Latest posts
Snow on a Sunday afternoon
11/16/2008 9:22:00 PM
Rock paper scissors
Paper wins and
Blankets the rock
Softly steals
The colors
from my window
So the red flowers
That stand before it
Grow redder still.
The Dark Side of the Rainbow
11/9/2008 7:20:00 PM
Barack Obama became President-Elect of the U.S.A. on Nov 4, 2008.
Many Indians and Indian-Americans supported him and were thrilled by his victory. This was in spite of the fact that Indians are very sensitive to distinctions in skin color. Perhaps the Indian obsession with 'fair skin' is relevant only to marriage(i.e. sexual selection) and specifically for brides. It's clearly not something we demand from our politicians.
Indians go to great lengths to avoid a tan, while some Caucasians risk skin cancer to get one (since only the rich can afford to vacation in sunnier climes). It's true that pale skin is rare in India and hence prized for this rarity. Besides, high-caste, rich Indians tend to have lighter skin, although there are too many exceptions for this to be a general rule. This is the consequence of richer men marrying fairer women. As Wiki describes, pale women may have been naturally selected for their greater capacity to absorb Vitamin D and calcium, which is essential for a healthy pregnancy. Or the truth could just be that lighter skin is attractive for some reason buried in our sub-conscious, a universal marker of beauty like even teeth and shiny hair.
It's interesting that this preference does not work in reverse; women do not seem to consider skin color while judging a man's attractiveness. Is this consistent with women just putting physical beauty lower on their list, or is light skin not a factor in their assessment of male beauty? The Indian god Krishna is depicted as blue-skinned, an euphemism for dark skin. The Indian goddess Kali is dark-skinned, but she's 'associated with death and destruction'. In this context, Dark Am I Yet Lovely strikes a poignant chord. There is little doubt that most Indian women are under pressure to look their 'fairest'. When I was growing up, relatives often commented on how I got darker during school terms (outdoor sports) and lighter in the holidays from staying in the house. Before I travel to India to meet my family, I become mindful of avoiding a tan. I hate to admit it but it's true.
However, using Bollywood as an index of public preference in India, many beautiful dark(er) women are making an impact; Bipasha Basu, Nandita Das and Deepika Padukone among them. Their beauty strikes so much closer to home than Aishwarya Rai's. Rai is stunning, of course, but you cannot extrapolate from her to the average Indian woman. Here in the U.S. dark-skinned women of Indian ethnicity are seen as exotic, and it helps that they are often wealthy, well-educated and well-dressed (the last is NOT trivial). So there is a flip side to the coin. I wonder if a gold-tinged complexion like J.Lo's or Halle Berry's is ideal.
As manual agricultural labor in tropical countries becomes more and more redundant, dark skin might eventually overcome its association with low social status?
The Duchess
10/11/2008 4:33:00 PM
'Freedom in moderation' was unacceptable to Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire in 18th century England. Keira Knightley's turn as The Duchess, also known as 'G', does come close to the person described here. Parallels have been drawn between G and Princess Di, but the latter was probably less intelligent and more empowered.
G was bright and assertive but a romantic and impractical woman; the makings of a tragedy. A grand tragedy, because she was in the public eye as the wife of the greatest peer of the realm. The character of her friend Lady Elizabeth Foster (B) provides an interesting contrast; B was a survivor and G was a dreamer. That was a time when women did not inherit property, had no rights over their children, and could be legally beaten and raped by their husbands. Married at 17 to a cold, self-absorbed man(the Duke, played brilliantly by Ralph Fiennes), she spends the rest of her life in 'prison'.
G makes a telling statement when asked about her love for fashion:"You men have so many ways to express yourselves, and we women so few". (Of course, that's not the whole story, or fashion would not be so important in the 21st century. Today, just as in the 18th century, women primarily use their physical appearance to attract men, while men use their wealth, power and intelligence.) G does not lead a completely barren life; she loves her children and is very popular in society; "Everyone loves her except her husband". She has an interest in politics and supports the more liberal party of her day, attending rallies to help draw crowds.
G makes the mistake of inviting her friend B to live with her; the result is an uncomfortable menage a trois with the Duke that she cannot break. Finally, she has a brief affair with Charles Grey, future Prime Minister. She begs the Duke to let her be happy with a 'man who loves me', but this is heresy.
Knightley's perfomance is rather good; she is a bird in a cage that refuses to come to terms with its captivity. It repeatedly throws itself against the bars until every bone is broken.
Watch 'The Duchess'.
Nuke-lar
10/4/2008 9:00:00 PM
The Sarah Palin phenomenon has provided some excellent entertainment over the last month. Her pronunciation of 'nuclear' is just part of the deal. Watch!
My Obamania: Part 2
9/28/2008 11:55:00 PM
Today I saw Barack and Michelle Obama on stage in Detroit, Michigan.
