Passage to India

3/6/08

Our focus on board has turned to all things Hindu as we approach Chennai (formerly Madras) in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, India.  The country is a portrait of contradictions (much like our own) with a growing high tech sector and middle class juxtaposed on incredible poverty.  This is the only place on our voyage where we must take anti-malaria medication even if we are staying in the city.

Here's an interesting tidbit for the females among us… Although the British tried to legislate out the caste system, the dowry system of marriage and the practice of feticide or infanticide of female children, the practices are still very much with us today.  The family structure is such that having a son gives the family security for the future – a wage earner to support parents in their old age, and a future daughter-in-law who will join the husband's household.  Although Indian parents very much love their daughters, they can't afford to have very many, as each one must be married off at huge expense, and will no longer be part of the family after marriage.  The local saying is that raising a daughter is "like watering someone else's garden."

Globalization has made this problem worse instead of better in the last generation, as portable ultrasound equipment is very available to determine the sex of an unborn child, and abortion is legal.  In some cities, the ratio of women to men is only 800 per thousand men.  This has resulted in "bachelor villages" consisting entirely of working class men who can never aspire to marriage due to lack of available women.  You'd think this would make women a valuable commodity, but this is not yet so.  The woman's family wants their daughter to "marry up" into a wealthier or more prestigious family, and is willing to finance a huge dowry to make this happen, even if it means going heavily into debt for years (hmmm…  not SO different from big American weddings…)

Due again to globalization, the prospective husband's family now wants expensive items previously beyond their reach, like new cars and appliances as well as money, and marriage may be their only opportunity to acquire these things.  The husband's family can continue extorting additional payment from the bride's family for years.  If their demands are not met, the bride can be doused with fuel and set afire, freeing the son to make a new match.  The law currently states that if a woman dies within seven years of her marriage, her husband's family is considered guilty unless they can prove innocence!

3/8

Today is the Semester at Sea Olympics, with classes canceled in favor of competition among the different dorms (called Seas here) in such areas as Slippery Twister, Synchronized Swimming, Hawaiian Bowling (using bars of soap) The Dean Says (Simon Says) and Mashed Potato Sculpting.  My personal event was the photo Scavenger Hunt.  The faculty, staff and Lifelong Learners banded together to become the Silver Sea.  Our motto?  "We may be old, but we're gonna take the Gold!"  And how did the old folks do, you may ask?  We creamed the kids in the Scrabble tournament, and sustained bruises to emerge victorious in Musical Chairs.  Overall, we ended up in 5^th place out of the nine Seas – not too shabby for old folks!   Oh, and my event?   Bronze!