It’s Time To Start Posting Again!

Hi Everyone!

I think it’s getting to be nearly 2 months since I’ve written anything on here, and boy has it been a crazy and eventful 2 months! I’m getting ready to go to Chicago in a few weeks so that I can start my ‘MA Program in the Social Sciences’ which could more easily be described as my second MA in Anthropology and hopefully some History mixed in. So the countdown has officially begun. There is a lot more preparation to do before I make the big move, like finding a place to live (!) but hopefully luck hasn’t left me and it’ll all work out in the end.

Part of the prep of leaving home has been to help my mom (whose birthday it was today coincidently – Happy Birthday Maa!!) make some room in the house by getting rid of years and years of paperwork that I’ve hoarded since my high school days (eek!). So we’ve just got suitcases full and my cupboards are overflowing with clothes and lots of memorable junk, so the spring cleaning for Manjree has commenced. Boo-ya!

Anyway, so the good news is, while I was rummaging through stacks of projects and lecture notes, I found my ‘MEMORY PILE’ – which is literally a pile of poems, stories, essays, etc… that I’m really proud of from the olden days – which means I’ll have more to post on here soon. I thought I’d lost it, and it majorly sucked because nothing was saved on my computer since my last one unexpectedly died years ago. But thank god I’ve found it now and I’m not letting it out of my sight anymore… So a big yay and thumbs up!

I’m excited to share my writings with you…keep an eye open for upcoming posts!

~ Manjree

Grad School Comic Strip Relief

This is going to be me in a year’s time… I decided to join the University of Chicago for an MA in Social Sciences this Fall…

This is me now… As I fill out student loan applications…

Body Images: a comparative approach

Whether you look like one of these

or like this Venus figurine

No one has the right to make you feel bad about how you look or tell you that you are imperfect in any way.

Fashionable trends will go and come and it makes little sense to follow them blindly. However, it’s important to realize that current western ideas of beauty as thin and slender with a flat belly was not always considered beautiful in the past, and not even among different societies today. In many societies, women who have a bigger derrieres and wider hips are found to be more attractive than those without. Also, many people have also been known to prefer at least a fashionable little bulge on the belly and waist, rather than flat or six-pack abs.

Your body type will be considered ‘perfect’ somewhere in the world, even if it is not in your own community – and this I strongly believe is true for each and every person in this world. Therefore, it is no surprise to learn that if a man or woman wants to be an actor or actress, they need only look for the right entertainment industry in the right part of the world to join. This is why so many foreigners with ‘outside’ roots are becoming commonplace in Bollywood – the Indian film industry – and achieving recognition here.

This brings me to something I remember from my Introductory Anthropology classes back in my undergraduate days. It was relatively early on that we were introduced to the existence of groups like the feeder communities in the United States. Personally I find feederism really interesting because their ideas of beauty and erotica are often at complete odds with our skinny-conscious society. Unless someone does not wish to be fed or gain weight, and is being pressured or force-fed against their will, I see no problem in this kind of lifestyle. Read this article for more on feeders. Comparatively, this kind of force and pressure is not uncommon in our society either, with such eating disorders as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa affecting so many people, which are in complete contrast to the ideologies of feeders and feedees.

Let me know what you think!

Film Review: Way of Blue Sky (2005) a.k.a. 青空のゆくえ

I watched this 102min Japanese film last week and was pleasantly surprised by the subtle portrayals of first love and friendship in its storyline. Way of Blue Sky (Aozora No Ukue) was released back in 2005 and directed by Masahiko Nagasawa, who was also a producer on the wonderfully poetic film Love Letter (1995) directed by a man I much admire – Shunji Iwai. You can watch this film online at MySoju, but in the meantime, here is a trailer for the film (with some pretty bad quality english subtitles).

The film tells the story of Masaki Takahashi (played by Takuya Nakayama), a junior high student who announces that he is moving to the United States that summer, and the effect it has on the five girls in his class that have feelings for him. The story is about the trials and tribulations of average 15 year olds, such as the crushes and first loves that blossom through these times. Way of Blue Sky is a heartfelt and touching story that is uplifting and positive in its message. The drama does not bog you down, but draws you to sit comfortably on your sofa and watch peacefully. The soundtrack is a big plus! A film that entices your senses and a prime example of serenity, Way of Blue Sky tells a cosy and warming tale.

