MY AMERICANA !!

       More than the thought of Masters degree, or having a successful career or making money, I was driven to America more by curiosity. I have always been a people person .. not as in socially active way .. but interested in observing people. Study, assess and even judge them. The way they are, talk, walk, act in public, react in situations .. everything. The curiosity of What was this other worldly nation/race like? drove me across oceans and landed me here. 

       As a student back in India, I always thought of US as a homogeneous country full of 7 foot men wearing suits like Al Gore and all women as beautiful blondes like Marilyn Monroe or  Pamela Anderson**. I always pictured it as a corruption free society and that everyone humped each other on a whim. To investigate more, I landed in the glitzy hot bed of politicians and celebrities ---- (drum roll)----  Cincinnati, OH. Yes ... that Cincinnati, OH. It was eye opening and to an extent disappointing to see normal working class Americans in a blue collar city. I realized I was the tallest guy in most rooms, ugly white women exist, and Every one is a bit better dressed in all sections of society .. that was all the difference I saw, initially.

** Back then I thought Pam was awesome, as i was too naive to even think people would be dumb enuff to go through surgery to enhance their assets :O ...

       Several of my notions have since evolved. In the past 10 yrs, I have realized that human nature, is not all that different. Culture & Customs might differ, but there is a common backbone which we all world citizens are built on. There is a common code of ethics we all live by and break, in our own way. All the kinds of characters I saw in India, The Upright, The Staunch Conservatives, The "dont care" Hippies, The Corrupt, The God fearing, The God less, The Tolerant, The Cruelly Racist - every single character I saw in Indian society had a relevant match in the American society.

      People having problems is common in both societies. The kind of problems differ. First world problems like Gay rights, Abortion, & ban on circumcision are not high on the mind of a poor guy in India desperate in search of means for his family's next meal. Corruption is opaque to the American public. Their day to day activities are not affected by corruption, so they don't care for or acknowledge it. In India, the absence of a suit clad classy middle man, makes the citizen experience brutal and downright inhuman. Of course, the population just magnifies every problem to a huge extent. Here in US the corruption is more systematic and well masked by excellent customer service.

       Under the table bribes in India, turn into "High Character & Noble" Charitable donations to Politicians' wives here. What, the shabby peon outside the registrar office greedily asks, while scratching his balls, is paid to a supermodel looking "Realtor" with a swanky office in US. A lot of folks don't even give such a thing a second thought. The head start US got after the World War (as usual, not fought in the Americas) let them setup a system so robust that all & everything corrupt could prevail without affecting the common man. Bush & Dick Cheney, who own major stakes in oil drilling companies, leading the whole country into war with a nation rich in oil, doesn't concern a US citizen as much as a DMV employee asking him a bribe for giving a driving license would !! 

        Racism in modern American Society, is just like caste system in India. Its not politically correct to talk about or discriminate against other races or lower castes in public domain. But the underlying Xenophobia, bigotry and to an extent Hatred can never be wiped out from some minds. Same case as with caste system in India. People in Urban settings like NY or Mumbai or Hyd, are more tolerant  to people of different race or caste than if you go to a undeveloped rural setting like Alabama, Bihar or MP, where all bets are off. Reservation system in India is called 'Equal employment opportunity act'..

       As in any society, the "Ignorance is Bliss" Middle class is the happiest one. They all are busy worrying about the next pool side BBQ or the upcoming festival and are rightfully happy doing so, while all the big wigs are busy getting inside information on the next super highway and are busy hoarding properties around it. What makes a person happy - A nice family meal, Your favorite team winning, Guys hanging out drinking, Girls shopping, Small successes of Kids  ... these all seem so common across the cultures. So are the annoyances like my boss complaining to me about her mother in law ... just the way my mom used to about my granny. :)

All in all it has been a great experience for the last 10 years, trying to understand a country so far but people so similar to us than I could imagine. That is MY AMERICANA !!

The Great Indian Bi -Polar Disorder

                           Ask any Indian and he would say Culture, History and Tradition are what he/she  is most proud of about his country.The sudden interest of Media regarding Rape and Women's rights in India has prompted me to think on what would cause such a thing as rape n murder so brutal ? Out of all why does this happen in the self proclaimed "CULTURED" country ?  When trying to find a reason, do understand, I don't condone what happened. I am the one who believes the culprits must have been hung by their balls right away. I know a civilized society needs them to have defense lawyers and a publicized court trial using tax payers money, But my feelings are just too raw about such a thing. I also am not finding a reason for rape , which is as obvious as as the fact that some men are dick heads and their libido wins over their humanity.

                           Getting back to the reason on why such a thing would happen on a consistent basis in a country like India, I keep going back to the rapid pace at which our economy has been growing and the impact or toll it has had over our society. This rapid pace has brought on such a vast divide among the haves and have-not's, that as a society India is starting to feel the impact. This impact is also specific to Indian society, because Rapid economic development has also brought on rapid westernization. The lower middle class and poor always have been the last to adapt to this and remained a bit more conservative than their counterparts of society. This is irrelevant to a society like Brazil, which has seen about the same pace of development,  as the entire culture is a bit more Sexually libertarian. China, which more or less mirrors our society, has dealt with it in its usual dictatorial methods of law n order.

                           The abyss that exists between these 2 classes in India is not only economic at this point but cultural too. Half of the country has moved forward with new ideologies and has left behind a confused and to an extent disgruntled section in the society. I am not pinning this epidemic entirely on poor, mind you. The conservative structure up on which Indian society is built is also a reason for this. The advent of 24 hr entertainment through media & Internet and the sleaziness just thrown around with Item songs and bikini clad women parading in the movies does not help. You watch a Bollywood movie where the so called hero's have to take a dump or a heroine licking a Ice cream cone ... It has to be shot  sleazily & stylishly either in London or NY.
                            Most Indian women, conservative as they are, do not put it out there like women of other western cultures do. Conflicting signals, the media content & women in real send is also a distress factor in this.  Imagine the psyche of a Bihari immigrant worker living in New Delhi, who comes from a conservative premise but has access to see first hand how the other half has moved along without him. He sees that men are allowed to have girlfriends and date and still be accepted society and he imagines what happens in all the cheesy Bollywood movies is real. Add cheap liquor or drugs to the mix, all reasoning is off and you end up with a Delhi rape scenario, where brutality knows no bounds. They have no discretion left and cannot accept rejection. Some rape and some throw acid. This has been happening all too often even in educated communities.

                           The Socio-economic change India has underwent over the last decade, first world nations had close to a 80 year head start to go through the same. No wonder this sudden jolt to what has been a resilient culture to outside influences, has had so many repercussions. This two faced generation will take at least a couple of decades to settle down and sink in the realities of what effects true and rapid globalization can have on Long standing conservative societies.