India is starting to go through a dramatic change. In England, attire - or rather what ever happens to be this years fashion trend, tends to be the same which ever part of the country you may be in. In India, there's a clash of the traditional attire (sarees and kurtis for example) and western clothing (jeans and t-shirts), which only becomes apparent after spending some time in an urban city.
You won't really observe the change out in the rural areas; Indian culture and tradition is still going strong out in the sticks. But I noticed that Chennai is gradually becoming "westernised". There are western fast food chain restaurants and clothing shops, that play god awful western pop music popping up everywhere. I noticed that a lot of younger generation females are swapping their sarees for tight jeans and a branded tee. And they'll even have their hair down.
Thanks to films and music video, what is socially acceptable is also changing. Now in England, it is common to see lovers showing affection towards eachother - usually through kissing and/or hand holding. In India, showing affection has not been allowed, or at least it is not acceptable anyway. If you see two males or two females holding hands, it is not because they are lovers, but because they are friends. But now, in the city at least, you'll see lovers holding hands too. I think this is due to debauche films focusing on romantic storied, and also the provocative and sexy performances in song videos, which all could well have been inspired by the western media. The younger generation are absorbing it all in and imitate what they see, so it is now becoming the norm. I think in some decades time, India will be a changed place that will start to lose its culture and make way for the modern era at this rate. I remember having this discussion with Arun last year, after he showed me some music videos and I pointed out the hypocrisies. He even said the same thing more or less.
This is what my final thoughts were as I left Chennai, train bound for Katpadi. Once I got there, I met up with Kalai who took me to her office and gave me some of her lunch. After some time, Sidhu arrived to help me find a hotel. It was great to finally see him again!
He and a couple of other guys managed to find me one called Milliniium Plaza. So I hopped on Sidhu's bike and after a very short distance, we arrived. My room here is a lot nicer than Raj Residencey, but is slightly more expensive. It's worth the price though as the bed is comfortable and comes with a blanket and no bed bugs; there's hot water to have a bucket wash with and it came with complimentary towels and soap. Must always keep the windows closed though as when I went for a piss, I looked out of the window to see a couple of monkeys just chilling on the sill. If my window were to have been open, some stuff could have potentially been stolen. You have to watch out for the theiving bastards! Even from the third floor.
I haven't done much here other than eaten at some nice restaurants and gone for long walks. I'll only be staying here till Saturday.
You won't really observe the change out in the rural areas; Indian culture and tradition is still going strong out in the sticks. But I noticed that Chennai is gradually becoming "westernised". There are western fast food chain restaurants and clothing shops, that play god awful western pop music popping up everywhere. I noticed that a lot of younger generation females are swapping their sarees for tight jeans and a branded tee. And they'll even have their hair down.
Thanks to films and music video, what is socially acceptable is also changing. Now in England, it is common to see lovers showing affection towards eachother - usually through kissing and/or hand holding. In India, showing affection has not been allowed, or at least it is not acceptable anyway. If you see two males or two females holding hands, it is not because they are lovers, but because they are friends. But now, in the city at least, you'll see lovers holding hands too. I think this is due to debauche films focusing on romantic storied, and also the provocative and sexy performances in song videos, which all could well have been inspired by the western media. The younger generation are absorbing it all in and imitate what they see, so it is now becoming the norm. I think in some decades time, India will be a changed place that will start to lose its culture and make way for the modern era at this rate. I remember having this discussion with Arun last year, after he showed me some music videos and I pointed out the hypocrisies. He even said the same thing more or less.
This is what my final thoughts were as I left Chennai, train bound for Katpadi. Once I got there, I met up with Kalai who took me to her office and gave me some of her lunch. After some time, Sidhu arrived to help me find a hotel. It was great to finally see him again!
He and a couple of other guys managed to find me one called Milliniium Plaza. So I hopped on Sidhu's bike and after a very short distance, we arrived. My room here is a lot nicer than Raj Residencey, but is slightly more expensive. It's worth the price though as the bed is comfortable and comes with a blanket and no bed bugs; there's hot water to have a bucket wash with and it came with complimentary towels and soap. Must always keep the windows closed though as when I went for a piss, I looked out of the window to see a couple of monkeys just chilling on the sill. If my window were to have been open, some stuff could have potentially been stolen. You have to watch out for the theiving bastards! Even from the third floor.
I haven't done much here other than eaten at some nice restaurants and gone for long walks. I'll only be staying here till Saturday.
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