Peace begins with a smile.Mother Theresa
We’ve all heard the term Ugly American used to refer to the stereotypical demanding, loud, money tossing, culturally insensitive (OK, enough, right?) caricature. It hurts, but we’ve all seen examples of parts of that non-existent person. Part of my mission on this trip is to create positive vibes towards America (it’s a long road back from the Bush years), and I believe strongly in the short, people-to-people exchanges such as these I’ve had as a way to get the vibe started.
*A friendly wave from our bus to some laborers in the back of a pick-up
*A cab ride that involves singing and joking with the cab driver
*A two minute interaction with a curious stranger in a cue for the ATM
*Tea with a friendly tailor while sharing family photos and chat
*Joking with wait staff at our hotels, and sharing tea from America (there’s the tea again!)
*Sharing a roof and a laugh during a monsoon downpour
I know these seem like small, unimportant exchanges, but we can’t all be Hillary (as much as I might like to be!). The USIEFI people have done an excellent job of setting up interaction opportunities for us, but the smaller chance interactions can be powerful as well, because m
any of the Indians I’m interacting with daily aren’t going to meet Hillary anyway. Indians have been immediately friendly and curious about their pale visitors, and frequently give us a shout out to Obama (POTUS, if you’re secretly reading this blog, take a bow) and give a heart-warming thumbs up to America in general. To that I say, right back at ya!On a grander scale, I think of these chance opportunities for spreading international good will, (EVERYONE asks if we are Americans, but most of them already know, wonder how???) one person’s efforts to inch toward respectful co-existence and understanding. Call me an idealist, but I don’t care! Everyone sing along…”…I’m as corny as Kansas in August, high as a flag on the Fourth of July….” There is a prize for the person who first lets me know the name of that song and from whence it came.
For Hindu deities, it’s back to the basics: one of the 3 gods, VISHNU.
Vishnu’s biggest job is to balance good and evil forces in the world, not an easy task. He is the protector, so when things fall into chaos, Vishnu intervenes and justice prevails.. (remember the story about Brahma the bluffer? Vishnu had to straighten him out) Vishnu has many forms: he can be himself, a blue four-armed god (why would you want to take any other forms, I ask you), but sometimes he takes other forms. There are 10 incarnations, or avatars, total, and the most famous are Rama, Krishna, and Buddha. Vishnu is often depicted sleeping in the coils of a giant snake floating on an ocean. Not my choice of sleeping accommodations, but it seems to work for him. In future blogs we’ll look at each of these 3 famous avatars.
Okay, internet down here for about 24 hours, but since no claim to the prize, I gotta go for it. Of course, its from SP. It's NF's song (MM on Broadway & MG in the movie).
ReplyDeleteIn accepting my prize, I'd like to thank my mom, who took me as a young child to see the movie version @ the old Page Theater, and my lovely wife, who reinforced my initial experience by providing a very enlightening talk on the values of the American musical for our senior English class in high school--including specific references to SP, and through her encouraging multiple opportunities to hear it though the years. Her prize is that she doesn't have to hear me attempt to sing my answer!