Pop quiz: what is this NYT story about?
Kali, Hindu goddess of destruction, thinks otherwise. She is angry, say the colorfully garbed women massing in the holy tree’s dappled shade…
… idol-makers… came from their villages to work their craft for Calcutta’s festival for the 10-armed goddess, Durga, the invincible killer of demons. Statues of Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, lay cast off under the highway overpass, waiting to be resurrected. [Link]
If you said ‘a mundane highway appropriations bill,’ you’re psychic. New India hands, dust off that pith helmet and shake off those jodhpurs. Here’s the official NYT checklist on what must go into an India story (and what did, in fact, go into this one):
Taj Mahal Sacred cows Camels Holy trees Benares Ganga Hindu theology Bullock carts Rickshaw-wallas Awkward polytheism metaphor Religious nuts from small towns British colonialism Kali (bonus points!)
Mmm, I love the smell of incense in the morning. This story has that touch of Orientalism which wins Pulitzers. What, no bride-burning, snake charmers or Thuggees? If Amy Waldman keeps it up, she could pen something for the South Asian fiction shelves. Maybe it’ll even have mehndi hands and a sari border. Calling Lady Mountbatten — she’s truly gone native.
Here in NYC, we just passed a referendum to build a new Second Avenue subway. The Calcutta Telegraph’s coverage would be terribly incomplete unless it included the following:
The Mall of the Americas Dogs which are (gasp!) allowed into houses Buffaloes Pat Robertson The Virgin Mary toast Christian theology Farm tractors Windshield men Awkward Crusades metaphor Religious nuts from small towns British colonialism Waco (bonus points!)
Otherwise, your readers might not grasp the story. And we can’t have any cultural misunderstanding here. It might make Jesus angry.
Actually, I rather liked the article. I don’t think Waldman was solely aiming to talk about how many miles of the Golden Quadrilateral have been completed and the resulting % increase in road traffic. She was aiming, IMHO, to use the travelogue to talk about how the various aspects of Indian society are being impacted by the economic events of the past decade. And she did a good job with it.
Her stories were actually rather interesting- the guy near Kanpur who started a new dhaba; the fight over cement sludge in Bihar; the perspective of the Koreans and non-Biharis working in Bihar. Admittedly, some of the aspects were stereotypical- especially the whole Benares episode, but on the whole it was quite interesting. Even her use of the Kali stuff had a point– call those women religious nuts, but they have a point of view- and until you can persuade them otherwise, you’ll have to respect those views/superstitions. And displaying how this messiness of democracy slows down development is part of her article’s purpose.
Sounds like the formula used to write Song of Kali
A plot summary:
You forgot Suttee
Amy Waldman’s article is thorough and painstaking — and it makes useful points, as the previous poster outlined.
What a refreshing change this coverage is. A few years ago the NYT treated us to truly horrible stuff that then-Delhi bureau chief Barbara Crossette used to spew. Just see the summary of her book:
http://members.authorsguild.net/bcrossette/work1.htm
that is pretty bad.
Here’s what we should do. We need nominations to the annual Asinine Depictions of Sepiates awards (Adsies for short). The categories will be print non-fiction, print fiction, cinema, radio and Indie Internet. The sepia academy will consider all nominations and the awards will be disclosed at the annual gala celebration. The nominees for the awards BTW will all be invited to the gala. hmmm… the possibilities.
When Christians ask that a road be rerouted for theological reasons, believe me it makes it into the NYT. I wasn’t crazy about the article, but I think you’re seeing orientalism where there isn’t much.
Hardly mundane either:
I believe the piece was a pretty decent mix of the “hope” that India holds out and the practical problems that diminish this hope. Rememeber Amy does mention the smell of sh**, besides incense. .. Did not believe in her math though, most middle class Indians have a relative her, or something, would transltae to many more desis in the US than 2 mil. … I think Judy Miller would be a good fit for the chicanery of Indian bureaucracy…
Neale
As Dr. Radhakrishnan said in the Hindu View of Life, Hinduism is animism overlain with philosophy, so every rock and stone is potentially holy. We have temples in trees, on roadpaths, in factories… If Waldman understood that, how natural that is to a Hindu, how that wordview predates even the Vedas, she wouldn’t have Orientalized about Kali like that-who is always the lurid exotic Goddess, the subject of endless fascination in Abrahamic cultures.
