Random Notes on Cross-Pollinization

• We're in Dharamsala/McLeod Ganj right now. The area defined by these two towns is renowned as the home of the Tibetan govt. in exile. Back in 1959, after years of increasing repression of Tibetans and pressure on their leaders, the Dalai Lama had to flee for his life. The government of India offered Dharamsala as a place of asylum. (Tibet History) It's refreshing to stay among the less hectic Tibetans. They've created a small, mountain oasis of Buddhist restraint amid Indian boisterousness. One shortcoming about the setting, though: Dharamsala sits at about 6000 ft. on a ridge at the southern edge of the Himalayas. During July and August, the Indian monsoon bumps up against the mountains and the clouds pour rain down incessantly. I read in the paper that this area received 1450mm (~58 inches) in July alone. That's almost double San Francisco's annual rainfall. Very damp....and I have the nasty cold to prove it. I noticed today that much of our gear is starting to mold. It's time to move on....
• Both the native and traveler populations have adapted well to the inclement weather here in Dharamsala. There are lots of activities to do indoors out of the rain. They have meditation and yoga classes, lots of restaurants, internet cafes and movie houses, among others. For the first time since we left San Francisco, we've jumped into movie watching since it's A) cheap [about $.70 a movie] and B) dry inside the theaters. By theater, I mean a small, ramshackle room that will seat about 20 or 30 people with the movie shown on a wide screen TV. We've focused more on Tibetan documentaries since we're going there in a few months and these films are a good source of information. However, since the subject matter of these films, reflecting actual Tibetan events, is unfailingly sad, we see the odd Hollywood flick, as well. The moguls in Los Angeles would be disappointed to know that we can watch the same films you do within days of their US release. I'd heard about the practice for some time, but Dharamsala is the first place I've seen the end result. Someone out there in "first-release land" (the US) uses a video camera inside a theater to illicitly record the movie as it's shown. They then load the pirated film onto a computer and put it on the Internet for other people to download and burn into a DVD. Somehow it feels appropriate that the first film we saw that was an obvious copy was the new"Pirates of the Caribbean". We could tell it was pirated because the dialogue was out of synch and the sound and image quality, generally, were terrible. The clear give away were the sub-titles (English, in this case, for those in the audience who didn't understand 'pirate talk'). A non-English speaker sitting at a PC must have quickly slapped up whatever dialogue seemed to "sound right" as a "translation" and the results were often funnier than the film. Example: Something like, "I don't know where he is." became the sub-title, "It's wireless." Silly.
• Sometimes the quality of the copy is fine...but that doesn't make comprehending the film any easier. Last night we watched the new film with Ed Norton, "Down in the Valley". If any of you out there have seen it, can you please explain it to me? Specifically, the ending......? TIA.
• In the realm of entertainment, one more note: The former WWF, now "World Wrestling Entertainment", it H-U-G-E here in India. I've seen guys all over the country wearing 'Stone Cold Steve Austin', 'The Rock' or even outdated 'Hulk Hogan' t-shirts. You wouldn't believe how many boys and young men have asked me who my favorite wrestler is. TV's, even in remote villages, show "Smack-Down's" or "Summer Slams" every other night. How many programs does this WWE organization crank out? Ouch...
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Also, on the subject of American exports, consumer snack foods and soft drinks have become dominated by the big-two from the US: Pepsi-Co. and Coke. This is a marked change since I was here twelve years ago. There used to be a bewildering variety of Indian products in every little store. Some are still there but they share much of their former shelf space with the above two plus Wrigleys (gums), Cadbury and M&M Mars (candy bars) and others. Coke had actually abandoned the Indian soft drink market back in the 1970's (they refused to comply with an Indian requirement to "Indianize" their shareholdings to at least 40% Indian). They came back in the late 1990's to a more liberalized India where Pepsi already had a fairly dominant presence against domestic brands such as "Thumb's Up" and "Mirinda". Well, Coke's 100% US owned subsidiary bought all of Pepsi's competition and, now, it's just the two globals fighting it out with their respective portfolios. I have to say it's weird to see Indians drinking "Mountain Dew", a product named after a barely remembered euphemism for the do-it-yourself efforts of Appalachian bootleggers. The snack shelf is where Pepsi-Co. (their subsidiary, Frito Lay, actually) shine. As in the US, they don't just dominate the shelves, they went out and bought new ones to ensure proper display of their wares. Even in India, a small shop owner can find a place for a wire shelf display dedicated to one brand. It'll be interesting to see what, if any, Indian brands survive the onslaught.