Once again, the afternoon call to prayer outside of our flat is cause for some introspection on my part. I realize that in this blog to date, I have spoken of my experiences with Ramzan and briefly outlined some Hindu traditions but I think it's time to explain a bit more about the way religion functions in India. Despite its status as a secular state, religious traditions of all types permeate every aspect of life in India, but in some ways you wouldn't expect.
A new friend of mine, recently arrived to the country, was surprised by the fact that I have Muslim friends who also will share a table with my Hindu friends. I was a bit taken aback by this shock. I mean, growing up with what I would see as a fairly diverse group of friends, this isn't exactly an anomaly. But the way that we view religion in the west, especially Islam, is colored a bit differently than things are here.
For starters, let's take the burkha. Most Americans see it as a means of oppression or at least don't quite understand the sentiment behind it. But I also think most would be suprised to visit my school where the teachers walk in wearing burkhas but immediately take them off to reveal beautiful sarees underneath. Instead, the burkha is treated similarly to how we would treat wearing a jacket from place to place, and is just a part of the daily routine. That is not to say that there are not plenty of women who wear only the burkha in public, but for the most part, one's religious identity here is a fluid concept. I know plenty of Muslim women who wouldn't be caught dead in anything but the newest designer jeans and trendiest shoes and who have hardly worn a headscarf a day in their life. Just like I know Hindus who scoff at the idea of wearing a saree to anything but a wedding. To be Hindu or Muslim or Sikh is a fact of life and not necessarily the end all or be all of a person's identity and doesn't necessarily define every action you take.
One of the first questions I was asked by the students in my school was my religion and whether or not we fast like Muslims or Hindus do. Of course, it's easier to just say Christian than to try and explain the complicated nature of my religious identity. And when I told them that fasting isn't exactly something I have ever done in my life, they were shocked. Because following religious traditions comes as naturally to them as taking Labor Day off from work for us does, even if someone chooses to do so by different degrees. No one blinks at the fact that school is a half day every Friday for prayers or closed on a random Tuesday for a celebration of the god Ganesh. Talk about coexistance to the extreme.
Similarly, when it comes to food, you have all of the options in the world. 'Veg or nonveg' is always asked because some Hindus won't eat meat, some Muslims won't eat pork but there are a fair share of people (like ourselves) who are just plain carnivores. And no one judges anyone else for their decisions. There might be a meat shop nearby a Hindu temple and no one really gets put off by that. Can you imagine the controversy in the States if a McDonalds opened right next door to a Hindu temple? Let's just say there would definitely be some legal suites pending...
Of course, India has had its fair share of religious violence and this is not to imply that the country has found the right way to deal with such pluarality. But there is something to be said while I watch the Hindu and Muslim girls at my school gossip with one another, share food, and respect each other's religious and cultural differences. So much about what we fear in the west is the unknown, "the other," and this xenofobia is often directly connected to religious identity. Yet it's hard to fear someone when they are your neighbor, classmate, or friend. Tolerance, even if a function of proximity and necessity, really is something to see here. Still though, don't expect to see me fasting any time soon. There's definitely a Dal Fry somewhere nearby always calling my name.
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