Slumdog

So I watched Slumdog Millionaire (maybe some of you have heard of it). It is a very well-made movie. The basic story is about this young man who goes on India's version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire," but he's accused of cheating when he gets farther than anyone expected him to. He grew up in the slums of Bombay (now Mumbai), so how could he possibly know the answers to the questions asked? So he goes through memories of his life and how he came to know the answers to the specific questions asked of him on the show.

The movie shows a very real, but very sad side of India. Some people here do not like the movie because it only shows the negative or underbelly of India. But there are many different Indias. Yes, there is an India of extreme wealth and power. There's a middle class India, which appears to be growing. The majority India is of people who have enough to live, but are just getting by (in the US, these people would be considered poor, or below the poverty line.) But still there is another India of extreme poverty, where children are put to work, or people are made to be beggars, mutilated to bring in more money. This is the India shown on the screen. While this may not be the India of many, it is an India that exists.

I enjoyed the movie. For those few short hours, it was as if I was back in the US, watching a film about a country I had visited, and certain things made me smile and think "only in India." I could even follow some of the Hindi conversations without needing to read the English translations on the screen. :)

I'm falling in love with India. Which India? I don't know. All of them. I'm beginning to feel like India is a part of me, and somehow I am a part of India. One of my friends here keeps telling me that I'm Indian. I eat extra chilies during my meals, and I eat with my hands. I join in the tribal dances any chance I get. I'm speaking Hindi more and more. In some ways, I feel like I belong in India. And yet, in other ways, I'm totally the foreigner. This country is so complicated. And I'm afraid that my feelings about this country are just as complicated. On that note, I hope everyone had a Happy Republic Day yesterday! :)