On Feb 16, 2008 3:48 PM, Deepa Mohan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > Well, looks like Vijay TV has finally scraped up the guts to go beyond

Tamil (or Hindi) serials/movies with their retrograde, biased and suppressive 
attitude towards women all in the name of preserving culture (whatever it 
means) are a waste of my time........ my zero paise worth on most 
serials/movies/etc.

> I don't know her; but I found this article very interesting. However,
> as a dyed-in-the-wool Tambram (Tamizh Brahmin) Mami, I find this
> strange phenomenon that I call "pseudo-honesty" amongst many members
> of my community. They are perfectly willing to watch these reality
> shows, and perfectly willing to make fairly objective comments ...as
> long as it is all in the abstract. Discussing *themselves* or people
> known to them? Fat chance. You see, they, and their friends, are all
> "normal". That is exactly what one of my relatives said to me, "Thank
> goodness, we are all normal people". The people on these shows are,

Actually Hindu religion is truly free [0] [1] in every sense of the way and 
very open to (mis)interpretation, even if its followers are control freaks in 
the name of culture, honour, <whatever>

[0] http://www.galva108.org/deities.html
[1] http://www.galva108.org/hinduism.html

That said, as far as 'discussion' goes, that stems from the "dont ask 
questions" culture. Forget such shows, it extends to every sphere of our life. 
I find people unwilling to even question what they teach or learn themselves. 
When I learn carnatic music, I ask the meaning of the song in the language 
(usually telugu, tamil, kannada, malyalam, sanskrit which i am curious about) 
taught or why a particular raga is constructed in that way, how and why its 
similar or not, comparison with Hindustani music, and a zillion other mundane 
questions; which has always always annoyed every teacher i've known till date. 
Not that this research interests me but its just sheer curiosity; which i 
satisfy via the Internet. Maybe folks are not interested, dont care about the 
meaning or construction but I find the attitude toward teaching/learning more 
disappointing than anything else.
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