pondering the lines of Indian decency

I finished up my time in Ooty with a two hour hike through a tea plantation and the mountains - with nine other people. It's amazing how you meet people and the group just grows. It was beautiful and we even had good weather - not too cold.
Me and a Danish girl I met took a fourteen hour overnight bus to Chennai. Which was brilliant because it passes quickly when you mostly sleep. And it saved us accomodations for the night.
We watched two Bollywood films. The first was incredible because the sound and the picture were so off and yet no one found this bothersome or strange. I actually really enjoyed the second movie, which I managed to understand most of even though it was in Hindi. Though I'm not sure what this says for the movie. But I was struck by the contradictions in Indian culture. The amount of sexless sex scenes in the movie were astounding.... it's amazing how much sexuality you can portray without bearing skin and without (apparentally) crossing the fine lines of Indian decency. However being in India and knowing that merely bearing my shoulders is inappropriate, I actually found myself a little uncomfortable watching these scenes on the bus, trying to imagine what the equivalent would be in the US or Israel. But what struck me more is how the women in movies are sexy, and whether dressed in tanktops and miniskirts or Indian clothing made skimpy they show a lot of skin. I dont understand how culuture can allow movies and advertisements to portray one thing and still expect people to be completely different. The amount of public displays of affection between couples in the movies way exceeded what is actually acceptable between nonmarried couples. The clubs and bars in the films more closely resembled the upscale and prestige Manhattan hangouts then any place I've ever seen in India. But perhaps the south is merely decieving me and I need to make it up north.
Now in Mallalapuram which in contrast to Ooty is what I imagine sitting with Satan to be. It's SOOOOO hot. I'm considering wearing a sign saying "I didn't come to India to shop" because everytime I pass a store they badger me to go in - doesn't matter that I pass the same store 4 times in 15 min. And that the roads where the guesthouses/hostels are are lined with shops. We're on the shore and the town is small, quaint, and very peaceful. There are tons of hostels and rooftop restaurants. The beach down here isn't so nice small shore full of boats, fishing nets, and garbage, but I hear if I explore a little northwards its cleaner.
love
Roni