The melodrama is kept to a minimum as Way of Blue Sky explores the simplicity, purity and depth of boy-girl friendships and is more an attestation to the strength of relationships. The array of character traits portrayed by the five female leads in the film are also mention-worthy, as no two are alive and each has their own unique trait. It brought a smile to my face to see the ‘foreigner’ Naoko Ichida (Aki Nishihara), the smart-alec Alisa Takahashi (Mei Kurokawa), childhood friend Haruna Kawahara (Mikako Tabe), and tomboys Yumi Hayami (Ayaka Morita) and Takako Suzuki (Saya Yuki).

Thankfully it doesn’t feel too much like a teen romance. Rather, Way of Blue Sky a nice movie to watch on a rainy cold day as it brings a small smile to your face guaranteed!

I’d rate this film a 6.5/10

Decisions

I just received my last rejection in my mail today, which gives me a depressing total of 0/6 schools I applied for to do my PhD in this year. It’s been a grueling process, not to mention the toll it’s taken on my pocket. I still can’t believe that hundreds of people apply to each graduate program and put in all this effort, only to receive a paragraph and no explanation in reply. Even for the handful of people who get accepted, it must seem like they got lucky because the schools accept soo few applicants that it must just seem like a dream come true that is unexpected. On that note, one of the schools that rejected me for a doctorate did recommended me for their one year MA in Social Science program and I was accepted into with partial funding. While my first thought was – I already have a BA and MSc, why should I do another MA! – that thought was quickly replaced by relief for at least getting accepted into something, plus the fast that a double masters wasn’t the work idea…

It wasn’t long ago that I thought I’d do a PhD in a different topic (my original topic) in the UK. But as it turned out, lecturers and professors I emailed both in the UK and US wouldn’t give me straight answers or even reply to my emails, and my topic dwindled down and evaporated into the abyss. I didn’t have time to mourn my dream PhD topic (which was a continuation of my MSc thesis) as I only had 45 days before applications had to be submitted. So I put my brain into gear again and thought of another topic that could match the first in creativity, uniqueness, and potential.

By this point I also started to wonder about financing my studies, as I didn’t want to burden anyone, and decided to concentrate on schools in the United States. At least I could get some teacher training or research trainingwhilespending lots of money!While chances were slim of getting funded, at least there was a chance – unlike studying in the  UK and Australia – to get others to fund part of my study. So it was decided I would change my focus from the UK to the US, but the question of a valid thesis question still needed to be procured. I finally decided to go out of my comfort zone and changed directions from a formerly hardcore Archaeological Science topic to a European History/Art project. I justified my transfer in my personal statement and though every method I could think of. This time around I didn’t have time to ask prospective professors for their opinions. Or to be more precise, I didn’t want to hear what they had to or didn’t have to say.

I’m sure life will go on, but I’m not quite sure what to do next… I need to give the university that offered me a spot on their MA program my decision by May 1st, and I will be applying for a research grant come mid-May, but as the acceptance rate for that is about 5%, I’m not keeping my fingers crossed for this one either. As I see it, the less disappointed I’ll be if I have fewer expectations in this part of my life. Other than that, my future is, at least for today, a blank slate.

Wish me luck on my journey…

The Inspiring Story of Patrick Henry Hughes

As I don’t have a suitable topic for my post today, I thought I’d pass along this beautiful video-message shared by fellow blogger Romney – may it inspire us all to live up to our full potential!

Sarvodaya

This is one of the most touching narratives I’ve seen in some time. You need to see it to believe it.

I wonder if I would turn out any better if I were in this young man’s shoes. It takes an exceptional person to make due with such difficult circumstances, let alone achieve greatness.

Hat tip to my good friend Javier for sharing this with me.

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Culture Unplugged Film ‘The Wonder Hospital’ (2010)

I invite you to watch the 12min animation film The Wonder Hospital by Beomsik Shimbe Shim (click here for his website) shown below. I came across this short film on the Culture Unplugged website, an online film festival that hosts a variety of free documentaries that range in duration from under 2mins to feature length films. Shimbe’s The Wonder Hospital is an intriguing portrayal of color, motion, viewpoints and facets, all rolled up into one fantastical adventure.

