Hymn for the Weekend

When "Coldplay" released their new song Hymn for the weekend on 29th Jan, lesser they knew that the song would be the talk of the town for all the bad reasons. 

A day later after the song was released i.e. on 30th Jan, my Indian friend, Akanksha, shared the video in our Asian Society chat-group in facebook messenger. Not a very big fan of Coldplay (like my sister who loves them and yeah Beyonce as well), I knew there was something coming from them related to India. (After all,the devnagari script कोल्डप्ले  in their drum gave me some hint about it). 

The first thing that popped in my mind after watching the video was; "Nothing new. The same stereotype India as a colorful country with the Sadhus wrapped in their vermilion cloth piece with trishul in hand; women in sari and kids running around; the bolly-touch in the song". 

I have never been to India yet (though its closest to me and I don't need a visa for it), but I have seen much of India (Thanks to Bollywood and TV shows, we get to see much more of India). 

I had the same question to Akanksha, "Why do they only portray the part of India that we have seen time and again through the eyes of Westerners?" And yeah, she said, "There's more than Dharavi and Vapsi in India". 

True! 

I remember the same thing that is with our case as well. Looking through the eyes of westerners, I see Nepal as only poor, uneducated country with lots of Mongolian looking like people, kids with running nose and women in their torn sari carrying a heavy pack of fuel-wood in their back. I have a flatmate who went to Nepal once and all she remembers about Nepal is a little guy who was beating the bus loud throughout her journey from Kathmandu to Pokhara. 

Returning back, I agreed to the outcry that was going on against the video but then I thought this is what makes us unique. 

The women clad in sari; they can't find Sadhus anywhere else than India and Nepal; our very own Devnagari script; our Namastey; the slums we have (which is not good ofcourse); the mountains in Nepal (Everest precisely) and the people from the Himalayas; our belief and festivals (Holi and Deepawali which is shown in the video as well); the poverty and hardship we have and despite all these, we smile and are happy. We consider our guests as God and try to serve them the best way we can. Though we are hungry and have no food to eat, we have something to offer our God. 

This is what makes us unique.Take all these away from us and we will be like them. This is what distinguishes us from them.

Of course, India has slums but they have skyscrapers as well, they have poverty but they have TATA-BIRLAS as well; they have kids in streets but they have kids going to schools as well; they have Mahatma Gandhi to Rabindra Nath Tagore; they have Irfan Khan to Priyanka Chopra; they have Tendulkar to Sania Mirxa to Saina Nehwal. They have both of the aspects and the people from Wests only show and remember what they don't see in their part of the world. 

It's totally fine.

And about the way, Beyonce is dressed up in Sari, its just a modern touch to the traditional one. I think it's okay. I see Bollywood heroines experimenting with Sari, so whats the big deal in Beyonce trying that?

So a day before my final exams, I just wanted to share what was going on in my head. Stay calm and accept what it has been done. Enjoy the song; because music has no boundary... :)