How ordinary Indian families live. standard of living of people in india

Text: Victoria Krundysheva

ABOUT THE LIFE OF INDIAN WOMEN we learn either from Bollywood classics like "Zita and Geeta" or from news reports: while cheerful beauties in bright saris sing on the screen, in the real world of women with sulfuric acid and during sterilization operations. Recently, social networks have circled around in which the position of women is compared to cows - not in favor of the former.

In Indian culture, a woman is still assigned only two roles: depending on her age, she is perceived either as an extension of a man (daughter or wife), or as a mother of the family - the keeper of the hearth. In both the first and second cases, the woman does not have a real voice, that is, her life completely depends on the will of the man. In the past few years, the country has been openly talking about domestic and sexual violence, about and even about. We asked Victoria Krundysheva, who moved to India five years ago, to talk about the origins of the cruel practices and what is happening to Indian women today.

Self-immolation and the legend of Sati

Hindu mythology is metaphorical and open to interpretation - it contains many strong and independent female images, but the patriarchal way of life allows only one interpretation of mythological plots. The ideal wife and role model for Indian girls was Sati (Savitri), the heroine of the ancient epic Mahabharata. The main quality of Savitri is her endless love for her husband: according to legend, the princess followed her beloved to the afterlife after his death and, thanks to her cunning and ingenuity, defeated the local ruler, rescuing both her husband and herself. Over time, the story of Savitri was transformed: in the later retellings of the myth, it is no longer the wisdom of the princess that comes to the fore, but the fact that her loyalty and worship of her husband made her follow him to the afterlife. The name “sati” was given to a cruel tradition that obliges a widow to climb a funeral pyre after her husband’s death and burn alive with her husband’s body in order to meet the afterlife with him.

Refusal to voluntarily say goodbye to life was considered dishonorable. Women who did not want to burn with their dead husband were not respected and shunned, and even more often punished - that is, they were burned anyway. The practice of sati, which was widespread throughout the subcontinent, is a vivid illustration of the position of women in Indian society: the first evidence of this practice dates back to the 1st century BC, and it gained its greatest popularity in the 1800s. Although sati rituals were performed less and less over time - they were preserved only in remote villages and the poorest areas of India - the tradition was finally eradicated only after the prohibition law (Prevention of Sati Act) in 1987, which was adopted after a high-profile case of self-immolation 18 -year-old widow.

Dauri and femicide

Femicide (female infanticide, or the killing of newborn girls) has been practiced in India for centuries and continues to exist today. True, the killing of babies is fading away, since it has become possible to do. There are many reasons for the appearance of femicide: this is general poverty, and the need for hard physical labor, which is mainly done by men, and the obligation of the bride's parents to pay a rich dowry to the son-in-law's family. And although, like sati, femicide was banned during the British rule, for a long time it remained one of the main social problems in India.

In 1991, the government's "Child Protection Program" was adopted, and a year later, the "Lullaby Program" was adopted, allowing anonymous adoption of children. In some states, families with two or more daughters receive benefits. Despite government measures, femicide has significantly affected the demographics in the country: today in India, there are 100 girls born for every 110 boys born. To stop selective abortions, the state banned procedures for determining the sex of a child - however, in clandestine clinics, this can still be done for 3-8 thousand rupees (about the same amount in rubles). In 2016 alone, twelve doctors were suspended from work on suspicion of violating the ban. In the fight against femicide, the government and non-profit organizations have used social media and marketing campaigns, their most famous slogan is "Save a Girl Child" ("Save the girl").

The ancient custom of dauri - this is the name of the tradition that obliges the bride's family to pay the groom's family - is another illustration of the fact that a woman in an Indian image is considered a burden. You can pay both with money and “gifts”: real estate, cars, jewelry and expensive household appliances. Dauri was officially banned in 1961, but dowry payments are difficult to track, so the practice still exists today.

The dauri system upholds the idea that men are more valuable than women and have inherent privileges. It permeates the entire matrimonial system of India - this is especially noticeable when looking for a bride, when absurd requirements are made to a woman: education, talents, skin color and appearance of a potential spouse are evaluated. The best bride is the one who promises not to work after the wedding, but to deal exclusively with housekeeping and children.

