Not quite what Estelle had in mind when she sang about an "American Boy," but it is in essence who I am at the heart of the matter.
There have been times that I have wished perhaps this was not true, but over the years, and with the more travel that I do, there could be worse things to be, much worse.
Being in Varanasi, formerly known as Benares to the Americans and British, I am staying in a hotel that is adjacent to the Varanasi Mall, sporting the first Pizza Hut and the second McDonald's that I have seen in India, the first being on the road from New Dehli to Agra, go figure.
As the mall is a bit out, I did not feel like taking a rickshaw to the center for lunch, so was hoping to find a general store in the mall. Not opting for Pizza Hut nor McDonald's I entered the mall, only to hear Estelle and Kanye West booming down on me from the loudspeaker. I have almost ceased to be amazed at the timing, irony, and wonder of coincidences in India, but this one did make me smile.
I have enjoyed this song since it came out a few years ago, notwithstanding that I find Estelle smoking in this video, and looking rather Indian with her eye make-up, but this timing was quite funny. It was the first time that I have stepped into a "western" type establishment in India. Perhaps the only thing more awkward that white people trying to look Indian in India is Indians trying to be completely western. In the first place, nothing is finished in India, and the mall was no exception as half of the top two stories were not and probably never will be finished. All of the ceiling lights were out or broken, or never installed. Indians in traditional dress were hanging out being "mall rats." As I said, awkward. Americans know how to do malls and how to walk the walk in them.
Having finished a surprisingly good shahi paneer and dal, I was reminded of Dobie Mall in Austin, Texas, where I used to eat surprisingly good Indian food for lunch often during one of my several jobs at the University of Texas and during graduate school.
I am using Varanasi as a bit of a weigh station, a buffer zone between the India of my past couple of months and the Belgium that I will be heading back to as an American. The mall seemed to do just that.
There have been times that I have wished perhaps this was not true, but over the years, and with the more travel that I do, there could be worse things to be, much worse.
Being in Varanasi, formerly known as Benares to the Americans and British, I am staying in a hotel that is adjacent to the Varanasi Mall, sporting the first Pizza Hut and the second McDonald's that I have seen in India, the first being on the road from New Dehli to Agra, go figure.
As the mall is a bit out, I did not feel like taking a rickshaw to the center for lunch, so was hoping to find a general store in the mall. Not opting for Pizza Hut nor McDonald's I entered the mall, only to hear Estelle and Kanye West booming down on me from the loudspeaker. I have almost ceased to be amazed at the timing, irony, and wonder of coincidences in India, but this one did make me smile.
I have enjoyed this song since it came out a few years ago, notwithstanding that I find Estelle smoking in this video, and looking rather Indian with her eye make-up, but this timing was quite funny. It was the first time that I have stepped into a "western" type establishment in India. Perhaps the only thing more awkward that white people trying to look Indian in India is Indians trying to be completely western. In the first place, nothing is finished in India, and the mall was no exception as half of the top two stories were not and probably never will be finished. All of the ceiling lights were out or broken, or never installed. Indians in traditional dress were hanging out being "mall rats." As I said, awkward. Americans know how to do malls and how to walk the walk in them.
Having finished a surprisingly good shahi paneer and dal, I was reminded of Dobie Mall in Austin, Texas, where I used to eat surprisingly good Indian food for lunch often during one of my several jobs at the University of Texas and during graduate school.
I am using Varanasi as a bit of a weigh station, a buffer zone between the India of my past couple of months and the Belgium that I will be heading back to as an American. The mall seemed to do just that.
No comments:
Post a Comment