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...
Saturday, February 04, 2006
Videos from India - Part I - Bombay
1. In a street market in the upscale suburb of Bandra in Mumbai, where upper-middle class ladies frequent to buy cheap knockoffs of brand-name stuff. The lady in pink is my mom.
2. Another street scene outside a commuter railway station in my suburb in Bombay.
3. A sweet and snack store. Such stores abound in Bombay, and India as a whole. People on the way to work/school or on the way back frequently stop for a bit. Sweets come in all colors and are appetizingly stacked.
4. Standing for a ticket for a commuter train at the Goregaon (go-reh-ga-o) local railway station. Public transport in India is usually state-owned, and very very basic in terms of amenities, plus extremely crowded. However, they are also the 'great equalizers' being extremely cheap and egalitarian.
5. Scene of a local commuter train arriving and leaving the station. Note that this is not rush hour. If it was, I would not be able to stand in one position and make this video.
6. At Juhu beach in Western Mumbai. Other than in Goa and a few touristy places, the beach culture that the West is acquainted with does not really exist in India. People go to beaches with friends to hang out, eat and enjoy the breeze around sunset. Usually they are quite fully clothed and not interested in swimming. The beaches are not usually safe for swimming either.
7. At a food stall on the beach, the vendor makes 'Kaala Khattaa' a sweet-and-sour...er...thing. It consists of a glob of crushed ice on a stick, spiced up with lemon, mint, spices and flavored syrup. Yummm. I grew up eating this kinda stuff a whole lot, so this had to be taped :)
And for some other videos, check out my Tabla Fixation post from a while ago.
2. Another street scene outside a commuter railway station in my suburb in Bombay.
3. A sweet and snack store. Such stores abound in Bombay, and India as a whole. People on the way to work/school or on the way back frequently stop for a bit. Sweets come in all colors and are appetizingly stacked.
4. Standing for a ticket for a commuter train at the Goregaon (go-reh-ga-o) local railway station. Public transport in India is usually state-owned, and very very basic in terms of amenities, plus extremely crowded. However, they are also the 'great equalizers' being extremely cheap and egalitarian.
5. Scene of a local commuter train arriving and leaving the station. Note that this is not rush hour. If it was, I would not be able to stand in one position and make this video.
6. At Juhu beach in Western Mumbai. Other than in Goa and a few touristy places, the beach culture that the West is acquainted with does not really exist in India. People go to beaches with friends to hang out, eat and enjoy the breeze around sunset. Usually they are quite fully clothed and not interested in swimming. The beaches are not usually safe for swimming either.
7. At a food stall on the beach, the vendor makes 'Kaala Khattaa' a sweet-and-sour...er...thing. It consists of a glob of crushed ice on a stick, spiced up with lemon, mint, spices and flavored syrup. Yummm. I grew up eating this kinda stuff a whole lot, so this had to be taped :)
And for some other videos, check out my Tabla Fixation post from a while ago.
Friday, February 03, 2006
Videos from India - Part II - Forest scenes
These are some videos from my 2-day hike in the Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala, India.
1. Wild Elephants! Live in the jungle. These are two females with a baby elephant that we ran into. We had to be extremely quiet so as not to startle them, since angry elephants are known to be quite dangerous in charging.
2. More on those elephants. That was just an enthralling sight.
3. Hiking through a random portion of the jungle. The exclamation you hear from me is due to a thorny bush which took a swipe at me.
4. Campfire at night. It is pitch black. The guards sang songs in the local language (Malayalam) and played cards. A few metres away we had placed an oil lamp. The guards kept watch in turns through the night, shining their flashlights all around every few minutes, looking out for elephants, bears and of course, tigers. We were not clearly told exactly what would be done if any of these animals were actually sighted.
5. I woke up in my tent in the middle of the night to realize that it had started pouring! I could not see anything, but the sound of the rain is wonderful to hear.
