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The Effect of Westernisation on Indian Web Series

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The coming of Indian Web Series in the market has sure created a buzz by talking about things never discussed before. This comes with both positive as well as negative effects.

The ever-growing popularity of internet has led to the increase in the viewership of visual content. Several applications have been created in the recent times to cater to the market of visual media. The emergence of web series, in this respect, is perhaps the most prominent effect time has had on visual media. Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar, etc, have also stepped into the field of creating content rather than just distributing; several Indian channels have also taken the form of applications or apps as we know them.

Since the internet offers a greater audience than any other mode of communication in today’s time, makers have also stepped into the field of creating content for the internet (various apps included). Indian web series have stemmed out, as a result; as a river for the sea of already existing content online. Interestingly, they are stepping away from the standards set by the daily soap opera culture. Western values hav a lot to do with this, of course, but the consequences are both positive and negative.

A second year student from SGTB Khalsa College says, “Nudity in Indian web series has been made possible, courtesy western drama. With them being open about these things, they are not a taboo completely by themselves. Same goes with the use of profanity.” It is true that the way sex is shown in the web series being made in India is a lot different than the way it is hushed about in the soap operas and that it is an effect of the western shows that are relatively open about such things. The release of Sacred Games (on Netflix) took the audience by surprise initially by its presentation of profanity and promiscuity. With the typical Anurag Kashyap lingo, Sacred Games created a huge buzz among the viewers. Shows like Criminal Justice (on Hotstar) or Delhi Crime (on Netflix) have resorted to showing the dark side of law and justice.

Series like Made in Heaven and Four More Shots Please (on Amazon Prime) have even taken up the issues of the LGBTQ community. But where these web shows have taken a positive turn into the tricky road of revolutionising the industry and creating a market of their own through presenting things that were not previously even considered to be presentable, they are also, in some ways, misrepresenting or wrongly showing the actuality of things. A third year student from Jesus and Mary College says, “I think Indian shows generally confuse ‘progressive thinking’ with sexual promiscuity and functional alcoholism which appears to be just the case nowadays.”

Where it should be duly acknowledged that we, as a society, lack even minimal formal sex education, it should also be realised that the accessibility of sexual content by young people may have more harmful consequences than one might expect. The way an immature mind perceives such sensitive issues can be easily measured by the number of minors participating in the act of raping girls and women on a daily basis. Therefore, though it is important to talk and represent the concerns regarding issues of sex, sexuality, alcohol, etc, it is also equally important to focus on the how(s), when(s) and why(s).  

Feature Image Credits : NDTV

Akshada Shrotriya

[email protected]

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Campus Central

Indian Parents on Sex Education

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In a time when college campuses are becoming hubs for discussions on topics like LGBTQ and gender rights, how far have our parents come in terms of having open discussions about sex to their college-going kids? How far has the Indian household come?

When I was little, I had once asked my Mom- “From where did I come?” and she answered with a smile that she prayed and so it happened. The conversation could have ended then, but I asked her another question in return. “Mama, don’t the nuns pray all the time; why don’t they get babies?” That question remained unanswered, and it does so years later as well.

The elephant in the room that is never addressed is the way Indian parents see sex. The sad reality is that parents never discuss sex with their children, and yet expect them to have already known all this through various media-based platforms. The ambiguity about it is so well-maintained that we never expect them to tell us either. The relationship shared among the coming-of-age teenagers, and their culturally and traditionally submerged parents is so drastically aloof from the western style of parenting that a lot of sensitive topics are left unmentioned.

A silent understanding is reached where the latter expects the first to be smart and efficient in understanding such matters, without ever making sure that it so happens. Indian parents generally shush such matters, and when they do arise unintentionally, then these topics are manipulatively buried beneath the carpet so as to keep the kids away from it. We all must have experienced that awkward moment when a kissing scene comes on television, and we don’t know what to do when with our parents around us. Sex-based conversations are sensitive, often offensive, and have materialised into taboos.

It becomes all the more problematic with girls, where they are forced to hide their love lives from their parents, and live in the constant fear of being caught and may even experience guilt about hiding secrets from them. Most girls in the Indian society are given regulated freedom to the extent that they can study and build a life for themselves, but the basic decisions and steps in it are controlled. A matter as private as physical intimacy is turned into a monstrosity, a sin that unmarried woman must not engage in. She is told to suppress her feelings as long as a stranger is not arranged for her to get married to.

Indian parents have surely become westernised, with their almost-addictive tendencies towards their smartphones, but they have somehow stayed traditionally conservative on topics like sex. This lack of discussion is not only unhealthy for the child, but also vicious because the child is, at times, left without guidance and ends up in trouble. The vicious cycle then continues where it is never okay to discuss sex, generation-after-generation, no matter how modernised we become.

