Monsoon Wedding
by Fazeel Azeez Chauhan (1-23-02)
It is possible to look beneath and beyond unusual appearances. For example, the La Brea Tar Pits. The history learned from the bones of the Mammoths and other members of the earth's evolutionary past are so important that the Los Angeles County Museum of Art had to built at the site. How did life begin on this planet? What was the series of infinite pre-cursors to my birth? And when did art start?
I got a last minute e-mail notification that Mira Nair's new film "Monsoon Wedding" was getting a special screening at this museum. Bringing up the idea of going to see the Indian movie, caused a couple of friends to grab their heads in pain. Was it because of the common belief that all Indian movies are distastefully the same? Or maybe they didn't want to battle the Tuesday night rush hour traffic of Los Angeles.
Determined to not be deterred, I arrived at the ticket window, only to find out that the show was sold out. Disappointed, I walked into the museum gift shop. Didn't find any art calendars for the new year, and the book collection had dwindled since my last visit, four years prior. At that instance, "The King Of The World" exhibit was attracting thousands every day, to appreciate the priceless Mughal Miniature paintings from Shah Jehan's era in 1610. The paintings were from the emperor's ten year long official history book, which has unsurprisingly been stolen by the queen of England. She has shamelessly changed the book's name to "The Windsor Paadshahnama". As if it's HER history, not ours. An offensive and jealous attempt by the queen of Windsor, to desire ownership of our land and our people. She also made money by printing and selling the book, under the new name. The paintings were so awe inspiring that all the books were immediately sold out.
The rich textures and vibrant colors of the Mughal paintings come to mind when watching the film. (Well, I finally was able to sneak in after some people didn't show up). A very beautiful movie, which is sure to be a classic for many years to come. It presented the overwhelmingly large majority of non-Daysee audience, many slices of the South Asian pie. There were many good laughs throughout. Our culture's realities were presented, including our constant wit and humor, and a fun attitude toward daily life. Western influences on the more traditional eastern lifestyle were covered. And of course, romance among the rich and common folk. Multi-dimensional, loving relationships of married and unmarried couples were also shown. On the serious side, there were also issues of parents selling out for money, and some deep, dark, taboo, yet common dysfunctional family secrets. There was the persistent theme of fun and hope. Stages of fear and weakness were overcome to stand up for what's right. There was almost zero religious content. The biggest lesson was, that we can win the hearts of others by simply being good people, without becoming religiously cantankerous.
After the movie, I exited into the chilli wind of the night, with a back drop of the beautiful geometric architectural designs of the museum. I was proud of my deep roots and my wonderous people. I realized life is beautiful and to be thoroughly enjoyed, and that I need to get out of my office cave and home cubicle more often. Cause time flies, and too soon we die. Big salute to the huge cast and crew of this hit movie. Enjoy
