Perception of Indians

Many of my friends have often asked me about the general perception of India and her people in Canada. The following is an attempt to summarize the same.

I have lived in Canada for almost eight months now. I get to interact with people from many countries here; not just Canadians. In fact most of the people I meet are non-Canadians: and are of diverse ethnicities, that include Chinese, Arabs, Iranians, Indonesians, Europeans.

The general awareness about India and her culture isn't significant, which is somewhat understandable. For instance, people (except those from the sub-continent) find it strange that our country has so many different languages and find it rather hard to believe that not all people speak or understand a single language. They will ask if these are really different languages, or just dialects/ accents of the same language.

People are also not much cognizant of our cultural diversity. I had a heated argument with this guy from Kyrgyzstan who argued that Kazakhstan has more diversity than India. This guy was my office-mate and sat next to me. His point of view was that the diversity of India is only at a micro level, and not at a macro-level; and therefore it is perceptible only by Indians themselves; while to foreigners our culture seems quite homogeneous. He would talk about the caste system (which he thought was all-pervasive), and arranged marriages, and people who he thought looked very similar (and therefore were ethnically identical, according to him), and languages that sounded similar to him (he had heard us speak in both Bangla and Hindi). Of course he hadn't read much about India and his opinion was mostly based on a bunch of Bollywood Movies and a handful of Indians he had known. And he is the kind of person who turns a debate into a monologue; without letting anyone answer his points. I was initially somewhat irritated at his, should I say "arrogant ignorance", but then again, he can't be blamed either, because there apparently isn't a conscious effort on the part of those who promote India, to sufficiently emphasize our diversity to the outside world.

People, especially most Asians (Asians refer to all Asians here and not just East Asians; refer to a previous entry in this blog if you are wondering why this is clarified) do know about Bollywood and are interested in it, though they have this idea that all Bollywood movies have a dozen song sequences where the hero and the heroine sing and dance and go around trees. They also think that Indian movies don't expose women much, and a couple of Chinese guys had their jaws dropped when I showed them the "Beedi Jalaile" video on youtube. And that Tamil song where Prabhudeva dances (titled great Indian dance or something similar and available on youtube, with an astoundingly high view count) is very well known. The University actually offers a course on "Bollywood Dancing" alongside Salsa, Ballet, Tango and Mambo and it attracts several students of different national and ethnic origins.

There are some people who think that all Indians are born with Singing and dancing skills. Of course people don't know much about movies in regional languages or non-main stream Hindi movies. Most think "brown" girls are hot, which makes them wonder why Bollywood heroines are mostly of fair complexion. Some people also confuse the words "Hindi" and "Hindu". People know that Cricket is the most popular sports in India though their knowledge in this field is rather limited; though they believe that a single match necessarily played in five days.

Another misconception is that almost all Hindus (and all Brahmins) are vegetarians (I found this misconception even among some Pakistanis and Bangladeshis); and that beef is not available in India. "Indian Cuisine" (which is basically a selective combo of North and West Indian cuisine) is very popular and the Indian Restaurants attract a lot of customers. They also think that Indian food is excessively spicy, but they like that. "Chicken Tikka Masala", the national dish of Great Britain is popular here as well. My floormates gave me a strange look when they found me cooking lentils (Daal) in the common kitchen; they hadn't seen anything like that before. One Chinese guy asked if it was some curry.

Almost everyone has heard the name of "Calcutta", and instantly connect Mother Teresa (and probably abject poverty, though they won't say it) to it; though nobody knows the city's new name, "Kolkata", nor do I mention it, to avoid confusion. Some Europeans and central Asians pronounce it as "Kaal-Kootta" (which sounds like Kaalo kootta, meaning Black Dog in Bangla). Other well known cities are Delhi, Bombay (not Mumbai), and Bangalore. And they have heard of Taj Mahal. Well, at least most of them.

Despite a few misconceptions, most appreciate India as one of the earliest and greatest civilizations in the world, and our culture as one of the most outstanding. They also are aware of India' s recent economic boom and some consider her a superpower in the recent future. Most people like India and Indians and do not harness any negative feelings against us, barring may be, a few Pakistanis (though certainly not all of them, most of them are friendly and nice). Even in case of those Pakistanis, the grievance usually is against the Government of India and its Army, and not the common people.

