Up until recently, I had always assumed that I was one of the few desis who seriously considered herself a goth. No, I don’t walk around in black lipstick and white powder–and that’s one of the misconceptions that I want this post to refute. The Desi Goth is a rare, largely nocturnal species that does not always associate with other desis, or goths. Here are a few simple guidelines.
I do not claim to universally define “Desi Goth.” I leave that to the comments section of this post. In my experience, both desis and goths are very touchy about labeling, which leads to some interesting problems of self-identification. That said, if you’re a Desi, and you find yourself influenced, moved or interested in goth culture, welcome aboard.
A brief history of goth culture here. There are an infinite number of types of goths. Marilyn Manson is not considered goth culture, but don’t tell that to his followers. Victorian goths, with their affinity for cognac and opium, their penchant for wearing ruffles and velvet in summer, their gramaphones and their oil paintings, have very little in common with the punk goth, who wears torn tee’s, squats in a basement apartment, plays in a death metal band, and is covered in Celtic tattoos.
Goth culture never goes away. It goes underground. From the tortured antiheros of Byron’s poetry, to Goethe’s Faust, to tecno-goth masterpieces like Blade Runner and Metropolis, to Noseferatu, Lestat, Dracul and all the other famous vampires, goth culture pops up in cycles in art, literature, pop culture and public consciousness. Particularly in troubled times. (The term gothic originates from the late 18th century, to describe popular and high culture reacting to political and social uncertainty. An excellent resource to the history of the gothic .; note the limited information from a Desi perspective. here
Misconception One: Not all goths work in video stores. There is such a thing as corporate goth. They work from within the system. Admittedly, their attire is restricted, but you do what you can. 5. Misconception Two: Unless you are truly going for the old-school goth look, you do not need to powder your face white, wear racoon eyeliner and black lipstick. The pallor of goth culture goes back to 19th century, when the fetish for mourning culture and death-related rituals (funerals were places to be scene), inspired many to paint their faces a ghostly, spiritual white. Unfortunately, since much of the paint was lead-based, death often followed. Goth culture is about rebellion against the mainstream, not painting yourself like a mime. Some Desis also object to being pale because it reinforces the stereotype that fairer is more beautiful. I honestly think it doesn’t matter, because you can be equally rebellious/surprising in your style by dyeing your hair blue or getting weird colored contacts, or piercings something, or whatever. Or nothing.
You are not bound to like goth culture at large. Ever since my love for Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails faded, I have no interest in “goth” music. Please do not quote Evanescence at me. However, I very much like goth fashion, goth novels and movies, gothic poetry, silent era vamps, and dark science fiction. “Noir” gets my attention immediately. Pick and choose; if you’re not thinking for yourself, you’re not goth.
Goth can work with Desi culture. I began to feel a little conflicted about my interest in Victorian culture–especially the darker side–sex, death, blasephemy–when I realized that, as a Desi, I would have had a very limited place in it. Now I look at it a little differently. For much of European society, desis embodied all of the above elements of sex, death and blasephemy. The Victorian desi was, in fact, very gothic. You may not buy my reasoninig, but the point is that many goths are interested in things that are dangerous, forbidden, devalued, overlooked, or unpopular. It’s not easy, but it forces you to think for yourself and rail against the machine a little.
If you feel the urge to invent a new kind of goth culture, go with it. Tiki goth–collect shrunken heads. Hippie Goth: Jerry Garcia’s moody love child. Medieval Goth–go to that Renaissance fair, dammit! There are many resources for finding your inner goth; you can start with Goth.net. If you can find a better definition for Desi goth, be my guest.
Goth can help you deal with depression, but Goth isn’t about being depressing. Many goths are artists and writers; without them, we would not have Bauhaus songs, Theda Bara films, Emily Dickinson poems or Modigliani paintings. My experience with goths is that they are lovely, tolerant, talented people. My favorite goth artist is Madame Talbot’s Victorian Lowbrow, If you find yourself unable to get out bed, crying all the time, or losing friends, you are not goth. You are miserable, and making people miserable. The trick is–don’t hide from the misery. Do something with it. Create something.