Bollywood and stereotypes

Bollywood reigns supreme in the minds and hearts of Indians of all ages - so the gender stereotypes it broadcasts deserve special attention. Until recently, female images in Bollywood were either heroines, always secondary to the main character, or participants in the so-called item numbers (musical inserts). The heroine of item number is a seductive beauty who appears in the film for one song and does not add anything new to the plot, but simply pleases the male eye. The Bollywood dichotomy of "angel woman" - "slut woman" has greatly influenced the worldview of Indians: society labels a woman as "bad" or "good" in accordance with the film standard.

The degree of objectification of women in Indian cinema is difficult to grasp without understanding the lyrics: the compositions accompanying item numbers often have explicit sexual overtones and openly encourage violence. “It doesn't matter if you say yes or no. You are mine, Kiran,” everyone in India knows this line from a famous song by heart. It sounds from the lips of the cult actor Shah Rukh Khan. Rapper Honey Singh, whose tracks are often used in Bollywood blockbusters, is constantly accused of misogyny. The singer does not hide his attitude towards women: he recorded a whole album about sexual violence, which is called “Rapist”.

Men sing these songs in the street when some girl seems attractive to them. Thanks in large part to Bollywood, street harassment is considered the norm. In popular comedies such as Grand Masti 2, for example, the main characters harass the heroine on the street and follow her until she gets tired of the attention and does not "give up". From such scenes, viewers learn that a woman who is uninterested or openly rejects her boyfriend is not a stop sign, but a challenge and a sign that it is necessary to pester more actively, to “achieve” the girl.

Recently, there has been an encouraging trend in Indian cinema: more and more strong heroines and female protagonists are appearing in films (for example, in the films “Queen”, “History” (“Kahaani”) and “Mary Kom”). However, mass cinema is still based on "testosterone" comedies and blockbusters that bring a lot of income.

Nirbaya and the Land of Violence

The turning point in the discussion of women's rights occurred in December 2012, when the whole country learned about the horrific gang rape in Delhi. The city is called the "capital of rape" - it is here that the most brutal crimes against women take place.

On December 14, a 23-year-old girl (her name was not disclosed in the press, giving her the pseudonym Nirbaya) went to the cinema with her boyfriend. After the session, they boarded a bus with six men, including one minor; they brutally beat the girl and raped her, and then left her naked and bleeding on the road. A young man who tried to protect Nirbaya was hit on the head but survived, while his companion died in hospital two weeks later due to multiple injuries to her internal organs. The crime received unprecedented publicity and caused a strong reaction both in India and in the world. Protests were held in Delhi and other cities, and the rapists were arrested and, after a long trial, sentenced to death.

The death of Nirbai provoked a serious discussion about the status of women in India, but the problem is still not resolved. Politicians talk a lot about how it would be nice to ensure the safety of women and tougher penalties for rape, but the crimes are not decreasing, and many of them are brutal. In India's capital, Delhi, women try not to go out alone after dark.

It is worth noting that women of Indian origin are the first victims of violence and discrimination, and foreign women, even if they live in the country for a very long time, feel more secure. Perhaps this is due to the fact that crimes against foreigners attract the attention of state services and consulates, and the police take them more seriously so as not to cause an international scandal. Foreign women, especially from Europe, are considered more "loose" and - to use Bollywood terminology - more "item", that is, performing a decorative and entertaining function.

Victimblaming and Western values

After the Nirbai case and other high-profile crimes, Indians began to openly demand a reaction from the authorities. But most political and religious leaders not only refuse to take responsibility for solving the problem, but add fuel to the fire by blaming the victims of violence and openly supporting patriarchal attitudes.