One more defense of Waldman — note that her article for the Monday Times on Indian car culture lacks most of the stuff on your checklist.
That was well written ?
I have no problems with the ‘brown’ picture she painted of the state of affairs – I think she should have been more harsh.
It was not the content but the style of writing which probably made Manish to have such a post….
as an example, here’s an excerpt from the article : “Please take me out of here,” Rafiq Ahmed, 21, whispered as he bent in the darkness to lift another load. “My back hurts.”
I hope that explains what I was trying to explain 🙂
I’ve not yet finished reading the whole article, but in spite of that, dear Mutineers, please allow me two comments:
damn that is one LONG article, not something the Times does that frequently, so it’s a good thing that they’re devoting so much paper to the story, isn’t it?
the head of the Bureau is Somini Sengupta, so I’m guessing that article would have been cleared by her, right?
Au contraire, mon frere: the checklist is a veritable glossary of Orientalism.
C’mon, folks, you start a story on modernization with Kali and end with Durga? Classic Orientalist crap. Think for a second how matter-of-factly highway expansion would be covered in Indian papers. Even if you sexed it up with a highways-change-everything angle, you wouldn’t get this list of exoticist bullshit.
Yes, but the angle wasn’t.
True, from superciliousness to exotica is an improvement.
Dhaavak, tongue-in-cheek though it is, that’s actually not a bad idea: an annual press release / event, the brown Razzies.
dude it wasnt totally tongue in cheek… i was this close to putting up a blogspot on this – but might as well do it right – make sure the categories and criteria for nomination are fleshed out – the academy’s manifesto is published and validated by the academy. hmmm… i even see a TONY (Toronto, NY) alternation for the gala to hand out the golden chapatis – so all ye who think this is worht doing – say aye. (Manish I’ll take you as an aye.) this being …
– drum roll – the Asinine Depiction of Sepiates Award (ADSies for short).
Excuse me if I’m wrong, but don’t Americans pluralize “buffalo” as “buffalo”? As far as it concerns bison, anyway. Buffaloes sounds distinctly desi to me, suggesting Asian/water-buffalo. So the third item on your checklist should be “buffalo.” Right? Gotcha, right?
aye, but only if you consider changing it to the golden “lota”. chapatis are good. why reward bad behaviour? 😉
Ah great post! That checklist is a beauty. I bet you ripped it off the papers’ desks, didn’t ja? (Time to plug myself).
Here’s another article on Indian Roads
Manish
For this line alone, you’ve earned great admiration….Love it!!!
The checklist is superb!!
Sumita
Manish,
Awesome post : loved the checklist.
Dhaavak, Anna,
Yes, a huge AYE to the Golden Lota!
I agree with Manish; I’m glad others found this article offensive. I generally don’t get offended this early in the morning, but the article’s tone pierced through my sleepy haze and made me feel vaguely nauseous.
Add dacoits and dung-patties to the ‘must-have’ list.
References to religion are hardly inappropriate in India. There is a long laundry-list of religious quackery available, from the strange cult of people who eat a certain live fish that is said to cure diseases, to the “hug” sanyasin.
Not to mention, this program was introduced by the BJP government, which prided itself on religion-izing everything, from university curriculum to Nuclear annihilation.
Let me go through some of the keywords you mention:
Benares Ganga
Actually, one of the key features of the new superhighway is the way it will make Benaras/Varanasi much easier to get to, so this is relevant.
Holy trees Kali (bonus points!) Religious nuts from small towns
Again, as long as we assume it’s true, the anecdote she opens with is relevant. She’s quite specific about the protest over the destruction of the roadside temple, so I trust it. It’s local color, not orientalism.
Bullock carts Rickshaw-wallas Camels
Also relevant, as the continued prevalence of pre-industrial modes of transportation ought to be a consideration when constructing a superhighway of this kind.
