Wednesday, August 15, 2007

People Watching : The Indian Experience - I ....

A long-pending post finally gets written now, courtesy, India, celebrating her 60th year of independence; my friend's heavily-flattering appreciation of the people watching section, and my blog-friend's wanting to know more about my concept of Indianness. Most of the incidents given here are now, purely, the author's imagination, and solely, built upon his rich experiences in India.

#1. The Indian Woman (Nari)
There she goes, beautiful in her glamorous Kancheevaram silk saree with a glistening zari border, and a matching blouse; with "minimal" jewellery - matching ear-rings, nose-ring, a necklace, her bangles, her toe-ring, her ring, and her mangalsutra. The red kumkum pottu on her forehead, the mark of nuptial bliss on her parting of the hair, the dab of chandan powder on her face, the kohl lining in her eyes, the virginal red mehendi on her hands, and a string of jasmine flowers on her well-oiled, braided, plait, greatly accentuate her overall beauty. It merits mention that the saree, provides just the right amount of exposure of her delicate skin to both the sun and the human eye. If the husband were a talented vocalist, he would immediately start singing, "Lage tose nain", upon seeing his wife, dressed thus.

#2. The Festival Season
A secular nation with a myriad of customs and cultures, India can easily be regarded as "Europe minus Russia", both in terms of size and the sheer diversity. Further, Hinduism, is characterized by the infinite manifestations of the divine. Each festival has its own appeal, and associated "goodies" therein. Deepavali, Christmas, New Year, Pongal/Sankranti, Holi, Id, Krishnashtami, Buddha Purnima, Mahaveer Jayanthi, Guru Nanak Jayanthi, Ganesh Chaturthi, Dassehra, Saraswathi Puja, etc. Be it the celebration of dolls (Kolu) during Dassehra, the victory of the good over the evil during Deepavali with fire-crackers, the ushering of the new year, the thanksgiving for harvest season during Sankranti, the joy of colors during Holi; the main underlying theme is counting one's blessings in the company of one's near and dear ones. Infact, the entire nation does erupt with pure joy.

#3. The Scene at the Railway Station
With so much of an importance given to the concept of relatives, friends and guests, it is not uncommon for familes to go to the railway stations to send-off/receive their near and dear ones. Moreover, since, the train is the cherished form of transportation for many a person, irrespective of his/her economic status, it is, but, natural that the railway stations are pretty crowded places; thereby providing an amazing setting for the best possible people watching.

An entire coach has been reserved for the bride's marriage party. A group of college students, late adolescents, with their parents and siblings having come to the station to bid them good-bye. A family on a vacation to a distant land in their own country, brimming with excitement. A family reunion in the platform with the long-lost and estranged brother's family coming down over for their niece's wedding. The public service announcements blaring in umpteen languages. Some on a run so as to not miss the train. Jostling and Hustling. A little bit of push here and there. The hawkers and coolies on the platforms. Vocal strains of "coffee-coffee-coffee-ya". An altercation somewhere in the middle of it all between the coolie and the newly-wed couple... and so on.


To be continued....

The Market - The Restaurant - The Game of Street-Cricket - The Indian Classical Music Scene - The Temple Towers - The Brigade Road Experience - The Indian Wedding

6 comments:

Chandrashekar said...

EYE FOR DETAIL..

your vivid descriptions and recollections of the minor details seems amazing.. Too good. Continue rocking...

Alapana said...

Beautiful description,I always feel that a writer is one who can make a reader visualize what he feels,what he describes and each word here makes me feel it,enjoy the vivid memories.

College canteens,Bus stops,Irani chai hotels,While it rains,while waiting in the "Q" at the temple town of Balaji, The great Indian Train journeys and many more....Indian Exp makes up an entire journey of life.

How have you been:)

Rangakrishnan Srinivasan said...

Chandrashekar: Thanks for your comments. You are way too generous in your appreciation.

Alapana: Welcome, back! Its been a long time. Thanks for your comments. You have given me some more topics to write about. :)

How have you been :) ?

Anonymous said...

first of all,the layout is much more stark and enigmatic.

second of all, WOW! it was incredibly detailed.i can see the amount of thought that must have gone into the creation of this unbelievably fulfilling post.

it was worth the wait.

wow!(i think that should count twice)

a topic like indianness has been bandied about so frequently that any long winded views on it would,in the realm of the everyday,seem to be incredibly mundane.

but this account wasn't.

Anonymous said...

and please do increase your font size.mid-mid-mid-life crisis.:)

Rangakrishnan Srinivasan said...

lakshmi: thanks for your generous appreciation. it was a great pleasure (heavily bordering on nostalgia, though!) writing this post. I am really looking forward to writing about the other topics listed down at the end!

I have increased the font size! Btw, I like this present layout. More in line and tune with what I wanted!