This appeared on GQIndia.com
Most people I know get charming gifts for Christmas and holidays. Cruise tickets, bling, electronics, designer watches. I get calendars. All possible varieties. The regular one with US federal holidays from vendors, the Hindu calendar that the temple sends me with a prefix of Mr. on the envelope, a spoof of the Mayan calendar, family birthdays calendar from a cousin, the Indian holidays calendar.
The Indian Holidays calendar got me thinking about Indian men and festivals. How should the modern gentleman participate in festivals? Is the urban, sophisticated, well-traveled man a conformist when it comes to traditions? Does he partake in age-old celebrations just like everyone else with the same enthusiasm, or with restraint? It’s not unusual to hear adjectives like "low key", "intimate", "peaceful" extensively in conjunction with festivities while talking to men. How, for instance, might he celebrate the kite-flying festival? Would he feel comfortable being on the rooftop amidst a sea of others as they get boorish and aggressive, all set to chop off the competitor's pride? Would he scream his heart out when he does succeed and announce his victory going at it full throttle with requisite facial expressions and accompanying body language with a little jig thrown in? Or would he rather buy a piece of art for a kite from the Chinese vendors who've set up shop on the exhibition grounds and silently take his possession to the international kite competition and fly, observe and internalize the process and later blog about what it did for him?
Or Holi. After years of doing it the same way, would he crave to do it any differently, perhaps a tad more discreet? Instead of dunking everyone and their mom in colored water tanks or flinging water balloons, would be rather prefer a single color for symbolism, take along an intimate group of friends to the beach and watch the sunset as they made tea on the campfire, a hint of color accentuating their faces, indulging in animated discussions?
Does bhaang have to be the highlight of Maha Shivratri for him or would he be tempted to take that trip he's been thinking of to the Kailash-Mansarovar region and feel closer to the Almighty as he camps out next to the highest body of freshwater lake in the world, capturing the play of sun rays on Mount Kailash with his digital camera firmly rooted on a tripod? If the modern man is going to take his cues from the rest of the world, he probably won't be getting too down and dirty with everyone else.
Take Ganesha Chaturthi. If you've ever been to the Mumbai one, you're familiar with the clamor, the colors, the processions and the euphoria. The city virtually comes to a standstill. But if you were to celebrate it in San Francisco, you'd have to take your Ganesha Idol to the Hindu temple where it'd be tested for bio-degradability before you could board the bus to Pier 49 and take a 3 hour cruise to the middle of the ocean, which is the only ‘spot’ that the city environmental agencies have approved for drowning of the idols.
I'd like to think the modern Indian man can find a middle ground here somewhere. Sure, if you're living in the US you probably can't throw colours on non-Holi celebrators without getting sued, but in India, isn't it about time you got involved like everyone else? No one likes the guy who is always standing at the sidelines, however perfectly groomed he looks.
Most people I know get charming gifts for Christmas and holidays. Cruise tickets, bling, electronics, designer watches. I get calendars. All possible varieties. The regular one with US federal holidays from vendors, the Hindu calendar that the temple sends me with a prefix of Mr. on the envelope, a spoof of the Mayan calendar, family birthdays calendar from a cousin, the Indian holidays calendar.
The Indian Holidays calendar got me thinking about Indian men and festivals. How should the modern gentleman participate in festivals? Is the urban, sophisticated, well-traveled man a conformist when it comes to traditions? Does he partake in age-old celebrations just like everyone else with the same enthusiasm, or with restraint? It’s not unusual to hear adjectives like "low key", "intimate", "peaceful" extensively in conjunction with festivities while talking to men. How, for instance, might he celebrate the kite-flying festival? Would he feel comfortable being on the rooftop amidst a sea of others as they get boorish and aggressive, all set to chop off the competitor's pride? Would he scream his heart out when he does succeed and announce his victory going at it full throttle with requisite facial expressions and accompanying body language with a little jig thrown in? Or would he rather buy a piece of art for a kite from the Chinese vendors who've set up shop on the exhibition grounds and silently take his possession to the international kite competition and fly, observe and internalize the process and later blog about what it did for him?
Or Holi. After years of doing it the same way, would he crave to do it any differently, perhaps a tad more discreet? Instead of dunking everyone and their mom in colored water tanks or flinging water balloons, would be rather prefer a single color for symbolism, take along an intimate group of friends to the beach and watch the sunset as they made tea on the campfire, a hint of color accentuating their faces, indulging in animated discussions?
Does bhaang have to be the highlight of Maha Shivratri for him or would he be tempted to take that trip he's been thinking of to the Kailash-Mansarovar region and feel closer to the Almighty as he camps out next to the highest body of freshwater lake in the world, capturing the play of sun rays on Mount Kailash with his digital camera firmly rooted on a tripod? If the modern man is going to take his cues from the rest of the world, he probably won't be getting too down and dirty with everyone else.
Take Ganesha Chaturthi. If you've ever been to the Mumbai one, you're familiar with the clamor, the colors, the processions and the euphoria. The city virtually comes to a standstill. But if you were to celebrate it in San Francisco, you'd have to take your Ganesha Idol to the Hindu temple where it'd be tested for bio-degradability before you could board the bus to Pier 49 and take a 3 hour cruise to the middle of the ocean, which is the only ‘spot’ that the city environmental agencies have approved for drowning of the idols.
I'd like to think the modern Indian man can find a middle ground here somewhere. Sure, if you're living in the US you probably can't throw colours on non-Holi celebrators without getting sued, but in India, isn't it about time you got involved like everyone else? No one likes the guy who is always standing at the sidelines, however perfectly groomed he looks.
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