From: bala@research.att.com (Bala Krishnamurthy)
Subject:    X + 2 (2nd to-be-widely discussed article)	
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 16:29:07 GMT
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Keywords: NRI US


on a recent visit to India i came across this article in the
Sunday Magazine section of The Hindu. The article entitled
	"How Mr U.S. counts his chickens"
appeared in late november and was authored by D. Roy Choudhury.
I have decided to call it "X + 2" as I am sure more such articles
will appear in the future. 

cheers,
bala

---------------------
The world of The non-resident Indian (NRI) 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 the is great preponderance of engineers and
doctors in the community, the very reason for their general 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 NRI
population in the U.S. have provincial roots, which (sic) 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 consequential
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 select 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 previously alluded to, each group sprouts
several cultural czarina/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 sprout puerile
platitudes about Gandhi, Tagore, Satyajit Ray, Nazrul Islam, the
freedom movement, the Indian scriptures, the misery in India, the
self-centered and immoral Westerner and the like (remember that our NRI
friend, having made it, is immeasurable superior to his backward
cousins back home as well as to the poor, benighted westerner). These
czarinas/czars periodically organize cultural programmes routinely
featuring hours of dances and songs (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 the 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 rescreening 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 performance 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 gender leads to unending and repetitive discussions about material
assets and acquisitions. In the worst cases, and this 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 note require
elaboration. The more harmless manifestations have great comic
potential. For instance, one may 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 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 such endeavours 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 Indian 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.
Xref: sparky soc.culture.indian:40662 soc.culture.pakistan:18107 soc.culture.europe:10421 soc.culture.latin-america:4940 soc.culture.african:6991 soc.culture.canada:9339