Girls Beat Up for Going to a Pub: Where’s the freedom?
The other day it was first publicized in our news papers that there was an incident in Mangalore where girls and males who tried to defend them where beat up for drinking and smoking and simply going to a club. Today the front page of the Hindustan Times read “All against pubs? Women drinking is against ‘Indian culture’ say people across political divides.”
From a country with a woman president and Sonia Gandhi who leads the Congress party (who is in power) this is shocking. Sometimes India truly is the land of contradictions. Even talking about ‘Indian culture’ is controversial . Just last night an uncle who proudly reminded me that he was three years older than his beloved India, said that India has so many different cultures. Are all of these cultures against women drinking? And, how does this make sense to have one standard to men and another for women. According to the Hindustan “Both smoking and drinking can be injurious to health, but the opposition is not on those grounds, and those addictions among men are never opposed.” Apparently, drinking and smoking is masculine behaviour. Even female politicians are quoted in the paper as supporting the positions that women should not drink–because they are respected as mothers.
If it was really about respect, that would be one thing. But how is beating up women showing women respect? There is great Hindi saying that is asked of men who are sexually-harassing women (or as they call it here Eve-teasing), it translates “You don’t have a Mom or sister at home?” Some have claimed that the men who brought the women to the pub were abused, not the women themselves but this is highly contested.
India is a great upcoming nation. A nation who gained it’s freedom without violence. Why the violence now, mother India?
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Chai, Chai, Special Chai: Thoughts on Tea
My preferred morning beverage these days is Jasmine Tea with lemon and a spoon-full of sugar. It’s my Dad’s fault. It’s his latest obsession in hot beverages. I like coffee, but in the morning I find that it is too harsh on my stomach. I like milk-tea but in Delhi milk in the morning gets suck in my throat and I am concerned that I might end up doing that morning gag heard so commonly in the streets of Delhi. So, green jasmine tea it is, nimbu aur chinni ka sath around 8 in the morning.
On a perfect winter day, someone would make me “chai, chai, special chai” around 10 or 11 in the morning. No one can make this quite like the chai-wallah at an Indian train station. Starbucks has tried, but fallen short. This is black Indian tea (more than likely Red Label), boiled with milk, sugar, and cardamom or ginger.
Then around 4 in th
e afternoon it depends on my mood: coffee, cappuccino , Coca-cola, simple milk tea, jasmine tea, on Fridays–red wine.
But back to tea. I recently got to spend a few days at a tea plantation in Sri Lanka. It was beautiful–amazing. And, I learned a few things. Did you know that all tea is made from the same type of bush–Camellia Sinensis? The varieties have to do with where the tea is grown (elevation and soil) and the way in which the leaves or buds are processed. White tea, green tea, and black tea are all from Camillia Sinensis. Green tea is simply tea leaves dried. White tea is made from the tea buds. And, black tea is made from oxidized tea leaves. F.Y.I. I almost never use tea bags anymore–loose leaf it is…
A Tribute to Indian Men: 7 good things
So lately a old blog entry I wrote on “things I dont’ get about men in India” has been getting a lot of traffic. Check it out if you want to read some of my unedited sometimes ridiculous thoughts on the topic and read the comments if you want some laughs, don’t mind the f-word flying around and might enjoy an Indian and a Latin American arguing over whether or not Indian men are a sexy breed. Anyway, I decided that since I have picked on Indian men quite a bit on this blog it was time for me to write a tribute. Of course as with the “things I don’t get” these are stereotypes based on my experience. I am writing this in honor of Abel who is an Indian national a good friend and who’s birthday is today. And before I say anything else I must mention Gandhi Ji who of course was one of the most amazing men in the world of the last century. May Mother India produce more men like him.
1. Committed- They are loyal, they are faithful. Once you are in, they would die for you.
2. Romantic- I sometimes wonder if Indians are the Latins of Asia (except the whole language thing). They are expresive, musical, colorful and sappy romantics. In my book this a good thing.
3. Hospitable- As much as Indians get a bad rap for being cheap and ruthless barginers, in my experience Indian men insist on paying for ladies and serving them (or having someone serve them). 
4. Protective- I have been walked home and checked on many times for my loving protection. And my chota bia (younger brother) even goes on my orket account and writes rude things to men who are hitting on me.
5. Affectionate (with Male Friends)- In some places men are seen holding hands with thier friends, walking with their arms around each other and sleeping cluddled up in a row. That’s right they like to spoon. Unlike American men, homophobia is not a problem as far as I can tell.
6. Love thier Mothers (and family)- There is commonly a very strong tie between mother and son. Sons are very devoted to thier mothers and families. In fact Gandhi was a devote Hindu and vegaterian in honor of his mother.
7. Tall, Dark, and Handsome- The debate may continue and some are horizontally challenged, but can I just say Abeshek Bachchan? A very good looking man, and he is not the only one.
Three Cups of Tea
So over New Year’s I was in Shimla freeezing with the rest of Delhi who ascended upon the quaint mountain town, but I was reading the most incredible book: Three Cups of Tea. Please buy, read it. Learn, love it. It is able Greg Mortenson a mountainer who fails to summit K2 but stumbles upon a village in need of a school and ends up spending his life building schools for girls (and boys) in villages Pakistan. It is a beautiful, inspiring book. Check out the website. http://www.threecupsoftea.com/
It is a must read for people traveling to this part of the world.
