Cursing in Quebecois, the French spoken in Quebec, Canada, is much different than its English counterpart, and is very religious based. On a recent trip to Canada, I met up with an old friend from China at a bar (where else?), who gave me the run-down of swearing in Quebecois (don’t ever call it French or Canadian French). It is fascinating that all of their swearing revolve primarily around religion. She also recommended a movie called “Bon Cop/Good Cop” which gives a great breakdown of swearing in Quebecois akin to George Carlin’s “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television.”
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Photo Slideshow: Our Spiritual Adventure to Vaishno Devi
Vaishno Devi is the second most popular religious pilgrimage in India. It is nestled at an altitude of 5200 feet and 14 kilometers/ 9 miles of uphill walking. Check out the photo slideshow of our spiritual adventure. If you dare.
Video: Kathakali in Ernakulam, Kerala
Maybe Baby? In Response to That Ticking Clock
I should have known when I hit 30 that it would start. In fact, given that my own mother handed me that scary New York magazine cover story about freezing your eggs—you know, just in case — I should have expected it a lot sooner.
Still, considering the place that Navdeep and I are in at this moment in time, the floaty, fleeting nature of both our careers, trying to establish ourselves as writers and get published, and even just trying to figure out which coast to live on, I was hardly ready for it.
No, I’m not pregnant. But it seems like everyone around me has babies on the brain. Navdeep may not have noticed it, but while we were traveling in India, meeting new relatives, the question came up a lot. We’ve been married for about a year-and-a-half now, and by Indian standards, that’s plenty of alone time. People just didn’t seem to grasp what we’re waiting for.
Sometimes I wonder, too. After all, the proverbial clock is ticking away. And you always hear people say that there will never be a right time. But there is a such thing as a very wrong time, isn’t there?
Video: The Karni Mata “Rat” Temple in Deshnoke, Rajasthan
Check out the video of our visit to the Karni Mata “Rat” Temple, home to 20,000 rats in Deshnoke, near Bikaner, Rajasthan in India. The rats are believed to be incarnations of tribesmen of the aesthetic Karni Mata (an incarnation…
Lazy Spirituality: Gurdwaras, Gompas, and Temples . . . Oh My!
For someone who says she isn’t religious, I’ve sure visited a lot of temples, gurdwaras and even Buddhist gompas in the past month. And despite my frequent protest against the cult of religion (don’t get me started!), it’s been a strangely moving experience. Maybe India’s spirituality is rubbing off on me. Maybe I fancy myself writing a profound memoir of faith a la Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love (which I just finished reading and highly recommend). Or maybe I’m just at that place in my life where I feel the desire to reach out–both in need and in thanks. All I know is this: on this trip, there is definitely something heavy on my mind for which I am seeking guidance, solace and comfort, both for myself and for those I love. Perhaps it’s this turning point I’m facing that is causing this reaction.
When Navdeep and I first met, he’d talk often about the Sikh spirituality, what it meant to him growing up, what it means to him now. To him, Sikhism is almost more of a cultural calling than a religion. It has such a spirited and sacrificial history, you can’t help but be moved by it, especially while standing in one of the many monumental gurudwaras, like the one in Tarn Taran or especially the Golden Temple.
But growing up for me, it was different. We were raised what I call “supposedly Hindu.” Along with the all-American Christmas trees and Easter egg hunts, we tied rakhis and left all the lights on during Diwali, we occasionally dressed up and went to the local temple, we had Sunday morning halwa as prasad. But when I asked questions about why Ram did this (especially regarding the Sita situation) or Shiva did that, I rarely got back more than a shrug. We went through the motions of religion without really feeling connected to its meaning or power. I was bored to tears in the manditory survey of Eastern religions class at Rutgers, which was so cut and dry, completely just the facts ma’am. And that, along with all the news about Jihad this or genocide that, left me so utterly disillusioned with the concept of religion that I became dismissive about it. Religion is a crutch for the weak and an excuse for the angry to pick up arms and kill others. I didn’t need any of that.
So why have Navdeep and I been popping our heads into endless temples, gurudwaras and other places of worship? Why are we here in McLeod Ganj, the spiritual and physical home of modern Buddhism? Why did we spend the day with a Tibetan monk? What is it we’re looking for anyway?
When Navdeep and I first met, he’d talk often about the Sikh spirituality, what it meant to him growing up, what it means to him now. To him, Sikhism is almost more of a cultural calling than a religion. It has such a spirited and sacrificial history, you can’t help but be moved by it, especially while standing in one of the many monumental gurudwaras, like the one in Tarn Taran or especially the Golden Temple.