Search for others of your kind. Desi Goths unite!
Can you explain why ?
In your opinion, can a mallu to become a Victorian Goth? There is a sale on at La Senza:)
UberMetroMallu,
No, I don’t think you could. You could try the brown skinned version instead.
Hmmm…I guess nobody really knows what to make of this post, hence the paucity of comments? Or maybe it’s just coz of the Gothic time it was posted at 🙂
That’s an interesting one, comparing Goth philosophy with Tantra. Could you (or someone) draw this out a bit more? I think both of them, in some way, involve countering accepted social norms in pursuit of a higher purpose.
That’s an interesting one, comparing Goth philosophy with Tantra. Could you (or someone) draw this out a bit more? I think both of them, in some way, involve countering accepted social norms in pursuit of a higher purpose.
Tantra can certainly be conceptualized as a movement that counteracted the dominant High Brahmanic paradigm of spiritual enlightenment and its attendant social codes.
The FIVE Ms : Matsya, Madera (fish, wine … gosh I forget the rest 🙂 would seem like passe transgressions today, but for orthodox society, those were very taboo.
Tantrics believed they could attain transecendence of the ego by confronting our taboos, which are, after all, another form of bondage.
They often met and midnight, in graveyards, and they accepted women initiates from all castes (again a big deal in a culture where only male members of certain castes were allowed in theory to recite the Veda).
I don’t think they should be idealized though. Nothing ancient or medieval will stand up to our modern standards. The ritual practice of converting a (willing) woman into godess would certainly be questioned today. But insofar as a desi goth is to some extent desi, tantra (with its myriad traditions that spanned Hinduism and Buddhism), its striking pictoral art, its coherent tradition of spiritual rebellion, is something worth studying. And there are still Tantrics all over. Including people you’d never suspect.
I see that you’re creating your own personal vision of Goth, but I’m a bit confused by your inclusion of Noir. I think of noir as being as different from Goth as punk is. For example, noir clothes are from an entirely different century. It’s hard to be goth wearing high waisted pants and a fedora, but that’s very noir.
Care to explain?
Where are the equations that describe the static and dynamic nature ? I demand a complete analysis.
Zzzzzzz…..
I always thought goths were just a bunch of kids who listened to bauhaus way too much.
Hi Neeraja,
Enjoyed this post very much.Thank you.
So, have you found/met any desi goths recently to change this assumption? I guess there are many among us who refuse to lead ‘lives of quiet desperation’ and also try to ‘think for ourselves’. May be there are more goths among the Desis than one would expect.
You mean, you are defining your brand of Desi Goth this way, right? I donno if I can call my self a Goth (will blog about it tomorrow), but I feel that a Desi Goth could be some one who may or may not associate with other Desis or Goths as a Goth. Like a corporate goth leaves his/her gothicism at home and goes to work, a Desi Goth (like me?) may want to hide my gothic self away from the uninitiated.I donno.Just thinking aloud.
I buy your reasoning. Lock, stock and an unknown number of smoking barrels.
Yes, I think it does.I wish you’d expanded on it a little more though. However, I don’t think it works in the way Dakhni and Eddie mentioned (Aghoris). Dakhni, you were pulling MetroMallu’s leg there, I think 🙂
Then how does Goth work with Desi culture? I think I will wait for others to have their say now. I want to get rid of the habit of long winded comments and use all that verbage for my blog instead.
But I can’t resist ending with a quote from my favorite gothic poet:
“Verse, fame and beauty are intense indeed But Death is intenser; Death is life’s high meed”
-Keats, from ‘Why Did I Laugh?’
I thought it was because they already wrote about this months ago.
Neeraja: Yes, we all get it, no need to keep harping on it. You’re unique-just like everyone else. As someone who had been excited to learn of you when they announced you would guest, I hope you have something else to say during this month. I also hope you deign to answer some of the questions which you’re asked. If it pains you to do so, then just think of all the angst it can generate.
