Examples Of Exoticism In These Foolish Things

Notably, McCurry’s neat and predictable photographs of India, taken over the course of 40 years, are more popular than Singh’s more realistic, chaotic and exciting images. Cole argues that this popularity is because of McCurry’s portrayal of places and people due to orientalism, based on conventional preconceptions of historical India. They are our colorful fantasies of old India realized on glossy

The film I have chosen is “The Namesake” by Jhumpra Lahiri. A traditional Bengali Indian family, the Ganguli’s, are moving to New England and are trying to stay engulfed in their unique cultural identity. Ashoke Ganguli brings his new wife, Ashima, to a strange new world, leaving her lonely and confused of a culture outside of her own. Ashima needs to learn to love a man she does not know, to customize herself to a country she is unfamiliar with, and to hold true to her values in a culture foreign to her traditional beliefs. In this paper I will inform the reader of the Family structure, social class on gender as well as material culture and nonmaterial culture pertaining to the Ganguli’s and how they made a place in American society. I

As a first generation Indian-American, I am no stranger to being a part of a distinct community while observing two unique cultures. Traveling to India exposed me to a dynamic population with rich diversity comprising of numerous languages and differing religions. Though these individuals may have had differing customs from their neighbors, there were similar ambitions to conquer grinding poverty. This poverty can be clearly noticed by seeing citizens sleeping on floors of a railway station, or the lack of air conditioning in searing hot weather. The frailty and mortality of the human condition was starkly visible in India. As a fellow human, I was humbled not only by the lack of privilege and opportunity of many citizens, but also by their

As India’s modernization developed, the entire civilization of India improved remarkably. The country’s improvement of civilization is exemplified through it’s establishment of schools and law. Western education was introduced by Britain and laws were well made with courts that enforce them. (Doc 3). One should take into account the speaker of this document because Romesh Dutt is an Indian like any other, yet he praises the British for what they have done to contribute to the development of India. In addition to these establishments is Britain bringing finer ideals of humanity to India. Infanticide, the killing of female babies, was brought to a halt as well as participation in the slave trade (Doc 5). Without the interference of Britain, these inhumane actions would be prevalent throughout India and the country would suffer from a bad reputation. These

“Holy Cow, An Indian Adventure,” by Sarah MacDonald, is a book written describing Sarah’s experience living in India. She goes through many tough times and endures life changing experiences that eventually make her the person she is meant to be. In this book Sarah relates India to western perspective several times. India and the United States do have similarities, India and the United States both are run by a Democracy, they both have very strong cast systems; both have their own “Hollywood” films, and both places have many religions mixed within.

This is because so much of the visible aspects of Indian culture has diminished or disappeared and so much was borrowed from that we have lost sight of the origin; there is little wonder that awareness is lacking in some circles concerning the extent of "counteracculturation" upon the "numerically and politically dominant race."

One of the greatest examples of Imperialism with the tense relationship between Britain and India. It’s a strong showcase that compares both pros and cons of Imperialism. The colonization of India started with the development of the East India Company. First of all the dominion and influence over India allowed many economic growths, which included a strong trade system thanks to India’s very promising amount of raw materials, British could export back to themselves raise money to develop new companies “India became an agricultural colony of Industrial England, supplying raw materials and providing marks for England’s industrial goods.” (Nehru). Since they had a surplus amount of materials they could sell it for very cheap, therefore changing the economy, and the market trends. India became the best sources for raw materials, production, and allowed companies to develop in Britain. The main reason why the manufactured goods were able to be sold at a cheap price was because of the law set in India that allowed foreign goods free entry without having to pay “The East India Company held a monopoly on the export of Indian goods and British goods had free entry into India” (Nehru). This was mainly allowed because of the British ideological views on Indian people, how they are below them. The Indian crafters were being taxed a lot of money when they are leaving the country. The British government made sure to set a tariffs on the Indian textiles. This

Mr. Cook makes a strong case in his attempt to understand the causes and contributing factors behind the segregation along race, class and gender lines which were so prevalent in British ruled India, but also strictly observed within Britain and her other colonies. In “Conflicting Ideologies in British India, 1875-1900” he cites factors both specific to India, in particular the suppressed revolt of 1857, and those more external, like the “hardening racism” in Europe. The substantial losses, both financial and in human lives, associated with the revolt of 1857 resulted in a significant decline in trust and an increasing hesitancy to risk “antagonizing Indian sensibilities”. Since the revolt was viewed as retaliation for British attempts to Westernize India, this fearful reluctance to continue along the path previously envisioned by some which ultimately resulted in Britain’s empowerment, modernization and civilizing of the native Indians to a place of independent governance and administration, became less appealing but also served as additional justification for European society’s changing perception of race. The elite Anglicized Indians had not only dared to challenge British authority and administrative processes, but they had dared to utilize their Western teachings to do so. This clearly barbaric application of treasured knowledge, which the British perceived they had bestowed upon the fortunate Indians as a gift, was viewed as further proof of the inability to

