No one in India can pronounce my name so I've taken to introducing myself as Allie. Unfortunately, I learned that in Tamil (the language of the state we're in), an Allie is a eunuch, so I've found it preferable to allow the locals to struggle with my given name.

We're in the town of Madurai, home of the Sri Meenakshi Temple, a huge, unspeakably beautiful and atmospheric complex that sees upwards of 10,000 pilgrims and tourists each day. It's the first Hindu temple we've visited and provided Chris and me with hours of photo-taking opportunities.

On the train ride here, we sat across from a very warm and friendly family from Virginia Beach; an Indian man named Sekur, his Malaysian wife and their daughter. Chris and I loved them. Sekur was well-spoken and having lived in America for over a decade, he abandoned the bewildering circular logic used by so many Indians we've met and was able to frame stories and explanations in a way that made sense to us. This was refreshing. We spent the entire 6-hour journey plying him with questions in an attempt to uncover some of the more mysterious aspects of Hinduism, Indian society and culture.

Based on what I've learned so far, I've formed the opinion that India is by far the most backward, repressed society on earth led by the most oppressive, corrupt government on earth. Indians, however, are the most beautiful and generous people I've ever met. Funny how these things work.

Here's what we learned from Sekur about the dowry system. This is seriously messed up, I am still trying to get my head around it. So, the vast majority of Hindus in India are still married through arranged marriages. Once a match is made, (using astrology, caste, salary, so on) the boy's parents present a list of dowry demands to the girl's parents. The demands can be stiff, often bankrupting the girl's family. Scheduled payments are sometimes allowed, but then the couple is to refrain from having sex until the dowry has been finalized, sometimes a year or two after they are married. If the girl gets pregnant before then, it's not uncommon for the groom's family to plot (often with the help of their son) to kill the daughter, thus making it possible to arrange another marriage and another dowry. Sekur told us a common way this is done is to turn on the gas stove in the couple's home while the girl is away. Then when she lights the stove to prepare a meal, there is an explosion and her death is ruled by the authorities as "accidental." Worst case, she doesn't die and finds herself horribly disfigured, pregnant and unmarriable.

As a result, many couples want to avoid the burden of having daughters and every day, female babies are killed all over the country. Sekur's wife Judy told us that when she was first pregnant, they were still living in India. She had an ultrasound and noticed signs plastered all over the room stating, "We will not reveal the sex of your baby." They implemented this policy because upon finding they were pregnant with girls, many women would abort the fetuses and try again for a boy.

And now, here's a very small example of how the Indian government comports itself on a regular basis. At the temple today, a man instructed me to take my shoes off before entering the complex and pointed me to a shoe check stand where they would charge me 50 paise (1/2 rupee) to hold them. I said thanks but no thanks, stuffed my shoes into my bag and started to walk in. A uniformed policeman brandishing a large bamboo nightstick stopped me at the door and redirected me to the shoe stand. Quickly realizing that the officer was working in cahoots with the shoe stand in exchange for a kickback for each pair of checked shoes, I said, "I know I am allowed to bring them in. I'm not falling for this routine." He glanced at me furtively and waved me in. It makes my blood boil and that is hardly the worst of it. More government corruption stories another time.

As soon as I entered the temple, two old men in orange robes with long white beards approached me to take their photo. They were excellent subjects but afterward they insisted on a payment of 10 rupees each for the privelege. I begrudgingly gave them 5 each and chalked it up to another lesson learned. It's often difficult and tiresome trying to distinguish between people who are genuinely friendly and interested in human interaction and those who just want my money; the latter are more aggressive and the former take some seeking out.

At 4 AM tomorrow morning, we bid a fond farewell to the state of Tamil Nadu and head for Kollam in the state of Kerala.