Spontaneous Dancing

Spontaneous dancing-- something that Indians do well, and frequently. And one of the things that I love about India. Here, two stories of such unexpected, and enjoyable, impromptu dances.

Last weekend I went with my friend to the Wagah Checkpoint, one of India's borders with Pakistan. It's a 6 hour train ride from Delhi, 25 kilometers from Amritsar, and 25 from Lahore. There is a huge iron gate just hanging there between India and Pakistan. On each side, amidst billboards full of pro-India or pro-Pakistan proclamations, are bleachers where audiences can sit and watch the Daily Border Closing Ceremony.

Huge crowds filed in on both the Indian and Pakistani sides, hundreds of men and women, the only differences in the audience composition between the two sides being that on Pakistan, the women wore headscarves and the sexes were segregated. Though these Indian and Pakistani citizens looked almost interchangeable, I reminded myself that only YESTERDAY had been the Samjhauta Express blasts-- terrorist bombs that killed dozens of passengers on a train from Delhi to Lahore, a solitary cross-boarder train that had been dubbed "the Friendship Train." Security guards prowled around the whole complex with rifles pointed in front of them...

In the middle of my apprehension, however, came the uplifting, amazing, irresistible strains of Bollywood music. Yup, blaring away at us right in the midst of all this solemnity. Before I knew it, crowds of people on the Indian rushed down from the bleachers and started jumping and shaking their hips and dancing around to the music (meanwhile, on the Pakistan side, everyone starts crying Allahu Akbar and praying). It was seriously just amazing. After the booty shaking we had some victory chanting:
Bharat.... MATA!!! (Mother India)
Jai... HIND!!! (Victory... or something like that... v common Indian slogan)
Hindustan... ZINDABAD!!! (Long Live India)

to which Pakistan responds with:
Pakistan...ZINDABAD!!!
and a little shouting match commences.
After all of this came the actual ceremony, with soldiers strutting up and down, pretty much like any other military/changing of the guard ceremony that you see anywhere. Quite a remarkable experience altogether, only dampened by the fact that I realized afterward that a security guard had snatched my mobile phone while searching my bag. By the time we figured out what had happened, he was probably well across the border...

The second episode of spontaneous dancing occurred tonight, at a music performance at the Alliance Francaise. The group Darb Al-Harir, with their "fusion Arabic-Indian-Spanish music" gave a fantastic show to an audience of about 50 people, and began a series of highly-demanded encores. Suddenly, a young-ish man sitting near the front stood up and burst into a regional dance from Kutch (western part of India) that kept perfect time with the music. He grooved on for an unbelievable 10 minutes or so, while everyone watched in awe, clapping and shouting him on. The band members even looked excited to be upstaged in such a manner, and it all culminated in everyone shaking their heads and clapping wildly.

As my landlord commented to me in the car the other day, while we noticed that no one stopped at the red light, "This is India. You can do what you like."

Rains and Valetines

This past week has been especially wonderful because a good friend from London arrived last Thursday, to stay for almost three weeks! The only problem is that she seems to have brought British weather here. Last Friday it began raining, and it didn't stop raining until today. We've been jumping around puddles and getting splashed at mercilessly by cars, cows, bicycles, buses, and auto rickshaws (such is the variety of moving items on Indian streets). Oh well, at least this kind of weather makes her feel more at home.

We are going to Rishikesh tomorrow and just booked some other trips for next week- Agra and Amritsar. We've been using the travel agent that planned my parent's trip to India, and I think this guy is used to planning trips for people who are older and somewhat better off... as he sounds flabbergasted and even insulted whenever we request train tickets in a class lower than that which he has suggested. Furthermore, I think he assumed that our trip to Rishikesh this weekend was meant to be some kind of romantic Valentine's Day getaway.

Speaking of Valentine's Day, I should mention that it is an interesting holiday in India. On the one hand, the traditional, pro-arranged marriage people hate it, and newspapers run stories about gangs threatening to assault couples holding hands on Valentine's Day. Most people, however, are uber-into this holiday --probably in reaction to the conservative strain-- and there are all kinds of special dinners and events and pink and red things.

I told my landlady that I was getting together with a few girl friends for a Valentine's Day dinner with food and chocolate and what not, and asked if she could cook me some food to bring. So she got excited all excited and cooked this amazing meal and fit it in a little tiffin for me. For those of you not in the know, a tiffin is a super awesome set of stainless steel bowls that fit together in a little tower- the PERFECT picnic item. The dinner was nice- how can you go wrong with Indian food, chocolate, and tiffins- and when we left, it was non-rainy and not-cold outside. All I can think is that Valentine's Day warmed the heart of the weather gods.

Psychic Vampires, and the Indian Academic Environment

Yesterday I went to the department of child development at Lady Irwin College in Delhi, having heard that one of their specialities is children with disabilities. Indeed, this is true, and I had a most productive meeting with Professor Neerja Sharma. After the meeting, Professor Sharma invited me to attend a student presentation on "Psychic Vampires." Intrigued by the topic, and having nothing scheduled for the next hour, I came along.

According to the female undergraduate who presented, a psychic vampire is one that drains physical and mental energy from others. A psychic vampire can be a person. It can also be a corrupt corporation or government. Apparently anyone can be a psychic vampire, and usually said vampires are those who tend to think their own needs are more important than everyone else's. While I am somewhat dubious about the terminology of "psychic vampire" and the connotations that this implies, I think it is an interesting concept. And one that should inspire self-reflection. Am I, or you, unintentionally, psychically vampirizing someone else?

Due to the unique and thought-provoking nature of this topic, I forgave the student the flaws in her half-hour long presentation. Not so, the professors and other students in the room. Throughout the talk, people burst forth constantly with critical questions and comments:
"This is a terrible example. It makes no sense."
"Did you even read any articles on this topic or did you invent it yourself?"
"Why didn't you speak with any psychologists or scientists?"
"You spoke with a psychologist?"
"Who is he?"
"He must be a false pyschologist then, no?"
Mobile phones also rang throughout the presentation, and while the students would quickly silence theirs, the professors seemed to have no qualms about engaging in a five minute conversation in the middle of the talk.

It is quite timely that I attended this presentation, for I have just agreed to present at a workshop on disabilities at the end of Feb. The Fulbright is actually organizing this workshop, and they are billing it as a way to bring together people working on disabilities in various sectors- schools, NGOs, government. And random, uncategorized people such as myself. My supervisor at the Fulbright says it will be a good way for me to gain "exposure," to make contacts, to practice public speaking... all things that I want and that I can't refuse! But this is supposed to be a 30-35 minute lecture that I am giving, to about40-50 people... umm, intimidating?