From: murali@uts.amdahl.com (K. Muralidharan)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
Subject: How Mr U.S. counts his chickens .. An article from THE HINDU
Keywords: NRI culture
Date: 15 Dec 92 01:39:12 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Amdahl Corporation, Sunnyvale CA


I am enclosing an article which I received from a friend.  The following
article appeared in the recent Indian edition of THE HINDU and was titled

"How Mr. U.S. counts his chickens"

START OF ARTICLE
================

NRIs in the U.S are a close-minded sect.  For there seems to be an absence of people
schooled in the fine arts.  D. ROY CHOUDHURY says this makes for a society strongly
aimed at the pursuit of success.


The World of the non-resident Indian (NRI) in the U.S is strange, an occasionally
near-caricature world evolved over the past few decades and one that many of his cousins
back home would be hard put to recognise.  Those who have read "The X + 1 Syndrome"
which appeared in the Times of India a few years ago, or similar such articles, may
have some inkling of this state of affairs.  But, in India it probably still remains
largely an untold story.

The immigrant experience, with its inevitable uprooting from the parent culture
and gradual metamorphosis/assimilation into the culture of the adopted country is,
depending on individual background and experiences, at best mildly unsettling and
at worst truly traumatic.  Again, the degree of conscious awareness and verbalisation
of this mental dislocation varies widely among individuals.  Both of these features
are universal to all immigrant experience.  Also universal to this experience is
the gradual development of an immigrant identity and subculture within the adopted
culture.  It is a few specific attributes of this Indian sub-culture in the U.s.,
as they appear to this writer, that will now be described.

At the outset, two disclaimers are in order.  First, there are undoubtedly numerous
exceptions to every trend that will be described, and I will not trouble to repeat
this after each observation.  Secondly, lest I appear unaware of this, it is also true
that a substantial portion of the people whose after-work activities are described here
are professionals with advanced degrees, and reasonably to highly successful in their
professions.

To get to the point, two major features seem to me to be at the root of the peculiar,
incestuous and closed-minded character of NRI society in the U.S.  The first is the
great preponderance of engineers and doctors in the community, the very reason for
their success and affluence, and concomitantly an almost complete absence of people
schooled in the creative or fine arts.  This self-selective mechanism in the Indian
immigrant pattern to the U.S. in itself makes for a society strongly oriented to the
pursuit of success and largely inured to a lack of ideas and cultural activity,
particularly given the premium placed by the American parent-culture on competition
and the pursuit of mammon.  Adding to this, however, is a second phenomenon, which
has somewhat puzzled this writer, but whose undeniable existence has been
re-affirmed for me in each of five towns/cities I have resided in (and also
corroborated by the experiences of friends at various other places).  To put it
bluntly, the majority of the NRI population in the U.S have provincial roots, which
little exposure to the fast-changing and cosmopolitan culture of India's larger cities.
This makes many of them unable to relate to various liberal humanist ideals and
institutions of the modern Western state in a meaningful way, even though they may
enjoy the consequent benefits and freedoms daily.  Most often, this also largely
precludes their participation in, and enjoyment of, cultural activities of the parent
culture such as theatre, opera, and concerts.

Given the strongly individualistic nature of American culture and the NRI's significant
measure of disinterest in 'American' activities, the almost inevitable result is the
formation of a closed 'party circuit' in each community.  At their best, such groupings
can be perfectly healthy fraternities (in the author's experience, this is usually true
only of a selected minority who opt out of the 'real' NRI society due to disinterest).
As elaborated below, the proceedings are more often likely to be quite farcical.

