Similar to Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Pune, Chennai has in recent years successfully branded itself as a major international IT destination. On 14 February, Indian couples of various ages and relationship stages are here to celebrate this increasingly global holiday by consuming chocolate cakes and caffeinated beverages with towering domes of whip cream.
Teenagers lean into one another and share a single pair of white headphones; an iPod wedged comfortably between them. Or are they meditating? Their languid positions suggest that both are deliberately resisting the fact that a lot can happen over coffee. The guy, with his overgrown haircut and rugged tan sits up straight in the sleek, angular chair. Eyes closed, he is in the lotus position. Meanwhile, the girl with sun kissed highlights and a halter-top exposing her full back tattoo a butterfly dangles her legs over the side of the chair and slowly turns the pages of Lonely Planet South India.
Although we are in India, the rope sandals, ali baba pants, and decorative leather jewelry of these travelers feel completely out of place in this clean and sophisticated atmosphere. But then, the Indian men who, despite the humidity, wear stonewashed jeans, button down shirts, and lightweight sweaters will look equally out of place as soon as they leave this middle class establishment. I change my mind. A lot can happen over coffee. Amidst the Cold Sparkles and Kaapi Nirvanas, cultural identity is being consumed in new and old ways.
The two foreign travellers stand up, stretch, and grab their large rucksacks. Chennai is not a popular backpacker destination. These two are most likely waiting for a train that will take them further south, to Pondicherry, Mylapore, or somewhere where ashrams are more numerous than call centers. Culture is fluid but culture-as-capital is static, easily fetishized, and easily mimicked. In the process of fetishizing what is perceived of as cultural difference, a certain slipping of representation occurs.
The aesthetic cultural differences between the Western travelers and locals are actively imagined and constructed. For example, most Indian women wear churidar or salwar trousers. If you ask a shopkeeper for the ali baba style , they know what you are referring to.