As the synopsis so aptly describes: what if plastic surgery is another optical illusion device we invented? With that question, it takes a surreal journey through a mysterious hospital that alters the perception of physical beauties. The moral being that there is no right-side-up, as my last post post showed (with two versions of the same image), bringing to light different aspects of the same thing through changes in angularity. A classic case of the infamous blind men with an elephant scenario…

I highly recommend this refreshing film and encourage you to browse Culture Unplugged’s other films as well, if you have the time and inclination…

“The Wonder Hospital” [Full film, 12min] by Beomsik Shimbe Shim.

Skeletal Depictions of Hello Kitty and Other Children’s Cartoons by Michael Paulus

We’ve all grown up with a range of children’s cartoons and somehow many of them are able to brave the test of time and the so-called generational gaps. It’s through the continuous marketing and re-marketing of these icons that they avoid retirement, I suppose. Mickey Mouse, Snoopy, Winnie the Pooh, Curious George, Sailor Moon, Tom & Jerry, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the Care Bears are all characters that send me whizzing back into my childhood days…

And growing up in Japan, one big favorite was always Hello Kitty! Imagine my curiosity and excitement when I came across a tweet by fellow Kobe-ite @HirokoTabuchi, where she put up an image of Hello Kitty’s skeleton! Now, having studied osteology, I find everything with bones exciting. [I’m more into human bones, but then, Hello Kitty is as much human as anyone else!] So thus I was introduced to the works of Michael Paulus.

The time has come to share this fascinating artwork with all of you. Although there are a grand total of 22 characters that Michael Paulus has experimented with, I only show Hello Kitty and Snoopy here. If you’d like to see the rest – or rummage through his other handiworks – I encourage you to visit his website or etsy shop.

An interesting blog post by Jeremy is also worth a look, especially as explained herein is how and why Michael Paulus decided to draw cartoon skeletal systems.

Fascinating stuff…enjoy!

P.S. Michael Paulus, if you are reading this, how about one on Doraemon too…I love him!

Related Posts:

• 90s Cartoons (aroraterrialice.wordpress.com)
• Hello Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitty Collection by Yodanz (swagsofresh.com)
• Cartoon Cat Cuisine – The Hello Kitty Dreams Restaurant Opens in Beijing (trendhunter.com)

The Importance of Saying ‘Sorry’, ‘Thank You’ and ‘I Love You’ across Socio-Cultural Contexts

A few weeks ago I was having a conversation with these two Indian guys and we started talking about saying Thank You among friends in different socio-cultural contexts. This discussion started when I automatically said “thank you” after one of them did something for me (it was something insignificant like passing me a napkin). The all-important response from them was along the lines of “don’t say thank you…there is no reason to…there’s no Sorry and no Thank You among friends…at least not in India.” Hello culture-clash!! Now, in the years I’ve spent living in India, I have heard this ‘Friendship Rule’ numerous times in movies, newspapers, and otherwise. But this was the first time someone said it to me. So I couldn’t help elaborating on the comment and making it a full-blown exchange of ideas.

I explained that I was aware it was unnecessary (and often avoided) to mention Sorry or Thank You among friends circles in India, but the opposite was true for someone like me who had lived in America and the United Kingdom. They were confused so I explained further. My reply was of the following fashion – “For me, I tend to feel more inclined to say Sorry and Thank You if I am among my friends. What I feel is what I like to convey to the other person, and I can do that easily among people I am close to. So if I am sorry or happy or feeling gratitude for something, I’ll say it and would also want the other person to say the same to me as well. It’s not a big deal, and it isn’t a big declaration, but I believe our friendships would suffer if we didn’t share our feelings. So for us, it is essential to say thank you among friends, even more than among strangers. The same way not saying such ‘formalities’ makes for closer bonds among Indian friends, saying these same things make our friendships grow stronger.” And the conversation went so on and so forth… It wasn’t until this topic was broached that I realized that the importance of such phrases like Sorry and Thank You in social life are not uniform across cultures.

I can’t seem to figure out when I first learnt how important saying Thank You was to me. I may have been about 15 years old when I first learnt its significance, but never truly understood its power until a few years later, when I was 18 years old. Growing up in Japan, I would often use the phrase in formal settings – when talking to strangers or elders or teachers, etc… However, we barely used the word in any informal setting – between friends or family. At home…I rarely said Thank You to my parents, except on one special day of the year – Mother’s Day. I guess I also grew up without saying I Love You to my family (not even my grandparents) until I left home to go to college. The feeling was felt, it was understood, it was written down in cards, but it was never spoken. Even today, these words – Thank You and I Love You – are hard for me to say.