Mass protests in 2012, one of the largest religious leaders in the country, Asaram Bapu, commented: “The victim is guilty no less than the rapists. She should not resist, but appeal to the rapists as brothers and beg them to stop. She shouldn't have taken the bus and gone to the movies with a young man." “Women should not walk the streets with men unless they are related to them. Such cases are the result of the influence of Western culture and style of dress,” said the leader of the right-wing political party Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Mohan Bhaguot. Shifting the blame to "Western influence" is a typical device for politicians advocating the "preservation of traditional Indian culture." This obviously populist stance ignores the fact that many women from traditional families who have no access to Western culture are subjected to violence.

On demands for capital punishment for rapists, politician Mulayam Singh Yadav said: "Boys behave like boys, do they need to be hanged for that?" Progressive sections of Indian society are horrified by such statements, but most of the population falls under the influence of populists. In the mass, Indians still believe that the victim "", and in some cases, violence can be justified.

Women survivors of violence rarely go to the police: many cases do not reach court because of corruption, and the victims are often mistreated. The police allow snide comments and openly humiliate women, and there are known cases of violence in police stations. Human rights activists believe that in 9 out of 10 cases of rape, the victim does not report it to the authorities, which is why the perpetrators feel absolute impunity and permissiveness.

Talk about equality

In India, there is still no law prohibiting domestic violence. Women face daily harassment on public transport, obscene comments on the street, and disapproving looks from older people who don't like their "too modern" or "too revealing" clothing. However, there are also shifts for the better: in the past few years, violence has finally begun to be spoken about, and popular media and celebrities have realized how much they influence society - and now openly call for respect for women.

More and more media and social platforms are writing about equality - and for the first time in many years they are calling to actively fight against sexism and speak out against violence. Bollywood is also reacting to the changes: the film “Pink” (“Pink”) with one of the most famous and respected actors of the country Amitabh Bachchan in the title role became a sensation in 2016. This film addresses the issue of victim blaming, speaks of the principle of consent and respect for the rights of women.

Modern India is just beginning to talk about feminism. As in any entrenched patriarchal system, ideas of equal rights meet resistance. It can already be seen that millennial girls are more independent than their older sisters and mothers, and are ready to stand up for themselves - but emancipation will clearly take many years.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Reliance Entertainment, Getty Images (1)

Much is said about how badly poor people live in India, but less is written about the life of rich people in this country. However, there are many rich people in India.

Crystal and rubies in the interiors of houses: myth or reality

When it comes to the life of rich people, what do we immediately imagine? Of course, the inlay of various items with precious stones, crystal chandeliers, as well as furniture made from the most expensive types of wood. And all this certainly shines, sparkles, dazzles, shimmers and shimmers.

However, such a representation ultimately turns out to be nothing more than a stereotyped vision.

Take the house of a famous Indian actor named Rajinikanth. Its interior looks like this:

It is quite impressive and large-scale, but in its content it is more like not a palace, but rather a house in which ordinary wealthy Indians live. Most of the houses of Indian celebrities have the following features:

1. Minimalism. Many celebrities in their own home want to feel cozy and comfortable, and not like in the walls of the Louvre. Therefore, all items that are chosen to decorate a home can be quite expensive, but they look noble and modest.
2. Loft style. Celebrities also follow fashion and are not indifferent to what interiors and styles are trending. Given the fact that the loft style has started to gain momentum, many wealthy people in India have begun to create loft interiors in their homes.
3. All the colorful elements are more exotic for, and the rich people of India want to see more of a European style in their home.

The glass interior of Rajinikanth looks quite stylish, but still, life in a transparent house is perhaps not as cozy as it seems at first glance. All the same, there is a feeling that the media is constantly trying to follow you.

Entertainment and additional elements

Naturally, the homes of wealthy people in India have not only elegantly furnished rooms, but also additional entertainment and hobby items that can be compared in luxury to imperial palaces. Here is where there is definitely room to roam:

This is the home of a billionaire named Mukesh Ambani, who built his own mansion, spending a billion dollars on it. He built a house for himself, his wife and sons. It has 27 floors, luxurious living rooms, comfortable bedrooms, as well as additional rooms, such as a pool and a billiard room.

