Adam Barkl's Indialog

Holi Festival and the Vagina Monologues

This Saturday was the Holi festival here in India, and I was in Delhi with Janne and her brother Atle. Holi is a Hindu festival to celebrate the god Krishna. It’s a huge day of celebrations. The most remarkable thing for an outsider is the fact that most Hindus spend the day running about, throwing colored powders and paint waters on each other. I don’t know the exact background behind it, but its come to signify the happiness and celebration that comes with the day. We started Holi by walking out of our hotel, to meet a street covered with multicolored people. Before we even had time to think, a few guys walked up to Janne and I and smeared purple, green, and pink powder all over our faces. It was a bit unexpected, but it was a good way to usher in Holi for us. We spent the rest of the day hanging around Delhi, getting caked in colors and drenched in colored water. It was crazy and fun, and I think probably one of the best ways for Janne’s brother to experience India for his few days here. // We spent most of the rest of the trip wandering the city aimlessly covered in an array of bright colors. I did do something I never thought I would do outside the US—perhaps ever again—and ended up eating at KFC. Yes, that horrid, unsatisfying restaurant has found its place in Delhi. And for some reason, Atle had his heart set on going, something about no KFC in Norway, and Delhi being his opportunity to indulge. For his sake, we went. After waiting in line behind all the other foreigners (no Americans), we got in. I’m still not sure how KFC has become so big in the rest of the world. Do we even eat KFC in America? // On Sunday, we did see the Taj Mahal, and that was crazy. It was huge, amazing, and just as great as I had expected it to be. It was also the first of the Seven Wonders I have to see (on the new list), and that was a rare occasion. // And today, back on campus, I went to the Vagina Monologues here on campus. A lot of American female students here put on the performance, along with a group of Indian students. In case you don’t know, the performance is a series of monologues about women’s bodies and female sexuality. I had never seen it before, and seeing it here in Hyderabad was rather remarkable. Female sexuality is very restricted here in India, and women and their bodies aren’t viewed as they are in the West. Women’s sexuality is still often a taboo topic, and women can be treated quite differently than men. There is also a strict separation of genders in many occasions, such as public transport, and waiting in cues. The fact that so many girls participated and performed their parts in front a male and female audience in India is really courageous. Here we were watching the vagina monologues in a country that doesn’t even see male-female touching in public. The performance was great, and held an even more important meaning for the culture here in India. // I should be adding photos Delhi soon.

Posted at 01:12PM Mar 25, 2008 by Adam L Barkl in General  |  Comments[9]