Now that I think back to it, in the years I’ve spent in Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, and India, I’ve come to realize that I use phrases like Sorry and Thank You in informal settings numerous times a day in each country. The ‘anthropology’ of it all, as it were, could be understood by examining how these words are important to different societies. Thus, Japanese people are generally overtly polite in thought/act/speech, even in informal situations, while people in the United States and the United Kingdom are taught such pleasantries as Thank You and Sorry more habitually by thought/speech – like the popular exchange Excuse Me and Bless You after someone sneezes. India, on the other hand, are more accustomed to these concepts by thought/act in familiar settings, with friendship rules to compensate for the lack of speech. When it comes to I Love You, everything is more or less the same, but both the Japanese and Indians generally express their emotions through thought/act, reserving speech for special occasions, while those from the US and UK are more expressive in overall thought/act/speech and frequently say I Love You  – sometimes too often. Interesting isn’t it!

and so I’d like to leave you with the following: to my parents, grandparents, older brother, close friends, far away friends, and blogosphere friends….

I Love You All

&

Thank You!!!

Plane Tales

Recently, when I took a flight (or rather multiple flights) from India to the United States, I went via Vienna. This was the first time I’d be touching Austria, and I was even travelling with Austrian Airlines for much of it, so I was super excited! Can’t say the experience was especially great or rewarding….but thats a relatively boring story…

Anyway, on my flight from Vienna to the US, I had my usual window seat and sitting beside me on the aisle seat was a 30-something Eastern European woman, travelling with her husband and two children who were across the aisle in the middle seats of the plane. Now the kids I guesstimate were in the pre-teen/teenage category – the younger girl probably about 11-12 years old and the older boy probably 13-14 years old. We took off at 10:30am EU time, so all the passengers were getting ready to catch up on a few hours of sleep – at least for the beginning of the journey. Even these kids were in their pajamas.

Before take off, I saw both were given their toothbrushes with a dabble of toothpaste on each. The parents were encouraging their kids to brush their teeth in their seats and swallow the toothpaste! The boy was slowly but surely doing that, but the girl was having quite the gag reflex at being forced to swallow the paste. To be honest, I don’t think I could stop staring…or mentally gagging either. Nothing stopped the kids from brushing their teeth before boarding or after the seat-belt sign went off. They could easily totter to the in-flight bathrooms to rinse out their mouths. So why go to the extreme of ingesting this fluoride-infused substance??? Needless to say that if this anecdote were about babies or young toddlers, I wouldn’t bat an eyelid, but the fact that older children were involved in this scene was uncomfortably bothersome.

While I was watching all of this transpire, I thought to myself – “it’s just you thinking too much, Manjree! Many people swallow while they’re brushing. You see it in films SOO much. So it isn’t weird, just different to how you were taught to brush your teeth”. Ethnocentrism 101. Isn’t that what we’d been taught in Anthropology, to question what we find different or unusual in behaviour of other human beings? So I put it down to European lifestyle habits and promptly took the thought out of mind. Then I came home and Google-d the topic – results showed that toothpaste should NOT be ingested or swallowed in high amounts because it can be harmful and even lethal to the person. However, if the toothpaste does not contain fluoride, then it may be safe to swallow. Wikipedia states:

“With the exception of toothpaste intended to be used on pets such as dogs and cats, and toothpaste used by astronauts, most toothpaste is not intended to be swallowed, and doing so may cause nausea or diarrhea.”

So now the question is – what does this tale say, or not say, about parenthood, European culture, or even ideas of health and safety in the ‘West’ today? Was my reaction or thoughts that derive from this incident ethnocentric or not?

I’ll let you be the judge of that and would love your comments on this post…

Update of the Week

So I’ve been travelling for the past week or so for Indian weddings and to meet family around India. I’ve been attacked by a zillion mosquitos and enduring the scratching and many sleepless nights…and am now back home! But it’s only for a short while before I go on another series of trips again – to the United States – this time. Looking forward to it!

While I’ve been away I haven’t had much internet access, but I definitely have a whole bundle of ideas and fodder for future blog posts so stay tuned! In the meantime, look at my new and improved Katrina Kaif in Chikni Chameli post which I just updated with pictures, color, and links today! I’m much happier with it now… 🙂