"This remarkable film is an immersion in, and a celebration of, the diverse and hybrid culture of Trinidad and its Indian roots. The subtle mix of humor and documentary both entertains and informs."
"Pure Chutney is a delightful study of Trinidadian-Indian culture in a post-colonial society. The diversity of Indian overseas culture is only beginning to be recognized and appreciated."
"Pure Chutney" is an exploration of the delicious--and even difficult--mix of the Trinidadian-Indian culture. The video takes up as its theme the undeniable hybridity of postcolonial societies, and celebrates in some measure the events and accidents of history that constitute the Indian diaspora. Is a particular view of one's culture, more specifically of one's origins, more acceptable than another? And is one view likely to be more dangerous than another? The film also grapples with these questions.
This video portrays interactions with various Trinidadian-Indians, and takes as its point of departure their reflections on what someone in the video calls "our preoccupation with India." Pure Chutney presents footage of significant cultural events like the carnival, the Muslim festival Id, and a Hindu prayer service in a temple. The camera and the narrative take the point of view of a U.S.-based Indian writer and photographer travelling in Trinidad. The opening and closing sections pay a tribute to the striking diversity of the Indian diasporic populations and their struggles, a fact often elided in representations thus far.
This video appears at a critical time: in India, where the right-wing appeals to religious purity are signalling a period of grave crisis for assorted minorites and women; and in the West, where the growing presence of a diasporic Indian population in, say, the U.S., Canada and U.K., calls for a sophisticated and complex engagement with the question of Indian identities and difference.
pure chutney was made possible by: University of Miami, School of Communication Research Grants, University of Miami, General Research Grant University of Miami, Max Orovitz Summer Research Grant
individual contributors: vibhas madan, celine azizkhan, gyan prakash, sanjay joshi, sanjam ahluwalia, sanjay kalra, nandini ooman, ali mir.
