Unfortunately, there are NRIs who just love to go the other way, as that might help them in stepping the ladder of success in lesser time. Part of the younger generation coming to Western countries is completely blinded by the vices prevalent in those countries and tries to imitate the Westerners to find a foothold in the alien world. To make things clear, not all of us living abroad are like that.
However, there is still a sizable chunk that has a tendency to accept the western "bold" culture much quicker than making an effort to preserve and showcase our culture.
The recent racial slur row faced by not so famous Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty in the celebrity reality show Celebrity Big Brother is indeed sad. And not to mention that it is taking a political overtone in the power corridors of UK and India alike. The entire British Asian community is condemning the racist remarks and for once I guess Indians and Pakistanis are on the same side of the border. Great.
However, we are missing the bigger question? Who is to be blamed for such remarks? The obvious answer is the participants who spoke ill of Miss Shetty. Wow. That was such an easy question. But aren't we still missing the bigger question? For me, it is the so-called NRIs who have been living for the past generation or so, mostly responsible for this racial slur.
Strange but true. If we carefully analyse the remarks made by other contestants we will rather feel that they are "ignorant". This is what they have been brought up with, that, we Indians are "people who belong to the slums", that, we Indians "are ill and thin", and that we Indians are "dirty". And so it becomes all the more important to ask these so-called British Asian communities and other Asian communities in different parts of the world, "what have they been doing for past generation or so that they cannot even change this perception of the westerners?"
The answer is that they (not all though) never tried to preserve their own culture. They came and aped the Westerners to mingle with them, to feel at home with them. Fair enough. However, in this hungry quest for finding a bearing in the Western country they gave up their own valued tradition and culture. I have heard some of our dear Indians ridiculing our own motherland in front of Westerners, that there is so much pollution in India and one would get ill immediately after landing in India, that there are so many beggars in India, that slums are a common site in India and what not.
Agreed, we are facing these serious issues, but aren't we showing signs of improvement? Can't we highlight those improvements? Recently, I went to my senior colleague's daughter's 16th birthday. And immediately after she cut the cake, her mother, amidst a great gathering of well mixed races, shouted, "My daughter, now you are free to choose your boyfriend." Wow. What a great example of preserving (or rather giving up) our tradition.
One of the contestants in Big Brother also remarked Shilpa about her eating with hands. Well she was right in that because when we sit with Westerners we even eat dosa with knife and fork. And possibly, that contestant must have never encountered Indians eating with hands because those Indians changed their habit for them. On the contrary, I have seen my Indian friends teaching the Westerners how to eat a dosa with hands, and they love to eat it that way. As a matter of fact, most of us residing abroad change ourselves for the Westerners rather than be what we are and let them accept us the same way.
And this is a "Big BOTHER". We, especially those residing abroad, have to showcase the positives of India, the vibrant India, and the shining India. All countries have their sets of problems and we are no different. However, we got to understand that when we are abroad, we are ambassadors to our country. People will listen to what we say about our own country and likewise make a perception of ours. So let us do our bit in changing the perception of the ignorant westerners. If they still hold the same perception, then "poor souls and losers", and if they do change their perception, then "poor souls changing for the better".
Vande Mataram
(Saurabh Saksena is an engineer in a reputed power company in Boston, USA. These are his personal views.) About the AuthorSaurabh Saksena Saurabh Saksena is the co-founder of Bharat Votes. He is a Power Systems engineer by profession and currently works in reputed utility near Boston. He...Read Morefirst published:January 19, 2007, 09:49 ISTlast updated:January 19, 2007, 09:49 IST
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In one of my earlier blogs, In search of Indianness abroad, I strongly felt that people like me, who are residing abroad, have a great responsibility to show our motherland in a brighter light, to showcase the positive side of India and to abstain from ridiculing our own country in front of "Indian aliens".
Unfortunately, there are NRIs who just love to go the other way, as that might help them in stepping the ladder of success in lesser time. Part of the younger generation coming to Western countries is completely blinded by the vices prevalent in those countries and tries to imitate the Westerners to find a foothold in the alien world. To make things clear, not all of us living abroad are like that.
However, there is still a sizable chunk that has a tendency to accept the western "bold" culture much quicker than making an effort to preserve and showcase our culture.
The recent racial slur row faced by not so famous Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty in the celebrity reality show Celebrity Big Brother is indeed sad. And not to mention that it is taking a political overtone in the power corridors of UK and India alike. The entire British Asian community is condemning the racist remarks and for once I guess Indians and Pakistanis are on the same side of the border. Great.
However, we are missing the bigger question? Who is to be blamed for such remarks? The obvious answer is the participants who spoke ill of Miss Shetty. Wow. That was such an easy question. But aren't we still missing the bigger question? For me, it is the so-called NRIs who have been living for the past generation or so, mostly responsible for this racial slur.
Strange but true. If we carefully analyse the remarks made by other contestants we will rather feel that they are "ignorant". This is what they have been brought up with, that, we Indians are "people who belong to the slums", that, we Indians "are ill and thin", and that we Indians are "dirty". And so it becomes all the more important to ask these so-called British Asian communities and other Asian communities in different parts of the world, "what have they been doing for past generation or so that they cannot even change this perception of the westerners?"
The answer is that they (not all though) never tried to preserve their own culture. They came and aped the Westerners to mingle with them, to feel at home with them. Fair enough. However, in this hungry quest for finding a bearing in the Western country they gave up their own valued tradition and culture. I have heard some of our dear Indians ridiculing our own motherland in front of Westerners, that there is so much pollution in India and one would get ill immediately after landing in India, that there are so many beggars in India, that slums are a common site in India and what not.
Agreed, we are facing these serious issues, but aren't we showing signs of improvement? Can't we highlight those improvements? Recently, I went to my senior colleague's daughter's 16th birthday. And immediately after she cut the cake, her mother, amidst a great gathering of well mixed races, shouted, "My daughter, now you are free to choose your boyfriend." Wow. What a great example of preserving (or rather giving up) our tradition.
One of the contestants in Big Brother also remarked Shilpa about her eating with hands. Well she was right in that because when we sit with Westerners we even eat dosa with knife and fork. And possibly, that contestant must have never encountered Indians eating with hands because those Indians changed their habit for them. On the contrary, I have seen my Indian friends teaching the Westerners how to eat a dosa with hands, and they love to eat it that way. As a matter of fact, most of us residing abroad change ourselves for the Westerners rather than be what we are and let them accept us the same way.
And this is a "Big BOTHER". We, especially those residing abroad, have to showcase the positives of India, the vibrant India, and the shining India. All countries have their sets of problems and we are no different. However, we got to understand that when we are abroad, we are ambassadors to our country. People will listen to what we say about our own country and likewise make a perception of ours. So let us do our bit in changing the perception of the ignorant westerners. If they still hold the same perception, then "poor souls and losers", and if they do change their perception, then "poor souls changing for the better".
Vande Mataram
(Saurabh Saksena is an engineer in a reputed power company in Boston, USA. These are his personal views.)
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