Tag: India

Cultural Perspectives on Female Maids in India

"Sideways on a Scooter" by American journalist Miranda Kennedy is about the complex relationships between women in India. Shortly after completing this book, I watched "Lakshmi and Me," a PBS documentary about filmmaker Nishtha Jain and her relationship with her young maid, Lakshmi.

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Guns and Study Abroad

I traveled to India several years ago and one of my fondest memories was chatting with a young boy in Varanasi. He approached me while I was watching a beautiful performance along the Ganges River. He spoke perfect English at 9 years old and asked me some questions about why I was in India. He guessed, eventually, where I was from. And when he did, the first question he asked was, "Lady, where is your gun?"

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SOLD: The Story of Lakshmi

The atrocity of sex trafficking is highlighting in this heartbreaking book simply titled "SOLD." I read it for a book club recently and was completely floored at the power of Patricia McCormick's writing. It is the story of Laskshmi, a 13 year Nepalese girl whose stepfather sells her to help with his family's financial troubles after a monsoon. She is taken to India and forced into prostitution to survive.

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