Bittersweet Thanksgiving

by | Wednesday, November 26, 2008

The recent events in Mumbai have thrown a pall over the Thanksgiving break. That said, this is a moment to celebrate friends and family. Let us spare a moment for all the innocent victims and their friends and family.


Happy Thanksgiving!

This image, above, captures for me the spirit of Thanksgiving. What is funny is that I don’t look like these people. I had never tasted turkey before coming to the US. Thanksgiving at our house may or may not have a turkey – but it will surely have some spicy curries.

Even more complicated is the fact that, even in the US, this image could be regarded as being a myth – a feel-good vision of a past that may never really have existed. But as Picasso said, art is the lie that reveals the truth (or something to that effect, I am too lazy to google the actual quote). There is something in this painting, actually something in many of Normal Rockwell’s paintings, that touches me – deeply. I am not sure what it is – but I can’t deny its effect on me.

[See more of his art here]

Topics related to this post: Crime | India | Personal | Religion | Representation

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2 Comments

  1. Jamie

    I was thinking a lot over Thanksgiving as I watched the coverage in Mumbai on the reactions of the US. It was sad and my heart goes out to anyone who was impacted. We see what happens in our own borders, but don’t always see past the lines of the rest of the world…

    Reply

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