I've been waiting for this a loo-ong time and this weekend I got lucky. The rally was on a Sunday, just 45 mins away from AA, and it didn't clash with anything. Our friends Samrat and Meghana were gung-ho, which allowed Hirak to wriggle out of attending (he's fond of repeating: "all politicians are crooks"). Foolish idealist that I am, I jumped for joy at the chance to go.
We planned our little expedition with great care. Detroit is not one of the safest places in the world, so getting to the venue was our first concern. There were so many variables; how and when to get there, how long we would have to wait in line, what we could carry through security, etc. etc. Since public transport is execrable on weekends (not much better on weekdays), we decided to drive to the venue three hours in advance, look for parking nearby, and if unsuccessful, drive further out and walk from there. We were hoping this 'walk' would not be necessary because Samrat was worried about 'protecting' both Meghana and me. Weighed down by his heavy burden, poor Samrat exclaimed: "Yeh Kathak-wathak mat seekho yaar, kuch judo-wudo seekho!" (I learn Kathak; the translation of this sentence is :"Don't learn this pathetic Kathak dance, learn martial arts instead!" ) We put cash in our wallets so we had something to pacify a mugger with. Meghana and I also resolved to use our rolled-up umbrellas to good effect.
We packed food and water for sustenance over our long wait, took reading material and set out on our pilgrimage. We didn't see crowds until we got pretty close to the arena, so we felt reassured. As soon as we saw a line of folks snaking over the pavement, Meghana and I hopped out of the car and joined it. Samrat drove off to park the car. Meanwhile, we were asked if we had registered to vote. Our dejected reply, was , of course:"We can't vote here". Obama-Biden T-shirts, buttons and even photographs were being hawked up and down the rapidly growing queue.
The composition of people in the line was mostly African-American, reflecting the demographics of Detroit. We spotted only one other Indian with his young son. There were quite a few white folks and a few vaguely Middle-Eastern faces. We chomped through some of our provisions at this point, afraid that food and water would be trashed at the security checkpoint. I was wearing an Obama button with great pride (I wear it to work every Wednesday). The line moved fast and we were at the entry gate within an hour. The security guys were ruthless, as always, and chucked our precious umbrellas, our only means of feminine self-defense :) , straight into the dustbin. Ruing our loss, we walked towards the podium.
The lectern was set up in front of the Detroit Institute of Arts, which has a beautiful facade. The TV cameras were already in place and bottles of water were available for the crowd. Secret service agents were patrolling the tops of tall buildings. We picked up some water and found standing room near the stage (about thirty feet away). Tired, we sat down on the tarmac (I tried to protect the seat of my pants with a political handout) and began to read. By the time the Mayor of Detroit arrived on stage, I had gotten through a few New Yorker articles. Our reading was interspersed with short periods of excitement: once the cameras panned over us, and another time the actor Sinbad showed up.
Samrat was struck by Governor Jennifer Granholm's 'resemblance to Lady Di' (the build and hairstyle from a distance). After a multi-religion joint prayer(Obama has given religion a more prominent role in his campaign, something that will probably help him win in Nov), the National Anthem and the pledge of allegiance, a few short speeches came our way. A woman nearby fainted and a paramedic came over pretty soon. The whole rally was well-organized; at no time was there any chaos. We were watching the time and straining to see the Bidens and Obamas appear. When they finally made their grand appearance, they did not disappoint. All four of them, Barack and Michelle Obama, Joe and Jill Biden, have the physical glamour that politicians need in America. We could see them quite clearly and waved and whooped like mad.
Obama looked just like he does on TV, except that he is slight, more delicate in real life. Michelle Obama is more attractive in person, carrying her impressive height very gracefully. The Bidens are still a handsome couple. Joe Biden talked first and we cheered almost every sentence. Obama followed, and could hardly get started in the ruckus. I shouted "We love you, Michelle" a couple of times, but my lung power is such that the only people who heard that were Samrat and Meghana. Obama thanked the local politicians and Biden for their speeches. Then he praised his wife as his 'rock' and said that Michelle would not speak today, but just "sit there and look pretty".
We cheered him exuberantly and clapped our hearts out for him. The speech was long and covered his usual talking points. He repeatedly emphasized that McCain never once mentioned the middle class in their debate on Friday. I cheered loudest for higher salaries for teachers and increased funding for college students. He looked pretty grim through most of his speech, smiling rarely. I had a decent view of the stage almost continuously, although this required some agile manouevering. (there were three tall men stacked in a column right in front of me; as this column moved and shifted, I made corresponding adjustments to peer through the gaps :).)
Afterwards, I walked back to the car feeling a little high (one shot of vodka on an empty stomach). We were totally satisfied and had no regrets. Mission accomplished and well worth the trouble.
Yes you can, America!