The Western beau monde in India
Image Courtesy: Juggernaut
There has been a rise in India’s popularity as a center for popular cultural exchange in the twenty-first century. White celebs have capitalized on our pop scene at many removes only to be greeted by the muck of our badly planned cities backgrounded against oases of private cleanliness in the hotels they have stayed in. They come for dosh—so what they do here is our business. But what is it that we show them? Sure, parts of our horrid social infrastructure but I turn to the idea of India—what their teams and fans create for them to not only imagine us but also to take in the reality of our lived experiences that imprints a comment on our society.
The women came briefly. Lady Gaga came not to see our temples, not to be inspired by our arts, and not to hear our languages. She came to perform. Some of her tickets were priced above Rs.40,000. Paris Hilton did a hodgepodge of things—went to the Siddhivinayak Temple and flaunted designer saris, her only two wise decisions. Madonna did not do any interviews but visited a slum. Angelina Jolie spoke of refugees yet her racist bodyguards thought of us as “bloody Indians”. Katy Perry partied with Bolly. Jessica Simpson got some Ayurvedic healing. Lindsay Lohan visited a Kolkata orphanage. Cate Blanchett took part in a scene. Charlize Theron did an interview. Kesha and Sharon Stone came for amFAR. Jade Goody, who was the nicest person on earth after her infamous spat with Shilpa Shetty in a Brit reality show, visited the Taj. Pamela Anderson participated in its desi version.
The men and other celebs spent time. Brad Pitt bonded with the great Khan. Hugh Jackman danced publicly. Matt Damon visited Trichy. Tom Cruise acted in a film. Others were also here for films, charities, concerts, and varied Ambani functions, which put India on the global map. Rihanna, Beyonce, the Kardashians, Zendeya, Tom Holland, Gigi Hadid, Penelope Cruz, Justin Bieber, Naomi Campbell, Coldplay, John Cena, Ivanka Trump, Nicky Hilton, Prince William, Kate Middleton, David Beckham, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Liz Hurley as well as big businessmen and politicians have been welcomed with open arms, given our fascination for all things Western.
Hollywood has therefore monetized India. A Google search of all its films shot here leads one to conclude that India is a place for creative enterprises and artistic expression. Big bucks can be raked in when your film is going to be screened across the country. Rope in an Indian in your film and you will find an audience. With OTT platforms, the money gets bigger.
Suddenly India is fashionable and sexy. We are hot. Yet is there a space for Hindu thought, pure and unalloyed, to manifest and be rooted in authentic Indian practices that can reflect the heart of our culture? In this context, it is crucial to mark off the multiple definitions of culture and locate its complexity in an objective encounter with modernity.
Actress Goldie Hawn and Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, came to visit Sathya Sai Baba. They were drawn to the mystical magic of the southern states. They were coming here for that very purpose for which India was born—to enable spiritual seekers to merge into the Self. Both Hawn and Ferguson were ensconced in the dreamscapes of Puttaparthi. Hawn donated large sums to the ashram. Ferguson quoted Sai in her book Finding Sarah.
Russell Brand visited Mata Amritanandamayi in Kerala in 2015. The French film crew of “Un Plus Une” helmed by Claude Lelouch shot scenes in Amritapuri. Amma has attracted transnational audiences at events in the West for decades. But it was Brand’s and Lelouch’s visit to India that firmed up the idea of India I so dearly cherish. We are a spiritual haven where Hinduism forms the basis on which a robust Indian secularism can be built. We are open to different faiths because Hinduism allows other religions to co-exist with it. We have no problem in seeing Jesus as a Master. This baffles Abrahamic cults that are preoccupied with aggressive conversions. True seekers come here to find solace in our emphasis on equality, dignity, and freedom.
I saw “Eat, Pray, Love” in 2011. Julia Roberts portrayed the stereotypical foreigner who comes on a quest to discover her inner self in India. Her guru was the embodiment of that core and energy. Silence, meditation, and chanting—three processes that any seeker will practice in their everyday lives, to merge within, to communicate with nature, were shown. Whilst the film did not do well globally, there was at least a recognition of India in a positive light that the cheap films “The Love Guru” or “The Guru” could not produce. There was a beautiful actress not painting her skin brown like Peter Sellers had done for “The Party”. This was an entirely different understanding of India’s soul—the rich tapestry of being and selfhood that was captured in various moments that compel and touch the heart.
Ashton Kutcher—who was ironically called out for racism in a commercial where he pretended to be an Indian and “funny”—played Steve Jobs who did come to India to find enlightenment. Jobs stayed at Neem Karoli Baba’s ashram in 1974 and was taken in by the sights and sounds. He would go back to America with a shaved head—making him unrecognizable.
Cultural studies folks say that “culture” is a nebulous area. To them culture, since it is a deeply contentious space, cannot be defined howsoever apolitical one might be. They assert that due to globalization there has been a birth of newer cultures and ways of being that are part of present politics. Multiple cultures exist in relation to the singular. They think the possibility of a monolithic culture attached to history is an act of sabotage against the minorities’ right to justice. There can be no “true” culture—just a series of cultures that ought to exist as separate entities, which are subsumed under the dominant one. This is a flawed argument because it negates the idea that there are original cultures attached to the land on which Indigenous people were born.
Celebs have no dealings with these theoretical dolts though. They probably do not understand anything about India and its traditions when they come here. But what draws them to Hindu traditions needs to be explored. Is it just a fashion to call India “a spiritual country”? There are truths and falsities in the answers we give when we think of India as a beacon of hope for the world—and many of these are based on stereotypes like the images of the snake charmer and beggar. But the fact is we do have snake charmers and beggars! So, how does one negotiate between an authentic self and an inauthentic one? One cannot. We have to be able to distinguish between these little worlds of wonder and see them as inevitable products of cultures and societies in transition.
When Lady Gaga comes to India she has perceptions about us. These can be the opposite of what she sees around her. The issue is the same when Indians go abroad—we too see a different picture from what we expected. However, India’s culture is India’s gift—spirituality. There is no greater truth than the fact that India provides the path for everyone to follow. Our spiritualities are grounded in our Hindu selves. Our contact with Muslim rule and colonialism created linkages of religion and language that obliterated the central part of ourselves. We are now a diverse nation no longer fully and only Hindu (although we were very diverse before the invasions). I agree we cannot go back in time, but we can ask Lady Gagas if she wants to really understand us.
For that to succeed they need to embrace our contradictions. The chaotic mess that is India is tethered to two ideas: materiality and spirituality. The material aspect is the sense of chaos in the streets, the filth, the inequalities, the social injustices, etc. The spiritual aspect is that which moves beyond the former. This is where authentic selves enter. We did have a glorious past. To emerge from the dirt, we can look into Hindu worlds and try to find bits and bobs that can help us on the way to the Self. I have engaged with them through my Guru’s guidance. As a follower of a self-realized Master, I say without trepidation: let us at least try to solve our cultural conundrum by realizing the potential of our traditions.
If a white celeb does yoga, why not us?
