Being an Indian in South Sudan

One of my memorable moments of my time in Niger was sitting in a little mud hut and watching an old Bollywood movie with my Nigerien friends. I translated from Hindi to English and then one friend translated from English to Hausa. It was an afternoon that will forever be etched in my memory.

I had no idea that the South Sudanese had a similar love for Bollywood movies. I remember meeting Rachel on my second day here in Melut and she didn't greet me in Arabic. Instead she folded her hands and said "Namaste". I was completely taken aback and after further probing, she told me about her love for Indian movies. She asked me to teach her Hindi during the remainder of my time here and I wasn't really sure how much she meant it. She really did!

I also remember sitting with Julia during my first week in Melut, and while Arabic at that point sounded like jibberish to me, I managed to glean the fact that she was introducing her youngest as "Lakshmi". She has at times referred to herself as "mara Shilluk Hindi" which means the Shilluk Indian woman. Julia's husband later told me that his wife is obsessed with Indian movies. He also proceeded to tell me that he thought Indian women are the most beautiful women in the world ! I've been told that some South Sudanese think that the daughters of Job in the Bible are of Indian descent as it is mentioned that Job's daughters were the most beautiful women in all the earth. (!)

I was also told by one of the ladies on campus that they don't consider me a "Khawaja" (white person) but "Hindi" (an Indian). I have also introduced Haldirams snacks (Indian snacks) to our friends on campus, which have always been a huge hit and one large bag is usually finished in one sitting.

The three times we have visited Malakal, I have always been hailed down asking if I am Indian or the common phrase "MashAllah, mara Hindi" which essentially means "Wow, an Indian woman".  There are moments where I find it surreal talking in Hindi to my South Sudanese friends.  A fun memory I have is cutting potatoes with some ladies in the community, and the group of them wanting to learn random words in Hindi, even though their English is very basic. One of these ladies even saw my mom on Skype briefly and said "Namaste" to her, hands folded properly.

My friend Rachel even owns two salwar kameez outfits and a sari which she had purchased during her time in Khartoum. I approached  a lady at church who was wearing a salwar kameez which she had purchased in the capital of South Sudan. Yes, there is a market here for Indian clothes!

A day I will look back on fondly during my time here in Melut, had to be watching a Shah Rukh movie with six other ladies on campus. There was coffee, Haldiram snacks, laughter, dancing and a lot of questions about Indian culture. One of the questions was if it is a requirement for every Indian girl to know how to dance prior to getting married! I was also amazed at my friend's knowledge of Bollywood trivia. She's more up to date with Bollywood gossip that I am!

Watching an Indian movie at a friends house

Another thing I didn't know was that my househelp loves Indian music!!  If David didn't need the laptop for work he'd leave it at home and she would request for Hindi music to be playing while she is working. It's also a commonality to hear Hindi music being played in the market and hear Hindi movies blaring through houses in town. Lakshmi Bai, a Zee TV drama, happens to be a favourite TV show here. I think it's wild that the South Sudanese know a snippet of Indian history through a drama series. Even the kids on campus like making swords and pretending they are Lakshmi Bai, with a pretend bindi.

I'm always amazed at the questions I am asked about India. In fact, some ladies asked me if the women in the north of India have lighter skin colour than the women in the South. I was even asked how Indians like their coffee! People in Melut have seemed far more interested to know about India than Canada. In fact, whenever we do have our cultural comparison conversations, the conclusion is always, "Indians are like Sudanese". I have been asked what people do for weddings, funerals, birth, baby preparations and different festivals. South Sudanese find Holi very fascinating and call it Eid Alwan which means festival of colours. I sat in on a conversation where the women were talking about how they should introduce it in South Sudan and what materials they can use for the different colours. Yes, they even know how to say "Holi Hai".

People also find it very fascinating that I married an non Indian and have been very curious about our family reactions and what happened at our wedding. I once showed our wedding pictures to the women on campus and they loved my sari more than my wedding gown. They also were all over my mother's henna, jewellery and sari and my dad's "jalabia".

I have been so proud to be Indian here and have been honoured by the respect that people have for Indians. I have no one but Bollywood and Zee TV to thank!

Here's a video (not the greatest quality), of our neighbours househelp washing clothes and blasting "Dhoom Machale" via her phone!