Dear Antonio Not "hint", "fact". Unless one puts the truth in a bottle and renames it "ignorance".
I am referring to the past here (not so much the present which has changed), tailors held important positions in our society (along with fishermen and rice growers). Over a cup of chai, sewing machine and a little chit chat, they were priviledged to pick up the goings on in each household, who had a marriagable son, marriagable daughter, etc. Apart from seeing a happy ending, they would have secured the contract of making the wedding dress as well as outfits for the rest of the wedding party. Personally I think their exclusion from the mainstream Goykar Association in East Africa resulting them in setting up their own Tailors Society was due to "fear" not "ignorance" of how much they knew about all of us. Fishermen and rice growers also commanded important positions, they were key to our survival, rice and fish curry has and will always remain the staple food of our people. I agree with Frederick that "caste" was a primary factor in marriages but the "village" element should not be under estimated and played a part albeit to a lesser extent. Bearing in mind this happened over 70 years ago, a relative till today often relates the story of a man who had a health condition and as a result no girl in the village would marry him, he eventually married a girl outside his village. Often I joke with Melvyn that had I married him while my ancestors were alive, he would not have been able to enter their homes through the front door. (Any response to this post will receive a reply in two weeks after my return from Northern India) Rose Fernandes Thornton Heath, Surrey, United Kingdom 9 October 2014