Certainly, that is not the case with all parents and the trend seems to be shifting with time. But it is still gradual beyond liking, and it remains something that parents seem to not easily adapt. The spine-chilling pieces of news of honour killings of couples to protect the family’s societal image, and forced marriages of youngsters when found having a lover or a partner are nothing new to us.

It is important that families communicate openly, so that children realise the boundaries of consent, contraception, and even intimacy, and it is important for the parents to understand that sex is natural and normal. Breaking the taboo around sex is not only important for larger goals like population control, but for better family dynamics as well. Sex may be a topic that parents and kids both may be too shy to put forward. But it is important as this would not only allow you to have such discussions in the future but would also allow them to see you as adults. Thus, it’s up to us as individuals to take the stand. Psychologically, certain discussions a mandatory to happen if one desires development and growth. Sex, if not in our parents times, but at least in ours should be a topic that the future generations aren’t afraid to discuss.

Image Credits: Netflix

Image Caption: Stand-up Comic, Hasan Minhaj, explained the communication gap and taboo of sex in Indian families.

Stephen Mathew

[email protected]

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DUB Speak

A letter to the Prime Minister on his plan to ‘cleanse’ India of western influence

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Dear Mr. Modi,

I had been lounging at my master’s feet while he read the newspaper this morning when I heard him softly chuckle to himself and mention the word ‘cleanse.’ My ears shot up in anticipation and I wagged my tail at the thought of the word ‘clean.’ A dog likes clean surroundings too, you see. All that garbage I see lying on the road when I’m taken for a walk, makes me want to throw up my chicken and bones. I like to sniff the clean breeze and feel rejuvenated every once in a while, except the pollution does not permit me this simple luxury.

You can imagine my distress when my master explained to his daughter that the ‘pollution’ that you and the RSS, working together, wanted to cleanse India of, is western culture. My tail settled back down with a thump and I shut my eyes, listening to the conversation with a weariness. School curricula, art and cinema, science and technology and libraries must be cleansed of western influence. Oh, heavy heart! What if everybody begins to speak in Sanskrit, now? I’m quite the western dog, you know, English is the only language I understand. Will the little baby of the house not be able to study American and European and Russian history? It could possibly make her a little less Indian. Ban that Leonardo da Vinci’s paintings from every household and public space. Listen to his name, so un-Indian! And what about that other Leonardo? Di Caprio, was it? He’s quite a good looker that man. My tail droops at the thought of not being able to watch his movies. All this is too much for me to digest.

Somebody must knock some sense into these human beings. How will you communicate with each other and with us dogs without a common language, may I ask? And, what is that sation you keep talking about? Globalisation, yes. The world is one place. Sharper divisions along boundaries and repeated assertions of national identity can only prove harmful to integration with the larger world out there. I have learnt to coexist with that St.Bernard across the road. We even nod at each other occasionally. Why cannot humans live with other cultures apart from their own? We are a global community. As we constantly interact with each other across the globe, parts of different cultures are bound to quietly seep into our own, and this is something to be proud of. For instance, the German Shepherd in the neighbour’s house has taught me how to rid myself of ticks and flees. Quite useful, I thought. Whatever happened to other, more important words like global warming, poverty and inflation? I always assumed they were weightier words than ‘western culture.’

Besides, culture is a social construct. It isn’t something that is unnaturally imposed on society. Rather, it develops gradually, resulting from the historical and socio-economic processes that the country is subject to. You cannot forcefully straighten a dog’s tail, can you?

 

Sincerely,

Your neighbourhood dog.

 

Abhinaya Harigovind

[email protected]

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DUB Speak

Indian cuisine: A review

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North Indian Cuisine

As you hop down from the bus/auto and enter the swanky South Extension market, you will see a tiny, nondescript dhaba very close to the bus stand. This is the quintessential Delhi dhaba, with little space to sit, mouth watering food and dirt cheap prices all rolled into one.

Try the palak paneer if it’s vegetarian de rigueur for you. The naan is soft and good and the dal makhni scores decently as well. However I wouldn’t recommend the shahi paneer to those who are shy of food floating in oil.

Good service, reasonable rates and awesome food, this is precisely why one should come here.

The only thing you need to be careful about is hygiene, but then that is something you must overlook at a dhaba! The food can be a little too hot for the taste buds, however it is still worth it. Ask for extra helpings of pickles at this place, they are simply out of this world! In fact, they don’t even mind serving an extra helping of the main dishes without charging an extra penny. Bring on the food, we say!

