Thanks again white privilege.

Thanks again white privilege

In India, Goras (white peckerwood honkey crackers) are often un-heard of in places other than big tourist cities. Dehli, Bombay, Goa and touristy places in the mountains see their fair share of European travers, and are ignored as a mere curiosity or a chance to make some extra cash on upmarked items. Our experience in India however, has been off the beaten track, and for the most part far from these places of touristy delight; Little villages and towns, colonies and the rather established city of Chandigarh. In these places, Goras are few, far-between and a fantastic curiosity. Our attendance often brings the attention of many Indians, usually with it simple requests “click a pick?” the standard phrase uttered when a photograph with us is requested, and this seems to happen over and over and over yet again. Because of colonial holdovers, goras are considered very cool, and it is epically “owesome” if you can talk one into being your facebook friend. And as such, picks clicked are a great bit of social capital.

While coolness is one thing, the weird super respect is another, its disarming to be treated as a prince or princess while wearing sweaty grimy clothes, treated to the only seat in the house and attended to by just about everyone. Frankly, I don’t care for it, I prefer to be thought of no more exhaualted than the next person. After shaking the hand of a garbage picker, I was told that as a member of the lowest possible social standing, it was plausible that he had never had the chance to shake the hand of white person before, and how remarkable this must be to him. For some reason or another this bothered me greatly.

We had found ourselves touring the farms and villages of Punjab, and had happened upon the fort of Bathinder, an 1100 year old cantonment made of stone, that included a ramp for the war elephants. Tourists are permitted to walk the grounds of the fort, take the path of the elephants and pick nick amongst ancient trees planted a zillion years ago. But sensitive archeological areas are out of bounds. When the director spotted two Goras, we were permitted inside chambers of secret stories of the past, including how the first Sultana of Delhi escaped the prison one night 900 years ago, we saw the perfect woodwork of her chamber, and looked upon sites Indians were not permitted to see. I was happy to see them frankly, they were rad.