Politics and Culture

India has a rather unruly democracy, but a democracy it is.  In spite of rampant corruption (where is there no corruption?), people are free to speak their minds, free to protest government policies – though sometimes the police and military do brutal crackdowns in “problem” areas of the country – and free to practice their religions and cultural traditions.

The other day as I was riding my bike to my favourite morning stop, I saw a group of protesters walking down the main road, KB Jacob Road, carrying communist flags and chanting loudly.  Of course, the Communist Party of India is fully legal and recognized here.  In fact in Kerala the Communist Party regularly won state elections and was the ruling party for more than 20 years, until they were recently voted out and replaced a more right wing party.  Nevertheless, they are a force to be reckoned with here in Kerala.

Protesters parade

On my way back from the beach, I pedalled through a large park area, and there they were again, parked in front of the local Excise Tax office, loudly complaining about policies.  There seemed to be an older man who was the leader, and he spoke for a while before the chanting began again.  The police were there, watching calmly, not interfering.  There was little tension, it was an acceptable activity for society here.

The "rally"

I read in the Indian newspaper about allegations of corruption, bribes and so on.  And of course there are family dynasties that always seem to be either in power, or on the threshold of power.  The Gandhis have always been a force since Mahatma, and the latest of the family, Rahul, has recently been chosen as vice president of the national ruling party, the Congress Party.  There are editorials for and against in the paper, not unlike the rants we read in Canadian papers for and against Stephen Harper (mostly against, I’m thinking).  So it’s same, same, only different.

People talk politics freely here, almost as much as they talk about the recent India / England cricket match (same same only different).  This is the big news.

It amazes me to experience the culture and politics of India.  In some ways, it is very sophisticated.  The art forms are based on thousands of years of practice, and are very highly developed.  The music is complex, soulful, varied, and the musicians show great mastery.  There is nothing backward about the musical accomplishments here.  The same goes for the many types of visual art and installation art we are seeing.  The first Bienniale in India is happening here in Kochi, and so we have visited several venues.  Some of the art is political, including a gripping presentation about unrest in Orissa state, where large industrial companies have displaced the local tribes to construct a huge industrial area.  When the tribes people came to protest peacefully in 2006, they were met with landmines and police bullets.  More than 60 people were killed, and the atrocity has been covered up, until this artist created a video and art installation – at great personal risk – to bring the situation to the world’s attention.  And so we were able to see this as part of a major Art Festival in Kochi.

Some of the art is highly conceptual.  In fact the concepts are so high they are way over my head.  Amy and I walk through several installations, and shake our heads.  “What was that?”  To me it seemed very self-indulgent and without a lot of depth or content.  Other presentations were much more interesting.  Artists from all over India as well as other countries (Pakistan, Iran, Australia, Holland, Germany and elsewhere) are presenting here.  It’s a big production with at least 20 venues.  I’m glad we are able to experience it.
As part of the Bienniale celebrations, last night we attended Shakespeare in the park, a presentation of a Polish theatre troupe, re-imagining Macbeth in a production called “Macbeth: Who is that Bloodied Man?” There were spirit like creatures on stilts, an operatic singer “narrating” parts of the story in heavily accented English, some dialogue, motorcycles, fires, and lots of killing.  It was a real spectacle, and we enjoyed it very much.  Of course, there were many locals watching as well, and we noticed at least a dozen cell phones going off at various points in the play, and the people answered their phones and carried on conversations in fairly loud voices as though it was normal (I guess it is!)

Ghosts on stilts - Macbeth

After the show, we went to the Teapot Café for chai masala, iced coffee with ice cream and dessert.  I asked the waiter about the “Death by Chocolate”, and he deadpanned: “Chocolate cake.”  So I passed.  Then the people at the next table started talking to us.  Of course, they were from Vancouver, so we traced common connections - there were many - and they recommended the “Chocolate cake”, so we ordered it (it was very good).  We had a nice visit with them, they had just arrived Cochin, so we offered suggestions of places to visit, and of course, saw them again this morning at our recommended breakfast restaurant (Kashi).  We will see them again in Canada, I’m sure.  Such is the way of travel.

Robert and Nicole (and Death by Chocolate)

 India, strange and wonderful.