Isn't it Ironic?

The last 36 hours have been rather unpleasant. I had a bad case (as opposed to a good case?) of food poisoning. I was completely wiped out for over 24 hours. I went to practice yesterday, but I was in a state of delirium. If I had been in my right mind, I do not think that I would have gone. My practice was really weak and I spent most of my time trying not to throw up. Upon returning home after practice, I spent all of my day between the bed and the bathroom. Finally, I stopped puking last evening and I slept through most of the night. Of course, I had really bizarre and disturbing dreams. Finally, this morning, I woke up in better shape. It took a lot to keep my breakfast down, but it stayed put, and I was able to eat a small lunch. I would have sold my soul for a Saltine. I decided not to go to practice. I am feeling a lot of guilt about that choice, but in the end, I am not here to prove anything or to win any special commendation from anyone. I told Sharath that I was sick when I left the shala yesterday (he called me back and told me to drink buttermilk). What bothers me the most is that I was hoping to work on getting deeper in my drop backs this week and to go higher up my legs in chakra bandhasana. I even cut out the toes of some socks so that I could pull them up over my calves to make sure that I do not slip when catching. As it is now, I only have one mysore class tomorrow, Friday is a moon day, Saturday is led, Monday is led, and Tuesday is Mysore. I do not think that I will be making any huge progress in those few days. The good news is that because I have completely emptied out my system, I am feeling really skinny. All of my binds are going to be super deep tomorrow.  One more bout of food poisoning, and I could finally reach my goal weight!

I am a fashion addict and I found my lounge.

The name of this store was chosen with no irony whatsoever.

My new hair goal!

It is hard to make any generalizations about Indian culture because this country is so varied and diverse in terms of language, religion, ethnicity, politics, food--everything! Nevertheless, I have noticed that the Indian sense of humor is completely different. Sarcasm really does not have any place in Indian communication. Everything seems to be truly at face value. Snarkiness and sardonic attitudes do not seem to be a part of the cultural landscape. Sometimes I think that in the States, we are incapable of any kind of communication that is not entirely cloaked in sarcasm.  People are generally very friendly and pleasant here.  I think that there are public officials who derive a lot of satisfaction out of wielding their authority. I am so used to relying on sarcasm and bitchiness in my everyday communication, that I sometimes forget that this does not translate into different cultural contexts. It reminds me of my interactions with my nieces and nephews, or other little kids. Sometimes I forget that they do not have the sarcasm interpretation device in their brains yet and that they are taking what I am saying to the at face value. I made one of my nieces cry the last time I saw her because she did not know that I was joking. Animesh warned me before travelling to Delhi this trip about things that I could not say in front of his parents such as "I am teetering on the brink of suicidal despair,"or joking about divorcing him because he puts cilantro stems in the dal.  I successfully managed to suppress my sarcasm for the few days that I was with his parents, but I definitely think that it caused me some kind of cramp or something. Not being a smart ass all the time takes a lot of effort and energy.

Another cultural difference in India is the lack of any kind of irony. I do not mean the literary term of "irony," in which situations turn out differently than expected. People like and appreciate things exactly for what they are--not through some ironic or hipster optic. Concepts such as camp, kitsch, and cynicism do not exist here. This cultural irony that has permeated American culture to its core is now completely invisible to us. At least in certain segments of American society, irony has completely lost its edge--and perhaps become meaningless.  I have read numerous articles about the millennial and post-millennial (do they have a label yet?) rejecting irony; they are more earnest and sincere cultural consumers.  We have all become so self-aware and have "curated" (gag) our preferences to such a degree that we are essentially incapable of experiencing something without an intermediary veil or irony. I am not saying that we should approach all facets of the American cultural landscape with sincerity and appreciation--especially because most of it is produced without a soul, only to be consumed as quickly as possible and without any kind of analysis or reflection. In any case, I am not cultural critic, and this concept of cultural irony has been discussed for several decades now.  My point is, quite simply, is that it does not exist here in India. I suppose there is a certain class of intellectuals or young, urban hipsters that approach cultural consumption through an ironic lens, but for your average Indian, they like what they like and they are not ashamed of it.  Undoubtedly, India is a highly aspirational culture and consumerism is rampant; at the same time, however, it seems to me that Indians appreciate films, music, food, literature, etc... for what it is or not. For example, no one here is watching Bollywood movies here because they are over-the-top and campy, they are watching them because the truly like them.  So--what is my lesson from all of this? I am going to listen to my Barry Manilow and Carpenters records without shame and because I truly enjoy them, not because I am listening to them through the intermediary of nostalgia or because of camp. I grew up listening to the big BM and Karen Carpenter, and I love their schmaltzy sentimentality. I feel real emotion when I listen  to Barry and Karen and just because I mostly like miserable goth and punk music, does not mean that I cannot like 1970s adult contemporary music too.