When I was at the Body Worlds exhibition in Philly I saw a curious sight. Two ninja warriors walking with a bearded man and many children. The man looked (to me, at any rate) rather clown-like. He wore a long, kurta-like garment, a skull cap and jeans that fell way above his ankles. I had seen the takhnay-wala pajamas in India, protecting the sanctity of the jaan-namaz (prayer mat) from the dirt that a regular length pajama might pick up from the ground. But I had never seen jeans worn in this manner. You live and learn, huh?
Okay, and the two women weren't ninjas...they just looked like they were. I have seen Muslim women in hijabs in the US, and of course, the burqa in India. But what they were wearing was different. These were the all-enveloping black, Arab-style coverings.
As a Muslim...a lapsed Muslim...I feel torn between my two identities. I understand (well, not really but kind of) women choosing to wear the hijab for asserting their religious identity but this ninja-costume, with just the eyes showing? I thought the point of modest dress in Islam was not to draw undue attention to yourself. But everyone in the gallery was looking at this strange group. No one gave a second glance to the three regular hijabi women also wandering around. I wondered if the two women were his two wives, his wife and daughter, wife and sister?
Just as I wondered how the bodies in the exhibition must have looked in life I wondered about these women? What were their faces like? How expressive were their eyes, their mouths? Instead, they were as anonymous and as alien as the bodies on display.
No comments:
Post a Comment