In The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B Du Bois’ speaks of a ‘veil’ that has hindered his race from living their lives to the fullest potential. This veil has made it seemingly impossible to integrate into the white, mainstream society. Similarly, in “A Passage to India”, E.M Forster describes the story of Dr. Aziz, a native Indian, and his interactions with the imperial British society in his hometown of Chandrapore, India. Dr. Aziz attempts to become friendly with the British, but ends up bringing them on an excursion to the Marabar caves which quickly illuminates the inability of such a bonding experience. In both the Reconstruction Era of America, and in Imperial India, there is a veil that comes it two parts: a physical veil of color and and

There has been an archaic existing fear of anything different from the norm becoming present, however having something different may bring about positive change, diversity, and new knowledge. Yet people are reluctant to accept something different and instead make efforts to change the differences to match the way things normally and dominantly are. This fear and reaction is the reason for why efforts of assimilation occur, so that the dominant can integrate the minority and to conform to the dominant culture. Writer Sarah Ahmed discusses the issues of migration, assimilation, and what it really means to be happy in her chapter “Melancholic Migrant.” She traces the links between white culture and happiness; the idea of the whiter you are the happier you are. Ahmed presents arguments of other scholars, like Trevor Phillips, that present the notion of migration being the root of unhappiness in communities with people of different racial backgrounds living together and running into conflicts (122). She goes on to explore how the British government tries to resolve these diversity conflicts among their British citizens and Asian immigrant population. The British Empire promoted civilized kind of pleasure that they assumed could not be found in the Indian culture, but only in the British culture. Based on the excuse of Indians being uncivilized the British made attempts to colonize them. The British held the belief that India does not have culture and thus the

For the past few weeks I have been sorting through the collection of postcards. I selected the ones that had to with people on the street of India. I find it interesting that this collection has large potion of people represented from lower classes. My curiosity also orientates around the way in which India was being portrayed to the West.

The manuscript is considered as one of the best portraits of Indians, a nation that is losing culture, identity and lives in contact with the whites. After Costner’s movie, not much had remained the same: a movie made ​​with great care and love, although critics talked about dramaturgical naivety in portraying Indians. According to Costner, it is enough to understand Indian language to realize that they are good-natured people who are like us and among us - whites and Indians – there is absolutely no difference. Divergence was created by evil, white people. From this perspective one can complain about lack of conviction, although we agree with

With its street names and institutions like Vinayaka Mudali street, Ellaman street, Kabir Street, Abu Lane, Lawley Extension and Albert Mission College, Malgudi in its setting is the microcosm of the multicultural society that Indian towns were becoming during the previous century. From silent movies to talkies as sources of entertainment, a new film studio being established and new industries coming up, Malgudi has been growing from a country– town to a city over the years. Gradual development from the British Raj to Independent India is marked by the early presence of companies and banks owned by English men to the many new avenues of employment opening out in later times. The consistent working on the same ambience provides validity to the novels. This is what D.H.Lawrence speaks of as ‘the spirit of the place’ The world outside Malgudi is a suffocation for

The ideas and institutions of colonial modernity were brought to India from outside that is by the agents of European, especially British imperialism. This was in sharp contrast to the primarily or largely internal or indigenous processes through which Europe itself had launched its project of enlightenment and modernity. The claim of monopoly and expertise over modernity was used as justification by the colonial powers to fulfil its imperial ambitions. The colonial rule reflected dichotomies at two different levels. Firstly, liberty that was held to be the most sacred value of the enlightenment project was being curtailed through the process of colonialism- another product of the same project. Further, the same argument of modernity which was being used to enlarge civil liberties in west was used to deny basic rights to the colonial masses. This was also reflected in the case of freedom of expression. The people who celebrated and claimed freedom of expression and press as sacred in their own societies, under the garb of imperial rulers became its ardent critique in the colonies, restricting both free expression and freedom of press for their own benefits. For many, British India was a contradictory political formation. In Henry Maine’s words, it was a “most extraordinary experiment” involving “the virtually despotic government of a dependency by a free people.” These dichotomies produced a new context through the interaction of ‘east’ and ‘west’ which is clearly

E.M. Forster’s classic novel “A Passage to India” tells the story of a young doctor, Dr. Aziz, and his interactions with the British citizens who are residing in India during the time of the British Raj. Throughout the novel, the reader gets many different viewpoints on the people and the culture of India during this point in history. The reader sees through the eyes of the Indian people primarily through the character of Dr. Aziz, and the perceptions of the British through the characters of Mr. Fielding, Adela Quested, and Mrs. Moore. Through the different characters, and their differing viewpoints, the reader can see that Forster was creating a work that expressed a criticism that he held of the behavior of the British towards their Indian subjects.