Multi-stories: Cross-cultural Encounters [Hardcover]

This unique work explores, through personal narratives, the overlapping and intermingling of cultures as well as the immense cultural diversity across the world. This exploration inevitably questions notions of higher or lower cultures, and civilized or uncivilized peoples. Indeed it questions the very concept of superiority amongst peoples. Apart from cross-cultural encounters, this work also discusses how various democratic and non-democratic governments and organizations have attempted to conceal cross-cultural influences by inventing superiority, purity, and authenticity of cultures and civilizations to the detriment of others. Yet cross-culture pollination, an ongoing process, always reveals itself through the ignored cracks of history. The book shows that India is no exception and has been and continues to be porous. The numerous examples of cross-pollination  with Algeria, Indonesia, Cambodia, to mention a few  force us to re-look cultural constructs and indeed the very meaning of culture.

This work explores the overlapping and intermingling of cultures across the world. Questioning the concept of superiority amongst peoples, it uses personal narratives to show that cross-culture pollination, an ongoing process, always reveals itself through the ignored cracks of history.

List of Plates Acknowledgements Introduction 1. The Black Virgin 2. Travelling Buddha 3. Coffee 4. Cultural Baggage 5. Words worth 6. Batata Aloo 7. Halo! Halo!  8. Tuneful Maladies 9. Candyd Talk 10. Tongue Untied 11. The Kashmiri Magician 12. Encounters 13. Head to Toe 14. Home and Away 15. Wear with All 16. I am Bandit 17. Badghizi 18. Blackouts 19. Oh Bokhara! 20. Fiddler on the Loose 21. The Game of the Name 22. The Tulips 23. Chewing rice for Others 24. Repetersburg 25. Jokes Apart 26. Juvenile Delinquants/ 27. Earthquacks???/ 28. Crosswords/ 29. Food Traffic/ 30. Once Upon a Time 31. A Tribute 32. Teri Mary l³á