Skip to main content

GRAZING..... and greener grass

"Have you heard 'Sadi Gali'? I really like it." (Blank look) "Its from Tanu weds Manu" (Stunned silence)

After a few inexplicably long moments, I was asked where I had heard this song. My explanation that I had watched the movie did not seem to answer my friends' questions. I cant say I blame them, over the last 15 years, they have been able to drag me to a grand total of 3.6 Bollywood movies. They accused me of being an imposter. But what can I say? Spending half a year in the capital really increases the tolerance level of the mindless torture of most Bollys. Sometimes you even begin to miss it.

All my life I have been branded and put away into the 'Anglicised' category of the shelf. I can guess what earned me this laurel, its not easy to escape it being from a convent, and then a emigrant to the State and finally having a mother who is an English teacher. It probably didnt help my case when I chose to learn the drums (not the harmonium like a good Bengali girl) and take up swimming instead of dance. What sealed the deal was of course, my 'elitist' preference for watching sappy, mindless Hollywood over Bollywood.

But is being 'Indian' an honour reserved for those who spend all day discussing PCs rocky relationship with Shahid and debating about whether Rakhi's Swayamvar will have a Season 2?
I think the waters of India run deeper than that.

What passed unnoticed all these years was the tear that came to my eye when I stood along with hundreds of others and sang Jana Gana Mana. When I went to the river bank and drummed alongside the dhaki to say goodbye to Durga Ma. The open-mouthed awe with which I took in the Taj for the first time. The overwhelming emotions I felt when the Tricolour was raised at the CWG Village.
What passed unnoticed was the disappointment I felt when I was rudely told that I was 'tone deaf'. I would have to content with only listening to Rabindranath Tagore and Kishore Kumar.

What decides the matter though, are not all these passing moments. They are the very real, deep ties that I have to my family and friends. It is our ancient culture to embrace with open hearts and share with open palms.

We Indians may not be the best at implementation, but we are great, great dreamers. We may not always be on time, but we always find time for loving. We may live in the midst of acute poverty, but their is richness in our life.
And that's what makes me sure that I'm Indian to the core.

And don't you dare try to take that away from me!

Comments

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey Pritha,
    I really liked the polite but firm stand you take in asserting your right to Indianness- on your own terms, and rightly so...
    Swimming against the current (both literally and metaphorically!) requires a lot of strength and will-power; but it has its own high too...
    So enjoy!!!!
    And keep writing...

    ReplyDelete
  3. damn.. again and again u make me wish i could write like that man.. what a lovely read!

    ReplyDelete
  4. :-)

    Love your tad-cynical, tad-funny, tad-sarcastic, tad-middle-finger-to-you tone when you write. Keep at it!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Dam - Part II

The easiest way to describe what’s underneath the calm watery surface of this dam is to list all the little rivulets of emotions flowing in from various directions. At the very top of the emotional pyramid, is complete peace and contentment. I have everything I need to be comfortable right now, the most important being time and energy. Many of my days consist primarily of working out, napping, cooking, seeing friends and reading. I can feel my burn out healing, I will soon be ready to tackle this next chapter, which is sure to be challenging. While there is a small part of me that is impatient, nay, eager to start, I am enjoying every moment of this hiatus. Below the surface though, saying goodbyes is heart-wrenching and every new memory created comes with a tinge of longing and nostalgia. Whether it is seeing off my closest friend at the train station, or playing with my friends’ babies, each simple act now comes with so many emotions. It’s the river of “the lasts”. Over the pas

The Dam – Part I

  In March 2023 I had the privilege to make a decision to change my life. After job hunting for months, I landed 2 vastly different roles in 2 different countries. I coincidentally, seemingly fatefully, received the job offers on the same day. It was a decision I wasn’t about to take lightly, and even though I knew in my gut what I wanted, it took some negotiating, researching and convincing to make it. In 2014, when I boarded a Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt, I had more faith in humanity and optimism bordering on naivete. I was younger and more foolish than I am now. I was hungry to learn and grow professionally. In 2023, I turn back a little wiser, a little more beaten by life, still hungry to learn and grow. Someone asked me why I decided to leave after having fought so hard to be here. “Because I don’t want to fight so hard anymore”, I answered instantly, the words coming from somewhere deep in my soul before my mind had a chance to think about it. Being a foreigner and woman of c

The last one

  This is the last one, and then I’ll stop. I’m not really addicted, its just good for me right now. Its what I need right now. I can stop whenever I want. One more event, that’s what we tell ourselves. Always the last event, before settling down into a respectable, predictable life. At my very first job at the CWG Delhi 2010, I envied my Greek boss. He was in Delhi for 3-4 years, to make sure that the contingency relations and services department was running according to industry standard. I thought of his wife and 2 kids, and imagined it must be exciting to live in a new city like Delhi, and move to a new place every 4 years, to have a truly international upbringing. To be honest, I still do. I envy the travelling circus. But as a 33-year-old woman, I hesitate to jump headlong into a life of semi-permanency. I ask myself whether I really have what it takes. I question whether my relationships will withstand the periodic disappearances that coincide with every operations mode.