It is worth noting that in order to manage such a huge building, Mukesh needed to hire 600 people. In addition to the main rooms, Mukesh has a parking lot that can easily accommodate 160 cars, as well as a huge gym, in which he himself likes to spend time.

In addition, Ambani has an entire dance studio and his own home theater in his house, which can accommodate 50 people. The house has a magnificent observation deck with a wonderful view. There are several helipads on the roof of this skyscraper.

India is exactly the country where the beauty and wealth of some people and the sheer poverty of the rest are fully combined.

Having visited this country, your consciousness will turn inside out and never again will you talk about the fact that in Russia some people live richly, and all the rest are poor. Having visited India, and especially not the most prosperous areas and cities, you can see a combination of luxury and poverty.

How do they live

Luxurious mansions with gilded columns, swimming pools, gardens of paradise with the same birds of paradise and miserable shacks in which half-starved and half-dressed children and their mothers vegetate their lives right next to each other. While their fathers are trying to earn at least bread so that the family does not starve to death.

These feelings will visit any tourist who wants to drive through the outskirts of the city of Delhi or its provinces. Around the solid dirt and the presence of sewage thrown directly into the street.
India's problem, not least, is its pollution of both land and water. If everything is clear with water, because probably everyone knows that the funeral procession is accompanied by the burning of the body and the dumping of the remains into the nearby river.

But the land is polluted due to the lack of culture among the Hindus to throw garbage into garbage containers, which is practically impossible to find, at least in the provinces.

on the video how people live in India

Rubbish is thrown at his feet (I bought a bun, took off the bag and threw it at my feet. I drank a cup of coffee and threw a plastic bag at my feet as well.) What can I say if citizens who have their own houses throw waste not somewhere into containers, but directly around your house.
Looking at this kind of beauty of the provinces, you understand how simple and rich people actually live in India.

Lifespan

All this affects life expectancy in India, which is 68.7 years, while men live on average 5 years less than women - 66.3 versus 71.2. But this trend is happening all over the world. In terms of duration, India ranks 118 out of 192 countries. It is noteworthy that Russia is in 113th place. As you can see, it didn't go far.

Standard of living

At the same time, the country's standard of living (economy, quality of life, level of freedom, sovereignty) is at a very low level. For 2014, according to the studies of international organizations, it occupies as much as 106th place out of 108 studied. Compared with our country, Russia is in 32nd place. What can not but rejoice.
So, if you look at the indications of the standard of living in India and Russia, then without leaving for this country you can understand how ordinary citizens live there.

It should be noted that the pension system in India is not developed in the same way as in Russia.

Only civil servants necessarily receive a pension, everyone else has a funded system, but not all employers deduct interest on the employee's pension account, as this is not necessary. There are currently 90 million people in India who have reached retirement age (60 years). However, they can no longer work, and the state does not make any payments.

Stories about residents of Krasnoyarsk who decided to drastically change their lives - to go to another country, find work, housing there. If 20 years ago 5% of the population of Russia thought about emigration, then in the spring of 2013 already 13%, according to VTsIOM (and according to the Levada Center, that’s all 22%) . More than others, students and entrepreneurs (almost every second), as well as employees (every third) dream of “falling down”.

Many people in Krasnoyarsk know them. Here they have relatives and friends. But they chose to leave. Natalia Durbanova. Krasnoyarsk - St. Petersburg - Kuala Lumpur - Mumbai. Online answers to 10 questions.

Do I need to prepare for a move? Or is an impulsive decision the only way to leave with a 100% probability?

You need to prepare - try to acquire the maximum number of skills that will be useful to you in the future. Universal skills - a profession, knowledge of the language (English is a must, another one is better), even a driver's license. In a word, everything that you can study and master at home, so that after moving you do not waste time, effort and money on this.

How was it in your case?

