look after the new born. When the son was away for a day a laborer
would come help for $3 a day. Most days were spent lounging around on
beds and greeting visitors. At other times we would go off and visit
people or go to the temple for blessings. They were wonderful to me
and I was treated like royalty for three days and two nights. They
even want me to come back. Unfortunately none of them spoke English
(except the English lady).
Now in Amritsar. Was invited to a dinner with some of the top business
people and authorities in the city. The police chief in particular
looked quite stern and grumpy. That is another story for another day.
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