January 22, 2001 - What is a good career for Vela?

Married women gambling and eating on the sidewalk where they live (in this case, outside of the Maharaja hotel).

Finding A Job Now that Vela is 13, she must find work. But what career should she have? It is not easy for adults to support themselves in India.. much less 13-year-old kids. Here is a look at the possible careers in India.

"The Woman's Life" Please realize that a woman's life is not a happy one in India. In India, even great books of literature said that women are to be "beaten regularly". Wives are little more than slaves. Marrying Vela off is not easy. Families must spend a minor fortune to get rid of a girl. They call it a dowry but actually it is a form of payment to a man's family to accept responsibility for the woman. And occasionally in the rural areas, if the in-laws do not think the dowry is enough (after the fact, of course), they have been know to set the girl on fire. Each week, you can read about young women who died in so called "cooking accidents". Also, married women, even happily married women, are required to pop out the mandatory 6 children... all of which must be boys to support her in her old age. Just as soon as she has her first child, a woman is guaranteed a life of poverty. And mostly, the life of a married women is boring. Half the time, wives work tremendously hard. The rest of the time, they are totally bored. Either at home or on the streets, groups of women are seen playing different games to pass the time.

Women do the laundry early in the morning before the shops open. Most shops use the sidewalk so these sidewalks must be clear of people by the time the shops open. (Ramu's wife.) Also because of water rationing, water is only available in the mornings. Cloths are washed using a brick of soap which is a very mild laundry soap. This soap does not do much but then it also does not pollute much either. Here is a well dressed child. Note the strings around the neck and the waist which have deep social significance for Hindus. The temperature is about 90 degrees Fahrenheit and 80% humidity.

Vela's mother (left) in a wedding photo by Mari. That looks like Ramu's sister-in-law on the right. The bride is in the middle. (photo by Mari)

"Marry Her Off!" When I talk to people in India about Vela, most suggest that the best thing I can do for Vela is to get her married off. Remember, we are talking about a girl who is only 13 years old. I can understand their point. Vela has no marketable skills as she cannot read or write. She cannot even write her name correctly in her native language, Tamil. She does not speak any of the other languages of India. She loves to sing and dance the popular dances of the motion pictures but she never remembers the ending of the songs. So, people say, "Marry her off."

Street Tailors Many tailors cannot afford to rent a small shop so they simply travel around the city with their tools. The tailor simply rolls his sewing machine around the town in search of customers. In most cases, street tailors do mending. In contrast, tiny shops with half a dozen tailors make custom fitted garments.

But to be a tailor, you must be a man. It takes training and there are no schools which will allow Vela to attend and no tailor will apprentice a woman.

Advertisement for Sewing Classes There are schools which teach sewing for the home but they require more education than Vela has. Here is an advertisement for a tiny school which is very inexpensive. Maybe I will take this class and along with Vela to help her with the difficult parts. Actually Mari is more interested than Vela in learning to sew.

Recycling Center Here is a family operated recycling business. The girl is breaking up old light bulbs for the metal. They work and sleep on this street corner. This photo also shows all of their possessions. Probably the girl goes to school during the morning but that ends when she becomes an adult at 13. (sixth grade).

Ferris Wheel Operator This man goes through the city pushing a small Ferris Wheel. Kids (or in this case, their grandmother) pay a few rupees for a short ride.

Egg Vendor Because everything in India is done as simply as possible, delivery of eggs is often done on bicycle. This is probably a wholesale egg vendor going to the many small food stalls and retail grocery shops (each shop being about 6 feet wide by 10 feet deep) which sell any kind of food. Consumers do not buy eggs from this vendor since he only sells in large quantity. Without refrigeration, eggs don't last long. In Madras, the sidewalk street vendors never sell cooked eggs but in some of the other big cities in India, street vendors will offer cooked eggs... even though eating eggs is against Hindu beliefs of not eating meat. (Note: No foods made with eggs are available at Maharaja.) All peddle carts (a three wheeled bicycle cart) in Madras are operated by men. Mumtaz father is a peddle cart driver.

Police Woman A relatively new career is that of police woman. Most are younger than the one in this picture. The career requires a minimum educational level that Vela does not have. While police women are simply a token gesture by the government to improve the lot of woman, they do have some use. Suburban railways have cars which are for women only. Apparently, occasionally, two women begin fighting and only a police woman can handle the situation. Quack Doctors Because doctors and engineers are considered a good career for men, India produces more than any other country... far more than India can adsorb. Some doctors resort to practices which are considered immoral in the west. In India, these practices are allowed since it is a person's right to do their own thing. The sign behind the police woman on the wall of the cricket stadium advertises a doctor who can cure you of "Sexual Weakness, Impotency, V.D., HIV, Issueless, or Obesity".

Shop Keeper Most shops in India are about 6 by 10 feet. The customers stands on the sidewalk when shopping. Here is the owner of a very small shop near Broadlands. The shop is less than 3 feet wide. In the photo is the entire shop. That's it! The owner is an honest and patient man. You can ask him for 20 rupees of bananas and you will get 20 rupees worth of good bananas. Everywhere else, the price must be argued over.

Another way to select a good autorickshaw driver to is to hire drivers who look like the hero in a Tamil movie. The good drivers imitate the movie heroes. Therefore, you should watch a few Tamil motion pictures with the kids even if you do not understand the words. The guys in this picture do not look like the hero. of a Tamil movie. I always make the kids negotiate the price for hiring an autorickshaw. That alone pays for their keep.

Autorickshaw Driver Autorickshaw driver would be a good career for Vela but she is a girl. I have heard that only 5 women in Madras are licensed autorickshaw drivers. Most autorickshaw drivers pay a rental fee for the autorickshaw owner. Ramu (Mari's brother) works for a woman who owns many autorickshaws. There are three kinds of autorickshaw drivers: honest, lazy, and thieves. The honest drivers are always zooming around the city. The lazy sit in the autorickshaw waiting for customers. Thieves usually park in front of public places such as the railroad station and the airport. Therefore, you always have better luck by flagging down a moving autorickshaw.

Strolling Vendor On the beach there are strolling vendors. This lady has cucumbers which she slices and covers with a power. I have not been brave enough to eat this so I do not know what the power is. In India, it can be anything... good or bad.

Dairy Herder Just across the street from the Student Lodge where I stayed is a dairy. Only men seem to work there. No milk maids in Madras. I can look down into the dairy from the balcony of the Student Lodge. Cows are not sacred as we think of sacred. Rather cows (as opposed to steers) are very useful animals and continually made to do work or give milk. Steers are not so fortunate as they are often left to starve to death.

Cart Vendor Outside of Maharaja Hotel (which means restaurant) is a mother and her child tending a street cart. They sell very few bananas because they charge more than other vendors. They live on the sidewalk near the card.

Vela's Mother Here is Vela's mother who currently works part time minding a vendor's card outside of the Star Theater. (Photo by Vela)

This web site is written by Robert Purser. Contact me at robert_purser@usa.com Back to Table of Contents