Let’s form a posse

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I’m kind of tired of reading comments right now. Instead, I am going to put up some pictures. When lots of big words make my head spin I like retreating to pictures. The first one is the cover of Time Magazine from this week:

The second picture is from this t-shirt titled “Cowboys and Indians” that an SM reader tipped us off to:

“Cowboys and Indians”

In the dimly-lit opium den that is my head, I thought these two pictures kind of went together given the evolving geopolitical situation.

36 thoughts on “Let’s form a posse”

  2. Regarding the T-shirt:

    Aaargh. Indian warriors also rode horses and didn’t just use spears, they also had swords and (from the late Medieval period onwards) guns such as muskets/rifles etc.

    Sorry guys, Medieval Indian history and warfare is sort of my thang and — for once — I had to object to the stereotype in that image. The horseback-riding sword-twirling warrior also has a certain glamour and resonance from my point of view as regular Mutineers will probably have guessed.

    However, I’m sure I’m just picking holes. It’s a very timely picture and one which gets the message across pretty effectively 😉

    (Especially as “dude on an elephant” automatically equals “Indian” in the eyes of the wider world).

  3. Indian warriors also rode horses and didn’t just use spears

    Heh. I didn’t think it was a spear. I assumed it was a stick to hit the elephant so that it would keep up with the horse. If you are on an elephant then why do you need a weapon? 🙂

    (No Carthage jokes here please. Let’s be sensetive to anyone that knows someone from Carthage 🙂

  5. I am sorry, kind of slow today..can somebody explain the connection between the two pictures, other than both making reference to cowboys?

  6. Medieval Indian history and warfare is sort of my thang

    Do you blog about this? I’d love to read about it.

  7. I assumed it was a stick to hit the elephant so that it would keep up with the horse.

    The guy’s waving it threateningly in the cowboy’s direction, and is holding it like a javelin.

    If you are on an elephant then why do you need a weapon? 🙂

    To fight the enemy soldiers with, dammit. Didn’t you see LOTR: Return of The King ? Or Alexander* ?

    I like the way the desi is chasing the cowboy and the latter is running away. Or is the cowboy just going about his business and the Indian’s chasing him in an effort to catch up ? Depends on your perspective, I guess 😉

    *Okay, I haven’t actually seen the latter yet but plan to do so (admittedly, mainly for Angelina doing her Bad Girl thing again). However, unless I’m mistaken I remember elephant-riding (and distinctly non-Punjabi/non-north Indian-looking) Indian warriors waving spears around in the various “behind the scenes” programmes I saw when the movie was released…..

  8. Time cover: does not seem to have a South Asian angle

    That’s why you have to contemplate them together. This is sort of like going to an art museum and spending some time to interpret the larger meaning of the artist’s work.

  10. Look at the enlarged pic ….it looks like a danda (stick) and not a spear.

  11. P.G. Wodehouse,

    Do you blog about this? I’d love to read about it.

    I’m afraid not (I don’t have my own blog anyway). It’s just a hobby I sometimes like to read up about in my spare time.

    For example, I strongly recommend a book called “The Mughal Throne” by Abraham Eraly if you’re interested in that era.

    There’s a huge amount of other information around too, both on the internet and in “hard copy” form — shop around.

  12. I am sorry, kind of slow today..can somebody explain the connection between the two pictures, other than both making reference to cowboys?

    the cowboy stayed overnight at Gundeep’s motel. He is riding off to the next scrap when Gundeep notices the loo is blocked. So he gets on his ride and gives chase. He says, “Oai Painch**, come back and take care of business at home first”. If you notice, the elephant’s got the horse by the tail. It is a trained elephant.

    Q.E.D.