Hi Neerja
Why must you go out of your way to label yourself. And why a Goth. We already get labels stuck on us by society. Sorry, but I get irritated when people do that. Not because I don’t like their interests but because they use it to exclude others. Oh, you don’t have a Nine Inch Nails poster up on your wall, we must have nothing in common. The whole Goth thing is for poseurs. I feel like I’m repeating my arguments from the 90’s.
Well, I’m of Indian origin, and have always had an interest in goth fashion, but I feel like I am neither a real desi (because my family is Tamil and Christian and I am very westernized) or a real goth (because I am not familiar with goth music). But both Indian people and goth people that I’ve come across are quite nice and don’t tend to ostracize me for these things (now, for not going to medical school…that’s another story). So yay.
And hey. We already have the angsty black hair! ^^
You have only had 2 posts here but I dont thi nk I will ever be clicking on your posts again……you seem to have a personality I dislike
A group of one, or two or three individuals who like the sound of the word ‘goth’ and need to see themselves as different and interesting does not a sub-culture or movement make… despite invoking all that history and references!
Now that sounds exactly right…just a desi who’s influenced, moved or interested in goth culture. Do you simply mean you’re someone who tries to rebel against norms?
On the other hand, we’re all welcome to define ourselves with any labels we choose, I guess, but I suspect your choice of label will outrage ‘real’ goths even more than Marlyn Manson trying to cash in on their ‘cool’ :)!
pic of a cute goth
this is all so very weird, because it was just last weekend when we had company over at the house when Barinder Uncle reached over for a fresh alfonso and exposed what appeared to be BLACK FINGERNAILS that i would’ve typically dismissed as him “goofing off” but placed in the context of this recently acquired knowledge of “desi goth” makes me ill at ease and question his real agenda. but then i remembered what he said shortly thereafter, about how his son, Venky, had just scored a 791 on his GMAT and asked if i had any intention of pursuing an MBA and realized that, he is, in fact, just another douchey uncle.
now if we could please get back to why India still hasn’t decommissioned the “Ambassador” as a government vehicle i think we would all feel a lot more comfortable. i mean, c’mon, those things don’t even pass for retro anymore.
Re-reading my post it sounds a little too harsh 🙁
Hey, go ahead and be a desi goth if you want to! After all, we have a great tradition of walking around with ash smeared all over our faces too (not to mention the other Ash searing into our brains right now…sorrry, couldn’t resist!)
–Finkie, slightly guilt-ridden about chasing away new SMer
791?? Is that for real?
Why are you people being so hard on Neeraja? And Neeraja, how come you posted so rarely this month?
I don’t think Manson identifies himself as a goth, and many goth ‘zines and websites accuse him of stealing goth imagery solely for its shock-rock purposes.
Eddie: wonderful post about the tantra. It does have some goth-like tendencies, as does Kali worship, which was so feared by colonialists. I agree that tantra need not be idealized to be questioned/explored/whatever.
Kumar: As a matter of fact, the inspirations for this post was a Desi-Goth couple I met a couple weekends ago at a party. She wore her hair bright red and he had black nailpolish with little stars on the tips. They looked much more stereotypically goth than I did, and said to me “hey, write a desi goth manifesto.” See–I wasn’t too drunk to remember. 🙂
And nice Keats quote.
Sarita: Trust me, I know the feeling. I can’t stand all that deathrock either. But that isn’t all of what goth culture is about. For me it started out with a fascination for corsets–girl goths seems to love corsets.
Ms. Fink-Nottle–no need to apologize. I found your criticisms to be far more gracious than others. Labels are always a touchy subject, for those who wish to define them, and for those who deny them.
Brooklyn Brown: Here are the answers that you requested: No, but I like watching the two interact. No, I actually like it when desi do participate in these movements. I find it interesting. Since it seems to matter, yes, I have had desi friends as long as I can remember. And I find it fascinating that “Do you have any desi friends?” is always a concern for those who don’t agree with a post.
Amitabh, thank you for your gentlemanly defense, and asking a question instead of making an assumption. My coworker and friend lost his father suddenly last Thursday, which means I am trying to play both good friend and emergency project manager. I am hoping things will calm down before the end of this week.
Perhaps of greater concern to me right now is that my previous post was deleted! What the f*ck is up with that??
