I have been in Chennai, Southern India, for a week now and I am having the most incredible experience. India has the most beautiful culture which I am slowly beginning to discover, each day I learn more about its traditions and diversity.
Tamil Nadu the state which I am staying has 6 practicing religions (Hindi, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism,Sikhism and Islam) and many district languages with the main language being Tamil. India alone has over 1600 spoken languages. I can barely speak one and here everyone must speak at least two, Tamil and English. English is taken as a subject up to the age 15 and any skilled job employment interviews are taken place in English. It's almost a requirement to be able to speak English if you wish to a decent standard of living.
So far most of my days have been spent in a room training with my fellow volunteers however yesterday we were taken on an adventure to the National Park and the Beach, by bus. Indian buses are quite the experience in themselves with brightly colored lights and music playing, passengers bobbing up and down as the vehicle drove it’s self. It was on the return journey which I had the fortune of meeting a lovely inspiring woman called Sharmila who kindly engaged in conversation with me for 2 hours on what I would describe as an extremely tightly packed bus, so squashed in fact there were men hanging out the doorway. I had a night tour from the bus window, I was educated about the changed in women in India over recent years and about herself, all off which I wish to share with you.
Sharmila is in her late 20's and lives in Chennai (Tamil's Capital) after having completed a Buisness and Communication Masters at University. Unlike many Indian girls she traveled and stayed in another city away from her family but most families wouldn't let a girl move away for study. Since completing 2 different masters Shamila has been struggling to find employment, even though she also peaks 4 fluent languages. I have found this to be quite a trend here, people work so hard to been trained and educated and are still really struggling for employment.
She told me about her new job which she we start tomorrow.She was so excited as she will be working for an English company in the field of computer programming which means a late start office hour to match English time. She had to leave her previous employment due to lack of respect for women in the work place. The women were paid less than the men with her monthly salary only amounting to 1,500 rupes after they had they deducted tax and other company expenses. To put that into perspective it comes to around 10 pounds. No one should have to live off that. Similarly women are expected to cover up in dress, with as limited skin showing as possible. Other wise they are seen to be attracting dangerous attention and they would be at risk of sexual abuse and rape.Sadly there are high levels in Chennai and the city is viewed as unsafe after 6pm.
As we sat on the very crowded bus (men hanging out the door, full to the brim) Sharmila pointed out sights, the best shops, Gandhi Gardens, bridges and so on. She also told me about a Tamil poet who unfortunately I have forgotten the name off. It was very difficult to hear with then Indian nightlife beeping aggressively. The city is vibrant and full of bright colors but especially some buildings are covered in lights. These are wedding centres. Hindi weddings happen for a block of 4 months together and your book your wedding into a slot. This means the lights can stay up for the wedding season and then taken down afterwards. Sharlmia said that it is expected to attend at least 2 a month during this period.
The two of us spoke of many things, which would take a longtime to write about and I don't wish to bore you all, however as we become in deeper conversation and we laughed a lot it was as though I has known her for years. Shamila spoke in great detail about how India is unsafe, modernising and full of technology which was so informative. However my favorite conversation was when she randomly, in a moments silence said, 'Sofee why to English girls look so un glamorous, you would look so much better with jewelry and sparkly dresses'. I just laughed for it was true. There I was hot and sticky in a black t-shirt and trousers and she had on this beautiful sari, fresh flowers in her hair and earrings and wrist full of bangles. She continued to tell about the foreign way of eating,as she has been told that all people out of India ate Snakes and half baked foods. I din't wish to disappoint but I informed her that I tend to fully cook my food and have never eaten a snake.
The bus journey was over 2 hours so a friendship had time to be built. As you can see we took a photo, which really emphasizes our different shades of skin. As we looked at it together Shamila exclaimed that she wishes she was lighter and that she uses a whitening cream on her body like nearly all city women. 'Lighter skin is more beautiful' I was shocked and I will admit I had to try very hard not to laugh but then I thought about how in England we have an obsession with fake tan, be darker and sun bathe! I explained this to Shamila and we both laughed at how different our cultures were but also just how similar, women are changing their skin tone with the hope to find more beauty. But as I always say, the most important beauty is inside yourself. This we both agreed on, even though I must find some glamorous clothes.
Stay Beautiful,
Zsofia xxxx
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