On the whole, this dhaba is excellent value for money and an important stop over for Delhi foodies!

My rating: 4/5

South Indian Cuisine

dian food, but never have enough money on them to go to a Sagar, Saravana Bhavan or the likes, this is the place to be. This small dhaba located opposite the Jantar Mantar is one place that you simply cannot miss, crammed as it is at almost every hour of the day by hungry office goers out for a snack. You have to place your order with an authoritative man who in turn yells them out most incoherently to the cook. The cook, blessed with almost superhuman powers of comprehension, then proceeds to whip up anything you may have cared to order, from dosas to utthapams, in a matter of five minutes.

Idlis, vadas and a variety of other snacks, including a dessert called rava kesari, are also available and at a nominal price. The prices of the items range from Rs 15 for an agreeable quantity of upma to Rs 30 for atleast 15 different varieties of dosas. My personal favourite is the onion rava masala dosa. The portions of the idlis, vadas and dosas are enough to make it a meal in itself. Excellently prepared Sambar and coconut chuntey flow in copious amounts as there is no limit to the number of refills you may ask for. The place is also surprisingly hygienic for a dhaba, the premises is clean and the cutlery is washed thoroughly right in front of your eyes. The food is undoubtedly fresh and the number of regular patrons there suggest very few gastronomical hazards.

The only drawback is that there is no place to sit. There are a few stools randomly placed in front of the snacks centre but they are almost always occupied. People generally eat inside their cars and others improvise by sitting on other people’s cars. But there is ample space to stand and eat, which a majority of people can be seen doing. They also serve water there but for the more finicky customers mineral water can be purchased from the shop next door. In any case there is always an ice cream cart parked right outside doing brisk business.

My rating 3.5/5

Western Indian cuisine

I have lost count of the number of times I have read an article on India and come across the phrase “unity in diversity” or something along these lines. They say that India is a celebration of opposites living in harmony. A classic paradigm of this is Gujarati cuisine. Most Gujarati dishes are sweet, spicy and salty at the same time; a perfect balance between the vagrant tastes. Though most non-vegetarians aren’t a big fan of Gujarati food, vegetarian foodies often patronize this cuisine.

Most people often mislead by the name head towards Gujarat Bhavan to sample this cuisine. They return sorely disappointed because not only is the building in shackles but the food isn’t much to write home about either .In fact Gujarati food is served only two hours before dinner here! If you are on the look out to sample authentic and scrumptious Gujarati food, I suggest you give Gujarat Bhavan a skip as it is functions more as a guesthouse than a restaurant. Instead, treat your palette to Gujarati thalis at Rajdhani restaurant in CP instead.

A Gujarati meal starts with a specially prepared snack called Farsan accompanied with Chhas, a curd based drink very similar to the North Indian Lassi. Some of the popular Gujrati snacks here are Dhokla and Khandvi . The breads are different too.

Try the Thepla, a dried paraunthi that can be eaten even weeks after it has been prepared. My personal favourite is the Bajra ki Roti with Jaggery and lots of desi ghee. The Khichdi, here is delicious as well. Dessert favourites here are Aamras (mango extract) and Shrikhand (a milk based dessert with a slightly tangy taste).

It’s even popular among the college crowd because not only is the food delicious and cheap, its unlimited. Yes, you read it right. One can have unlimited helpings for a meagre 200 rupees per thali. Moreover, the food here is served with a genuine warmth and love that is uniquely Indian.

Eastern Indian Cuisine

Annapurna Sweets

The first thing you associate with Bengali food is probably Rosogulla. For the more erudite their knowledge might extend to shandesh, mishti doi, kachagola, chomchom or even kheer kadam. Can you see the patter emerging? An intricate part of their cuisine; sweets are also the most popular Bengali fare outside the boundaries of the state. This is evident from the number of sweet shops that have cropped up throughout the length and breadth of India, doing thriving business and popularizing the legend of the Bengali sweet tooth. One of the largest and most popular sweet chop chains has got to be Annapurna Sweets. Patronized by Bengalis and non Bengalis alike the place does brisk business as it dispenses mouthwatering sweets. The house favourites are the wide variety of shandesh and kachagola while the rosogolla and mishti doi see brisk business. Customers also swear by the salty snacks available there, especially the crispy shingara stuffed with diced rather than mashed potato in true Bengali style.

The authentic Bengali mishti and delectable snacks ought not to be missed by any true foodie or sweet aficionado.

Branches:

1463, Chandni Chowk

13, DDA Market 4, CR Park

CSC, Market 2, CR Park

My Rating: 4/5

Contributed by Rachita Murali, Devika Dutt and Shraddha Gupta

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