Cheers from Chennai

In the New Year, the spirituality seeking foreigner and the hypersensitive Indian should focus on confronting their individual issues

BY TIM BLIGHT

Ok, so after five months in India, I’ve had enough. Not of the country itself – I’m loving that! But I’ve had enough of foreigners who come to India with preconceived notions of what they will experience, and I’ve had enough of Indians who are hypersensitive about anything that a foreigner thinks or says about this fine country. I’m still loving my time here but I’m quickly learning to tune out when the “Slumdog Millionaire - incredible tale or poverty porn” debate comes up. Or the “Tourist fantasy versus grinding reality” debate. Many westerners come to India searching for a spiritual experience - some even intentionally seek humble spiritual enlightenment. On the other hand, many of the Indians whom I’ve spoken with feel uncomfortable with this; they have expressed frustration at the perception that India’s biggest attraction lies in its ‘developing world’ status. This idea has only been fuelled by western popular culture such as Elizabeth Gilbert’s book (and movie) Eat Pray Love. Does one need to travel to India and live in an ashram to discover how to be spiritual? One thing about India which has always fascinated me is how religion seems to affect every aspect of public and private life. Perhaps this is why visitors feel more spiritually conscious in India; they are constantly reminded of religion. The rich, colourful festivals and practices of the subcontinent combined with the languid pace of a vacation can be particularly seductive when compared with the grind of daily life back home. Equally, ideas of the ‘exotic’ often include things which Indians aren’t proud of, such as grime, pollution and poverty. As Kalki Koechlin’s character in the 2011 film Shaitan was told, “You foreigners always find the dirt and filth exciting”. Is it appropriate for Westerners to come to India simply to fulfill their notions of subcontinental spirituality and exoticism? Especially when visitors often romanticise the India of their nightmares (poverty, bureaucracy, corruption) so it won’t spoil the India of their dreams (yoga at the Taj Mahal)? I would argue that it is not appropriate; however, this is a problem which faces tourist destinations around the world. Is it any different in essence to the hoards of tourists who visit Australia each year, buying up ‘traditional art’ while being completely ignorant of the actual plight of indigenous Australians? The thing about tourism is that it contributes to a nation’s economy, foreigners will form their opinions as they wish, and there’s very little that the host country can do about it. The Eiffel Tower was considered an eyesore by many Parisians when it was first constructed, so you can imagine the horror felt by many when it became the city’s defining structure for millions of tourists. Ultimately, and ideally, people would go to India with open minds and leave with informed opinions. Sadly, too many western travellers don’t.

On the other side of the equation stand too many Indians who are, in my opinion, hypersensitive about many of the issues facing their nation. Dirt is one of them; for a people who live with it every day, Indians seem to have a hard time getting over it. The borderline terror demonstrated by my friends when my shoes got dirty was disproportionate to the actual consequences of unclean shoes. Yes - the shoes were dirty and yes, they could be cleaned. End of story! Instead, what followed was an extended conversation about the perils of dirt being brought into the house. Similarly, poverty seems to elicit a nuclear response. I’ve often been lectured about how poverty and corruption make India one of the worst countries on earth. I object to this statement; while poverty and corruption exist, Indians also have much to be proud of, and other countries deal with their own chronic problems. Too often a sensitive, but informed conversation about poverty in India has been met with hostility. Several people have angrily told me that it’s my fault to begin with, because all the problems began with the British (?!). I’ve been told that the people who appear poor are actually, secretly, richer than you or I. One person even told me that as a foreigner, I wasn’t allowed to have an opinion on Indian domestic issues. Poverty exists, and it won’t go away by arguing or sweeping it under the rug. It seems that reactions to these “trigger issues” prevent many Indians from having a constructive, meaningful dialogue, not just with foreigners, but with each other. India has its problems, but they are not the reasons why I, as a foreigner, love it here. Nor do they prevent me from seeing all that India has to offer. I refuse to feel guilty about enjoying my life here. I propose we start this New Year by pledging to actually confront the issues which face us. No more ignorant tourists taking happy snaps with ‘cute’ impoverished locals. No more exploding at anyone who dares to (seriously) discuss India’s dark underbelly. Of course, it will take more than just one voice to make this happen, but we can always hope. I wish everyone a happy, healthy, prosperous but above all hopeful New Year.