It’s not that I disagreed with your post. It’s that I thought your post said nothing, so I was hoping that you would expand on wherever you wanted to go with that. The reason I asked if you had any desi friends is because all of my desi friends have been rebels of one sort or another. You seem to want to show your uniqueness, as if that were a manifesto. I guess I’m saying I’m not seeing anything now that I haven’t seen before, so give me more to go on.
My bad. 🙁 I might have done that accidentally. I’m sorry. No wonder they won’t promote me beyond simian-poo-cleaning.
“Goth” fashion designer Karen Patwa’s new store–Dangerous Mathematicians–is opening tonight (6/1/06) in NYC. It’s on the LES at Rivington between Clinton and Attorney. The opening party is tonight–with wine, cheese, and lots of corsets.
Just thought I’d pass on the information.
Neeraja —
Love the invitation to define desi goth without straitjacketed limits — I’m certainly all for antiessentialism. 🙂 But if you were to affirmatively define what goth is (at least for you), how would you do so? Most of your post seems to be defining possibilities left open, but certainly one could conceivably read what you’ve written here and think that almost anything goes — and maybe that’s precisely what you mean to say, but what’s left then? would you identify any nonnegotiable, central core elements of goth culture and being goth for you?
And what happens when goth morphs? I know you said goth music isn’t quite your thing anymore, but that’s what comes to mind, so let me stay at that level: I take it from your links that Joy Division and Bauhaus (love both) are archetypically goth — what about New Order and Love and Rockets (love both)? Are they sellout goths? ex-goths? or just goth gone middle-aged, making, remaking, and redefining goth itself? (techno goth??) and what about…. ok, maybe that’s enough questions for now 🙂
AK
Your post is more articulate than my (now deleted) post in which I said that neeraja uses the term goth in a way that’s either synonymous with the term rebel or just makes the term vacuous. Either way, her post wasn’t all that informative, and it would be great if she provided more details about what being a goth actually means.
SM Intern
No worries. Glad to see it was accidental instead of being censored, since I don’t think I said anything deserving of censorship.
Crap. I’m a total corporate goth!
Thanx for the post. Goth culture has always eluded me. I have never wanted to judge it because I do consider myself a free and experimental thinker, but I would never consider myself as Goth. To me, Goth meant anyone with an interest in death, dying and the disturbingly bizarre. None of which I really have an interest in. Your explination of an interest in things that others consider dangerous, forbidden etc. is more complex and perhaps more interesting. The question is then what others, as a mainstream, consider dangerous, forbidden etc. Would consideration and experimentation of social relationships that are far out of the mainstream qualify as Goth ? Would gay desis qualify as Goth in today’s rural Des ?
Amrish Puri in Indiana Jones’ Temple of Doom was definitely Goth. So I do have a concept of the Indian Goth, I may not quite have called it that way though.
neeraja: are you a guest blogger? you are not neha or from one of the SM crew.. just curious.. haven’t seen your name ever… or maybe this 2:30am thing is messing with my brain…
Desi Goth? Then why didn’t I see you when my old band played Drop Dead Fest at the Knitting Factory in NYC. I met plenty of Desi goths, the old drummer for Southern Death Cult went on to form Fun Da Mental, while orientalist Peter Murphy ocnverted to Islam. The editor of Spooky Magazine was born in Karachi. I used to swing with all the Goths. And note from the wise, the Gothic subculture emerged independently of the metal sub culture. It shares the dark themes, but hell, Medhi Hasan shares some dark themes too.
Chuckaday!!
Basim
Hello Neeraja,
Pleased to meet you!!! I am also a Desi Goth, and have been one for almost 20 years now. You are right when you say that there are not very many of us. However, I do know a few others–Karen Patwa, for instance.
Please feel free to visit my blog: http://demondoll2001.livejournal.com/profile
I’m looking forward to your future posts! 🙂
Take care, Demondoll
It’s a bit hard to describe goth culture, but I can give you an idea of how I see it.
