Urban India -- The NRI Viewpoint

I`d like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who took the time to express their views and comments here. To clarify certain points that have been raised, I have tried to bring out the fact that whether for better or for worse our society and its value system has changed. Yes ``bbabu`` there is such a thing as the value system of a culture - what we believe in as a culture and how we live our lives. I think this shift in the views of the younger generation was brought out pretty well in the latest Bollywood flick ``Rang De Basanti`` so if you haven`t seen it as yet, I suggest you do. In respose to ``kaalchakra`` - I disagree. Indian values are not simply the values Indians hold at a particular time, such an explanation is either overly naive or overly ignorant. There`s a lot more that goes into our value system - our heritage & our culture for starters. As for the accusation of being a hypocrite and escaping to the West, I haven`t escaped at all. I may be in a different land, but the culture and moral values that are a part of my life are undeniably Indian. Yes, I am an NRI but I consider those letters to stand for, ``Never Relinquished India,`` as Shashi Tharoor put it. ``Yin-Yang``, society can`t tell you what values are good and what are bad. You should know that for yourself, that`s my whole point. We can`t deny that our society is becoming westernized. But don`t let our values change. That`s what is most important. And no, I`m not glorifying poverty, I`m glorifying our heritage to a generation that doesn`t understand it as well as the previous one - and in this regard, I consider myself guilty to a great extent as well. But let`s not let the chasm widen. Modernization is one thing, westernization quite another.

re: Jang # 20

That romantic part is true, and Veeresh expressed the same sentiment much better :)

Rakesh Mani should have titled this one ``Lament on My Bad Timing in Going to the West when All the Goodies have Reached India already (And I can Still Have Somebody to Make the Bed and Take the Garbage Out as well as Do the Washing and Driving and Carry my Files)

Grow up, Rakesh Mani, try to seize the world with both hands instead. And cut out your great ideas on the glorification of poverty - or take them to New Orleans.

This is Rakesh Mani`s Urban viewpoint, and that`s it. Why drag the much maligned and joked about term ``NRI`` into it?

#19 kall bhaisaab, you are such a romantic. i was happy with migling of american and indian bodies..

I truly think that the mingling of American and Indian minds and cultures is one of the most exciting and consequential phenomena of our times. Indians should reach out and learn everything they can from this dynamic, young civilization that places human beings first.

The entire New Age movement - which is American people`s attempt to break out of the limits of traditional religion - is importantly influenced by Indian thought. So much so that one can barely be at the frontier of American spirituality today without being exposed to India at almost every turn.

Besides, there is nothing in American culture that is innately offensive to Indian spirit. So let freedom ring! :0)

Nature has an interesting cycle. If Indians are getting westernized, then Americans are getting exposed to the Indian trends and practices. I do not know why Indians are worried about westernization. Unfortunately, a good number of articles on the said subject reflect complete ignorance and forget to expound upon the impact of Indian culture on the West. There are certain Indian practices that are making their way all over the world, be it yoga or certain kind of a massage technique. The number of yoga ashrams in the United States is multiplying. Unfortunately, the rate of multiplication is not directly proportional to the number of outsourcing contracts the Indians are securing. Still, the progress is phenomenal. I have known of so many whites who are members of these ashrams for meditation and exercise. Many corporations have certified yoga instructors to coach their staff on taking care of their well-being. This was not part of the western culture. You would find all these swamis from India and sometimes the locals running the ashrams and expanding the businesses.

One should take a count of the number of yoga journals/magazines that are published in the United States. Each magazine lists the schedules of various retreats all over the world. In my view, this is a major change in the outlook of the American society over the past few decades. Checkout the interesting places (retreat centers and yoga ashrams) in upstate NY or VA. Drive from San Francisco to Sacramento and you will be amazed to find the little gift shops full of yoga accessories and information on chakras. Despite my extensive travels to different exotic and beautiful parts of the United States, I think Alaska (the loveliest destination) is the only state, which has not completely acquired that Indian taste yet. They are still under the strong influence of Russian Orthodox Church and Philipinos.

Since I do not read everything on Chowk, but whatever I have come across on the said subject seems to only capture one side of the picture - incomplete and ignorant. This includes Farzana`s recent attempt. There was a time when the Western media was blamed for its uni-directional thought process and ignorance. Now, the South Asians are following the same trend.

harimau, its a slow progress.
first rakesh, rejeev and juhi..
as the madrasis become more aryan, they will use bunty, bubbli, puppu and ginny.

Harimau,
It was Dimple, Simple and Rimple. Pimple is Rajesh Khana.
I think south Indian parents are naming kids Manish, Rajesh, Rajeev etc not bec of a complex but bec it its easy on the tongue. After all this kids are not going to remain in the villages, and in Bombay, Delhi, NY, LA etc names like Masanamuthu, Sangilikkaruppan, Karuppannasamy or Sudalaikkannu will be mighty hard to pronounce.