India

Seven months ago, when I was in India and was preparing myself for a new life at the other side of the planet, I was somewhat vaguely aware of the things that I would be missing. I was certain that I would miss the company of my family and friends, the people with whom I used to spend the most of my time. I knew I would miss Bengali food: the daily dose of daal-bhaat-torkari-maachher jhol and the mouth watering sweetmeats of my land, not to mention the amazing street food delicacies of my city. I did realize that I would also miss, among other things, reading the Bengali daily in the morning while relishing a cup of the most refreshing tea, or taking those exciting auto-rickshaw rides across the city through peak traffic; or getting drenched in the monsoon downpours when umbrellas just don’t work; or jostling with sweaty crowds on a packed up minibus; or getting enchanted by the mystifying glow of the setting sun on a rain-soaked evening.

And I am missing all of those that I speculated.

But in addition to all that, I am missing something more. Something which includes everything else previously mentioned; but of which all that merely constitute a small part. Something I was probably too naïve to realize while in India.

I am missing India. I am missing her sounds, her sights, her touch. I am missing her divine smile reflected on a billion faces. I am missing the caressing touch of her refreshing winds. I am missing the fragrance of her flowers. I am missing the soothing smell of her soil.

I was of the opinion that nationality is just an artificial identity of an individual.

Now I know that it isn’t; at least for me. The love for my country is something that lives and breathes in every drop of blood that is pumped from my heart. The urge to see her emanates from the very core of my soul.

I always knew that I loved her.

I never knew that I loved her so much.

Asians?

Back in Pimary School they taught us that India is a part of that huge continent called Asia. I thereby had the impression that Indians are Asians. Seems kind of simple and direct doesn't it? India is a part of Asia; therefore all that is a part of India is a part of Asia; and thus follows the conclusion.

Having a notion like that, I emphatically and enthusiastically became a member of the "Asian Students Association" at the University when I found that there was one. But then when I checked out their website, something struck me as unusual. All the members of the community (except me) seemed to be of Chinese, Korean or Japanese descent. There was not a single member either from South Asia or from the Middle East; despite the presence of a significant number of students from these regions. I subsequently came to know that in these parts, "Asian" refers specifically to East Asians; it may or may not include South East Asians (it does not, according to my Chinese Canadian friend), but it definitely does not include South Asians like us.

This is what wikipedia has to say:

" In Canada, Asian refers to people from the Far East, Southeast Asia, South Asia and West Asia. Like the United States, in Canada the term Asian generally refers to the East Asian Canadians since they were the first Asian immigrant groups into Canada."

So as far as regular, unofficial use of the term is concerned, the more Chinese (or Mongoloid) features you have, the more Asian you are. But what are we then? It turns out that the common word for describing all South Asians apparently is the rustic-sounding "Desi" or the rather racist "Brown". The word Brown though, is the most ridiculous word to refer to South Asians, and that's not only because of its racist tone. A lot of North Indians and Pakistanis are as fair-skinned as Europeans while some Indians are as dark as Africans. The word Desi is better, but it doesn't make much of a sense either, because it sounds sort of "uncool", and in Hindi it simply means "of or belonging to the country". South Asian, probably is the best phrase and makes perfect sense; but that brings us to something similar to where we begun; as we face the question, "Are South Asians not Asians?"

Rather confusing, isn' it?

Winter Morns

My days begin with frosty morns; so cheerless, grey and pale
Shaken by the frigid winds that loudly weep and wail
Whilst whistling past the hapless trees that tremble, throb and shiver
Like arrows sharp with needle points strung freshly from a quiver.

The sky looks down in pensive mood and casts its gloomy glance
On a land that is still half asleep and revel in some trance
Enchanted and enraptured by an ancient magic spell
The world sleeps softly underneath the misty morning shell

I see no colour as I trudge wearily on my way
But vast white patches all along with exceptions of grey
At times they glow in sunshine like piled up heaps of salt,
I plod across the emptiness, I have nowhere to halt.

The winter plays its frozen charm across the streets I pass,
Which smell of snow and feel like steel and meanly gleam like glass.
The horizon ahead of me lay concealed in soggy haze
And thus I take my lonely walk across the wintry days.