6. Just another section of the hike through the forest. This is on the banks of the Lake Periyar
7. We spent some time rowing around on a flimsy bamboo raft on the Lake Periyar early in the morning. I was rowing with one hand and filming with the other. The raft was pretty basic, a bamboo platform with uplifted bamboo pieces for seats. Our feet were pretty much in the water from the weight of 5 people on one raft.
8. Hiking through the jungles. Besides the guards, there were 2 swedish hikers with me.
1. Wild Elephants! Live in the jungle. These are two females with a baby elephant that we ran into. We had to be extremely quiet so as not to startle them, since angry elephants are known to be quite dangerous in charging.
2. More on those elephants. That was just an enthralling sight.
3. Hiking through a random portion of the jungle. The exclamation you hear from me is due to a thorny bush which took a swipe at me.
4. Campfire at night. It is pitch black. The guards sang songs in the local language (Malayalam) and played cards. A few metres away we had placed an oil lamp. The guards kept watch in turns through the night, shining their flashlights all around every few minutes, looking out for elephants, bears and of course, tigers. We were not clearly told exactly what would be done if any of these animals were actually sighted.
5. I woke up in my tent in the middle of the night to realize that it had started pouring! I could not see anything, but the sound of the rain is wonderful to hear.
6. Just another section of the hike through the forest. This is on the banks of the Lake Periyar
7. We spent some time rowing around on a flimsy bamboo raft on the Lake Periyar early in the morning. I was rowing with one hand and filming with the other. The raft was pretty basic, a bamboo platform with uplifted bamboo pieces for seats. Our feet were pretty much in the water from the weight of 5 people on one raft.
8. Hiking through the jungles. Besides the guards, there were 2 swedish hikers with me.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Videos from India - Part III - Mysore and B'lore
1. Mysore, a quiet, clean and highly historical town close to Bangalore. This is outside the Mysore Palace, which, IMHO, rivals Versailles in its grandeur and opulence. Unfortunately, there were no pictures or videos allowed inside, and my camera was too big to sneak in.
2. A gourmet coffee store at a large shopping mall in Bangalore, India's most modern city in terms of amenities. For many of you, it might seem absolutely quaint why I've been taping scenes in shopping malls, however, one must remember that the concept of US-style malls, food courts , multiplexes are really new in India, and have only recently exploded. This coffee shop ground beans from different parts of the world and allowed you to taste samples.
3. The food court in the shopping mall at Koramangala, one of Bangalore's most upscale areas, complete with a Subway (which serves great paneer spicy sandwiches, btw).
4. Grameen, a top veggie restaurant in Bangalore, with a huge waiting time. This is part of another mall in the same area.
5. Another general scene in the shopping mall. These kinds of malls are now abundant in most Indian cities, and always packed with shoppers, who are young, working in the Software/Service industry and want the latest and best in fashions. This mall even had an Apple store :) There's a multiplex on the top floor showing the latest English, Hindi, Kannada and Tamil movies.
6. A scene while having a coffee with my cousin Ari at Café Coffee Day, one of two major Starbucks-like chains that have sprung up in major Indian cities (the other is called Barista). They are considered cool (always air-conditioned) places to hang out, even though a cup of coffee/tea can cost about 20 times as much as a street stall next door.
2. A gourmet coffee store at a large shopping mall in Bangalore, India's most modern city in terms of amenities. For many of you, it might seem absolutely quaint why I've been taping scenes in shopping malls, however, one must remember that the concept of US-style malls, food courts , multiplexes are really new in India, and have only recently exploded. This coffee shop ground beans from different parts of the world and allowed you to taste samples.
3. The food court in the shopping mall at Koramangala, one of Bangalore's most upscale areas, complete with a Subway (which serves great paneer spicy sandwiches, btw).
4. Grameen, a top veggie restaurant in Bangalore, with a huge waiting time. This is part of another mall in the same area.
5. Another general scene in the shopping mall. These kinds of malls are now abundant in most Indian cities, and always packed with shoppers, who are young, working in the Software/Service industry and want the latest and best in fashions. This mall even had an Apple store :) There's a multiplex on the top floor showing the latest English, Hindi, Kannada and Tamil movies.
