Nerve Endings Firing Away

Theater is fun; even when it is performed by enthusiastic amateurs. The delights of theater are countless and I can’t begin to describe them. I prefer theater to movies. Movies have a surreal effect about them whereas theater is right there, topped with a “you are part of it” feeling. Thankfully one thing that I am glad about moving to Texas A&M is its vibrant theater scene; even if it seems to be the last thing you might find here. I attended my first Broadway play last semester and took Ash along to another thought provoking performance. Unfortunately, most of the performances are strangely scheduled on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, making it impossible for Ash to attend (we’re in grad school, you see] and I cannot go alone [don't ask why].

Luckily this weekend, we caught a performance on a weekend — The Celestial Cow. You may or may not have never heard of it. It is an adaptation of Sue Townsend’s play around Indian immigrants moving to suburban London. This time, however it has been suited for an American or rather a Texan audience. It was mostly a student-driven effort and featured a mix of Indian and American students playing characters suited to their abilities. In short, the play was based on a ten-year period in the life of Sita, the protagonist who leaves India with her son and daughter to join her U.S.-based husband. She loves her cow that she leaves behind in India (but brings her milking bucket along). It can almost be metaphorically liked to bringing a part of her Indian identity while leaving behind a major chunk of it and adapting to the vastly different way of life in a foreign country. She is routinely harassed by her mother-in-law and treated indifferently by her husband. Her son grows up to be an irresponsible (and insensitive) chap and totally deviates from his Indian identity whereas her daughter remains close to her emotionally and physically. Although some people might find the level of orthodox behavior of Sita’s family or the level of racial oppression she faces in Texas unbelievable, there are strong undercurrents of truth to the entire story.

Having arrived from India as a typically conservative Indian and slowly transformed into a liberal individual, I have personally seen the transition of people’s beliefs and value system. All of them tend to experience drastic changes and not one remains unchanged after even the briefest of stay here. On one hand, some tend to cocoon themselves in desi ghettos and surrounding themselves with everything Indian to the extent of creating a living experience of being in India without actually being there. On the other hand, some depart so far from their identity that any link or reference to India is anathema to them and features high on the “uncool” factor. To find your niche, to remain faithful to both your homes — original and adopted — with its vastly different cultures and value systems, and to assimilate suitably within your new environs can be an arduous task. Not many even make that effort and can be guilty of typecasting themselves into one extreme mode.

The Celestial Cow tries to straddle this dilemma of living in an alien culture i.e. American with your ‘homegrown’ i.e. Indian values. The influence of the clash of cultures is inevitable. You often tend to increasingly isolate yourself the more you resist the impact of the influencing culture. A better way would be to gradually accept your new home and instill common values — respect, tolerance, civil behavior, and a strong work ethic. The impact of all these conflicts is felt most by the woman. She is expected to compromise on everything and subject herself to the will of her male partner because that has been the “Indian culture”. Any form of self assertion is seen as attempts to break away from the system and is roundly subjected to criticism — social and otherwise. Sita fights her own battles, unaided by her loved ones who are caught up in their own personal battles and ultimately, she is consigned to a mental institution. As the narrator rightly observes, whether you are insane or not depends on the view of the majority. You cannot help but find yourself labeled as insane when the entire community is caught in a time warp.

But thankfully, not everything is dark and dreary; people eventually come around and see the light in a typical Bollywood climax. The Celestial Cow features couple of ‘item numbers’ as well to up the entertainment factor of the mostly white audience. Sadly, the parody of the Bollywood-inspired bedroom wooing scene was confounding instead of hilarious for the Americans (the Indians were rolling in laughter). The dholi taro dance number that had both desis and Amrus doing the dandiya was well appreciated though. The humor department has taken liberties of taking potshots at both Indian and American sentiments but they just about manage to keep it from going over the top.

I would recommend watching this version of the Celestial Cow for it gives you an insight into the desi community in the U.S. as well as lets you appreciate the stark differences and prejudices within both Indian and American cultures while of course, not failing to entertain you.