I don’t think it matters if you paint your nails black or listen to Manson, but I do think that most goths have a desire to be different, out of the mainstream, or, better yet, opposite the mainstream. I think people turn to goth culture when they’re tired of the false perkiness in the media, the product placement in all our shows, the idea that nothing is really wrong, because we’re in America, and the world’s problems are elsewhere. I think goths are unwilling to hid behind fake smiles when things are bad.
Now how is this different from the rebel? It isn’t, entirely. But I believe goth culture is particularly artistic. Teenage goths may be prone to moping and spouting suicide lyrics and gloom and doom–it’s certainly the stereotype. But many goths take their urge to be different and try to express it through music, fashion, and art. This is why goth fashion keeps coming back–simply because so much effort goes into it. Fashion becomes a means of rebellion–sometimes quiet rebellion, like wearing all black to your corporate job, or a small skull necklace.
Another aspect that I associate with goth culture is the idea of choice–choosing to be different. This is looked down on by many–why do you just want to be “different?” Who do you think you are? Why do you care? But in some ways goth is always going to be a reaction to mainstream. I get tired of being inundated with J.Lo and Sienna Miller and Jennifer Aniston, mostly because I don’t see them as role models, or even fashion models. I think the way that goth separates from instinctive, often pointless rebellion because it is always choosing and self-identifying–what works for me? Long after the person/idea you’re rebelling against goes away, the effect of discovering the subculture remains.
There is a lot of posing in goth culture. For some it’s all one big show. The idea that darkness (or depression, or tragedy, or terror) can be transformed into a story or into artwork is very appealing, somehow managing it as well as –dare I say? beautifying it. This is why gothic novels have moments of the sublime as well as the terror.
Of course, if this is all too much trouble, you can just join the established goth culture in your area, and hope that Addams Family vibe fits right in. There are enough signposts–the look, the literature, the music, the trademark themes of rebellion, death and blasephemy–to alert everyone that you have gone goth. Frankly, posing doesn’t keep me up at night, so long as you don’t use your own goth definition to ostracize others. Goth culture is made up of people who didn’t fit in–it’s ridiculous to be exclusionary. But, like any other subgroup, it often is.
For example, I have met very few desis who bridge the goth and desi worlds. It tends to be one or the other. Of course, I am happy to be proven wrong.
Many thanks for the links on this post–I am very interested and will follow up on them…
Having read your last comment 33, I’m starting to realize that I may be a goth. I’m not talking about wearing skull necklaces or all black, but the idea that a goth somehow doesn’t fit into the mainstream. The part about not wanting to hide behind fake smiles is what I relate to the most. Ofcourse if being a goth means I have to now belong to and socialize with a subgroup, well, that’s certainly not me!
I would never call myself goth which sounds twee and adolescent, though do enjoy things gothic such as Poe.. movies like 7 or the Omen (original). I wear a lot of black, but not all the time, lace and velvet on occasion. From time to time I have enjoyed “proto-goth” bands incl. the Damned, Cure, Siouxsie, Sisters some of whom also have crossover appeal to punk and new wave.
So what is it Neeraja? Are you a nerd, a geek, a goth, a desi, a lawyer, a writer, or what?
Quite simply, I find your definition of Goth to be quite lacking, and reflective of some desire to place yourself outside the “mainstream” community, which is pretty hilarious given your context on this site. Nearly everyone on here is not white; how many Desis do you see represented in the media as positive role models? Nearly everything written about India is negative, or horribly misinformed. Also, most of the people on here are not Christian, which again places them solidly outside the mainstream. And what is this “mainstream” anyways? What is it that you define yourself against? A lot of people are sick of product placements, media drivel, and narrow, caucasian definitions of beauty. That’s called being intelligent, informed and open-minded. It seems to be you are very interested in posing yourself as somehow more daring than the rest of us. I think it takes a lot of guts to be yourself, regardless of how you dress or what art you like. I like metal, rap, humanistic art, eastern philosophy, baseball, trance, video games etc. Do you have a label for me? As Ellison puts it so beautifully; “I yam who I yam.” If you aren’t attempting to define “desi goth”, than what’s the use of the term at all. In fact, why indulge in such juvenile labels anyways? I used to think I was a punk when I was younger, until I realized that the very act of trying to be a punk was sooo unpunk. That’s when I decided to just be myself without going for any particular image or look. It’s worked out pretty well.