Taj Mahal
It’s predictable, perhaps, but it is part of a segue into a discussion of the golden age of Mughal road-building. One engineering marvel (the Taj) is a good metaphor for another (the Trunk Road/GT Road).
British colonialism
This is orientalism? Try History 101.
Sacred cows
This, I agree, was a bit gratuitous. She could have just said “cows” or “livestock.”
All in all, more informative than exotic. The writing is different than one finds in the Indian papers, no question. But then, you always have to keep in mind that few Americans will have heard of the Golden Quadrilateral project, or have ever pondered the existence of superhighways in India.
And I second an earlier commenter, who pointed out that the second article in the series, on the growth of Indian car consumerism, is much more matter-of-fact. We might not be thrilled by the story about the sacred tree, but Waldman has much more on offer here than just that.
But they seem to be the default reference in Western writing on India.
Segueing into body burning on the Ganga ghats. Relevant how? Why pick that out of all the uses of a roadway? I might as well write a story on the telecom network by zeroing in on phone sex.
In context, the Kali reference is predictable. Westerners swarm to Kali and the Kama Sutra.
Must every story on independent India begin with its founding story? Journies don’t get into that level of backstory with other countries.
It’s an interesting story (the cement stealing bit in particular), but the style is Desirable Daughters. To quote Bill the Cat, ‘Ack, pfft.’
I think Manish is spot on this one. The piece is orientalist crap.
It is true speed and efficiency are only western notions. All my Indian relatives complain about how speedy and efficient Indian trains. And they love love that the government is slow and inefficient.
>>>References to religion are hardly inappropriate in India. There is a long laundry-list of religious quackery available, from the strange cult of people who eat a certain live fish that is said to cure diseases, to the “hug” sanyasin.
Not to mention, this program was introduced by the BJP government, which prided itself on religion-izing everything, from university curriculum to Nuclear annihilation.
Some will take every opportunity they get to bash the BJP, which is fine, but I do take exception to your labelling of Ma Amritamayi, the hugging sanyasin a quack. Religion is about mystery, about the unverifiable, and this applies to Abrahamic faiths as much as it does Indic dharmas.
Interestingly, hugging would be revulsive to a high-caste traditionalist, but Ma Amritamayi, who hails from a fisherman caste in Kerala, has no problem with it at all.
She has also done much philanthropic work. In case you are not referring to her, my apologies.
Amardeep writes: >>There is a long laundry-list of religious quackery available, from the strange cult of people who eat a certain live fish that is said to cure diseases, to the “hug” sanyasin.
I cannot believe that SM has not deleted this offensive comment.
“Quack” means false, misleading. By calling certain religious practices of Hindus as “Quackery”, you have shown your complete misunderstanding of Hinduism.
Firstly, eating certain fish for cures etc has nothing to do with religion. These are cultural practices that have evolved over time.
Secondly, why the gratitious insult to Mata Amritanandamayi? She has not forced anyone to come to her. Millions flock to her based on faith. The jury is still out as to whether you can or cannot attain Moksha/Salvation through Sunday church or doing namaaz five times a day or hugging. Hinduism allows for free experimentation, however abnormal it may seem. When millions of people do the abnormal, the definition of normal changes.
Not to mention, this program was introduced by the BJP government, which prided itself on religion-izing everything, from university curriculum to Nuclear annihilation.
How did they religionize university curriculim?
M. Nam
I think it is only after India did the N-test, the west started looking India with respect. Before that, India was only described as exotic place of three “C”s (Cow, Caste and Curry) Manish’s list expands that list, preety good 🙂
If it had not been for the N-test, India would still be in obsurity, equivalent of Myanmar … not being compared with China.
Power perceived is power achieved.
manish…I read that story yesterday and just knew if I waited 24 hours, someone at Sepia would be feeling my pain. Thanks for the hilarious post!
Mark IV, I was referring to Ma Amritamayi, and sorry if I caused offense by lumping her in with the live-fish-eating people. My point is actually that, while religion is very much a live and dynamic issue in Indian society, the devout sometimes do things that seem anti-modern. In this case, they are holding up the construction of the highway. Who is in the right, the government, or the local villagers who hold a certain tree to be sacred?
