jcp@brl-sem.ARPA (Joe Pistritto <jcp>) (06/30/85)
Well, since the discussion of Arranged Marriages seems to be going on hot and heavy, allow me to add a data point: I just returned from a trip to India (my second), on which my marriage was arranged to an Indian girl from Dehra Dun (a nice place if you're visiting India soon). She's rather well educated (MA in public relations, BA in French language), comes from a family who's mother is Bengalee and the father is Punjabi. Incidentally, her parent's marriage was a 'love marriage', and against the wishes of the wife's family, none of them will talk to them even now (30 years later). The girl is a Hindu, my ancestry is Italian/German, and I was born in the USA. We had a 'talik' ceremony in Dehra Dun, which was quite interesting (both for us, and for all the neighbors/family who were invited, they were all watching with some amazement, particularly when I was offering to the sacred fire, seems they'd never seen a foreigner in a Hindu ceremony before). The girl is now quite a celebrity in Dehra Dun, everyone seemed to stop by to meet me while I was there, and this seems to dominate the town gossip... We liked each other immediately after meeting in New Dehli, and decided we would get married on the second day we spent together. An Indian family I know very well arranged the match. All in all, as an American using the arranged marriage system, I'm completely satisfied, it seems to have found me a much nicer wife than I could have imagined finding myself... Thoughts? Joe Pistritto -- If guns are outlawed, how will we shoot the liberals...