Bhutan

Just quickly letting you know because I'm so busy here I don't have much time to write fully... but...

Bhutan has immediately and effortlessly made it into my top 5 destinations to visit. It's there with Libya, Iceland and others! :-)

Landing here was difficult turbulence wise, so if I don't make it out, know that I died happy (except for the last few minutes where I was probably shit scared!)

It's different, people are beautiful and Buddhism keeps it calm and enlightened. The country's unique Gross Domestic Happiness affected me in such a positive way, I'd seek asylum here if it didn't get hot in the summer!

Tomorrow Nepal.

Marriage-Marketing-Madness

** Just because even my parents were worried - I am not looking for a husband - these are just cultural observations! **

For some, getting married just happens. They meet someone, fall in love and then sometime later decide that it's a good idea to get married. Kind of what happened to me long time ago...

Yet this is a very ethnocentric view of marriage. Other cultures have different approaches. In India, many marriages are still arranged. I talked to a few people in India, who have still had their parents or other family members arrange their marriage.

This isn't a post about whichever system is better. This is a post about when neither system works. This is a post about what happens in India when a family is left with an ageing child (or through divorce he/she returns) and what do they do to secure a marriage for him/her. How do they market this marriage 'reject' and finally have the house back to themselves? ;-)

Oh and before you proceed, remember not to take this too seriously... Some of my India posts already resulted in an angry feedback from some (unknown) Indian blog readers.

If you don't like what I write, don't read it.

Newspaper Matrimonials

On Sundays the Times of India newspaper is full of ads. Ads advertising brides and 'boys' of various ages, regions of India and religions. Here's my brief analysis of this phenomena.

FYI - matrimonial ads are divided so:

1. "Wanted Brides" and "Wanted Grooms".

2. Each gender is divided into age groups - 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s.

3. Each age group is divided into religious, locality, social, professional, cultural and other(?) groups, for example: Hindu, Brahmin, Bengali, Cosmopolitan, Green Card, MBA, Doctors...

The list goes on and on...

The ads show the value of a potential partner and from my observation are based on the following (not order of importance):

• educational qualifications - PG (postgraduate), MBA, Medico (medical doctor) and often it is indicated if education was done abroad and where.
• work - wkg (working), world renown MNC (multinational company), professor. Often parents occupations are also included - Fthr Retd Sr Cl1 Ofcr (Father retired senior class 1 officer).
• earnings - 4.5Lpa (Lakhs per annum. Lakh is 100,000 rupees, Cr = Crore is 1 million rupees).
• age and height - 28/6' - 28 years old and 6 feet tall (180cm).
• skin colour - very fair, fair, wheatish (dark) - the lighter the better...
• family - decent status, from respected family, industrialist reputed business family of old Delhi, (family reputation is very important).
• all men no matter what age are called 'boy' - obviously their mothers write these ads...
• and very often an exact birth date is given, including time and location - this is to ensure an astrological match...

So let us look at some examples that I found particularly amusing...

And of course, I focused on the men! ;-)

PS Deciphering these was not easy. I might have made mistakes, so let me know if I'm wrong.

First a few of the "Bride Wanted":

Kumauni is a region of India. Br and Brahmin is a religion. 162cm tall and from March 1975. Masters of Science and a doctorate.

mglk= manglik, which is something from Indian astrology and apparently is bad for marriage.

boy (he will always be a boy to his mother!)

wkg=working (I have no idea what Ggn is) but he earns 11,5 lakhs (=AUD230,000pa).

Seeks beautiful, professionally qualified Kumauni girl with various listed qualifications preferred.

The next ad caught my eye because this 'boy' is seeking specifically a government employed woman.

Agarwal is a community of people in India from the North.

What caught my eye here is the term 'convented', which I think means convent educated...

Does this relate to the potential 'purity' of this 38year old man (according to his mother at least!)?

Notice too the 'early marriage' - I'm still trying to work that one out.

And 'Caste no bar' - meaning a match from a lower caste should not be a problem.

The ad highlighted in pink was just too difficult for me - what l is a 'Farm Fly'??

Here the circled ad got my attention - 'innocent Divorcee with American girl' - yes, I'm sure it was the American girl's fault!

The top left hand ad under Marwaris is also interesting:

Marwari is an Indian ethnic group

SM4 = suitable match for

Separated = only separated, not even divorced yet, mother is fast!

I'less = 'Issueless' or 'without issue' means NO CHILDREN!! And here I thought they were looking for people without problems...

This 54 year old gentleman is one of my favourites because he LOOKS 40 years old (look 40)!! And he also claims he's handsome (h'some) and is a US citizen living in Delhi but is willing to move anywhere else in India!

Maybe he's also one that got corrupted by one of those American girls?





Now this 'boy's' mother really took matters into her own hands!

Suitable match for a Brahmin boy in Canada. Born on 23/01/76 (what a birthday present from mum!), 5'11" tall and had a previous marriage annulled after 7 days (is that a good thing??)

His mother is currently in India and looking for a wife for him...

Lucky boy!

Now this is my all time favourite!!!!

I almost replied to this innocent boy!

Sikh (religion) Boy born on Jan 1980, 5'8" tall, Bachelor of Engineering and MBA educated, earning 10Lpa (=AUD 200,000pa).

Inc (??) Divorced Marriage survived for a few days and was not consummated!!!