I tend to think that if they can’t come up with a suitable alternative, the govt. should go ahead and move the tree and temple to a new spot 100 meters away in the interest of the greater common good.
And MoorNam, you must be familiar with the BJP’s saffronisation programs. If not, try this article in Frontline from 2001.
Incidentally, I’m not just bashing the BJP here; I’m also grudgingly admiring them for starting this project.
Mark IV, I was referring to Ma Amritamayi, and sorry if I caused offense by lumping her in with the live-fish-eating people.
Not a problem, Amardeep, and thanks.
Incidentally, the BBC has a piece on the live fish cure issue in Andhra here. The state government continues to support the event financially, to the tune of 10 crores annually ($2.3 million).
If that isn’t quackery — state-supported! — I don’t know what is.
Amardeep – no problem. Water under the bridge.
BJP’s textbook changes are very similiar to what Hindus are fighting for (and won?) in California yesterday. SM blogged about it as well.
I’m a Libertarian, and in my definition, any State-support for private activity is Quackery.
M. Nam
Amardeep
“If that isn’t quackery — state-supported! — I don’t know what is. “
Do you have any personal experience with Asthma? I do know peple personally who benefiited from it.
Its cheaper than paying for nebulizers etc…which modern medicine pays for.
Hey, whatever works
Sumita
Many of the postings in this thread talk of “the list” being hilarious. Cynicism is the easy way. A deconstruction of parts of the story would be more useful. Having lived in India, reading the article , made me feel nostalgia (16 hour bustrips from Goa to Bombay in a bus stacked with feni,jackfruit and diesel),hopefulness (that cold logical economics will move India forward),deja vu(Indian bureaucracy).
Also, how can one write about India without the color and the smell.Feature articles cannot sidestep this.These are the very things I missed when I landed in America. Another good point of the artcile is how we carry our “ways of living” with us. The servants, for example, that even middle class people avail of. Bottom line, most of America is so much out of touch with the rest of the world, peddling exotica is not such a bad idea. BTW, the American list are the very things that fascinate me about the US. They stop being exotic after a while, but still such a voluptous mystery….
Sumita,
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) tested the fish. According to the BBC article I linked to, here is what they found:
If you know people who’ve benefited, I’m glad to hear it. But I would call it a placebo effect at best.
However, given how much heavy metal (lead, mercury, etc.) is being found in the fish, I would caution these people not to eat the fish at all: the placebo they’re taking may really hurt them!
I read the article yesterday and found it to be quite accurate and nostalgic. I think it isn’t about “a mundane highway appropriations bill” but rather the affect its construction is having on the lives of people. I don’t know if manish has ever lived in India but I would imagine he hasn’t. I grew up there and have traveled extensively by road, train and air. It would still be foolhardy for me to generalize life in India since I have lived mostly in metropolitan areas. Nevertheless I have spent enough time in rural India and am familiar with the people there to get a sense of the anecdotal references in the article. The check list is a result of finding support of pre-conceived conclusion of bias. If this wasn’t classified under Humor, it would be quite a negative perception of Sepia mutiny from my point of view.
I really love when those who grew up in South Asia instruct those of us in the U.S. how there’s really no Orientalism here.
First, many are culturally oblivious. They see it as nostalgia and miss all the undercurrents, just like my parents would dig the ABC Home display as nothing more than a reminder of home.
Second, many are used to a higher level of overt racism in daily life (e.g. how Bollywood treats South Indians and blacks) and miss the often subtler U.S. variety.
Third, many are unambitious w.r.t. cultural integration. The attitude is, ‘They’re white, this is their country, so let them say what they want.’ These types aren’t aiming to be accepted as full-fledged Americans, they just want to be left alone to earn a paycheck and raise a family.
Fourth, some desis I know are simple, sincere literalists. The shelter of the extended family and arranged marriage system promotes a very particular brand of naivete among a certain personality type, which lasts until they join the government or life beats it out of them 🙂 This subset takes things literally and is incapable of reading between the lines.
