Moving back to the US after nearly five years in India, I was very much aware that my carbon footprint was about to increase substantially. Every time I visited, I’d gasp in horror at the packaging waste, the lights left on without anyone in the room, the unnecessary car trips taken whimsically. Whether or not I was ready for it, I was returning to the American culture of excess. Thankfully, I have found several inspiring films that help me keep alive the hope that things can change here. Below is a montage of the films I recently seen which examine ways to live more sustainably and sensibly, with my brief take on them.

 

 

The concept of Chindia has taken on a new relevance for me since arriving in the US. On Saturday I visited Flushing, Queens for the first time. As I stepped out of the subway, I felt as though I was stepping into Hong Kong–tons of hanging signs in Chinese, crowds. Yet as I walked further away, I was walking towards an Indian section of temples. And as I returned to the subway, I could see a strip of Indian shops followed by Chinese ones.

In keeping with the Chindian-themed day, I selected “Eat, Drink, Man, Woman” as our evening entertainment. It was a wonderful movie in many ways, and I was struck by how similar Chinese culture is with Indian, especially when it comes to family.

The movie’s actually set in Taiwan, but the family is of Chinese origin. Three daughters are concerned about who will take care of their aging father; and they each have their own romantic sub-plots which deserve big announcements only when absolutely necessary at their ceremonial weekly family dinners.

The story of China and Taiwan’s economic development is drastically different than India’s, and that fascinates me. (Not to mention countless economists). It’s shocking to think that the “Asian Tigers” had similar levels of poverty as India back in the 50s.

Also I found it interesting that women’s roles in the movie were portrayed pretty differently than what I’ve seen in Bollywood movies, though I honestly haven’t watched too many of them. They were professional, independent, and modern in their approach to life despite having a deep sense of responsibility towards their father.

I know it was just a movie, but it really got me thinking about where the world is headed. There have been lots of predictions about who will end up on top; now we’ll have to wait & see…

Enjoy this opening scene from the movie!

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Happy Thanksgiving! Since today naturally lends itself to reflection, I figured it was a good chance to get back to blogging. I have been all-consumed by planning for the “My Conversations with the Mystic” event with acclaimed director Shekhar Kapur & Sadhguru–and I’m grateful it’s over!

The event didn’t go quite as hoped (we weren’t able to stream video along with audio), but I certainly learned a lot and of course am so glad to have had the opportunity to see Sadhguru along with Kapur. How did I ever get so lucky?

I only wish I weren’t so hard on myself for the mistakes I made that night. After seeing this post on Beth’s Blog, I think I need to learn from the ladies at MomsRising.org about  Joyful Funerals & constructive reflection after a campaign…

I think I have my work cut out for me this Thanksgiving!

UPDATE: The video recording is now available here:

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(we could only stream audio live due to technical difficulties!)

“To be in India is to experience India. It’s not that you have to go find it. It’s all right there,” she says.

Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, and Julia Roberts were on the Oprah show to promote the upcoming movie. Do you agree with the director, Ryan?

“I think it’s more than a book. I think it’s a movement, and I think it’s so personal to so many people,” he says. “It was to me. I was a fan, like Julia was, before it came into our lives.”

Liz also shares, “One of the great teachings that I learned in India is that silence is the only true religion.” So what about all the noise from the “EPL marketing machine” as Yoga Dork calls it?

In “Are you experienced?”, Sirensongs quips that the book will release a torrent of tourists unprepared for the experience.

With the release of the Eat Pray Love (or is it Eat Love Pray?) major motion picture (“The amazing adventure of a middle-class white woman who talked her publisher into bankrolling a scripted adventure”), India-tripping is set to become a middle-class fad for the first time since the days of the 70s Overland Chapatti Express. Except this time, instead of tie-dyed trippies, it will be mani-pedi suburban women seeking “adventure.”

She compiles a humorous list of ignorant questions that first-time travellers pose. Yet while her tone seems derogatory towards the potential newcomers, I would prefer to see it as an opportunity for many different kinds of women to be exposed to  India where they might never have even thought about it before.

I followed some of the conversations on the EPL Facebook page, and of course there were plenty of disagreements between the conservative Christians and others. And plenty of misinterpretations about yoga, Buddhism, meditation.

