| Abstract |
Aba's store. Aba hails from a wealthy family. In the 50s, his father opened the first gas station in Amritsar. Until three years ago, the sale of gasoline was the preserve of a privileged few: you had to belong to prominent family if you could hope to obtain a business permit. In those days, there were no more than a dozen gas stations in Amritsar. Today, since the government liberalized the market, there are now more than 100 and their number keeps growing. Aba is an imposing person. He is still fairly young and is overweight. This giant of a man is very outgoing; he has the gift of gab and likes to laugh. The old gas station is a sight for sore eyes. A small building, no bigger than a pocket handkerchief, it is located at the corner of a major intersection. There are two gas pumps and when there are three clients or more, they must wait in line, which makes for an unceasing coming and going. At any given moment, five, six, seven or more vehicles wait bumper to bumper. Aba's office looks like a small hallway; it is so small he can hardly enter it. Next to the pumps is a basin in which a man in shorts washes himself. A customer need only hold out his arm to touch him. He bothers no one and no one bothers him. As in most service stations in Punjab, the attendants are immigrants. They come from the neighboring Hill States, from Himalchar Pradesh in particular. They not only represent cheap labor but they're also very reliable. Far from home, they have virtually no social life and so are always at work. Most of them room together in cramped lodgings and their main concern is to save as much of their wages as possible. When they've put away enough money they go home to visit their families, then come back to this job to which they are entirely devoted. Their children are their future. Aba's second office is no less impressive then his service station. Actually it's just a rather filthy store, decorated with a striking mural painting. This is a warehouse where large barrels of oil are loaded onto horse-drawn carts. It's the National Geographic imagery in all its glory. Aba has no intention of modernizing his old store. Most of all, he doesn't want to give the tax inspectors the impression that business is good. His computers are at his home and every day he carries his wireless phone exchange on him. Seated behind his huge desk, he successfully manages his many operations. Actually, he is the exclusive motor oil dealer for the HP gas stations in his district. So he knows all the gas pump attendants in his region, all of whom show him great respect. One of his close friends is Gurmeet, a young man who, in a few months, will have finished his second year at college after which he would like to go abroad and see the world as quickly as possible. He has a friend who is a hotel manager in Australia whom he would like to go see in order to enjoy the good life. Finding a job isn't an burning necessity for the moment. Rajiv Gupta runs a rival gas station. He is well-to-do man with many contacts. He commands respects and everyone treats him with deference. He reminds one of Don Corleone both physically and in the way he has of expressing himself. When Rajib speaks, everyone listens. His daughter Ritsja is the apple of his eye. He only wants the best for her: a future abroad, but only through marriage. Bindu is a friend of Aba's. She also dreams of a better future abroad ... She has also pinned her hopes on a marriage with an Indian expatriate. Be that as it may, like most other women, she will not be allowed to pick her future husband and will remain totally dependent on the wishes of her family and the intervention of a matchmaker. As far as she is concerned, love is an abstract concept and it would be unthinkable to build her life on it. It all strikes her as being too fickle and inconsistent. Still, deep down, she would like to be swept away by a great wave of romance. Mr. Ramoowalia is the only Indian politician to act on behalf of abandoned young brides. The others turn a blind eye to the problem, either out of laxness or lack of interest, but also because it would bring them no extra votes during elections. Ramoowalia regularly organizes protest marches in Aritsar in which 500 persons take part each time. We will follow daily life at this service station, the meetings and discussions about these arranged or forced marriages. |