This intra-diaspora cultural clash is repeated ad nauseum on these very pages, every hour of every day. First genners often read literally, missing cynical, dark, barbed humor entirely. It’s less prevalent in the culture. Likewise, they miss barbed insults as well.
This is also city – country clash, this is also Brooklyn – Midwest. It’s not that there aren’t literalist 2nd genners. It’s that there are a hell of a lot of them among the first gen, and they come to this site, misread because of different cultural assumptions and then complain, depending on the phase of the moon, that the site is either biased against desis (which is, of course, why we spend tens of hours a week writing about us) or defends desis unnecessarily.
As clueless as I am to many of the nuances of Hindi lit, pronunciation and Bollywood, many first genners are equally clueless to the nuances of Orientalism in America. Imagine me showing up at an antaakshri party after a Delhi wedding and stumbling through the songs. I’d deeply appreciate it if someone clueful pulled me aside and said, ‘No, you dipshit, they’re not laughing with you, they’re laughing at you. Here’s what you’re missing.’
Manish, Again, why the cynicism? If an ABC exhibit reminds one of home, so be it.
Nostalgia is a real thing. Those of us who feel it should be allowed to say so. Nostalgia cannot be taught or learned. Or ignored.
“many are unambitious w.r.t. cultural integration” — what is this all about???
Experience. The same shit over and over. You start with anger, then cynicism, then you see the absurdity of it and mine it for its humor 😉
So how do you feel about the Indian government?
I understand that sh** happens over and over and I am glad you recognize it when it happens. But I do not see it in the article.
Would you rather have a drier piece?
Do you remember the pieces Amy did on the Taj? I thought seh was condescending about the touts and the mess, but it exactly what goes on. Maybe it is repition, but it is the truth.
The article was an attempt to explain the changes in India to Americans who read a newspaper. And it did not fail.
In fact, I think the Friedman Fawnings are more insulting.
Because, where does one start when writing an article like this? IMHO there could be one whole book written on the people who steal the wet cement, maybe it would take a Rohinton Mistry. describe.Or like Rushdie, one can resort to “camp.”
Do we have a rough estimate of what % of SM readers are first gen desis (aka programmers:-))
I’ll assume that you are the same Manish that wrote the blog entry.
I really love when those who grew up in South Asia instruct those of us in the U.S. how there’s really no Orientalism here.
My point was about that article, not about the general level of Orientalism here. I wouldn’t presume to know what you have come across in your life. I just indicated what I’ve seen in mine.
First, many are culturally oblivious. They see it as nostalgia and miss all the undercurrents, just like my parents would dig the ABC Home display as nothing more than a reminder of home.
I don’t know your parents. Anything they ‘would’ say is your perception unless they did say it. Unless they saw Ganesha garlanded with penises back in India (quite unlikely!) I fail to see the nostalgic connection. I have personally seen temples and cows in the middle of roads, signs on the new expressway that indicate that bullock carts are not allowed, taken rides on camels/elephants offered on the streets of metros, etc. So a mention of those things and viewing the attached pictures naturally evokes nostalgia. Signs of British colonialism are as ubiquitous in India as streets named after ex-presidents in the US. It isn’t a cliché, it’s recent history, a cultural artifact, a strong influence on the way of life being talked about in the article.
Second, many are used to a higher level of overt racism in daily life (e.g. how Bollywood treats South Indians and blacks) and miss the often subtler U.S. variety.
You’re probably right, I know Indians that offer racist views against blacks. This wasn’t apparent to me before I came to the US, probably because I’ve never seen any significant population of black people in India. I think it is because of the misunderstanding of black culture and the disproportionately high representation of blacks in the American crime stats, whatever may be the socio-economic reasons behind that. But a Bollywood reference? You have to be kidding me! Besides, I’d be willing to wager that you’ve seen more Bollywood movies than me, so if your perception of Indian culture is drawn from those movies, then we probably don’t have common ground for discussion. Subtler US variety? You mean, like Russell Peters? Yea, I know he’s Canadian 🙂 By the way, thanks to SM for introducing me to his comedy!