  14. It’s “Lagaan: Tax Day Rematch” where the elephant riding, gilli-danda playing Indians beat the crap out of the colonialists. Obviously homie is carrying his danda and talking smack about the white sahib’s mother, hoping to entice him into another game…

  15. I actually thought ‘Alexander’ — the Oliver Stone movie — was a very interesting psychological study of the man, and was unfairly bashed by critics. Apparently the idea of a gay, childish, petulant, mother-dominated Alexander was way too much even for liberal Americans/Westerners to accept. But it did propose a very consistent (although somewhat Freudian) explanation of his megalomania.

    Anyway, the fight with the elephant in that movie was pretty awesome. And Indians were shown kicking some Greek a$$, so I’m not complaining that much 🙂

  16. “Anyway, the fight with the elephant in that movie was pretty awesome. And Indians were shown kicking some Greek a$$, so I’m not complaining that much :)”

    If only they had used Indians/Pakistanis instead of Thais..

  18. Why is there an elephant in the desert? If it’s a spear, which it seems to be, why does it not have a point? I think the cowboy looks Latino. Anyone with me? Elephant-riding desi tugging on tail of American horse–metaphor for the paranoia of Americans about increasing Indian geopolitical power?

  20. Heh. I didn’t think it was a spear. I assumed it was a stick to hit the elephant so that it would keep up with the horse. If you are on an elephant then why do you need a weapon? 🙂

    HA!

  21. I just want to know what dimply lights are and how I can get them for my opium den. I have the dimply cheeks already! 😉

  22. I just want to know what dimply lights are and how I can get them for my opium den. I have the dimply cheeks already! 😉

    Saheli, see here. 🙂

  23. I just bought the shirt. So there. C’mon… sense of humour people, at least for a minute.

  24. As always, the sepia masses gloss over the finer points and miss the underlying evil message that is part of the wider Chinese propaganda machine. If one chose to observe the picture through eyes tinted with pragmatism rather than impressionism, the true message behind the picture will be revealed. The elephant has small oriental eyes and is of a fair complexion! Clearly the artist is portraying the new Chinese elephant representing China’s burgeoning economy and political clout. The weak, shrivelled, brown mahout – representative of the Indian economy – is frantically gesticulating with the aid of his walking-stick at the white cowboy to help him alight from the dangerously uncontrollable pachyderm. But, it’s too late as the Oriental elephant has the cowboy within his reach and all will be over soon. The gleaming pointy tusks are nukes aimed at New York and New Delhi. As the setting sun signifies, the future looks very bleak.

    Incidentally, I might spend 25 quid to buy this monstrosity and score with some confused-random-white-chick as she may be shallow enough to consider this for thought provoking abstract art, and me as intelligent and mysterious for wearing it. However, the morning-after, after all scores have been settled, I shall burn this work of pure ulterior motive, flush those ashes down the toilet and leave the seat up as it is supposed to beÂ… Peace

  25. Some would say that the very large, inclined brown stick held aggressively by the Indian, compared to the much smaller gun held by the cowboy, has certain Freudian implications…..

    Not me. Someone else might say it.

  26. Some would say that the very large, inclined brown stick held aggressively by the Indian, compared to the much smaller gun held by the cowboy,

    Mmmmm…I like that thought. 😀

  29. Hey H1biyatch — thanks for the link.

    i particularly enjoyed this . very cathartic. i swear i have a few less lines on my forehead. like turning back the clock.

    Vai o Vai did they have to cancel this show.

  30. HairyD, I’m bit partial to this one, too.

    He said “posse” HIBiyatch! “Posse”!

    yaar, Jai was the one that brought Danda into the equation. I only supported his #25

  31. I only supported his #25

    Is that what you young folks call it these days. From the image above, that looks like hard work!

  32. Vai o Vai did they have to cancel this show.

    Based on interviews I’ve seen of the major actors/writers involved in GGM, apparently even they were never told of the exact reason(s) why the BBC decided to pull the plug on the show.

  33. Jai, at least in the UK they have released a boxed set of all the seasons of GGM. BBC has expressed “no interest at this time” in releasing GGM in NTSC format 🙁 Alas, all I can do is freeload off YouTube for my GGM fix…