Given the general lack of interest in ideas and the dearth of cultural exposure and
talent that I have previously alluded to, each group sprouts several cultural
czarinas/czars.  In the topsy-turvy world of the NRI, these are, more often than
not, the most affluent members of the group - their greater wealth automatically makes
them arbiters of culture.  These august personages, at the weekly get-togethers, hold
forth on every conceivable topic under the sun.  Indeed, it never ceases to amaze me
to continuously see people spout puerile platitudes about Gandhi, Tagore, Satyajit
Ray, Nazrul Islam, the freedom movement, the Indian scriptures, the misery in
India, the self-centred and immoral Westerner and the like (remember that our
NRI friend, having made it, is immeasurably superior to his backward cousins back
home as well as to the poor, benighted westerner). These czarinas/czars periodically
organise cultural programmes routinely featuring hours of dances and songs ( the
majority being amateurishly choreographed or off-key), and interminable speeches
while the bulk of the audience gossip.  Not infrequently, such an event may
feature the large majority of the community, irrespective of prior training or
performing experience.  Also featured occasionally, is juvenile English elocution
in forced American diction.  After witnessing such spectacles time and again, a
friend blurted out that such people 'must have had deprived childhoods,' while a
wit christened them as being 'uneducated degree-holders'.  It should be
mentioned that children's programmes are sometimes an exception and, occasionally,
can be surprisingly good.

Of course, our cultural high-priest (ess) likes nothing better than to avidly
watch the latest blockbuster from Bombay - it is his (her) one true love.
A local adaptation of the 'nites' by Bombay film stars has also evolved.
It involves frenzied participation in such programmes, such as they are, 
followed by dinner with the performer from India's tinseltown for an astronomical
price.  This leads into the next phase which comprises resreening the
videotape and raving over the experience for the next few months.  After a
recent deluge of such rhapsodies, I ventured to ask what might be the purpose
of dining with a 'star' from Bollywood.  The reaction ranged, quite predictably,
from utter incomprehension and disbelief all the way to glacial silence.
Another type of event at which it is mandatory for our cultural Hera/Zeus to
be highly visible, is the occasional classical concert by visiting artistes
from India.  Unpunctuality, a tendency to fidget and gossip, and ecstatic clapping
in fits and starts (in the middle of the performance!) are typical features of
such events - perhaps the difference between 'filmi nites' and such performances
is lost on our culture buffs.

Culture apart, the incestuous and group character of the society breeds other
unhealthy tendencies.  Quite often, the absence of real ideas or cultural
interests and the polarisation of the conversation by the gender leads to
unending and repetitive discussions about material assets and acquisitions.
In the worst cases, and this is by no means an exception, the great affluence
and buying power leads to an ever-spiralling competition in one-upmanship, with
each person striving to outspend the next.  The consequences of such conspicuous
consumption are predictably unfortunate and do not require elaboration.
The more harmless manifestations have great comic potential.  For instance, one
may be given a guided tour of a home while being informed, in all solemnity,
that 'this is called a closet' and 'this is a placemat'.  Confronted with such
ignorance and philistinism, one hardly knows how to react.

Another rather recent trend is a spurt in the building of temples and mosques.
While perfectly understandable in itself, this too, often arises from strange
compulsions.  The first is often the same urge for self-aggrandisement.  "I have
already mentioned - public announcements and displays of donations for such
endeavors are so common that no one can fail to notice them.  A second reason
is an urge to inculcate 'Indian culture' in the second-generation offspring.
Again, the intent is laudable.  However, in the absence of a real appreciation
of the facets and virtues of either modern Indian or Western culture and given
many-an-NRIs lack of cosmopolitan acculturation, the result is often an attempt
to reject Westernisation in toto and can even be akin to fundamentalist dogma
that most urban Indians might consider rather bizarre.  This has recently been
commented upon in print by an Indian teenager born and bred in the US, and
has caused something of a furore in NRI-circles.

Such are some of the characteristics of Indian social life in the U.S.  The list
could be lengthened, but that must wait for another day.  In concluding, let me
mention once again that these observations obviously do not pertain to every NRI.
However, in the experience of this writer and some others, these features are,
in varying degrees, prevalent in many NRI communities in the U.S.

END OF ARTICLE in THE HINDU by D. ROY CHOUDHURY
===============================================


My comments:

Even though I agree with some of what Mr. CHOUDHURY says, many of the
comments made by the author exhibit 'closed mindedness', in my opinion. 

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My employer is not responsible for the opinions expressed above.
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