India

 Having spent so much time talking about our visitors from Pakistan. I thought it only appropriate to talk about its neighbor India.

My introduction to the culture of India came through television viewing of those terrible action films of the 1940s that celebrated British colonialism. The music of Ravi Shankar was a highlight of my college days. Throw in some history courses that mentioned India tangentially, and there things stayed for many years.

Globalization and the electronic revolution changed things. Randolph High School had a number of Indian students so I got to know a little about the traditions of the country. Then the iPod came along and I discovered there was more to Indian music than sitars. Interestingly, I enjoy music played on the sarangi and the veena. The sarangi from northern India and the veena from southern India both have the range and flexibility of the human voice and often accompany singers. All these instruments are part of classical Indian music, but then there's the wonderful pop music of India which may be familiar to folks who watch Bollywood movies.

India makes substantially more movies than Hollywood, but until recently few have been released into international distribution. While there are many genres of Indian films from action adventures to serious dramas, the classic Bollywood film blends music and dance with the storyline. I've tried to introduce Indian films at the Hockomock Film Club, but most run much longer than our typical two hour feature film. Two exceptions are Monsoon Wedding from 2001 and Bride and Prejudice from 2004. Both these films have the classic Bollywood formula but were made with western audiences in mind.

My favorite Indian film is Lagaan. When I mentioned this film to our Pakistani visitors I got a lecture about the film's significance in showing the fight against colonialism. True enough, but it's really a movie about cricket with super production numbers! Another recent omnibus of a film is "My Name is Khan" which in its 165 minutes takes on Asperger's Syndrome, muslim-hindu intermarriage, the Indian diaspora to America, terrorism, and several other topics. It has less music than a typical Bollywood film and manages to channel "Forest Gump" and "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou!" It features two of India's greatest stars Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol who have real chemistry (they have appeared together in at least three films) and give great performances. I'd recommend seeing both films.