7/22/2004: Crowd of Indian women
 

http://cellar.org/2004/indianwomen.jpg

These Indian women are members of the Swadhyaya Parivar, or self-awareness community, listening to their leader during a "Women Self-Development Meet 2004" in Ahmadabad, India. This is described as a "spiritual and social movement based on human dignity, for the self as well as others". I think that's pretty cool, as evidence of how women are becoming empowered and liberated around the world.

But that's only partly why I saved the photo. It's the sea of faces that really does it here. It's interesting from many points of view, I'm sure only interesting as an outsider to the culture.

One interesting thing is how little diversity there appears to be - racial diversity, not diversity of thought of course. How makeup is about as used as it is in the US: so many different cultures change their appearance in different ways, but we all seem to do it, for one reason or another.

Actually, most Indians would see that as a 'diverse' group -- many different castes and socioeconomic groups there. A high-caste Indian usually sees more difference between himself and an 'untouchable' than he does between himself an a white man (or Chinese, Hispanic, black, etc.)
- Pie

I see diversity, too! Some have a dot on the head and some don't.

I find that to be the most interesting - the differences that one can't even see if one is outside the culture! What kind of tip-offs are there that someone is in a different caste?

I would expect that most of them are more or less from the same stock, and by that I mean most if not all are from Indian families that have only come from India (little to no mixed racial blood). Though that's the case, there's plenty of diversity within that group there, skin shades from light to dark, face shapes and hair texture. But it's that one woman in the middle-right who really stands out (pun intended). :biggrinha

I found Waldo!

imagine the line they must have when there is a ten minute bathroom break :cool:

It's India. Don't they just pee where they stand?

The stand out woman is the one with the teeth right?

She really is noticeable.

UT photoshopped the teeth in.

Actually I meant the really tall one just to her right, but now that you mention it, yeah she is pretty noticable.

Hey! Somebody looks familiar! http://www.cellar.org/images/smilies/eek.gif

Sisters.
 

There are so many people that stand out.
- There is the tall WNBA chick just to the right of centre.
- Here apparent sister who is almost as tall, standing beside her a little further to the right.
- There is the girl with the teeth who looks like she is playing a tambourine, in between an in front of the sisters. (why is she so happy?)
- Or the large lady with her eyes closed in front of the tambourine girl and to the right. (is she having a heat stroke?)
- And the lady in front of her on the far right who smells something nasty, but is too polite to say anything.
- Then there is the lady in front of the WNBA girl and a little to the left who has that evil "I'm gonna cut your nuts off" look.
- And the one to the left of her who wishes she was a little taller so she wouldn't have to stretch her neck so much. (what is she clapping for?)
- to the right of her and in front of the evil lady is an older lady doing some weird vulcan mind trick with her hand.
- between that old lady, and the stinky lady is the American-football player lady. (you can't see her mouth, but look at the size of those shoulders! She can be my defensive tackle any day!)
- What about the hair-rag girl just above center. She's not even looking in the right direction! Maybe she is covering up her blonde hair? (hey! the action is over here!)
- Then there is Bubbles just in front of hair-rag girl, with her thick glasses, and huge bubble eyes underneath.
- Finally the short lady to the left of Bubbles who has her eyes closed, and lips pursed. (who is she gonna kiss?)

Now, have a good look at the football lady, and Bubbles. Is that the same lady, or are they sisters too? Both tall, both have glasses, round faces, no apparent ears.

She's not REALLY taller. She's standing on the feet of the woman just behind her and to frame left. Note the pained expression.

What is an "Indian" family? Most ethnic lines in India haven't mixed in many hundreds, if not thousands of years. More than 75% of India lives in rural areas, aka "backwards" castes, and interbreeding is usually punishable by death. Not only is it impermissible to marry outside of your caste, you can't even marry outside of your "jati" or community. My parents got hell for getting married -- even though they're both of brahmin stock. You see, they came from different home towns.

It is quite possible that every Indian professional you have ever met in this country (doctors, lawyers, engineers, mathematicians, heck anybody with a college degree) is a brahmin. Brahmins represent just a few percent of the population, but get 50% of the college spots -- and the other castes get the remaining 50% only by government quota! Otherwise, the brahmins would get 99%.

India might just be one of the most fucked-up places on the planet.

- Pie