"It's HOT! I'm getting steamed", said Sam [alias Swaminathan]. These were his first words as he landed at Chennai airport. One would not think that Swaminathan, rather Sam hails from our very own Chennai!
An engineering graduate from a local college here, who later went on to "foreign parts" to continue his studies and did exceedingly well, is now 'flying home' to pay a 'flying visit' to his kith and kin. I, a mere bystander in the entire duration of his visit, was given cause to wonder at the so called terrible and pathetic state of shambles that our country was supposedly in. The pollution, heat, narrow roads, traffic congestion, senseless autodrivers- these were the vices of ours, which gradually became a refrain in the days to come. If Swaminathan had managed to survive and moreover revel in his first 25 years here, why is the same situation 'unbearable' for Sam?
The frequency and the intensity of Sam's complaints and cribbing increased initially frustrating the poor soul at the receiving end, causing him to retaliate in defense, but as with time the complaints took a turn towards the ridiculous, the entire scene just turned comical!
At the end of the day, rather at the end of Sam's visit, one wonders-
Have the luxuries of the West taken precedence over the feeling of belonging one has when in India?
Do the liberal ways of the yonder have a better hold on our 'NRI's when compared to the tradition and culture they have grown up with?
Can pizzas and MacD Burgers replace Home-cooked food.....
11 comments:
Good one! And point taken! Completely agree with what you have to say...one reason why inspite of wanting to study abroad i want to get back.. i just HATE the culture there! You feel SO lonely abroad with no one you know around!
Good Post :)
My Dear Ms.Anu :D,
what SAM is complaining about ???
is it about the food ????
or the pollution, heat, narrow roads, traffic congestion, senseless autodrivers ????
remember - pollution, heat, narrow roads, traffic congestion, senseless autodrivers are NOT OUR CULTURE baby.
To Anu, for more clarifications:
the post goes like this....NRI complaining abt his motherland...
what matters is what he complaints...
if he complaints that here u are not getting continental food that u get outside..then yes, we can say he has alienated from his motherland.
if he complains about ppl not dating here...then yes, we can say he has alienated from his motherland.
if he complains about poor maintained roads, electricity, infrastructure, auto rickshaws, pollution....then its not the matter of alienating from motherland...becas all these things are not the traits of India. they are BANE of India which got added by modernization of ppl living in India and other factors (not NRIs).
why NRIs...even common man living here complains about all these. but nothing can be done by individuals so he just talks and walks away like u and me [:D]
all that we can do max is we can restrict ourselves from spoiling our country to certain extent. thats all..but cant do anything drastic.
Re:
You should meet someone who has been there and someone from here, who has not been there- then u will understand the difference. The way we talk about it is factual. The way they talk about it is disparaging, as if they have come to a new country and they are criticising it.If it is we who are complaining, we already know that we are partially to blame for the state of our roads, rubbish on the roads etc, but the way an NRI talks is as if he has been invited here to comment on our way of living.
these two questions are in two dimensions:
1. Can pizzas and MacD Burgers replace Home-cooked food.....
this makes sense. wherever we go and come, home is always sweet home. so, if NRIs compain about non-availability of pizzas and MacD Burgers here, thats their 'kozhuppu' which they have accumulated there [:D]
2. these were the vices of ours, which gradually became a refrain in the days to come. If Swaminathan had managed to survive and moreover revel in his first 25 years here, why is the same situation 'unbearable' for Sam?
this doesnt make sense (atleast to me). what do u say???? we have been like this with pollution, heat, narrow roads, traffic congestion, senseless autodrivers for over 50 years, so we should continue 'bearing' this ???? theres nothing wrong in complaining against these as not just NRI, even our own ppl will get frustrated with these.
so my point is:
theres nothing wrong in NRI's complaining about these (its just becas of the frustration like what we also have)...but the way in which they complain is what alienates them from their motherland....
theres a difference in the way in which a foreigner coming here and complaining about India and an NRI coming here and complainig about India....as long as they maintain that difference, then its ok [:D]
I'm not debating here. very glad that you've taken notice of this 'menace' .. call it the N-menace (the NRI menance, without generalisation) .... but sometimes, I get the feeling that Swaminathan can turn into Sam sitting right here at home.... he needn't board that flight to do make that transition.. if u get what I mean... I believe you should write more about this issue.
I loved the title of this post... :D.
I also wonder for some of my friends who keep cribbing about India, and keep throwing garbage on the streets, which they dont dare to do in US :D.
The sea frog or the well frog?
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