Cowboys and Indians
I just returned from a party an American friend threw after his return from a backpacking trip to India. See invitation below:
The party was as "cool" as promised, with guests mostly grad students from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) - PhDs in Human-computer interaction, Robotics, psychology of language, pattern recognition - you get the picture. They were American (of course), Chinese, Austrian, Iranian, Slovakian, and Indian (me, the sole representative :) There were even 1-2 gothic people with "interesting" attire, purple colored hair, studs, piercings, grunge looks - the works. So here I was, in my kurta-pyjama, with all these guys strutting in cowboy hats (and a 2-3 really cute cowgirls - married or dating already, unfortunately).
I took a few North Indian snacks/sweets to balance out the South Indian tilt - samosas, jalebis, laddoos, and barfi. Everybody enjoyed the snacks, though the two favorites were the Lays "Masala" chips, and Britannia Little Hearts. The betel nut was a huge hit - the host had it in many forms: pan masala-type pouches, "raw" nut in ZipLoc bags, leaves to smoke in a pipe etc. I learnt today that this nut is considered at the same level of potency as mariguana (!)
What really got the party going, though, was (believe it or not) Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gum. He turned on a DVD, and instantly several guests stopped their conversations and were glued to the TV. "Oh, this is an awesome movie". "I love Pooja". I felt almost stupid - the goth girl, the host, and all these other Americans had seen this movie, and me, the only Indian, had not!
We sat through all the songs, with those new to the Bollywood genre completely entranced. After watching all the songs, they turned on the movie, and watched the whole thing (without sound - just subtitles). Hritik, Kareena, Kajol, Shah Rukh, and Amitabh were stars. The audience loved the rich costumes, the flamboyant sets, the embellished dances - the whole concept of musical videos in every movie. It did not fit their current Hollywood- (or Indie movie) based cognitive model. The goth guy (who had seen the movie many times) would not stop raving about it, and about Kajol.
Comments ranged from "omigod, her whole dress is cutaway" to "so, why doesn't he tell him he's his brother", to "I love his (Hritik's) neon-green T-shirt". Pretty normal comments, except just moments before the same people were discussing the plight of freudian-marxist-based film-review textbooks on Horror movies (I'm serious), the sprawl-eradicating philosophy behind city-planning in Germany, and the hallucinogenic properties of various drugs.
This was a surreal experience.
I've got to go sleep now - I promised a friend I'll go to church with her tomorrow. She's got a solo performance on the choir. It's a very liberal church, with urban professionals of all denominations, including "Evangelical Athiests" - an oxymoron if there ever was one. Tomorrow, too, shall be fun.
THE COWBOYS AND INDIANS PARTY
"Most un-PC party idea of the year" -- PC Magazine
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To commemorate my recent trip to India, and my Texas heritage, I am throwing a Cowboys and Indians Party.
Please dress as any type of Cowboy or Indian you like (ie, a Dallas Cowboy, in a Cowboy hat, a calf, wearing a sari, dhupati, or dhoti, with a dreamcatcher in hand, etc). If you don't have anything to wear, come anyways. Stick-on bindis will be available for those in need.
Come early to try south indian snacks and soft drinks. Come later to try the mysterious but strangely intriguing betel nut. Come still later just to party and get down to the funky Bollywood groove. Come even later and find me wondering why you're at my apartment on Tuesday at 6 am.
There will be the traditional refreshments, both ethanolic and non-ethanolic. Bring anyone, as long as they're cool.
The party was as "cool" as promised, with guests mostly grad students from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) - PhDs in Human-computer interaction, Robotics, psychology of language, pattern recognition - you get the picture. They were American (of course), Chinese, Austrian, Iranian, Slovakian, and Indian (me, the sole representative :) There were even 1-2 gothic people with "interesting" attire, purple colored hair, studs, piercings, grunge looks - the works. So here I was, in my kurta-pyjama, with all these guys strutting in cowboy hats (and a 2-3 really cute cowgirls - married or dating already, unfortunately).
I took a few North Indian snacks/sweets to balance out the South Indian tilt - samosas, jalebis, laddoos, and barfi. Everybody enjoyed the snacks, though the two favorites were the Lays "Masala" chips, and Britannia Little Hearts. The betel nut was a huge hit - the host had it in many forms: pan masala-type pouches, "raw" nut in ZipLoc bags, leaves to smoke in a pipe etc. I learnt today that this nut is considered at the same level of potency as mariguana (!)
What really got the party going, though, was (believe it or not) Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gum. He turned on a DVD, and instantly several guests stopped their conversations and were glued to the TV. "Oh, this is an awesome movie". "I love Pooja". I felt almost stupid - the goth girl, the host, and all these other Americans had seen this movie, and me, the only Indian, had not!
We sat through all the songs, with those new to the Bollywood genre completely entranced. After watching all the songs, they turned on the movie, and watched the whole thing (without sound - just subtitles). Hritik, Kareena, Kajol, Shah Rukh, and Amitabh were stars. The audience loved the rich costumes, the flamboyant sets, the embellished dances - the whole concept of musical videos in every movie. It did not fit their current Hollywood- (or Indie movie) based cognitive model. The goth guy (who had seen the movie many times) would not stop raving about it, and about Kajol.
Comments ranged from "omigod, her whole dress is cutaway" to "so, why doesn't he tell him he's his brother", to "I love his (Hritik's) neon-green T-shirt". Pretty normal comments, except just moments before the same people were discussing the plight of freudian-marxist-based film-review textbooks on Horror movies (I'm serious), the sprawl-eradicating philosophy behind city-planning in Germany, and the hallucinogenic properties of various drugs.
This was a surreal experience.
I've got to go sleep now - I promised a friend I'll go to church with her tomorrow. She's got a solo performance on the choir. It's a very liberal church, with urban professionals of all denominations, including "Evangelical Athiests" - an oxymoron if there ever was one. Tomorrow, too, shall be fun.
