Clangclangclangclangclang!
Oh, good morning Krishna. I recognize that you are an early riser, and admire your ability to wake up at 5 each morning, but I don’t think I’ll wake up just yet. Unfortunately my night owl habits kept me up late, and I therefore am not eager to wake up for another 3 hours. I’ll let your priests ring their bells, while I blindly run my hands around my pillow in search of the earplugs that fell out during the night, and plug up again. Ah, silence. A little too much silence actually. Its 8:26 now, and telegu class is in four minutes. Crap.
Dive under mosquito net. Put pants on. Throw of the sheet that pretends to be the door that I don’t have. Ru-u-u-u-n down the stairs. Slab my breakfast PB&J together. Crap! Notebook! U-u-u-u-p the stairs, notebook, ba-a-a-a-ck down, out the door, down the street around the corner, around the cow grazing on garbage, and into the program house for class.
As engaging as my telegu Instructor Siva Prasad is (insert heavy sarcasm here), my mind can’t help but wander and think of what I’m going to do today, putting it to the soundtrack of “Anaganaga O Dheerudu,” the Disney Telegu movie I saw a few weeks ago*. I draw a blank of what I want to do, so I just sing the little parts I know from the soundtrack over and over in my head.
According to BYU, I came to India to do research. As much as I would like to act like I am taking my research seriously, I can’t. I would rather wander around the city by myself, and absorb the culture. But the idea of being accosted by the men asking me where I’m from, and if they can have my phone number so I can help them “learn English” doesn’t ever give me motivation. Maybe I should start wearing toe rings (the Indian wedding rings), and then they’ll leave me alone. I’m going to have to muster up the motivation to do my research.
Clangclangclangclangclang!
Krishna’s making his racket again. Is it really noon already? I go downstairs to each another delicious lunch made from the talented cooks we have. Oh! And what a feast! Goat curry, rice, chopati, dahl, and potato curry. Mmmm, good for the soul.
Although, the direction changes of my project has increased my interest level. Instead of studying tombstone imagery, I was going to compare the funerary customs of the smaller cultures within the
Visakhapatnam area. The hindus have interesting ideas on death actually and I am excited to learn more about their perspective on it. The director of the program was telling me a story of when he was with our on-site director Krishnayya, and he received news of a close friends death. “He took a cup of water, and with his fingers started to sprinkle everything in the house. Then he took a bath, and made me take one too.” Learning of his friends death alone had “polluted” his home, and his body, both of which had to immediately be cleansed. The funerary and burial customs too, are strikingly different compared to the Christian ceremonies.
Traditionally, children will live with their parents much longer than is customary in America. At what point children actually leave home I’m not entirely sure, but I do know of married couples that live with or next to the man’s parents. Not long ago, an old woman down the street died, and her body was decorated with garlands and carted on a woven gurney carried by what I assume to be male family members as friends, other family members, and a band paraded behind them through the neighborhood. Today, their house—which usually has groups of people around it is completely empty of any activity.
Krishnayya explains to me the detailed and long process for hindu mourning and burial. He explained that for the first month after a family member dies in the home, those who live in the home will leave, living in another temporary location. That explains why our neighbors disappeared. My understanding is, had she died outside the home, whether it be a hospital, hotel, or even on the front doorstep, only her room would have been blocked off from traffic for the first month after her death. Following the first month, the family returns and will make an offering to their spirit of their favorite things, then again at the six month mark, and at every anniversary after that. There are other “ceremonies” involved that I have not fully learned about yet—but my understanding is that the purpose is to encourage the spirit to move on from those that are living.
The most common practice is to cremate the body, with a few exceptions, like a woman who died during child birth. There are Hindu cemeteries, but that is where the bodies are cremated, and there are few if any graves. Women are not allowed to enter these cemeteries, and hardly ever does anyone else enter. The western idea of a cemetery is more comparable to a park to walk around and visit whenever you please. Hindus/the Indian culture in general on the contrary, avoid cemeteries because of their superstitious belief of ghosts. A few weeks ago, I took one of our translators with me to the only active and overfilled Christian cemetery in Vizag to meet the Cemetery Board. At the time I didn’t understand the sensitivity to cemeteries and “devils” as they call them, so I was surprised to hear a few days later that she would not be coming back for a few days because she thought she was being attacked by devils. Oops.
I learned that an actual cemetery for Hindus has been established in a nearby city of Rajamundry. The cemetery brings a more western approach to burial and cemeteries, where the area is actually maintained to allow people to visit. I’m trying to imagine how this new idea could have been taken on. Establishing that cemetery meant having to completely changes the attitude, beliefs and paradigms on death and burial. To learn about the challenges and process in it’s development is a project all on its own—my new project. This idea sounds so much more appealing to me, as I have only touched the surface in understanding the Hindu death rituals, and have so much more to learn about. It was overwhelming to think of trying to research the Christians, Muslims, Jalaris, and whatever else I could find in Vizag in addition to the Hindus.
Clangclangclangclangclang!
Movie Page:
I’m pretty sure that Disney had the rights to this story, but said “There is no way that this is going to work in America. Let’s try India!” Bollywood said no, but Tollywood (Southern Indian Telegu film industry) said yes!” Tollywood however put all the money in costumes and makeup that they had none for special effects. Bad movie? Yes. But guess what, I LOVED IT!
Oh, good morning Krishna. I recognize that you are an early riser, and admire your ability to wake up at 5 each morning, but I don’t think I’ll wake up just yet. Unfortunately my night owl habits kept me up late, and I therefore am not eager to wake up for another 3 hours. I’ll let your priests ring their bells, while I blindly run my hands around my pillow in search of the earplugs that fell out during the night, and plug up again. Ah, silence. A little too much silence actually. Its 8:26 now, and telegu class is in four minutes. Crap.