An Introspection

There he was, staring straight towards me with his tired eyes. He didn't speak, but I could still hear every word uttered from the depths of his heart. I could feel in me every feeling he had felt, every agony he had endured and every sacrifice he had made. I knew all about the thoughts and emotions that wandered around in the alleys and avenues of his fatigued mind, thoughts that even he would not be able to express coherently. I could read his eyes. I could see through them as if they were transparent.
And who else could read his mind with such clarity but me? We had been together since eternity, we had shared our moments of joy and sorrow, of ecstacy and despair, and we had walked under bright sunshine and torrential downpours. Sometimes I've loved him as much as I could, at times I have hated him with all my heart. Without him as my eternal friend, this long unfinished journey would have never been possible. Whatever I acheived, whoever I became was because of him. He was my only companion at hours of solitude, he was my only inspiration at hours of depression, he was my only source of light under a dark and stormy night sky. He had lead me to the keys when I found all the doors to be locked. And now, here he was, fragile, weary, lonely, having left everything that was dear to him several thousands of miles away, all because of me. Everything he had done was in a bid to make me successful, an effort to make my dreams become reality. As I looked into his tired eyes that still reflected the same old strength of his inner spirit; weak, cold and yet fuming with an unsurmountable energy, I desperately wanted to take him into my arms in one tight embrace, so that I could let him know that I was thankful to him for all his efforts in making the journey wonderful.
I wanted to, but I could not.
There was a mirror between us.

Reservations against reservations

The Hindu society, traditionally, has had well defined class divisions since the Vedic times. Such divisions had primarily originated on the basis of profession, but gradually, as for generations people in the same family continued to adhere to the same profession, these divisions started to be determined by birth. Soon the caste system became deeply established in the society, with members of one class forbidden to take up occupations of the other classes, and the gaps between adjacent groups continued to widen. Over a period of several millenia, these barriers became more and more strong, and by the end of the nineteenth century, member of an 'upper' caste would cringe from even interacting with member of a 'lower' caste, let alone eat, drink or socially meet together. As the caste system grew more and more complex, and new sub-castes emerged, certain groups of people were identified as the 'Panchamas' (the fifth) or the 'Asprshyas' (untouchables); those who supposedly fell below the ranks of all the four major castes: viz., Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras. Medeival and British India in particular, witnessed severe ostracism and inhumanity against these people. Ill-treated, abused and segregated by the 'elite' fraction of the society these people lived in wretched conditions, even though they constituted a significant part of the entire population.

As India gradually rediscovered her way into enlightenment in the 1900's, the necessity to eliminate such an atrocious system of social injustice was realized. It was decided that social reforms would be carried out all over the land to ensure the obliteration of caste based atrocities. Meanwhile, reservations in higher education and public sector jobs would be offered to people coming from the lowest castes to compensate the negative effects that social segregation was having on them. Caste based reservations have thus been a part of the Indian system since independence.

However, as India moves forward into the 21st century, caste based reservations have lead to some significant controversy. The basic assumption that members of a 'scheduled' caste or tribe are always exploited socially and economically is severely flawed. Though that might be the truth for many cases, that is not true universally, and such a generalisation thus, is ultimately too gross. There are thousands of 'upper caste' people living in abject poverty and severly lacking in resources, while there are many 'scheduled caste' people who are financially and socially well established. The sad truth is that in most cases, all the benefits and facilities reserved for the 'scheduled' classes are enjoyed by the people belonging to the second category, while those of the first category are never eligible for any of these benefits. Poor people belonging to the 'scheduled castes' are so poor and socially backward that they seldom cross the layers of primary education and rarely reach the threshold of higher education or the job sector, from which stages reservations are available. At the same time, reservations tend to work against the very reason they were put to effect. In the given system, a so-called "Backward" guy would always apply as a "reserved" candidate; and take no action to improve himself academically, which would have enabled him to compete with the general guys on the same platform. An "upper-caste" guy would continue to despise a "lower-caste" guy, not because of his birth; but because of him being a "reserved" candidate.

The situation may be addressed with the following analogy: some people are tall, and some are short and malnourished. Our aim is to ensure that everyone's head touches the same level. Reservation gives an easy solution, it simply adds up an altitude bias to the short guys, by, let's say, making them wear high heels, to make them appear taller. This is a flawed method, for this would eventually reduce the average natural height of the upper layer of the population, and would also eliminate naturally tall people from the system in favour of artifically tall people. There's an alternative way to acheive the same goal. That is to take extra care of the short guys, nourish them properly to ensure they're tall enough when they grow up. The caste system must be eradicated right from the grass roots of our society, right from the dark chasms from which such obnoxiousness emanates. By providing special aid to the socially and economically backward children at the primary level, it must be ensured that when they grow up, they don't need any reserved seats.

The caste system has crippled our society for centuries. Such social segregation cannot and must not persist in the system and has to be eliminated. But, reservations will never solve the problem. Rather than eliminating the problem, reservations continue to reinforce the concepts of social segregation.