The gender division of labour is stark in the Indian immigrant society in America. Men are the breadwinners and often they are not even in town to be a part of the family. The kids are asked by curious schoolmates whether they have a father at all!
Women wear the pants in the house, so to speak. The home and the children is their universe and they rule efficienctly, adopting every available technological gadget to help them cope with their fast-paced adopted society.
We catch up with family members who fly in from all over to Florida’s Coral Springs. This has a purpose. We’re all invited to a cultural event – the arangetram – a recital of classical dance.
It is the ‘coming out’ of 18-year-old Sanjana, her graduation from the Bharatanatyam school that she has studied and practiced in for the last eleven or so years.
It has been labour – the long ride to Miami and back every other day, spending three hours on the road on each trip. And on returning home late night, burning the midnight oil to finish homework before school on the morrow.
In the immigrant community, tradition becomes the anchor. Parents realize that their children must grow in the interface between two dominant, dissimilar cultures. While they are aware that their children should socialize into the mainstream, the fear is of being engulfed by Americanization. Give up on the culture and you lose your self without a trace!
For the male children, it is important to socialize American. But in greater part, the girls are expected to retain touch with the traditional arts. In ratio, many more of them graduate in classical music and dance in the West than they do in the mother country India.
The immigrant exponents acknowledge, however, that as performers they generally are average compared with those graduating in India. Really, this is mainly because of the limited exposure they have.
In India, the both the quality of talent and of learning is superior. The culture abounds in every direction. Students there have a far closer association with the classical gharanas (schools), and the traditional masters. They are immersed in the arts consequently, and are able to imbibe its purity.
The girls have a grueling schedule where they are expected to shine in their studies as well as in the distinctive cultural activity. Initially it is tedium and they learn only because their mothers push them to.
But then, as their learning curve improves, they begin to actually value what they learn. They submit to the rigours of the 4-hour solo recital to prove their ability and perseverence in the arts, and to build their own self-esteem attempting to achieve a difficult goal.
My parents and relatives will always say I'm good, says Sanjana. I don't really believe that because they don't know much about the dance. At the recital, those who really know will be watching me, and if they say I'm good it definitely means a lot! As a result she's welcomed into the community - no longer is she an outsider.
Cont'd...
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