Well at least his mother believes his innocence!

:-)

And now for the sake of balance - from the girls, "Grooms Wanted":

Of course all the girls describe themselves a lot more and they are all fair and beautiful!

The first girl certainly knows she likes a man in uniform - Army/Civil officers only!

And in the left column, I wander who insisted in the precise height measurement? 5 feet and 2.5 inches tall?

And then this girl knows exactly what she doesn't want! No widowers, divorcees or dowry seekers!

Interesting this 'no dowry' clause. Apparently a woman is still supposed to bring into the marriage everyday items she uses - like a TV, bed, fridge etc...

Now what would your matrimonial add read like?

Please keep in mind it would be written by your mother or aunts!

And if you're ready to take action, here's who to contact if you've found the one:

PS Please notice I've left the phone numbers and email addresses in these ads visible. I figure this was published in a newspaper so is available to be seen by the public, meaning - you.

But please, leave my innocent Sikh boy alone! He's mine! ;-)

Happy Republic Day!

It's Republic Day here in India and everything seems to be closed, hence no appointments for me either... :-)

In Australia we have Australia Day too, so likewise, Happy Australia Day!

I'm just quickly posting a view of a Delhi street. It's a middle class Delhi suburbia. Taken from a car again.

The driver locked all the doors when he saw me taking pictures. When I asked him why he was worried, he replied: "I am very scary"... Hmmm... I think he meant he was scared. :-)

And later today, in celebration of these two events in very different parts of the World, a special post about marriage, marketing and me!

Delhi again

I'm typing this with my fingers greasy from lunch (Indian food of course, 'veg' too to prevent illness) and the incredulous look from the waiter: "You like Indian food, Mam??"

Yes! I like! As long as it doesn't make me sick! Or fat! OK, or too fat! ;-)

Anyway, it's a miracle I'm even here! Delhi winters are the birthplaces of fog/smog. Extreme fog/smog. have never seen anything like it. Already in Hong Kong the flight was delayed but then in the air, we circled above Delhi for even longer. All those episodes of my favourite TV show - Air Crash Investigation - came to mind where planes ran out of fuel, crashed in heavy fog (I am from Poland, there are precedents!) and mid air collisions as planes scramble to land (those are the worst casualty wise and true pilot-controller, that is, human mistake crashes).

Enough prayers must have been said, or the heavy traffic above Delhi became more dangerous (with pilots unable to speak English...) than landing in the fog or the pilot decided to test the autopilot but we landed eventually. And Delhi was nicely cool!

Everyone knows I love cold weather, give me snow and freezing temperatures any day! So Delhi was cooler than normal, maybe 14 degrees, but didn't warrant the woolen headscarves that Indian men wrap around their heads or the big woolen coats that the women wear... And everyone walks around rubbing their hands together like they going to get frostbite!

My driver found me or rather I found him (wearing a scarf around his head and rubbing his hands together) and we drove to the hotel at the ungodly hour of 5am.

This is where I invent a new term - 'intuitive driving'.

The fog was thicker than I've seen and the driver still drove fast, hell, he talked on his mobile and drove fast, even more - he talked on mobile, did the head shaking thing and drove fast!

OK, I'm exaggerating here, he didn't do the head shaking...

The 2 photos show - 1st the view from side window of the car and 2nd the view from the windscreen - only a very bright lamp visible.

When I got to the hotel, I found out that it was the foggiest and coldest day in Delhi for a while. It was even reported in the Delhi papers.

Next few photos are of typical Delhi streets. In doing my work, I have to go to the offices of people we work with and I just wanted to show you you what we might see along the way. So below is a typical view of a street, outside of the typical the tourist areas.

Then I also spotted a street barber and took a snapshot of that from the car.

And here, when I finally arrived at the destination, my driver with the car waited at the car park where 100s of cars are parked haphazardly. And then I spotted the dogs on top of the cars! :-)

India is full of these homeless dogs that roam the streets, eating rubbish, procreating and just hanging about. It must have been warmer for the dogs on top of these cars. When I first came here, I was terrified of these dogs, but they seem mostly harmless. There are incidents of dog bites, I saw a newspaper article reporting the yearly statistics, but hey, I got my rabies vaccine! ;-)

Incidentally, this place - where the dogs were, was the first office I ever visited in India, outside of tourist areas. If you remember, I was shocked at how dirty the inside of buildings were.

The photo below is the proof - a year later and things haven't changed.

This is a staircase inside an Indian office building.

And again...

Do you know that I am still living with the intention to update? Even Iceland from 6 months ago still deserves its write up...

But it's that time again... I haven't finished packing but in 5 hours the roller coaster starts:

Australia - Canberra (30 degrees and sunny)

India - Delhi (10 to 20 degrees and morning fogs = plane delays)

Bhutan - Thimpu (-5 to 0 degrees and some light snow + happiest people on Earth)

Nepal - Kathmandu (3 to 16 degrees and sunny + calm Buddhists and Himalayas)

Qatar - Doha (18 to 23 degrees and sunny + some rooftop shisha smoking)

Kazakhstan - Almaty and Astana (-21 to -35 degrees, snow and sunny + YES! I am looking forward to it!!! :-) )

Korea - Seoul (-6 to 0 degrees and sunny + a short stopover for a sleep and a recharge)

Then back home on 11 Feb to Australian summer :-)