Oh Henry!

Well, ladies and gentlemen, forgive me for my prolonged absence. I’ve needed the computer breaks a bit more often lately. I was also absorbed by one of the worst books I’ve read in the recent past- Holy Cow by Sarah MacDonald. I have had nightmares reading this book. I have been trying to maintain an academic frame of mind and trying to see what’s good in this narrative. Too often my reaction to the main character and author was “well, duh, lady.” The string that we are supposed to follow is her path to faith in something bigger and better than humanity. She claims to have started her journey as an atheist, but I didn’t get the sense that she really understood what that meant. She takes us through trippy Hare Krishna life, the “white Sikhs” who practice kundalini yoga, flirts with Islam, and somehow “India” spits her out. Brand new, germ-tolerating, and believing- yes, she’s a believer ladies and gentlemen- hallelujah, in’shallah, jai ram ji ki…

Okay, what she does well is break down concepts that are completely foreign to someone who does not have one iota of exposure to anything “India”. She makes some sense of Hinduism- the triumvirate, the many incarnations of each, the stories associated with all. “India” is the other character in her book. This is what I cannot stand. It’s the sign of a categorical, linear thinker- label it, put it in a box, put the box on a shelf, color coded, and alphabetize.

I am most likely being unfair. If one never visits, she gives a damn good description and initial reaction. Most people experience some level of culture shock, gross miscommunication, and distance between you, the visitor, and those who really live in this nation. The histories of the regions are in their bones the language, the walk, the talk. Gazes mean different things. I also feel tortured and competitive about the fact that she picked up Hindi and I have yet to comprehend much and not sound like I have a mouth full of marbles while speaking. Where’s my Henry Higgins?

Let’s talk about something else….

Lately I have found myself saying to people, with regard to communication-confusion, that I am having trouble understanding when it is appropriate to be honest. Often I seem to come off as being honest to the point of being confrontational. It shocks me.

A couple of weeks old, you may have already heard:

A 78-year-old man says the key to keeping his 30 wives happy has been the use of a gentle voice and sweet words. Overhearing this, a woman in her mid-forties scoffs, laughs, and says in babbling-brook voice, “sexist little wretch.” He says he never keeps more than three wives at a time, “when one space opens up, I get a new wife.” Apparently in Malaysia one is allowed to legally have four wives at a time only. His longest marriage lasted for 20 years. The shortest marriage lasted for ONE day (Britney’s not alone).

Da Vinci Code release was held b/c the IB ministry and censor board are concerned about hurting the sensitivities of Christians. The country held it’s breath regarding its release, because the decision laid solely on one man’s opinion- the IB minister. If he thought it was okay, then the censor board would have to do little to cut it. If he had thought it was too offensive, then India wouldn’t see the Da Vinci Code (well we would’ve had pirated copies, which had already started to circulate). The movie was released here on Friday. The released version is supposed to have an extra “this is purely fiction” disclaimer. At first Ron Howard was upset and didn’t want to add the extra disclaimer, but he finally consented. So I’ll see it in the theatres. I don’t watch most movies in the theatre, like Brokeback Mountain, b/c I hate knowing that it was censored. You can tell with weird cuts. In Brokeback the scenes that were censored here were the hetero sex scenes. When I say “here” I mean Mumbai unless otherwise specified. Ha!

I went to my cousin’s daughter’s wedding in b’lore (Bangalore) on Sunday. There were many elements of lights, flowers, and water from the point of entry and then all through the hall. Outside was especially lovely. There was a bartender who only served cocktails and mocktails. I was happy to be home and to see a lot of my relatives. I was especially happy that life felt more familiar. Not so many people were sleeping on the streets. The air felt cooler and I loved being able to roam around my cousin’s place as I would my own.

Can you tell that I am in a ‘weirdo’ mood lately? The stability of my current life is making me a bit loopy. Sometimes I feel like there isn’t much to think about – no boy problems, no work problems, no family problems, no money problems, no health problems, minor social problems, but no major problems. I guess I also don’t feel engaged in my environment lately. Too much in the observational position, I think I need to volunteer somewhere. I think it’s time to do that. I’ll keep you posted.