I never set myself the goal of moving abroad. Firstly, I did not emigrate, but work abroad, just for the sixth year and the third country in a row. Secondly, initially the idea was to work, gain life and professional experience in another country. In 2003, I graduated from the Faculty of Economics of KSU with a degree in World Economy (IEO). The head of the department offered to try to enter the magistracy in St. Petersburg. The decision had to be made within half a day. I tried and did. After a master's degree and three years of work in St. Petersburg at PricewaterhouseCoopers (one of the four largest audit companies in the world), I unexpectedly received a job offer in Malaysia, in the regional office of a large Australian company. I had 2 days to think, I decided. After three years of working in Malaysia, I went to Mumbai as a tourist and realized that my next country would be India. In terms of professional experience, Peter and Kuala Lumpur have given me enough, it's time for personal growth. In all my moves, I made a decision quickly, maybe because every time I thought that it was only for a year or two or three, and I would return. As a result, every time I go further :)

Moving abroad in your case is going there? Or leave here?

It would be more correct to say - to go there. No, I never left "here", I always felt good where I lived. I felt good in Krasnoyarsk, I love St. Petersburg in my own way, I really liked and still like Kuala Lumpur. Just as long as there is an opportunity, why not use it.

In July I was on vacation in Krasnoyarsk, and I thought, “How lucky I am! I was born in the best city in the world! Honestly! - we have big roads, clean streets, no crowds of people, nature, snow, a lot of culture - there is, so many things ... ". But in order to appreciate it, you had to travel half the world :)

Why this particular country?

There are two main reasons.

1. Professional. I am an economist by education, I worked as an auditor, an accountant, in Malaysia I set up an outsourcing department. India is an IT country, and I decided that if you look for a job here, then it makes sense only in the field of high technologies. Now I work for an online payment processing company, something like Paypal, but in a special niche - a high-risk business. This area requires a good technological platform, quite complex from a programming point of view, so the owner and technical team are Indians, but foreigners are hired to work with clients. The difference in Indian and European mentality has a strong effect. I speak with Europeans in a language they understand, my boss does not complicate his life with the peculiarities of written etiquette. So foreigners like me have to deal with communication with European banks and drafting business letters and proposals. In addition, the Indians have a very flexible attitude towards time, respectively, the timing is a very loose concept :), while the Indian has 55 reincarnations, and the European has only one. I understand that if a client from England writes that it should be done today, it should be done today! Not tomorrow or the day after. Nevertheless, the whole world is working with India today, and one must learn to understand the Indian mentality.
2. Personal reason. At different stages of life, you set different tasks in terms of complexity. India is a complex, multi-faceted and multi-layered country, but very interesting. Even if you take a vacation for 6 months between jobs and travel from north to south, you will not understand India. Many things in India seem to Europeans at least - incomprehensible, at most - absurd. But in India everything has logic, we just don't know it! That's why I came here for a long time, to at least partially understand.

What are the biggest differences between Russia and your new country?

— Standard of living, contrast.

In Russia, the average standard of living is much higher. India is a land of contrasts.

There are people so poor we couldn't even dream of living 10 people in one room all their lives and having a cup of rice on the table twice a day. But there are also so rich that our Abramovichs never dreamed of. Mumbai has a house - the most in the world, worth about 1 billion, 27 floors, its own "" and a helipad - a family of 5 (five!) People lives in the house. (The house, by the way, is not only the most expensive, but also one of the ugliest in the city :))

The middle class is far from the majority, the poor are much more in number.

What struck me when I first arrived in India was that this gap between different segments of the population does not lead to a social explosion and revolutions, as in the 20th century in Russia, for example. The reason for this is the caste system. We have those who are "below" - dissatisfied with their position. The Indian, who was born in a low caste and worked all his life as a servant, does not even think that something else may be prepared for him by fate. Of course, even in the low caste there is a chance to get an education, there are state quotas in universities for low castes, but these are few.

- Availability of housekeepers.

