Taj Mahal and Bollywood Cinema as Indian Cultural Artifacts - Essay Example

23 September Part The Most Romantic Place Ever Taj Mahal in Agra, India is the most romantic place ever. It is a tomb, constructed in the 17th century by the Mughal emperor Shahjehan in memory of his beloved wife Noorjehan. Taj Mahal is one of the wonders of the world, and is popular for its exquisite beauty, aesthetic appeal, and the love of Shahjehan for Noorjehan that reflects in it. Taj Mahal is made in white marble and has been renovated frequently by India to sustain the building in its original shape and form over the centuries. Taj Mahal is the most romantic place ever as it is the emblem of divine love; an expression, unrestrained by the limits of money since it was made by a Mughal emperor or lack of technology as the construction was quite ahead of its time. People throughout history might have spent much more than Shahjehan did to appease their lovers in one way or another, but the value, significance, and attention captured by Taj Mahal as an insignia of love is second to none. This is what makes it the most romantic place ever. Honeymoon in India is certainly incomplete unless the couple has paid a visit to Taj Mahal. Taj Mahal (Gray). These Birds Should not be Caged Birds that cannot be eaten should not be caged. There are certain birds that the religion allows us to eat while others are disallowed as food. Birds like parrots should not be caged because this is a subjugation of their right to freedom. Birds that are caged forget how to fly out in the open even when they are freed, provided that they are caged for many years. Caging free birds is a torture. They cannot fly as per their wish. They cannot hunt their food in the open. They cannot have access to any privilege of the free environment in which they were naturally born. Caging of birds is a human intervention that is totally unethical. Government needs to make regulations to impose limits on the caging of birds and animals so that they are not caged until for a justifiable reason e.g. for consumption, or for preservation of an extinguishing species. In the picture, it can be clearly seen that the parrot has extended its wings and the total width of the cage is not much wider than the span of its wings; what a torture! Birds in Cage (Foster and Smith). Part 2 Bollywood Cinema as the Cultural Artifact of India The cinema of any country is one of the most important factors that encapsulate and reflect the country’s culture. The easiest and the most interesting way of understanding the culture of a company is by watching its movies. Movies serve as the true cultural insignia because the movies do not sell or do good business unless people can relate to the story in terms of their values, customs, norms, trends, and traditions. Likewise, Indian cinema has introduced the Indian culture in its true form to the audiences all over the world across all ages. Today, the Bollywood film industry is second only to Hollywood in terms of its popularity and level of sophistication of movies. A vast majority of the Bollywood movies are based on stories that clearly depict the immense emphasis Indians place on relationships and family values. The movies depict joint family system in which several generations dwell together simultaneously. The joint family system in India is strange to a lot of cultures around the world because the contemporary lifestyle in many advanced western countries makes it very difficult for the parents and children to live together in a joint family system after the children are grown up and are married. In a vast majority of cases, Bollywood movies are love stories that can lead to a happy or a tragic end, depending upon the wish of the writer of the storyline. The tragedy in love stories mostly results from limits grounded in the Indian culture that are imposed by the society on the couple. A viewer who is not aware of the Indian culture happens to learn the potential ways in which lovers are affected in the Indian society. For example, although homosexuality is legalized in India, yet it is still a taboo in the society. What to talk of accepting homosexual couples, the society at large does not want to talk about such issues because they are considered a transgression of the religious and ethical principles. Deepa Mehta’s Fire is an example of such a movie in which two lesbians are shown to experience the wrath and criticism of the society because of their physical lovemaking with each other. Apart from this, there are numerous hurdles in the way of heterosexual lovers in the Indian society as well. Some movies show the love between a Hindu and a Muslim but the two cannot marry each other because of religious constraints. In addition to that, the costumes worn by the actors show the richness of the Indian culture. While the actors generally wear the usual trousers and shirts, actresses wear embroidered saris with heavy jewelery and makeup. At cultural and religious events like Diwali, Holi, and Eid, men also wear the traditional kameez shalwar in vibrant colors to compliment the dresses of the actresses. One thing that particularly differentiates between the English movies and the Bollywood movies is that unlike the former, the latter contain a lot of songs. Women in the Bollywood movies are shown in the traditional recessive role whereas men dominate both inside the home and in the society. One can clearly depict that India is a male-dominated society since the powers and authority assumed by the men is much more than that granted to the women. From time to time, Bollywood also keeps making movies that highlight its international relations. Political tension between India and Pakistan can easily be sensed from such Bollywood movies as Border. Summing up, Bollywood cinema captures various facets of the Indian culture in different movies. Bollywood movies reflect everything that makes part of the Indian culture including gender perceptions, socioeconomic issues of India, India’s political affairs, trends, traditions, festivals and religious events. The more Bollywood movies an outsider watches, the more he/she happens to learn about the Indian culture. Bollywood Movies (Elias). Works Cited: Elias, Rich. “On Bollywood: An Interview With Abhijat Joshi.” The Film Journal. 2004. Web. 23 Sep. 2012. . Foster, and Smith. “Bird Cages, How to Choose.” 2012. Web. 23 Sep. 2012. . Gray, David. “Last chance to see…the Taj Mahal in white.” 2 Dec. 2010. Web. 23 Sep. 2012. . Read More