It's interesting to imagine what kind of person I would be if I had been born here in India. I would have a different idea if what tasted good, I would have different expectations of my future and who knows what I would believe religiously. But I wasn't born here. I was born in America with all of my needs met growing up and many additional luxuries. I was able to attend good schools and shape the foundational skills I already possessed. Now with this obvious abundance of resources, I constantly question how I should best utilize them. Am I being selfish with my indecisiveness? Am I being spoiled to go searching for a greater understanding of the world around me? There doesn't seem to be a clear answer, but my experiences meeting with some rural villagers really provided me a wake up call to all the luxuries and privileges I have been living with.
Based on my interest in learning more about village life and the problems they face, Mahesh and his family took me to a small village about an hour outside of Bangalore.
A form of profit for some who can afford to invest in a business venture, is silk worms. Here a family has a harvest in his house.
I spoke with 3 men all of a different social class. The man closest to me is the village representative and the other two are villagers who do labor in the fields and the man furthest from me owns the silk worms in his house. I wanted to get their ideas on women and their position in society. Each had an opinion about the ideas regarding women and it was interesting to heard their perspectives. They explained that in general, women are responsible for caring for the home. They talked about how hard men work and after work they often go and drink some alcohol. When I asked about women drinking they said no and when questioned said that if women were to be given the power and freedom to do what they want, they might punish men for how they are treated. They said a bigger issue in society is the corruption in the government and that should be a more important topic to discuss. They also touched on the caste system and how it still keeps men from uniting with each other. Much of the conversation was lost in translation, but I again was reminded how much privilege I have as a woman in America and despite the injustices we still have, it exists on a different level in a village.
This is the wife and daughter of the man who owns the silk worms:
The next woman I met was named Jayama. She was the only daughter of her family and her father did not leave her any inheritance. She married and gave birth to a baby boy. After her son was born, they discovered that he had polio and within months, her husband left her to provide for her and her baby alone. He is now around 30 years old and has not been able to work because of his disability and lack of treatment. She has been the sole provider. As she was explaining her story, she said she felt bad that she could not offer us any water for visiting her home. Despite her hardships, she had such kind eyes and fiery spirit. She had hopes that one day she would be in a better position and was fighting hard to receive disability funding from the government. I was so inspired to by the hope she has been able to consistently maintain. It definitely opened my eyes to the realities of 3rd world countries and the injustices and lack of resources that exist.