`` Regardless, the truth is, ladies & gentlemen that urban India has changed tremendously from my previous memories of her. There was a time when the Indian youth were just that, Indian. The average Indian kid was stereotyped as a studious child, well-mannered, brought up in a conservative environment where their lives revolved around their parents and their families. Their upbringing, regardless of their economic standing, were characterized by ``Indian values.`` ``

Things goes in cycles. Change is constant. Get used to it !!!

`` The age-old traditions, cultures and manners infused into their minds from the time they were toddlers. There were parental rules that had to be followed, at least pretended to be followed. Granted that the youth have flouted authority and surreptitiously broken rules from time immemorial, one had to do things in secret. Not brazenly and with a parental nod. This established, at least outwardly, a kind of moral uprightness and value system that was an inherent part of our societies. In today`s urban India, it`s all missing. Vanished. Khatam. How, I ask, did this all change? When? ``

value system ??

`` Today, the youth of Bombay are not very different from their Western counterparts. No more elegant half-sarees but miniskirts. No youngsters gleefully gobbling pani puri and drinking lassi at the local dukaan but Tiramisu at an Italian bistro. The ancient traditions, culture and heritage passed down for generations have given way to inebriated youngsters enjoying a night of revelry at one of the city`s numerous nightclubs. ``

The real issue is if youngsters wearing modern dresses think any differently than their ancestors. Wearing ``Western dresses`` do not make a society ``Western``.

pmishra2 #10

`` Where are all the old names gone? My great grand-father was named babu lal and another great uncle was called Ram Prasad. But now somehow, everyone has a slick name like Abhishek or Kamesh or Rakesh. Thank god for the bengalis, they still use names like Buddhadeb or Saibal or Amartya. ``

What is wrong with babu :-)

harimau #9

`` The decline in cultural norms began when South Indians suddenly started feeling inferior to North Indians and started naming their kids Anish, Manish, Rajesh, Rajeev, Sanjay or Rakesh for that matter. Time was when sonorous names like Anantapadmanabhan and Sivaramakrishnan used to be the names in Tamil Nadu -- I am not discounting here names like Masanamuthu, Sangilikkaruppan, Karuppannasamy or Sudalaikkannu which also held sway over a large population. ``

Aren`t you trying to overanalyze people here ?

Ref pmishra2 #10

[heh, heh, very nice.]

Thanks.

[Where are all the old names gone? .... now somehow, everyone has a slick name like Abhishek or Kamesh or Rakesh.]

I expect we shall soon have amongst us persons named Banish, Danish and Vanish to rhyme with Anish and Manish... sort of like the Kapadia sistes: Dimple, Simple and Pimple!

#9 harimau

heh, heh, very nice.

Now here is a topic worth discussing. EVen in the north all the names have been updated and modernized, so believe me, you are not alone. Of course, there is this southern victim complex (bad, bad northies) so I shouldnt disturb that either :-)

Where are all the old names gone? My great grand-father was named babu lal and another great uncle was called Ram Prasad. But now somehow, everyone has a slick name like Abhishek or Kamesh or Rakesh. Thank god for the bengalis, they still use names like Buddhadeb or Saibal or Amartya.

BTW, good point about Rakesh. I couldnt find my dictionary of sanskrit names and do not recall what it means. Who will enlighten us?

The decline in cultural norms began when South Indians suddenly started feeling inferior to North Indians and started naming their kids Anish, Manish, Rajesh, Rajeev, Sanjay or Rakesh for that matter. Time was when sonorous names like Anantapadmanabhan and Sivaramakrishnan used to be the names in Tamil Nadu -- I am not discounting here names like Masanamuthu, Sangilikkaruppan, Karuppannasamy or Sudalaikkannu which also held sway over a large population.

Does a Punjabi return the honor? Have you ever heard of a Panchapakesh Talwar or a Panchnadhishwar Taneja? One would think that these names would be natural for the people of the Land of the Five Rivers; instead it is in the Cauvery delta (with its five major distributaries of the Cauvery river) that you have these names. And they are slowly being replaced by strange names that I cannot decipher.

Exactly what is Rakesh (Rak? + Ishwar, I presume) god of? Whatever it is, I am sure such a god went around wearing convertible pants and his consort (Rakeshwari perhaps? Or, shudder, Katrina) would be wearing hot pants as opposed to Rama wearing a dhoti with Sita in a sari.

Yet another NRI going hai! mera desh itna badal gaya. I have lived in Delhi for the last 20 years, and really the 2005 wasn`t that different from 2001 in terms of westernization. though remix videos have gotten slightly raunchy.

An overwhelming number of bachas are still acha, and going to a barrista and eating tiramisu doesn`t make them less religious. What is the panipuri test!! An outlook survey last year showed that today`s generation is if anything more conservative than our parents. We are less likely to demand social change, or fight for rights, we are happier with singing songs at mehndi.

As for the films of yore being family films, they were gore ridden and violent. Now of course if you want to go back to the 60s with Shashi Kapoor thats another story.

``We should be celebrating our glorious culture and singing paeans about our heritage, not abandoning it lock, stock and barrel to embrace an alien culture which our youth believe to be superior to our own.``

Have you seen any Ekta Kapoor serials lately.