Jaipur was the next stop and we were fortunate here to be able to stay on farm belonging to a long-standing acquaintance of Exodus. As well as providing us with a very nice and welcome dinner, we were also treated to a very interesting talk on the Indian caste system, the lot of women in India and related subjects.
It is good to be able to ask frank and open questions about the culture and religions of a nation and to receive equally frank and open answers - especially when those answers are from someone who lives within that culture. It came, for example, as something of a surprise to learn that, whilst now being illegal, the caste system is still very much in operation here and still governs much of the social interactions that take place particularly with regard to marriage. Once born to a caste you are stuck with it. There is no way to change caste without dying and being reborn to a different one - higher if you lead a good life and lower if you do not. It therefore remains possible to become rich and still be a member of a low caste. An extreme example of this is that there is apparently at least one Bollywood actress who is an 'untouchable'. Rich, famous, no doubt beautiful (most are at the very least stunning) and yet 'untouchable'. The logic is a strange one to be sure.
It came as a larger surprise still to learn that up to 96% of marriages in India are still arranged and the practice of requiring dowries for female children is still very much active. It is still also the case that female babies are occasionally killed in favor of male babies - due it would seem to the need to supply a dowry. As a result only around 45% of children are female. Once widowed or divorced a woman is very unlikely to be able to remarry and will probably be looked after by her family. There is a certain level of shame associated with this status. A man in a similar situation will be remarried typically within a year. Perhaps the largest surprise of all is that Indians view foreigners as the lowest caste - on a par with untouchables. It would be very rare indeed, therefore, for a westerner to be able to marry an Indian woman. From what I am given to understand these attitudes are less common in the major cities, where western attitudes have penetrated a little, but in rural and smaller town communities they are the norm.
The following day we were treated to a tour of some of Jaipur's sights including the Amber palace - which sits atop hill overlooking the town. Aside from being a stunning example of Mughal architecture this palace (which is anything but Amber - the name comes from something to do with the heritage of the people who built it) provides the first opportunity to ride an elephant (which we declined) and affords excellent views across the whole of Jaipur. Jaipur is unusual in the cities that we have visited (Mcleod Ganj excepted) in that there is more than one hill within visual range of the city. As usual when there is some topography present this made for some excellent views. There are a few other forts and palaces present that are worth a look (one fort apparently houses the largest cannon ever made) and a must-see stop if you have even a remote interest in Astronomy/Astrology is the astounding observatory that houses all manner of giant sized instruments including a 100ft (at least) sun-dial that will measure time to an accuracy of 2 seconds. Aside from that Jaipur is notable for its jewelry shops with some stunning examples of all kinds of jewelry that retail at around half to a third of the price of an equivalent item in the UK. So if you were planning a large purchase it would be worth the plane ticket. In the end it was a very pleasant place to stay - despite the on-going heat.
It is good to be able to ask frank and open questions about the culture and religions of a nation and to receive equally frank and open answers - especially when those answers are from someone who lives within that culture. It came, for example, as something of a surprise to learn that, whilst now being illegal, the caste system is still very much in operation here and still governs much of the social interactions that take place particularly with regard to marriage. Once born to a caste you are stuck with it. There is no way to change caste without dying and being reborn to a different one - higher if you lead a good life and lower if you do not. It therefore remains possible to become rich and still be a member of a low caste. An extreme example of this is that there is apparently at least one Bollywood actress who is an 'untouchable'. Rich, famous, no doubt beautiful (most are at the very least stunning) and yet 'untouchable'. The logic is a strange one to be sure.
It came as a larger surprise still to learn that up to 96% of marriages in India are still arranged and the practice of requiring dowries for female children is still very much active. It is still also the case that female babies are occasionally killed in favor of male babies - due it would seem to the need to supply a dowry. As a result only around 45% of children are female. Once widowed or divorced a woman is very unlikely to be able to remarry and will probably be looked after by her family. There is a certain level of shame associated with this status. A man in a similar situation will be remarried typically within a year. Perhaps the largest surprise of all is that Indians view foreigners as the lowest caste - on a par with untouchables. It would be very rare indeed, therefore, for a westerner to be able to marry an Indian woman. From what I am given to understand these attitudes are less common in the major cities, where western attitudes have penetrated a little, but in rural and smaller town communities they are the norm.
The following day we were treated to a tour of some of Jaipur's sights including the Amber palace - which sits atop hill overlooking the town. Aside from being a stunning example of Mughal architecture this palace (which is anything but Amber - the name comes from something to do with the heritage of the people who built it) provides the first opportunity to ride an elephant (which we declined) and affords excellent views across the whole of Jaipur. Jaipur is unusual in the cities that we have visited (Mcleod Ganj excepted) in that there is more than one hill within visual range of the city. As usual when there is some topography present this made for some excellent views. There are a few other forts and palaces present that are worth a look (one fort apparently houses the largest cannon ever made) and a must-see stop if you have even a remote interest in Astronomy/Astrology is the astounding observatory that houses all manner of giant sized instruments including a 100ft (at least) sun-dial that will measure time to an accuracy of 2 seconds. Aside from that Jaipur is notable for its jewelry shops with some stunning examples of all kinds of jewelry that retail at around half to a third of the price of an equivalent item in the UK. So if you were planning a large purchase it would be worth the plane ticket. In the end it was a very pleasant place to stay - despite the on-going heat.
posted by Al at 10:40 pm
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