A letter from Lady Whistledown
Dear Readers,
As much as I am intrigued by the idea that I could be a 21st century Lady Whistledown without being ostracized by society. However, I might get into trouble for saying the things that I am about to.
Netflix’s new show Bridgerton Season 2 gave us a spectacular mise-en-scene of the 19th Century English society. I really appreciate their effort to be more inclusive towards the races that were marginalized and colonized during that era. However, being an Indian I do have a certain amount of difficulty accepting the portrayal of Indian characters in the show. To site the least, “Sharma” is a North Indian community, and, “Appa” the term used to address the Indian father in the show is South Indian. Now, many might raise their eyebrows reading this — what’s the big deal? Both are Indian!
India is a country of diverse cultures and languages. We celebrate that diversity in today’s time. Even though there was no visible animosity between Indian cultures in the early 19th century, due to the absence of globalization the intermingling of such distant communities was not as rampant as it is today. Today, if you step into a cafe in the IT hub Bangalore, you might find people talking in Kannada, Hindi, English, Malayalam, Bengali, etc. However, in the 1800s it would be a miracle to see several languages being spoken in one family itself. The “Sharma” sisters address their father as “Appa” which is Tamil. On the other hand, Kate addresses Edwina as “Bon” which is Bengali for sister. I am a Bengali and never have I addressed my father as “Appa” and I do not even know sitting in 2022 — the Tamil version of sister.
I am extremely proud of the diverse cultural heritage India has, but I wish the research team for Netflix did not come up with such a factually incorrect depiction of “Indian culture”, especially in this age of Google! Every culture, community, and language has its own essence and beauty. It portrays how nature, evolution, and tradition helped shape a human community.
All in all, being inclusive does not mean incorporating a crew of mixed races. It is about embracing the differences, yet choosing them. Now, before everyone lashes out at me, I know it is a fictional composition, and the creator definitely should be allowed creative liberty. Howbeit, Netflix has one of the largest reaches in the world and I am a consumer. Therefore, I believe I am entitled to my opinion as well.
I have an uncanny attraction to the past and Bridgerton is a show I absolutely love because of its approach to reimagining the English high society. It is just that nobody on earth knows everything about every culture. I love watching such shows because it gives me exposure to a world I am not familiar with. Therefore, as a consumer and lover of such shows I would expect not to have any misinformation about other cultures of the world.
— Lady Whistledown