Third, many are unambitious w.r.t. cultural integration. The attitude is, ‘They’re white, this is their country, so let them say what they want.’ These types aren’t aiming to be accepted as full-fledged Americans, they just want to be left alone to earn a paycheck and raise a family.
I agree with you completely. I’m not one of “these types”. In fact, I’ve pointed out the same thing to many people I know.
Fourth, many desis I know are simple, sincere literalists. The shelter of the extended family and arranged marriage system promotes a very particular brand of naivete among a certain personality type, which lasts until they join the government or life beats it out of them 🙂 They take things literally and are incapable of reading between the lines.
Well, thanks for presenting us with an insight into your social circle, but please don’t imply that stereotype on some dude commenting on your blog post. You seem to come across in the same tone that you accuse the NYT author of infusing into the article. I’ll assume this is more of your subtle humor 😉 “Extended family”, “arranged marriage”, “government jobs” … buzzwords!
This is also city – country clash, this is also Brooklyn – Midwest. It’s not that there aren’t literalist 2nd genners. It’s that there are a hell of a lot of them among the first gen, and they come to this site, misread because of different cultural assumptions and then complain, depending on the phase of the moon, that the site is either biased against desis (which is, of course, why we spend tens of hours a week writing about us) or makes up anti-desi bias.
Oh, come on! Read again. I didn’t imply an anti-desi bias. I implied your bias towards American reporting on Indian events. Sometimes reports may have that Oriental bias you mention, but my simple point was that it is not present in this story. Oh, and by the way, from an Indian point of view, the “Orient” usually implies China, Korea, Japan and SE-Asian nations. I’m unaware of its rebranding and perhaps that is part of our cultural gap.
As clueless as I am to many of the nuances of Hindi lit, pronunciation and Bollywood, many first genners are equally clueless to the nuances of Orientalism in America. Imagine me showing up at an antaakshri party after a Delhi wedding and stumbling through the songs. I’d deeply appreciate it if someone clueful pulled me aside and said, ‘No, you dipshit, they’re not laughing with you, they’re laughing at you. Here’s what you’re missing.’
I don’t know who “they” were, but if it was me I would be laughing with you, mutually amused at the cultural differences amongst our diaspora.
Hypothesis (from someone who hasn’t read the NYT article):
While 1st genners can be under-sensitive to American expressions of Orientalism, 2nd genners — because we are justifiably insecure about our hold on Indian culture and Indian culture’s hold in America — are less flexible about how we feel India ought to be represented, and are sometimes overly sensitized to perceived threats and insults to the culture.
(This is NOT a reference to Manish or anyone else’s reaction to this article, which I haven’t read. Just a general hypothesis.)
Wow, these orientalism concerns just didn’t register to me when I read the article (or the followup today). Sure there was a whiff of exoticism but as other commenters have mentioned, this article is directed towards Americans who have never heard of the golden quadrilateral and haven’t conceived of the notion of Indian superhighways. I drove on sections of this highway in Tamil Nadu in January that were partially finished and open (no overpasses yet though). The experience of approaching a bullock cart going in the wrong direction towards you while you’re travelling at 100 km/h was very disconcerting and certainly merits mention in the article. The buildings with their front faces sheered away to make space for the highway were also quite striking and are also mentioned in the article. Once Manish mentions the list, I sort of see what he’s talking about but it still seems like he’s a bit…hypersensitive. BTW, I was born in India but grew up in Canada. I’m not sure if those are the right credentials to permit me an opinion on the matter.
I’m going to beat this horse, even if it’s dead:
Manish, the difference between your two lists is that the “items” on the India one actually have a [current] sense of social and cultural interconnectivity. They are legitimate topics because they are still discussed, collectively, in India, whereas an article about Pat Robertson, British colonialism, buffalo, etc.–there is no unified contemporary context for such an article. In other words, it’s not the arbitrary Orientalism that you’re making it out to be, it does have some purpose other than to be offensive & oppressive and you should mention that, along with your cynicism, in the post 😉
Secondly, to be fair, the highways project is being discussed everywhere right now, from India Today to Asia Times, The Economist, etc.. And just about every article you read has the same characters: government officials, villagers, merchants and the people on the side of the road. And just about every article takes the same approach of mentioning that the only individuals who might oppose this project are those people who are generally regarded as irrelevant by society (such as workers, women under a tree and other “religious nuts from small towns”). So, it’s not just Waldman searching for Third World archetypes to fill her story, it’s just the way it is.
