Gireeshan (my home stay dad) is a director of a factory in Chennai, India and we had an opportunity to visit the factory with him. His factory produces the seals that go onto pumps for pools or other pipes. He started this business after working for a factory that produced pumps for cars and he realized that there were no major pump factories in India and organizations were paying a lot to buy seals abroad.
The factory is not completely mechanized but the workers do use huge machines to shape the rubber and form it. It is cheaper to have people do the labor than to buy the huge machines. There were four floors and different stages of the process were done on each floor. On one floor the women assembled, on another there was a room for testing. In the basement the workers shaped the rubber, and on the last floor they cut and trimmed the rubber. I have always heard about dirty unsanitary factories but good factories do exist. However, factory work in general, is brutal and monotonous. The women had blisters on their hands and the men were constantly working with machines that generate a lot of heat. The manager of production said that the employees do switch jobs. I really enjoyed this visit because of the complete randomness of the information. I came to realize by the end that I take for granted ever possession I own. On a day to day basis, we do not even think about the labor that went into the button on our jacket or the zipper on our backpack.
Gireeshan eats lunch at home everyday so we went back to his house with him. He and his friend brought us back on their motorcycles which was definitely a highlight of the trip!
Over lunch, I asked Gireeshan and Meena about their arranged marriage and what they expect for their children as far as them finding partners. They explained to me that marriages in India are not just the bride and groom but between the families. Also it is better for the children to marry into two supportive families so if something bad happens there are two families to help.
Normally the parents will give their kids a couple options of people that they approve of usually based on social connections or economic factors. Normally the kids are in the same social standing as well because although the caste system is unconstitutional in India, its effects still linger. Then the children have the opportunity to meet these people the parents selected and can date before agreeing to marry. The options and time allowed for courtship makes the process different than in Muslim religions where they marry the day they meet. They also discussed age to an extent and on average the men are ten years older because women mentally mature before men and it makes the marriage more compatible. In addition, Meena said that women age quicker as well. For younger couples, the age gap between couples is decreasing. They also realize that dating and meeting someone on your own is becoming the norm and they realize this is may be how their children meet their spouses. They seem anxious about this but they did not reject it either.
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