Written on July 4, 2011 at 1:03 am by Christine Ka'aloa

The Cock show at the India-Pakistan Border

Filed under Amritsar {5 comments}

The crowd of men were pressing in us from all sides. Some were annoyed at us, pointing to the “women’s section”.

Sorry bhai. I shrugged my shoulders pretending to be an overly naïve foreigner. We had followed the momentum of the mass shoving queue quite by accident. Now we were wedged into the middle without a way out.

Being three foreign yoga chicks, shielding one blond-haired 10-year-old child (which Indian folk seem enthralled by), the men tried to keep a safe and respectful distance. Everyone was chest-to-back, but the boob-to-backing became inevitable. We were at the entrance of the India-Pakistan border crossing performance and everyone wanted in. In India, the only way to get in, is to push; not with hands, but with bodies.

Thankful to be yellow.

Had I been alone in this situation,my level of alarm would’ve been higher, with my attention working 100% and working at 360 degrees. But truthfully, being a dark-haired Asian clumped with three light-haired Caucasians, I could relax knowing the peak attention wouldn’t be on me and if it ever was, I’d not be dealing with it alone. There are times being Asian can work for you and against you in Asia.When it comes to camouflaging; it definitely works for you.

Eventually, we gals pushed as one unit towards the women’s line,… slowly….moving at an angle with the momentum of our male crowd.

India vs. Pakistan: Strutting and puffing their stuff .

India and Pakistan have had a hard rivalry for ages. But when you see the border crossing you’ll wonder if they don’t have just a teensie bit of fun with their competition. The lowering of the flag at sunset is a performance, much like a dance battle between two roosters, strutting, shaking and puffing their feathered moves. Some of it has a rooster’s lack of grace too. It makes me realize two of the many things I love about India… it’s bravado and pageantry. India’s pride has got a sense of humor, whether they know it or not.

Shrill and long-drawn rooster calls signaling territory followed by high kicks and puffing of chests, cocking of headdresses, etc… Sitting in the foreigner section, you can’t see Pakistan’s comeback to India’s rooster dance, but you could imagine similar moves to match on enemy side. It made for a good show.

India’s rooster call