Ultimately, however, I don’t like the bent of the article because like all NYT articles on India, it falls into the cliche of modernization and talks about the rabid march of India toward a “westernized” world as though the country, after millenia of living larger, stronger and smarter than most nations, suddenly lost its mind completely and decided to become completely American (note: count at least three mentions of America in the last two pages). In that context, everything from gods to villages does seem quaint, silly and easy as dumping Saraswati under a bridge. However, if you asking government official in India if things are that simple, he or she would never say “yes” and that’s where the article misses its mark.
ayy..after reading that long as hell article and now all these comments, I don’t know if I have anything new to say.
Which is naturally not going to stop me from inserting my paltry two cents 😉
I didn’t mind the article so much. I didn’t know anything about that highway, so found the piece pretty informative, and honestly don’t think it resorted to cliches…at least as much as Manish does.
Perhaps the annoying point is that the writer appears to bemoan the loss of the traditional, sacred, etc. on ‘our’ turf… Like, what’s it to her? Why doesn’t the NYTimes write a 5,000 word article (first of a 4 part examination, no less) on the latest SuperWalmart opening in Paducah, KY?
I don’t necessarily hold this view, as I think media interest in other countries is always a good thing, given that most U.S news items are pretty insular. But maybe that’s what irks? That America, the beacon of all that is Western and Capitalistic and whatnot has now garbed itself in a guru’s robes and says (via NYTimes) ‘slow down there, you young hotshot!”…??
Perhaps there is something paternalistic about that.. if that is the case. I don’t know.
The ease with with the writer embroiders her article with Kalis and Saraswatis…it seems a bit glib. But she’s done her homework more than most, and it seems to me like she’s jsut doing her best to provide readers with context that’ll help them understand the significance of what is, essentially, a highway project half a world away.
And AFAIK, infrastructure projects that cater to cities, like this one does, eventually do lead to greater migration to those cities…leading to increased shantytowns and a decimated rural popu…oh, what do I know. There are two more articles up online about this India series that I didn’t get around to reading..
Right now, I think I’m going to pick my battles though, and rage against the acquittal of those shitheads who beat up an old Sikh man.
Manish,
There is very little chance that second-gen complaints about orientalism will be taken seriously by first-genners, when from our perspective, you lot look like the biggest orientalists yourself.
Gabbar Singh, By using the term ‘orientalism’, Manish was referring to Edward Said’s analysis of Western attitudes towards the east in ‘Orientalism‘. Manish was not referring to the ‘Orient’ or East Asia.
Axeman :
Upwards of 90% of first generationers dont even know what “orientalism” is.
and I should add that most first generationers cant get out of the extreme heir-archical view of society, they have internalized.
and I should add that most first generationers cant get out of the extreme heir-archical view of society, they have internalized.
Again, RC speaks truth to power!
RC:
You writing these comments while attending a henna party? Or perhaps a bhangra party (Punjabi folk music, yeah! er, sorry, we first need to drown it with a beat), with samosas neatly laid out, and ditzy second-genners wearing the latest shalwar-kurtas complaining about the heat and dust they encountered in Chandni Chowk on their latest trip to India? Or, maybe because when people write/complain about “orientalism” in a blog whose title includes “Mutiny”, they lose all sense of irony? Perhaps its because they insist on using the word “South Asia”. Perhaps thats it.
Or perhaps its just that people who are obsessed with their low position on a totem pole, are eager to find “others” lower than them: us first-genners with our hilarious accents,which remind you of your poor parents.
It didn’t take too long for generalizations about first-genners to start flying on this thred. Who is treating who as the “Other” now? I did respond in kind. But please, pay attention to how your generation indulges in the same culture-robbing, the same lumping of us into an inchoate mass, and the same old tired retreading of well-worn themes in the narratives that you construct about us.