Last weekend was Purim.
This online reference provides some background on the holiday. I will not embarrass myself by testing my own memory of Jewish Sunday school classes attended more than twenty years ago. The high school students on the campus put on an impressive parade. The themes seemed to be: (1) India (2) Pirates (3) the USSR and (4) Underwater stuff.
Many young Israelis go to India after finishing military service. Some go for only a month others for a year or more. From the stories I've heard, the visits often involves a lot of backpacking and sightseeing, spending as little money as possible, experimenting with various drugs, listening to techno/trance music, and perhaps volunteering in local organizations. You can see two DJs in this picture--and trust me--the music was good, loud, and hypnotic.
The highschoolers that created this parade have not performed their military service yet and probably have not gone to India at all or for an extended period of time. However, the campus has many international students from all over the world.
The images they created of India varied from good humored to a few that struck my perhaps overactive (and American) "PC" nerve, such as people begging for "rupees". I look forward to reading comments from my friends at UM, especially those familiar with Israel or India.
Two pirates conspiring on one of the floats. After two recent movies, the theme made perfect sense. I'm sure there is also something political lurking in there concerning terrorism, occupation, and natural resources. But, I'm not about to dig all that up on Purim.
There is a very large Russian population in Israel. That is the only reason I can think of to explain these floats, costumes, and songs.
No parade is complete without a bowling-pin shaped Lenin doll. Could someone please tell me the proper name of these traditional figures?
Ahh, the cold war. I seem to remember something about the Soviets sending a dog into space. Is that what is referenced here?
Two mermaids and a little girl in the Negev.
Can you guess the song blaring out of this yellow submarine?
Many young Israelis go to India after finishing military service. Some go for only a month others for a year or more. From the stories I've heard, the visits often involves a lot of backpacking and sightseeing, spending as little money as possible, experimenting with various drugs, listening to techno/trance music, and perhaps volunteering in local organizations. You can see two DJs in this picture--and trust me--the music was good, loud, and hypnotic.
The highschoolers that created this parade have not performed their military service yet and probably have not gone to India at all or for an extended period of time. However, the campus has many international students from all over the world. 
The images they created of India varied from good humored to a few that struck my perhaps overactive (and American) "PC" nerve, such as people begging for "rupees". I look forward to reading comments from my friends at UM, especially those familiar with Israel or India.
Two pirates conspiring on one of the floats. After two recent movies, the theme made perfect sense. I'm sure there is also something political lurking in there concerning terrorism, occupation, and natural resources. But, I'm not about to dig all that up on Purim.
There is a very large Russian population in Israel. That is the only reason I can think of to explain these floats, costumes, and songs. 
No parade is complete without a bowling-pin shaped Lenin doll. Could someone please tell me the proper name of these traditional figures?
Ahh, the cold war. I seem to remember something about the Soviets sending a dog into space. Is that what is referenced here?
Two mermaids and a little girl in the Negev. 
Can you guess the song blaring out of this yellow submarine?
4 comments:
Interesting. The Stalin-like figure with the Soviet flag is a little fucked up, given that he was the driving force behind a lot of the USSR's uglier anti-Semitic kicks. The dolls are called matryoshki (singular is matryoshka), stress on the second syllable. They are actually *not* an ancient traditional craft form, but were actually dreamed up in the late 19th century specifically to serve as kitschy knickknacks for urbanites wanting to experience "authentic" folk culture.
I don't know anything about Israelis in India. I didn't meet any while there, but perhaps I would have if I (a) were more gregarious and (b) had gone to Goa.
As you know I'm not a huge fan of techno/trance music. But I have been thinking about our day at MOVEMENT as I stare at Hart Plaza from aerial view and try to incorporate it into a changed Detroit riverfront.
Back to India and Russia: both are reported by BBC today to have much-increased numbers of billionaires. India has surpassed Japan in this category. (Still separated from US by orders of magnitude.)
Happy late Purim.
Rahul and I have a friend who's from Jerusalem who was telling us the same thing - apparently a lot of Israeli students go to India after their military service primarily because it's cheap. South/Central America is also a pretty big destination for the same reason. I've never run into them myself in India..but that's probably more because of where and whom I hang out with..
Apparently, Rajasthan is a very popular destination for a lot of these students (like almost everyone else!)
As far as the representation of the country goes..I think a lot of it might just be because it was done by high school students who hadn't actually been there, but just heard stories from others.
Hi Guys. Joy, thank you for the cultural insights. Peter, if you had gone to Goa, you probably would be able to speak Hebrew now. MOVEMENT was a big disappointment. However, I still am glad we went together. Neha, thank you for your thoughts. Perhaps I should not bother reading too deeply. Take care--david.
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