May I vent? On Sunday I went to the India Day celebration in New York. It was my first one since moving here, after years in a smaller city where there wasn’t much commemoration. Riding the subway downtown I was quite excited. I was also upset that I didn’t have a camera. I wanted to document the event for the mutineers to share in the party. I was annoyed that I’d have to find someone else’s blog or Flickr page to show you images of the day.
So I get down to 28th Street and start walking south on Madison Avenue. The street is empty. That’s OK, I can see the party a couple of blocks ahead. It looks small… but compact, right? Besides, it must spill out onto the side streets that I can’t see from here.
Aha! Here we go. Booths, stands, displays. I’m ready to get my culture on. I’m hoping for musicians, arts organizations, political groups of all stripes, regional and ethnic groups, maybe some cool vendors…
And what do I get?
Shaadi.com
BharatMatrimony
State Bank of India
Direct TV
Satellite TV channel #1
Satellite TV channel #2
Insurance agency
Another bank
… and that’s about it.
I mean, this was pathetic. Pathetic! India Day, commemoration of 59 years of Independence and all that, aunties walking around in tricolor saris, kids with face paint, and almost every single organized presence is hawking middle-class consumer services.
The exception was a bone marrow drive, but even that was being promoted by brothers from a desi fraternity. I’m not hating, especially not on bone marrow drives, but the frat-boy flavor certainly didn’t bring any cultural diversity to the event.
Yeah, there was a stage with performances. Just one stage, and the little I saw was, eh… just OK.
And yeah, I missed the parade. I’d been told to watch for the floats. Well, here’s a brother who took pictures: Corporate flatbeds rolling by empty sidewalks. A few Republican politicians.
The most flavor at the entire event was the Hare Krishnas.
Is it always this way?
still in nyc but never go…does that make me a bad indian?
some of the comments here remind me of things my parents say — they left india in the 60s and are still stuck in the india of the 60s. some of you may wish for an india day without half-naked chicks and annoying vendors, but it makes me wonder how many of you have been to india lately. i just returned three days ago, and let me tell you, you’d be hard pressed to find a tv station not broadcasting half-naked chicks or to walk down the street without being inundated by greedy advertisements (print, person, etc.) perhaps the current india day celebrations are in fact more representative of current indian culture than some would like to admit. i don’t appreciate it myself, but i don’t necessarily feel comfortable criticizing contemporary indian culture, seeing as how i’ve had no part in shaping it. my young nieces and nephews have zero interest in seeing bharatnatyam or learning sanksrit or carnatic music. “too bad,” i think to myself. but in truth, it’s no different from the way most societies have evolved. not saying it’s the right way to go, but let’s not kid ourselves about what images best represent india currently.
milli:
It’s one thing to be stuck in a certain time period and believe firmly that nothing ever changes. This whole idea of a static, stagnant, unchanging India is shared by both many members of the diaspora and also by many non-Indians who go to India looking for some ancient spiritual quest and end up buying a tie-dye Kali t-shirt at some kitsch store in Bangalore for which they end up paying more than if they’d bought it in Manhattan anyway.
It’s another thing entirely to acknowledge the fact that India is changing and dynamic (and always has been), BUT to dislike and critique some of the changes which are taking place. If the rest of the world has such a profound effect on Indian popular culture, why should those in the diaspora be afraid to weigh in as well?
This, of course, applies throughout South Asia and across the South Asian diaspora. I just mentioned India because the thread is about the India Day celebrations.
I was surprised the event was so lean on food. The India Day parade in Chicago, at least when I used to live there, was always held on Devon Avenue, the mecca of Indian food in North America. Other than the food, there wasn’t much to the parade. Once two warring parties held separate parades. People wondered which one was the official India Day parade. I have seen the same politics with the Trinidadian Carnival in Miami.
If ever we have an India day celebration here, which is quite rare, most of it consists of dosa’s prepared in stalls and little children performing Bollywood numbers. yawn
Oh, and it’s not like anyone socialises either. Most have already formed clans(Gujju, Punjabi, etc.) and strangers snub each other. Suprisingly(or not) the Tamils who grew up in North India and the Tamils from Madras(or hardcore as my dad calls them) have their own groups. We sit outside somewhere.
You know what I miss about living in a big desi center as Chicago? All those associations formed along regional or ethnic lines? I used to head one of them. Had a ball. Lots of cultural shows, great buffets, shared experiences from our past – many of us went to the same kindergartens back in India – some healthy backbiting and petty politics, and all for $50 per year memmbership fee. I guess it is a first gen thing.
In South Florida, where I live now, we have over 50,000 desis but only a few such associations.
Floridian, not sure if you’re Tamilian, but I once remember seeing a flyer from the somewhat-active Sooth Florida Tamizh Sangam. For those who don’t know, Sooth means ass in Tamizh. If only they knew they had inadvertently printed the truth about themselves.
Excuse me for being un-PC but when did Madrasis become Tamillians?
