A word of caution: I am in a vitriolic worst. Any offence to anyone living or dead is not intentional.
Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) CEO Mike Hooper is hopping mad, frustrated, irritated and annoyed with India for what has happened, or not happened. He said India had got seven years to prepare for the games, but its constant missing of deadlines had been a “frustrating” experience. Senior government officials’ flippant comparison of the Games to that of an Indian wedding, where everything “seems” wrong till the groom arrives, and then they work well till the end has not gone down well with the CWG officials.
It is a moment of shame for all of us in India. We are driving out our atithi (guests) before they arrive.
Just thinking aloud: When a non-Indian comes here and passes such uncomplimentary remarks, we feel insulted. But when non-resident Indians pass such comments, we feel double insulted. Why? Because we feel they have been part of this system at some point of time.
We, the resident Indians, fume when our non-resident family members from the West and Far East come here for their annual shot of India vaccine and vilify everything that is India: water, weather, health, hygiene, education. They say our airports are dirty, our stations dirtier and we have no systems in place. They name a superbug after our national capital. They blame our doctors for prescribing antibiotics without a flutter, making them responsible for the superbug in a Western body. They say we have no method of administering checks on prescription drugs as they are available over the counter. They say we Indians have no civic sense and spit red betel juices all over. They say we do not know how to follow traffic rules on the roads, and therefore do not deserve so many automobile manufacturing units. They say our banking mechanisms are bad. They say our education system is worse with children forced to cram before examinations. They say India stinks, it is dirty. Its people lack discipline. They have no sense of time…. In short, after that long one: A lot of India is bad.
But a little of India is good too: For shopping; for clothes; for mathris, murukkus and masalas; for festivities and the accompanied goodies (we never disappoint them on that); for chivda and chaats (better be “hygienic”); for the Karan Johar-Shah Rukh Khan brand of candy floss Hindi films and the accompanying red-hot pop-sufi music.
Today, our NRI annual guests will have another lovely weapon to badger the morale of the resident Indians: The shame and the sham of the Commonwealth Games.
We know many of this is true. But it hurts. When our children make mistakes, we chide them. But when someone else scolds them, we get upset.
Thank you, the Government of India. Thank you, Shiela Dikshit. Thank you, Suresh Kalmadi. Thank you, all the officials who have managed to keep our NRI tongues wagging for ever and ever and ever. They will never stop now. We, the poor resident Indians, have no choice but to lick our wounds.
Atithi, devo bhago!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Loved the title! BTW, the dead will not take offense, they already had the greatest offense committed to them so what's a few sharp comments. As for the living, its quite another matter :-)
ReplyDeleteFirst of - when this NRI visits India none of the things you listed under "india vaccine" are top of mind - the main agenda remains visiting family and friends, all else is incidental or a side-show (including King Khan and Queen Padukone). BTW, the India Vaccine term was funny - I laughed out loud.
My main contention on the issues you mentioned is that people are essentially the same - regardless of where they live - the differences are mainly of degree.
Fact is, in India we do overuse antibiotics as they are freely available to all, this is a mild form of drug abuse. Whereas, here in the US, some very enterprising, and rich, school students in Malibu figure out how to make drugs out of over-the-counter medicines - and use the internet to export that technology to other countries. From India we probably get resistant strains of bacteria, from the US you definitely get the technology for mass consumable and cheap drugs. Score 1-1.
Believe me, badly maintained toilets stink, regardless of location. There just happen to be fewer of them in some western countries. Likewise, whether you step into a mens toilet or a mens restroom you'll reach the conclusion that both Indian and Western men suffer from poor hand-eye coordination :-) Score 2-2.
Betel juice = Chewing gum... Score 3-3, I think you get the point....
For the record, I don't like these Malibu types teaching the rest of the real-world how to get creative with drugs, I don't like stinky bathrooms, I don't like stepping on chewing gum on the way to a store, I don't like the look of pan-stains on a super clean wall and I cuss when someone cuts me off on the road. So call people like me whatever but don't call us biased or somehow out to criticize India for the sake of it.
CWG is a whole another topic which I'm hoping we'll have an opportunity to discuss later.
Points taken! The fact is I, too, do not like stinky toilets though I am part of the system called India. I, too, curse when a two-wheeler cuts me across when I am driving. I, too, hate running to the medical store at the slightest hint of a headache. But the point I was trying to make was it hurts when someelse else scolds your child. Specially, when that someone has had no role in its upbringing.
ReplyDeleteI also understand that the purpose of the annual visit is to meet relatives and friends, and that everything else is a side-show. No offence there. But the fact is the visit always accompanies criticisms, leaving the natives hurt.
My due apologies for being an NRI but leaving everything aside - leaving 300,000 people homeless to conduct an international event is not acceptable on any count. I am shocked that no feathers have been ruffled regarding this matter with all focus on Suresh Kalmadi.
ReplyDelete