So...i'm adding a few entries/thoughts of my own. Most of this stuff is new/novel to S. and i thought you'd be more interested seeing India through his eyes. I'm used to most of this stuff...he's not.
However, India is very different since we lived here...more than i ever imagined. I think in her effort to become "western" she's giving up a large part of her culture. To someone who was raised in the era where women didn't show their ankles...seeing scantily dressed girls in the newspaper is not only shocking, but very disappointing as well. Indian women walking around in shorts and belly-baring blouses - it's just not us! Sure, the saree bares our mid-section...but at least there is some semblance at propriety, now even that facade has been removed. But, perhaps to our credit, this has mostly hit Bollywood and some "rich" suburbs in big cities. I'm pretty sure jeans and shorts won't ever get to rural towns and villages, but you can see them in "rich" urban cities, Bombay.
The other day we went shopping to find some men's "ethnic" shirts...but after several hours we returned empty handed. All the stores we went to boasted "western" style men's clothing. We have to go to specialty stores to find Indian style shirts - IN INDIA!!! I guess only foreigners want Indian style clothes - natives want western-style. I am deeply saddened by this change.
However, India is very different since we lived here...more than i ever imagined. I think in her effort to become "western" she's giving up a large part of her culture. To someone who was raised in the era where women didn't show their ankles...seeing scantily dressed girls in the newspaper is not only shocking, but very disappointing as well. Indian women walking around in shorts and belly-baring blouses - it's just not us! Sure, the saree bares our mid-section...but at least there is some semblance at propriety, now even that facade has been removed. But, perhaps to our credit, this has mostly hit Bollywood and some "rich" suburbs in big cities. I'm pretty sure jeans and shorts won't ever get to rural towns and villages, but you can see them in "rich" urban cities, Bombay.
The other day we went shopping to find some men's "ethnic" shirts...but after several hours we returned empty handed. All the stores we went to boasted "western" style men's clothing. We have to go to specialty stores to find Indian style shirts - IN INDIA!!! I guess only foreigners want Indian style clothes - natives want western-style. I am deeply saddened by this change.