Hi Miss Saheli:
OMG, I am TOTALLY for it..and this float will travel across the continent promoting mangoosteen awareness… in parades, gatherings, and festivals 😉
Gasp, my family in TO wasn’t aware of this delicacy before I mentioned it on my neverending hunt…and were super amused with my passionate response when we found them… ahhh… just as the NYT article recently put it..“This is like seeing a unicorn,” .. 🙂
Manoj, I am not a Tamilian. And why do you think those Tamilians were asses who deserved to the self-slandering typo? Were you once a part of that group and have the inside scoop?
:)) Don’t want to name names, but I’ve been to a bunch of their events, and they end up making fools of themselves, esp. them boring stage dramas. What kind of organisations were you hoping to find in S.Florida? I thought there were Indian organizations that hosted some events here, like the Festival of India.
For some reason i don’t think tamilians aren’t the only ones making fool of themselves. I have been to an Indian function represented by Northies. I think embarrassing is a kind word to say.
Manoj, I have been to most of the South Florida events. One of the biggest is organized by AIA. The West Indian ones are pretty good, too. There is one organized by the Indo Caribbean Assn. The Diwali night at the Shiva mandir on Oakland and 29th St (the Trinidadian crowd) is on a big scale since diwali is huge in Trinidad.
Gay pride fests are the same now. Corporate sponsors, corporate booths…there’s very little actual “community” celebration anymore.
…stupid capitalism.
To address the desi-fraternity questions, yes, there happen to be two South Asian-American fraternities in particular which I know are big in PA. IND (http://www.iotanudelta.org/national/), which is based out of Philadelphia I think, and DSI (http://www.deltasigmaiota.org/) which is based out of Pennsylvania State University.
lets all become unemployed communists. It is good for “culture” and “the people” and “society”
The only thing that could possibly be more lame than a lame parade is people that go to them, complain, and compare. Parades are the dullest, most uninspired piece of crap that ever makes its way down New York’s streets. Give it a rest. Let Pakistan dominate the parade scene. Let them dominate in something, for God’s sake. If we keep quiet about this, they’ll stick to parades and leave us alone.
hey now .. im married to one of the founding IND boys. Granted, he’s probably the only one who never drank alcohol and was in charge of all of the money collecting, but hey, still qualifies as a frat boy =)
On the topic of Mangosteens: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/09/dining/09mang.html?pagewanted=2&ei=5070&en=8e1c020f01db87f3&ex=1156478400
There’s something about the mangosteen, amplified by its longtime unavailability, that has driven its devotees to obsession and hyperbole. Thus Rudyard Kipling wrote in 1902, entranced by the fruit’s mystique, “You’ll know what my riddle means / When you’ve eaten mangosteens.”
I strongly disagree. The Thanksgiving parade and the St Patricks Day parade is one of the most colorful, fun, crowded parades of all parades, not counting a ton of other country pride parades that are huge in the city. As someone who works right on 5th Ave this is one of those rare pleasures of life I am grateful for. I love parades. A lame parade is a lame parade is a lame parade. All parades are NOT lame parades. The Indian parade however IS lame.
From what I’ve been told, the Desi fraternities are all gay organizations. Lots of male bonding events.
as an Indian, I would say indian independence should be celebrated in india or may be celebrated in embassies and indian oversees mission. if you are proud to be indian and want to really celebrate , come to india and show your pride. on the other hand I wouldnt want Americans to allow the immigrants to celebrate their individual country days in public. As I see it, all the india day celebration is just an opportunity for indian businesses to sell,or some desi chicks dance to bollywood songs. its sort of trade show in the name of india. no real national pride there!!
1st time I went to this.
missed the prade itself. Ignored the ‘stage performers’.
Interested in two things:
Both were fine. I left happy.
I agree with bombaiaa.
Infact, if it were an official India Trade Fair, it would be better, bigger and more people would attend. Shun the nationalistic slogans. Use it to make money (and keep the chicks dancing & food tasty).
Capitalism Zindabad.
Are there pictures from the Portland event online that anyone knows of?
To anyone who is disappointed with the India Day parade: Why not collect a bunch of friends and join the parade. It will be good exercise and a way to enhance the turnout.
You can watch the world from the sidelines, or you can jump in and change the world a little. The problem with desis is that being educated and somewhat affluent, we are not joiners. Look at the St.Patrick’s Day parades. Hordes of poor Irish people in NY and Chicago saw it as their only opportunity to show off, and there they went parading. Before you knew it, the non-Irish found out it was a good party and joined in the parade. I just don’t see hordes of Indians joining anything – buying tickets to listen to Himesh Reshamiya does NOT count.
According to this article:
i read about this in a local newspaper also. She was supposed to be the Grand Marshall, but couldn’t make it due to this mishap.
NYC peeps,
The West India Day Parade, one of the coolest parades in NYC, is happening today. For those who want to check it out, come to B’lyn.