February 6, 2007
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I think it is about time I update….
Not working, well…. not working away from home, but there is always errands to run, places to go, and things to be done.
My Mom had asked me about the “dot” India woman wear on their forehead. I told her I would ask the India doctor I was working for. This is what she said. The India woman has a dot on her forehead, which is make-up and basically means: holy, third eye, insightful, intuitive, a beauty mark. She went on to say it is appropriate for the single and married woman, but not for the widow. She didn’t seem to know why it was not appropriate for the widow. This puzzled me, so if you know the answer to that one, let me know.
Then I went to my women’s Bible Study group and it was held in a school classroom. They had “India” written on the board and information about India written underneath. Like they operate on the Caste system, etc. It was interesting since my niece is preparing to go to India soon and be a missionary there.
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We have a niece who was a Foreign Exchange student quite a few years ago. She spent a year in Bombay. Ended up meeting her future husband there. She had so many stories about India. She even came home with a slight accent. The marriage did not last. After marrying, they came to the U.S., and opened a subsidiary of his parents’ clothing manufacturing company in New York City. Suddenly, women were calling at all hours wanting to talk to him. Our niece got fed up with the affairs, and the way she and their two girls were treated by him. The girls hate to have to go and visit him (and the mistress he married) several times a year. He treats them like second-class people. If they had been boys, it would have been totally different. Girls are not so revered.
Anyway, she learned Indian cooking, too, and loves the food. I knew the meaning of the spot on the forehead, but not the fact that widows don’t wear them.
I thought the color of the dot had to do with what caste the woman is in. :question: I think they’ll like ClowdyMae at the mission; she is about the same size as their founder- only a blonde version! Talk to ‘ya later.
The lady who does the billing for the office is Indian. She has a dot. I can’t remember noticing if it is always the same color or different. And now I am not there to notice… but I have connections! :what:
I don’t know why the widow doesn’t wear it either. There is a book I read ; FINE BALANCE by Rohinton Mistry(fiction) on Oprahs bookclub list and I read and enjoyed about the caste system.