Nonetheless, if the book opens some women up to India,  so much the better. It would take courage for anyone to come and visit, with or without mani-pedi.

Part 1: The Guru

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Part 2:  On Love

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Part 3: On Relationships

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Besides the horrible way this article refers to the actresses, I just wanted to highlight that two upcoming films will be featuring women on motorcycles, and here’s what they have to say about it:

“Riding a bike was liberating. It was something I always wanted to do — it’s feminine, fiesty and fun. The thrill of speeding and the wind gushing in your face is a freedom of a different level,” says Minissha. She’s peeved that Hindi films don’t show women riding heavy bikes. But Kareena Kapoor isn’t complaining… [and] told BT, “It was a great experience.”

Minissha now wants to do more of such riding. “In the western world, not only are women truck, bus and taxi drivers, but a lot of them ride heavy bikes for pleasure. From Pamela Anderson to Halle Berry to Charlize Theron, they have all shown their biker attitude on the silver screen. Why shouldn’t Indian women push their speed limits!”

See my longer post on women riding motorbikes.

I VOLUNTEERED TO HELP at the Jaipur Film Festival and one of the films I liked most was UnLimited Girls by Paromita Vohra, which is being touted as India’s first feminist film. UnLimited Girls humorously explores engagements with feminism in contemporary India and is a must-see for those participating in this blog. Whoever said feminists don’t have fun?

The film takes a quirky approach and is rich with discussion material. It is intended less as a source of easy answers on feminism than as a call to re-open the debate and question our assumptions. I wish to provide you less with a review on the film (which can be found here and here), than to pick apart some of the issues that struck me personally. Many of the themes the film deals with have already been discussed on this blog, particularly in Indhu and Anindita’s posts. And the “Many Faces of an Indian Feminist” initiative hints at the complexity of defining or describing oneself as a feminist.

In a clip of an interview with a young woman, she says it is in women’s nature to sacrifice (and the word echoes several times to bring home the point). In another interview with Mumbai’s first female taxi driver, she says that women’s first duty is to look after the home. While I cringe at these depictions, I also wonder if there is any truth to them. Albert Einstein was serendipitously quoted in a recent Times of India ‘Mind over Matter’ article as having said: “And the high destiny of the individual is to serve rather than to rule, or to impose himself in any other way.”

I juxtapose all these because in my head they are slightly jumbled. In matters of spirituality, both men and women are urged to submit our ego to the higher purpose, to be humble and giving; in matters of politics, it is quite the opposite. (Usha, I hope to hear from you on this in light of the book review you posted here!). Thus, feminism calls for women’s equality because we have been subordinated through service for too long. I don’t think there is necessarily anything spiritual about doing something for someone else if it is by force (whether physical or social pressure). Yet is there something to say for women’s willingness to neglect their own desires in the interests of others? Perhaps it makes us more in tune with the interdependence of all living things. Perhaps, as Jennifer writes, “caring for others is caring for ourselves.” But what happens when women’s desire is simply to serve and not to seek anything more? Do we feminists dismiss them as retrograde and un-feminist?

Sadly, the film does not address in depth the question of feminism in marriage or in child-rearing, with only a brief interview of a young, supposedly modern couple. Personally, I have questioned my own marriage as possibly against some unwritten feminist code of conduct. Yet there are plenty of married feminists despite the stereotypes that feminists are lonely, ugly, etc. How do we and those in committed relationships negotiate our ideals for gender equality and keep them alive without creating too much tension? Even though my husband is quite the feminist and believes in gender equality, at times he has requested me to keep some of my feminist ideas out of the relationship because they can become a barrier. Yes, the personal is political, but sometimes we may have to leave politics at the front door if we want to continue to have a partner to come home to. As the couple in the film contemplate, how do we maintain a relationship based on equality and compromise rather than based on the assertion of our individuality and independence?

The film admits that there are no easy answers to the questions feminism(s) raise. Funnily enough, the narrator of the film, ‘Fearless’, concedes that she is hesitant to label herself as a feminist because it may take away her right to be confused!

I highly recommend seeing the film, it can be viewed online here in it’s entirety and be sure to rate it.