Aside from the sensationalised portrait of India that is transported back home through stories of these travellers, substantiating the Indian stereotype, the blind acceptance of ‘culture’ in India can have a negative impact. I observed some western females accepting, even encouraging, gratuitous attention from adolescent boys during Holi. This is not a reflection of Hindu culture, but symptomatic of an unpleasant shift in the last decade that has severe repercussions on women in India – many stay behind locked doors for several days leading up to the festival, as young men roam the streets with impunity. By allowing such attention, western tourists are not embracing the spirit of Holi, but contributing to the degeneration of attitudes that make society increasingly unsafe for young women. Perhaps if people began to think about the wider effects of their active participation in everything they encounter, they would reconsider their conduct.
Similarly, if people associated their participation in the border ceremony at Attari with aggressive nationalist sentiment or the propagation of destructive stereotypes about the ‘other’ nation, perhaps they would think twice about attending. I find it hard to believe that most of these people would line the streets of their own town to cheer their own country’s military might, especially if they shared a volatile border with a hostile neighbour that presented a fairly real security threat. So why endorse such an affair in India?
Because it is colourful and ‘culturally’ different, and because it comes highly recommended by the Lonely Planet. It is a shame that the vast majority of people I have met travelling in India have sought nothing more than these three considerations. However, as long as people continue to come to India for the same ill-defined cultural escape, the same blind acceptance of all things different will continue and the same lack of critical thought will blight the understanding of ‘cultural’ experiences.
Back-Packer Mentality: Part II by Ben Thurman
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