I don’t really know what I think about Neeraja’s post but I like Dark Knight’s comment. People put to my energi in labelling everything and trying to fit into certain categories. For an example that they are goths if they do certain things like wearing black nail polish instead of just being themselves. I don’t really know what a goth is. I always thought that being a goth means that you see the world from a diffrent angle than everybody else. Which might lead to that you like certain music or black and gothic clothes, dark poetry and vampires. But I don’t think it’s necessary to like these things to be a goth. I think it’s more of how you think and look at everything around you that makes you a goth…seeing things diffrently than a lot of other people…but what do I know?…I’m just a indian girl from scandinavia. I don’t think I’m a goth and I have never seen myself as one. I’m just different.
It seems youre just trying to be a goth…goth is about white people celebrating white culture,..the article seems to be a whole load of excuses about why you arent a real goth….just face it,youre trying deperately to include yourself in a subculture which is not about people like you thats why you seems constantly be trying to define it in a way that accomodates you. Im not saying youre a fake,but i seems you havent found out who you are and with that there is nothing wrong,at least youre looking deeper..but youll properbly find the elements you find arresting in goth in your own culture..after all the kalima cult and all the other dark hindu mythology is paralell to nordic myth which inspires much of contemporary so called gothic kids,especially the black metal scene.If youre talking old school goth,then the inspiration is again something so steeped in european antiquity i cant see it having any real meaning for asian kids. Desi and goth doesnt go,my naturaul insiincts always find it ,for want of a better word crap.Like vanilla ice trying to be a bboy or something. Some desi kid or two might pull it off and it really suits them,and you can tell that they are forreal..but for most it doesnt look right. Also thats not necessarily true for all asian cultures. Some other asian cultures like japan actually are more naturually gothic than western culture and if i see a japanese goth it seems oddly fitting.Their is an aesthetic tradtion of morbidity and sparseness in japanese culture that is even more heightened than the european.
Brown on the outside ,white on the inside?…???There is a word for that its coconut. Goth celebrates the whiteness more so than any other youh cutlure,to me a coloured goth is a ridiculous as a white rasta wannabe.rasta snt necessarily racist and im certainly not saying goths are rascist,they are merely asserting pride in their european heritage which is being lost in modernity.
Ive seen goths and punksinthe asian scene..some of them look like they belong,most of them dont and are just tryingto be different or ftiing in with their white peers or whatever..e..this is partly due to the fact that desi people havent developed theyre own youth cultures as of yet .
Goth can help you deal with depression, but Goth isnÂ’t about being depressing. My experience with goths is that they are lovely, tolerant, talented people.
i would seriously dispute that..gothic culture is a celebration of depressive state,that the state itself is something to be valued and has some spiritual value of itself.And as for your experinces of goth people.it seems a very superficial one..i dont think the founders of the gothic style of music and culture were lovely and tolerant,they were seriously fucked up and the culture they created was a celebration of being fucked up !
To me it just seems that youre completely missing the point about the goth mind set and its because you are a desi and therefore cannot graps what it really means to be a goth.You actually validate my understaning(right or wrong as it may be ) that goths cannot be desi.
But you’re a desi too; doesn’t that mean that you too are completely missing the point about the goth mindset?
Why is she obligated to interpret goth, or any of her other interests, via her own culture? And why does she have to know about her own culture to find out who she is? I’m not convinced that either of these assertions are true for everyone.
A few commenters here have said something similar. If she chooses to identify as Goth, why should you feel offended or excluded? Maybe she just likes the corsets, color scheme, literature, art, etc.
