M-B, this list is for you, because you taught me how to see in new ways. Here’s a bit about this country through the lens of pop culture.
India Is Not Like…
The Darjeeling Limited. Yes, the colors are just as brilliant, but the trains are a thousand times less clean and less comfortable.
Eat Pray Love. Yes, there is spirituality. But there is also corruption and craziness.
Sponsor a Child commercials. Well, perhaps at first glance it is, when you see the poverty and the malnourished children. But there’s not a weepy Sarah Mclachlan soundtrack playing in the background.
Outsourced. Although I haven’t actually seen an episode in its entirety, the IT sector is only a miniscule part of India (see Bangalore).
Slumdog Millionaire. Yes, there is a lot of trash. And they do burn it here. But there’s more to the country than that.
A Bollywood movie. Yes, the clothing is vibrantly colored, but people aren’t always singing and dancing and having love affairs.