In India, almost everyone has a domestic servant. Here, every middle-class family usually has housekeepers, either living with them or visiting. A housekeeper can live and sleep in the kitchen all her life, and this is in the order of things. Plus, a laundress comes to them (very few people have washing machines, everyone was very surprised why I need it, because you can for $ 15 ( ~600 rubles) give everything to a specially trained person a month, he will also iron the laundry), a toilet washer, a driver, a car washer, a milkman, a florist (as we subscribe to a newspaper - in India you can subscribe to the delivery of flowers for worship) and so on. And it's not even a matter of prestige - it's just the way it is. By law, all these people, of course, do not belong to anyone, but in fact they are very dependent on their masters. Servants receive, on average, from 1 to 5 thousand rubles for our money. The population of India is 1 billion 200 million people, and all these people need work, and that's the whole point. The upper and middle strata of the population believe that the more servants are hired, the more good the deed is done - otherwise all these people would live in the countryside, in much worse conditions.

- Attitude to personal space (personal space).

If in Russia things are, on the whole, normal, in personal space a kilometer long - “mind your own business” (“do not interfere in other people's affairs”) is highly valued there, then in India there is no personal space at all. Maria Arbatova wrote it right - Indians perceive the whole world as one big family. And when one of the members of this large family does something wrong, he is patiently instructed and guided. My Hindi teacher came to me three times a week and during the learning process she was interested in literally everything - every event in my life, checked all my photos on Facebook, read any comments (she diligently translated Russian-language ones!). I was just shocked by such "care". Another amazing example - once I met a young man, we started dating, in general, from the romantic haze in my head, the work was launched. Two weeks later, my boss finally calls me in and, not at all embarrassed, lays out all the ins and outs about my admirer - the name, where he lives, what car he drives, what family, that is, literally opens his file in front of me. It was the first and only time in my life in India when I wanted to take a ticket for the next flight and leave. For the boss, it was an expression of sincere concern. It was such a touching, fatherly approach to solving what was essentially a labor problem, and it is very revealing for India.

- Attitude to family values.

India is a country with a very low divorce rate. And if there are children in the family, it is almost impossible. The tradition of arranged marriage is very strong here - marriages not of convenience, but rather by agreement. They are now about 70%, and in the villages and all 99%. Marriage becomes a kind of deal for families that join along caste lines. In the event of a divorce, you are excluded from the family and society, this is the worst thing that can happen in the life of an Indian. Therefore, the attitude to marriage is very, very serious. And if castes are practically not taken into account when hiring now (and even 10 years ago it was much easier for a brahmin - a representative of the highest caste of priests - to get a job), then when choosing a partner, this is a fundamental factor. Marriages for love are viewed with suspicion here - this is not very reliable, love-carrots are different. And this has its own logic, as in everything in India. People get married with the understanding that this is forever, and there is no other option and there will not be, so you need to build a relationship with who you have.

Do you feel like a stranger in a new country?

I feel like a stranger and my own at the same time.

My own - I go in Indian clothes even in the office (it's much more convenient, by the way, you don't have to suffer in heels :)), I speak Hindi at the household level. Hindi is more difficult than English but easier than Japanese or Chinese. Some complex sounds (there are three of them), the sentence construction logic is slightly different - we have prepositions, they have postpositions (“I am from Russia, I live in Mumbai”), and so on. As one of my acquaintances said - living in a foreign country and not speaking its language, you seem to be looking at the world through a cloudy glass - you can live, but the quality of life is different. All vocational education above grade 10 in India is conducted in English, and educated Indians speak English well, but Hindi is, of course, necessary in everyday life. In Hindi, I mainly bargain, swear, and talk touchingly about my mother, father and brother. Only English at work.

Alien, in a good way - all the same, the attitude towards a European-looking person in India is different, more privileged, I would say. Indians have a very positive attitude towards Russians since Soviet times.

Is it difficult to find a job/accommodation?

Housing in Mumbai is the most expensive in India. This is the largest city in the country, 20 million people live here. It stands on a group of islands that were artificially filled in and began to build a city. Now this is such a peninsula and there is nowhere for the city to grow, it goes into the sea. In Delhi, for example, about 13 million people live, but it is 7 times larger in area - there are wide avenues, huge streets, practically Moscow. In Mumbai, everyone lives very densely, skyscrapers and right there, in general, real estate here is expensive. Prices are somewhere between St. Petersburg and Moscow, by the standards of India they are the highest.