Dive under mosquito net. Put pants on. Throw of the sheet that pretends to be the door that I don’t have. Ru-u-u-u-n down the stairs. Slab my breakfast PB&J together. Crap! Notebook! U-u-u-u-p the stairs, notebook, ba-a-a-a-ck down, out the door, down the street around the corner, around the cow grazing on garbage, and into the program house for class.
As engaging as my telegu Instructor Siva Prasad is (insert heavy sarcasm here), my mind can’t help but wander and think of what I’m going to do today, putting it to the soundtrack of “Anaganaga O Dheerudu,” the Disney Telegu movie I saw a few weeks ago*. I draw a blank of what I want to do, so I just sing the little parts I know from the soundtrack over and over in my head.
According to BYU, I came to India to do research. As much as I would like to act like I am taking my research seriously, I can’t. I would rather wander around the city by myself, and absorb the culture. But the idea of being accosted by the men asking me where I’m from, and if they can have my phone number so I can help them “learn English” doesn’t ever give me motivation. Maybe I should start wearing toe rings (the Indian wedding rings), and then they’ll leave me alone. I’m going to have to muster up the motivation to do my research.
Clangclangclangclangclang!
Krishna’s making his racket again. Is it really noon already? I go downstairs to each another delicious lunch made from the talented cooks we have. Oh! And what a feast! Goat curry, rice, chopati, dahl, and potato curry. Mmmm, good for the soul.
Although, the direction changes of my project has increased my interest level. Instead of studying tombstone imagery, I was going to compare the funerary customs of the smaller cultures within the
Visakhapatnam area. The hindus have interesting ideas on death actually and I am excited to learn more about their perspective on it. The director of the program was telling me a story of when he was with our on-site director Krishnayya, and he received news of a close friends death. “He took a cup of water, and with his fingers started to sprinkle everything in the house. Then he took a bath, and made me take one too.” Learning of his friends death alone had “polluted” his home, and his body, both of which had to immediately be cleansed. The funerary and burial customs too, are strikingly different compared to the Christian ceremonies.
Traditionally, children will live with their parents much longer than is customary in America. At what point children actually leave home I’m not entirely sure, but I do know of married couples that live with or next to the man’s parents. Not long ago, an old woman down the street died, and her body was decorated with garlands and carted on a woven gurney carried by what I assume to be male family members as friends, other family members, and a band paraded behind them through the neighborhood. Today, their house—which usually has groups of people around it is completely empty of any activity.
Krishnayya explains to me the detailed and long process for hindu mourning and burial. He explained that for the first month after a family member dies in the home, those who live in the home will leave, living in another temporary location. That explains why our neighbors disappeared. My understanding is, had she died outside the home, whether it be a hospital, hotel, or even on the front doorstep, only her room would have been blocked off from traffic for the first month after her death. Following the first month, the family returns and will make an offering to their spirit of their favorite things, then again at the six month mark, and at every anniversary after that. There are other “ceremonies” involved that I have not fully learned about yet—but my understanding is that the purpose is to encourage the spirit to move on from those that are living.
The most common practice is to cremate the body, with a few exceptions, like a woman who died during child birth. There are Hindu cemeteries, but that is where the bodies are cremated, and there are few if any graves. Women are not allowed to enter these cemeteries, and hardly ever does anyone else enter. The western idea of a cemetery is more comparable to a park to walk around and visit whenever you please. Hindus/the Indian culture in general on the contrary, avoid cemeteries because of their superstitious belief of ghosts. A few weeks ago, I took one of our translators with me to the only active and overfilled Christian cemetery in Vizag to meet the Cemetery Board. At the time I didn’t understand the sensitivity to cemeteries and “devils” as they call them, so I was surprised to hear a few days later that she would not be coming back for a few days because she thought she was being attacked by devils. Oops.
I learned that an actual cemetery for Hindus has been established in a nearby city of Rajamundry. The cemetery brings a more western approach to burial and cemeteries, where the area is actually maintained to allow people to visit. I’m trying to imagine how this new idea could have been taken on. Establishing that cemetery meant having to completely changes the attitude, beliefs and paradigms on death and burial. To learn about the challenges and process in it’s development is a project all on its own—my new project. This idea sounds so much more appealing to me, as I have only touched the surface in understanding the Hindu death rituals, and have so much more to learn about. It was overwhelming to think of trying to research the Christians, Muslims, Jalaris, and whatever else I could find in Vizag in addition to the Hindus.
Clangclangclangclangclang!
Holy crap! Six O’clock! Where did you come from? Well Krishna, I guess you’re going to bed now. I hope you don’t mind, but I’m going to stay up a while longer and maybe watch a Tollywood movie with Glo. While you’ll be sleeping, I’ll stay up until 11, then dink around on the computer for another hour, then I’ll think of what I’ll do tomorrow, as I lay in bed until I drift to sleep from within the safety of my mosquito net. So until tomorrow morning when you wake me up again, sleep well Krishna. Sleep well.
Scene from the overfilled Christian Cemetery
*Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6WgPhwDVE0
Scene from the overfilled Christian CemeteryMovie Page:
I’m pretty sure that Disney had the rights to this story, but said “There is no way that this is going to work in America. Let’s try India!” Bollywood said no, but Tollywood (Southern Indian Telegu film industry) said yes!” Tollywood however put all the money in costumes and makeup that they had none for special effects. Bad movie? Yes. But guess what, I LOVED IT!
I looove you!! Sounds like India is beyond fascinating!!
ReplyDeleteWe have to watch that disney movie when you get home!!
ReplyDelete