Tiranga (tri-color: rang=color)

Last night we went to a performance celebrating Indian Flag Day (August 31). Like many many things here, it was amazing and I cannot do it justice. They explained what the saffron, green, and white colors and blue Ashoka Chakra. To sum it up, I will quote Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (an Indian Vice President at one point time) via wikipedia,
"Bhagwa or the saffron colour denotes renunciation of disinterestedness. Our leaders must be indifferent to material gains and dedicate themselves to their work. The white in the centre is light, the path of truth to guide our conduct. The green shows our relation to (the) soil, our relation to the plant life here, on which all other life depends. The "Ashoka Chakra" in the centre of the white is the wheel of the law of dharma. Truth or satya, dharma or virtue ought to be the controlling principle of those who work under this flag. Again, the wheel denotes motion. There is death in stagnation. There is life in movement. India should no more resist change, it must move and go forward. The wheel represents the dynamism of a peaceful change."

To celebrate the flag, poetry was read and music played in 4 sections, one for each part of the flag. The poetry was in Hindi...so I could tell when he was using the progressive tense...but the meaning alluded me. Luckily, music is universal and "wvah!" (Hindi "wow!") was it amazing. There was a traditional singer, a guitarist (...probably not a guitar, but to my eyes it was), a flutist (again, American interpretation of what it was), a man playing a large, fat pot that looked like a piece of art, and several drummers of various kinds. The drums were my favorite. They made all kinds of sounds, including one like a huge drop of water falling into a pool. They made such energetic rhythms and their fingers moved soo quickly. The drummers' hands reminded me of the spider I was trying to kill in my bathroom yesterday morning because his fingers all moved separately and at an amazing pace...then suddenly would pause and you never knew what they would do next, so you could feel calm for a moment, then the movement starts again and with it, the excitement (since I enjoyed the drumming so much it made me regret having killed the spider...) I also enjoyed watching the man who played the pot-like instrument because his head bobbled up and down and around with the rhythms as if he himself were part of the instrument. Trianga definitly made me feel the joy of liberation and the hope of peace and good will.

some rambling thoughts follow...
Having the privilage of attending that celebration and just general talk about colonialism (because I am in Indian and it is a theme in a few of my classes) has really put into the forefront of my reality that freedom is still new and fresh in many places in the world (and of course, not a reality in others.) Globalization is happening, and it is fusing identities while thrusting them into the forefront. What does it mean to be Indian or Nigerian or Western? What is progress and who has the authority to dictate history? We have discussed such questions in the classrooms of my past, but being in a place that is itself living this debate really highlights that such questions are not history. They are now and they effect all of us.

Things that makes me laugh...language wise:
"Angali (pronounced sounds like "ugly") larki sundar hai." English:
"the next girl is beautiful" but to an english/hindi speaker sounds like "ugly girl is beautiful"

When I say things in Hindi my Indian friends often repeat what I say in English to confirm that that's what I meant to say. So here's my joke:
me: "Mai hasna pasand hai"
mera dost (my friend): "You like to laugh?"
me: "haahaahaa"
(haa means "yes" in Hindi)