Dear Neeraja, i admire you very much for posting your insight on Desi Goth. As an American born Desi who is very influenced by Gothic culture, i felt as alone as you did. For me it was very difficult to “fit in” to the Desi society in my black clothing and “strage” music. I was shunned at gatherings and parties because I was automatically labeled as the “Satanic Slut” and nobody wanted their kids to associated with me. It is in fact, very hard to be able to maintain a life in both lifestyles, because as you know, most Desi parents do not raise their kids to listen to Cradle Of Filth, HIM, and Marilyn Manson, but to eat rice, respect their elders, and marry into good families. On the other hand, i am not ashamed at all to admit that i do immerse myself in Desi culture as well, and I appreciate Bollywood movies as much as the next Desi. I’m glad to see that I am not the only “Desi Goth” out there, and it helps to know that there are others out there like me. If there are any Desis out there who are interested in Goth culture, please feel free to chat sometime, I am eager to meet others like myself. Thanks, Cynthia. http://www.myspace.com/vampirekiss13
I am Indian and also listen to extreme black metal but dress like your averge joe. Just thought id mention it 🙂
Question(s): does one really have to know stuff about goth culture before being one?
I like goth fashion, i dress like one, i like skulls, i wear black like everyday, would goths find it offensive if people dressed like a goth but dont really know much about it?
Is it really necessary to listen to goth music like heavy metal..to be one? (I prefer listenin to a lot of R&B, bhangra and bollywood stuff and a bit of rock on the side)
I’m not a real goth(considering my knowledge about goth culture :S)i wanna know more about it But i seriously love their art, the way they dress is just different, and it stands out as well Goths are pretty cool people once you get to know them. they are not like what they seem to be 🙂 As a desi Christian myself..my parents dont like it when i wear devlish outfits..they totally loathe it..and even when i go out people just stare like you’ve come from outer space or something :/ and they go like “you’re desi, desi’s dont dress like a goth, don’t act all ‘angrezified'” n im like ” am i bovvered?..eh NO! just get lost” y’know.. it annoys the heck outta me!
Desi goths outside the UK and who are plannin to come to London, never leave the country without visiting Camden Town lol..its just the place to be if you like Goth culture..i seriously recommend it.
Maybe you should read this…it clears up a lot of things. http://anon.razorwire.com/real-goth-faq/
Bleedin’ brilliant Niraja. Here’s another Indian who considers herself a goth.(Though I’m not a huge fan of goth music, I’ve been attracted to the mentality…And I really loved the bit you wrote about creating something with your misery.)
Hmmmm! Interesting.
Wyverex Bloodline.
Being or not being a Goth is mental and which shoud reflect, to varying degrees, in the physical. There are 7 (mental) planes and each of these 7 planes have 7 sub-planes (all of which are Planes are of MIND). The higher degrees of Goth know the following:
“THE ALL is MIND, the Universe is Mental, expressed and held in the Mind of THE ALL, in which MIND we live and move and have our being. There is no great, there is no small, in the MIND that causeth ALL.” Nothing rests, everything moves, everything vibrates (moves in circles and/or the figure eight (8); to change your mood or mental mental state, change your vibration.”
IAMI
Wyverex Bloodline.
METAL IS NOT GOTH! You can wear all the black in the world and act all “satanic” as you like listening to bad poser black metal cough COF, but it’s not goth!
Just because your a metalhead who listens to shitty metal does not mean your goth. BTW: I’m not ripping on metal (just BAD METAL), I freakin love metal but those two totally DIFFERENT GENERES!
Goth is so much more then just wearing all black. You gotta go to the clubs, get your gro0ove on, show off to all the white motherfuckers that your better then them because you got that flavor in your blood.
I go to goth clubs and everyone is just mesmorized by me dancing . I combine a lot of belly dancing, moves from bollywood films, and industral, so it really gets everyone watching!
I’ve managed to create my own form of dance, even though gothic belly dancing is very popular. But it still doesn’t mean they know to do IT RIGHT!
I’m pretty goth, but I rarely label myself that. I label music goth, but even then I use terms like dark-wave or death rock to descibe the music.
So yeah. Sending some doomful hate/love back to you all. Great little article, I’m only ripping on some of the losers who responded.
Keep gr0o0vin, stay sp00oky, and i’ll see you on the dance floor.
lol internet
You know what I hate? When people call me ‘white-washed’ since I’m seen as gothic/metalhead/rocker. It really makes me angry.
is this comunity dead?whjy arnt there any active members?someone say something..this is the ONLY dei goth page,,please keep it alive thnks!