Friday, September 08, 2006
Culture clash experience
At my weekly Middle-Eastern drum circle today, I found myself listening to this most amusing conversation. Our instructor started relating his recent experience of attending a very fancy Indian wedding as part of a traditional band (he is a white dude who plays all kinds of drums really well, including the Indian tablas etc, and runs a really great multi-ethnic performance troupe). Here it goes (emphasis my own, of course).
Instructor: So I was playing the tablas at this very fancy and HUGE Indian wedding last weekend. It was really quite fascinating. I haven't seen a wedding this big in a while.
Other guy: How many people?
Instructor: At least 400, maybe 500 people. It was a really traditional wedding. Not only in terms of the ceremony, but it was also an (with dramatic pause) arranged wedding.
Everyone else: (awestruck) Wow!
Instructor: In fact, it was so arranged that the bride did not smile at all through the entire wedding, not one time.
Other guy: Was she at least over 18, I mean, she wasn't like 12 or something, right?
Instructor: No, not at all, she was in her early 20s, at least that's what they said.
(Everyone heaves a palpable sigh of relief).
The only thing I heard for some time after that was the sound of my own head spinning. I had no idea where to even start bridging this cultural chasm...
Instructor: So I was playing the tablas at this very fancy and HUGE Indian wedding last weekend. It was really quite fascinating. I haven't seen a wedding this big in a while.
Other guy: How many people?
Instructor: At least 400, maybe 500 people. It was a really traditional wedding. Not only in terms of the ceremony, but it was also an (with dramatic pause) arranged wedding.
Everyone else: (awestruck) Wow!
Instructor: In fact, it was so arranged that the bride did not smile at all through the entire wedding, not one time.
Other guy: Was she at least over 18, I mean, she wasn't like 12 or something, right?
Instructor: No, not at all, she was in her early 20s, at least that's what they said.
(Everyone heaves a palpable sigh of relief).
The only thing I heard for some time after that was the sound of my own head spinning. I had no idea where to even start bridging this cultural chasm...