6. A scene while having a coffee with my cousin Ari at Café Coffee Day, one of two major Starbucks-like chains that have sprung up in major Indian cities (the other is called Barista). They are considered cool (always air-conditioned) places to hang out, even though a cup of coffee/tea can cost about 20 times as much as a street stall next door.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Videos from India - Part IV - Hampi
Here are some videos from my visit to the medieval 16th century city of Hampi (previously discussed in my Hampi, rocky beauty post), the capital of the Vijayanagar empire.
1. A view of the old Hampi city from Matanga Hillock. The temple in the background is the main Virupaksha (Shiva) temple, with the modern Hampi village in front of it. This video is from a temple on top of the hillock and gives a great view of the terrain. The video is a bit shaky because I was walking around on the roof of the temple, trying not to fall a few hundred feet down onto hard rock.
2. A view of the main ancient throughfare in Hampi, the Hampi Bazaar. Parts of the stone dwellings are being reoccupied to build the modern bazaar. The Virupaksha temple is again visible in the distance.
3. Courtesan's street: Another bazaar and complex in another section of the city. This is a grand complex, whose scale is apparent only from a distant high point view...coming up...
4. A grand view of the courtesan's street and complex from halfway up the Matanga hillock. I found a barely-visible half-carved stairway up the hillock, which was fenced off, but decided to jump the fence and try climbing it up anyway.
5. Yes, the rock formations in Hampi are crazy. I was taking shelter under this rock, and started wondering what stopped this extremely top-heavy rock from turning over and pulping my humble self. Here's the explanation...
6. The royal complex, complete with aqueducts and bathing tanks with intricate stepped patterns. The tank was found intact, buried and has been restored only in the last couple of years. It is made of black marble.
7. A grand view of the Royal enclosure from top of a high stone platform.
8. Another view of some of the crazy rocks and temples hidden therein.
9. This is one of the star attractions of Hampi. The Vitala (Krishna) temple with its musical pillars and the stone chariot in front of it.
10. A group of school kids, with an extremely plucky leader from a village around the area on a school excursion. There pastime seemed to be to track down anyone with a digital camera and look at their own pictures. I don't think they knew what email was. Technology still has long ways to go.
11. Those kids again, after I taped them :)
1. A view of the old Hampi city from Matanga Hillock. The temple in the background is the main Virupaksha (Shiva) temple, with the modern Hampi village in front of it. This video is from a temple on top of the hillock and gives a great view of the terrain. The video is a bit shaky because I was walking around on the roof of the temple, trying not to fall a few hundred feet down onto hard rock.
2. A view of the main ancient throughfare in Hampi, the Hampi Bazaar. Parts of the stone dwellings are being reoccupied to build the modern bazaar. The Virupaksha temple is again visible in the distance.
3. Courtesan's street: Another bazaar and complex in another section of the city. This is a grand complex, whose scale is apparent only from a distant high point view...coming up...
4. A grand view of the courtesan's street and complex from halfway up the Matanga hillock. I found a barely-visible half-carved stairway up the hillock, which was fenced off, but decided to jump the fence and try climbing it up anyway.
5. Yes, the rock formations in Hampi are crazy. I was taking shelter under this rock, and started wondering what stopped this extremely top-heavy rock from turning over and pulping my humble self. Here's the explanation...
6. The royal complex, complete with aqueducts and bathing tanks with intricate stepped patterns. The tank was found intact, buried and has been restored only in the last couple of years. It is made of black marble.
7. A grand view of the Royal enclosure from top of a high stone platform.
8. Another view of some of the crazy rocks and temples hidden therein.
9. This is one of the star attractions of Hampi. The Vitala (Krishna) temple with its musical pillars and the stone chariot in front of it.
10. A group of school kids, with an extremely plucky leader from a village around the area on a school excursion. There pastime seemed to be to track down anyone with a digital camera and look at their own pictures. I don't think they knew what email was. Technology still has long ways to go.
11. Those kids again, after I taped them :)
