Journal 9-26-2010

Journal 9-26-2010

Today was our last day at CCOORR. I got up at 6:45 and took a bucket shower, then started to pack up. At 7:30 we walked over to a wedding… We strolled into a wedding chapel that was decorated with flowers and filled with people and music.

Nobody that we were with knew anybody in the wedding. Yet we strolled into the wedding hall and were immediately asked to sit in the front row. At first we resisted this offer. But the demands grew more intense and soon we gave in and allowed them to pull up more chairs in the very front of the hall. As soon as we sat down the two camera men who were capturing images and video of the bride and groom turned around and focused on us for almost an entire minute. At first we felt extremely uncomfortable. But the Indian wedding is so incredibly different from any western wedding that the conventions are almost opposite. As time passed we became more relaxed and realized that we were not intruding. As we settled into the front row we began to pay close attention to the bride and groom and the different ceremonies that were being performed by the Brahman. We hypothesized that this must be the consummation ceremony on the morning after the marriage had been performed. The most striking observation that we made at the wedding was that neither the bride nor the groom looked happy. They both looked overwhelmed and resigned to fact that they were being married. It almost looked as if they were participating in the marriage to please the crowd of relatives that surrounded them.

I took a video that really shows the awkwardness between the newly weds. But unfortunately I can’t add it to this journal.

After the bride and groom exchanged garlands we left the wedding hall. We made it back to CCOORR and had breakfast. My perception of marriage has definitely been changed by this experience. Hindu marriage is in many ways more of a welcoming celebration than western marriages, however the concept of arranged marriages is still hard for me to accept.

After breakfast Leah felt sick so the rest of us left her behind and went on our last tour of the village. Our first stop was a large rice mill. At this mill the paddy is separated, boiled then dried. After these preliminary steps it is moved across the street to another building where it is loaded into machines that separate the paddy husk from the rice inside. Then the whole grains are separated from the broken grains. Then the rice can even be ground into rice flour. For these different services, farmers pay a fee and then take their rice and sell it elsewhere.

After visiting both sides of the mill we went to visit a jasmine garden. The garden was beautiful we met a woman who was working in the garden. She told us that she usually works from 8:00 to 1:00 and gets paid 60 rupees per day. This is a little over $1.20, This seems like an incredibly low wage.

After stopping briefly at a fish market we made it back to CCOORR for lunch then packed up and drove in the bus to CCOORR head quarters in Chennai. At the HQ we met the director of the CCOORR program and talked with him about our experience. We also used the internet and with Amalan’s help purchased our train tickets for Velore.

Around 4:30 or 5:00 we made it back to ICSA. We dumped our backpacks in our rooms and then went out for a nice Italian dinner. This dinner was VERY good! I don’t know who knew about the restaurant but it is a nearby mall and was again VERY good! It tasted like real Italian food. I think it is called le pasta bar … something… Sooooo good!