India, On Film

I came to a point of reflection at this point in my travels, prompted by two films: The Darjeeling Limited and Outsourced. Briefly, my thoughts.

I heard a lot of bad reviews before finally seeing Darjeeling, and without high expectations, I couldn't help but like it. It was a good Wes Anderson movie. I enjoyed it more than Life Aquatic, but I thought the family dynamics were better presented in Royal Tenenbaums. I didn't laugh nearly as much as I had while watching Rushmore, but I smiled more throughout.

As for Outsourced, I would have found it just awful had I watched it a year ago. The story isn't engaging and the characters were pretty shallow. But as an American who's worked in India, it's so completely relatable. So much, in fact, that the writer must have lived the experience himself. It is spot-on with the cultural nuances of not just Indians, but displaced Americans, too.

After watching both movies, I realized very strongly that I really enjoy India on film; that is, I enjoy looking at India and thinking about India. Film makes me realize everything I love experiencing here. The busy streets, the exotic and iconic architecture, the humorous interactions with auto-rickshaw drivers: living in this country often feels like a film.

(Of course, I've left out that the professional culture can be often insufferable. But I'm not going to focus on that.)

On Friday, I'm moving to Hyderabad. Of all the places I could have gone, it was probably second-to-last on my list. But it does give me the opportunity to become a tourist once again. The feeling of an observer, an outsider, a visitor; it would seem undesirable, but I'm considering it invaluable. It allows me the same mindset of everyone back home who couldn't understand why I'd be anxious to leave. Cultural annoyances, needless processes, absent comforts: these are all easily forgiven by the short-term traveler. It makes it easier to laugh. It renews the curiosity. Like any rising conflict in a movie, it has a resolution. Mine is hopefully only 6 weeks away.