India

What is India known for? - Kairavi Sarup

India is the land of bubbling brooks of spicy chicken curry, of monkeys swinging from dense jungles while the elephants watch and of heart wrenching, mind numbing cinema. When asked about what they know about ‘contemporary India’, most non-Indians’ replies range from “good economic growth” to “Sunny Leone”. The nature of stereotypes is cloying; they paint a melodramatic picture of exaggerated reality. However, the key words here are ‘melodramatic’ and ‘exaggerated’. While stereotypes may be memorable, even exciting, it is wise to remember that they often cannot represent the entirety of a culture appropriately. Hence, even though this article is meant to be about what my country is known for, I will write about what my country is. There is a world of difference between the two.

To begin with, India has as many names as it has languages – Studies have calculated that more than 800 tongues are spoken in my country. The beauty of Hindustan is that we are not a nation. Rather, we are a coalescence of thousands of cultures, coexisting in harmony with each other as well as Western influenced culture. My balcony overlooks a vast expanse of cityscape and standing by the railing, I can see low bungalows, high rise apartments, hotels, the snake like metro, Lamborghinis, rickshaws, buses, bullock carts, posters for politics, advertisements for films and the odd stray pig/cow/dog/cat/donkey. From my window, I also see a mosque, a Gurudwara (a Sikh place of worship), various temples and other assorted places of worship. However, we are not without our occasional riots and misunderstandings. We live in a time when good news isn’t really news at all, so one riot counts for more than a billion people of different faiths coexisting. This multitude of cultures has definite perks though. For the culinary enthusiast, this means that ‘Indian cuisine’ does not really exist. Every state, no, every village has its own set of unique dishes, making it a delight to eat anything in India. It is wise not to be an idiot and consume chutneys made from tap water, though. ‘Delhi belly’ is a very real possibility.

It’s true that India has much to admire and emulate. However, as an educated Indian citizen, a third culture kid and not least, an IB student, I know that every naan (flat bread) has two sides. India is also a nation of hypocrisy and suppression. Recently, a group called ‘All India Bakchod’ conducted a roast – an evening where a group of highly influential celebrities got on stage and insulted the pants (quite literally) off each other. It was hilariously irreverent, ridiculously insulting and completely consensual and the video on YouTube got more than 7 million likes in less than a week. The boldness of their language and actions was appreciated and condemned in equal measure. However, within a few days, the group started getting threats from influential politicians and took the video down. Freedom of speech is a domestic right. If Karan Johar (a well-known director and admitted homosexual) wants to tell the world which sex position he prefers, that is his right. Groups which advocate misogyny, sexism and homophobia and individuals who normalized rape by saying, 'Boys will be boys, they commit mistakes' and that homosexuality is a disease that can be cured by practicing Yoga have no right to decide that the youth of Hindustan is being 'misled'. India is a hotbed of diverse cultures and opinions which have coalesced and coexisted for thousands of years. However, we are also a nation of hypocrisy and corruption. Politicians seek to eliminate sex education in schools because they believe the youth will get the wrong ideas, yet refuse to ban our current party anthems, most of which revolve around the themes of alcoholism (‘Chaar botal vodka, kaam mera rozka. Na koi mujhe roke, na kise ne toka’ – Four bottles of vodka are my daily conquest. No one dares to stop or chastise me.) and eve teasing (‘Raja beta banke maine jab sharafat dikhayi, Tune bola 'hatt mawaali' bhaav nahi diya re. Acchi baatein kar li bohot, Ab karunga tere saath Gandi baat...’ – When I approached you gently, like a prince, you told me to back off. Now I’ve spoken too many honeyed words and I’m going to do ‘bad words’ with you). The Indian youth is not innocent. After all, music like this is rampant, alcohol easily available and porn free. They will not be greatly misled by honest, if slightly exaggerated, displays of sexuality. Despite the video being taken down, It’s liberating to see something so bombastic performed in the country bound by a thousand traditions.

In conclusion, India is an amalgamation of mixed faith, humanity, and attitude. To summarize a country of 1.2 billion individuals into a few stereotypical concepts is impossible. Therefore, why bother? One should just visit Incredible India and decide for oneself. I promise this is not a propaganda article – it’s not reverent enough. Stereotypes can’t be eliminated, but we can strive to propagate correct information. For instance, believe it or not, we Indians are freaking tired of being asked whether we speak ‘Hindu’.