From: barakam@infonode.ingr.com (Sreedhar Barakam)
Subject: How Mr. India counts HIS chickens Re: How Mr U.S. counts 
Keywords: NRI culture
Organization: Intergraph Corporation, Huntsville, AL.
Distribution: na
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 21:49:05 GMT

In article <91AQ03rrc3Zq00@amdahl.uts.amdahl.com> murali@uts.amdahl.com (K. Muralidharan) writes:
>
>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.
I's in India are a proud-minded sect.  To prove their superiority, whenever
they visit the U.S. they try to criticize everything they see left and
right.  And they boast about how despite following any disciplines/rules 
common to US, people in India are doing well.  For example, here people 
seem to be bothered
by little things like cholestorol(sp?); but nobody gives a damn about that
in India, you see. If most of the people are getting 50% of nutrition that they
need that's another matter; why talk about it now? Instead make a point
about how can one be open-minded and at the same time not give enough
importance to fine arts?!
>near-caricature world evolved over the past few decades and one that many of his cousins
Again, you see, you must criticize and say that NRI's are caricatures-in-life
to prove that I's are better.
>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
Because I's life in India is better, what with everyday excitement of 
corruption, going in search of a son-in-law who can have the most
extra-income, caste-politics in every aspect of life, how can one
feel better leaving India for a dull country like US?  If any NRI 
says he feels better coming here, his degree of conscious awareness and
verbalisation of his mental dislocation varies wildly with the 
reality, you see.  It takes a fresh mind coming from India to tell
him what the reality is.
>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.
And now it is time to make a vague statement about there being NUMEROUS 
EXCEPTIONS (does this qualify for an oxymoron? - never mind I's don't give
a damn about oxymorons either- in fact using them adds to the excitement of
life in general.) Insert some line that grudgingly says most people are
reasonably successful (probably only reasonably because of lack of a
most important symbol of success - corruption).
>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,
Again, surely a point must be made that pursuit of success and lack of 
ideas go together.  How can they co-exist?!  This  point definitely
needs to be made by an I to NRI's.  To get creative ideas you must have
corrupt-bureacrats akin to I's.  This is a necessity to make life full
and avoid incest. Just take a look at the number of experts in fine-arts
and the large percentage who attend theatre in India; without such a 
thing in US, how can NRI's life be full?  Never mind the second and onward
generations and whether they do mix more across US cultures and do 
participate in all aspects of life, because they do not count as NRI's.

>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.

Never mind, what percentage of western people preclude their participation in,
and enjoyment of, theatre, opera, and concerts.  NRI's should be better,
otherwise they are not upto the mark.

>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

Now, it is time to use some great I's babbling and baffle the NRI's out of
their wits. Throw in our old Russian friends like czars etc., for 
a dramatic effect, and get the disgust feelings for the affluent
out of the I's heart. Also why do NRI's waste time involving in puerile 
platitudes about Gandhi, Tagore etc. Instead why don't they indulge in
productive things like how to organize caste/religion based fights
and in general plan for exploiting the poor by instigating them to 
involve in all sorts of destructive activities? Makes no sense to our
I friend.

>majority being amateurishly choreographed or off-key), and interminable speeches

Unless it is choreographed by a professional qualified with his 100th
indigenous and innovative copy of a new western release, it is not
worth and open for criticism.

>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

How dare the NRI juveniles forget the natural Indian diction? That too before
a vising I dignitary, how dare indeed.

>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.

Yes, if you indulge in indian activities if you are an NRI, you 
must have had a deprived childhood; it is too obvious to miss.

>
>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

How can one an NRI, and still like a film-star, this totally boggles our
I's open-mind, for all to see.

>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

Unpunctuality!, gossip!!, clappings !!!, what blasphemy; whistles and 
cat-calls and smoking etc., are ok, but these !!

>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.

Yes; It takes an I to show what NRI's have lost.

>
>Culture apart, the incestuous and group character of the society breeds other
>unhealthy tendencies.  Quite often, the absence of real ideas or cultural

It takes another enlightening article to reveal what real ideas are
by an I.  All in one article, no way.

>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.
>

One up-manship, oh that NRI-unique character!.  Add ignorance to this,
this makes an NRI a heinous human and makes an I witless.

>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.
>

Building of temples and mosques by NRIs is very bizarre to urban Indians.
When an NRI teenager mentioned about this it amazingly cause a furor amont
NRIs, how puzzling?

>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.

Our I has not finished counting his chickens.  There are many more where
they came from.  Wait for the next press-release of the latest
chicken-count.

>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.

Again, it is time to give a finishing touch and glaze the chicken-count
by saying that whatever is said, is prevalent in widely varying degrees
and in many NRI communities, why say precisely whether these are 
the characterisits of majority of NRIs.  That is not typical Indian
chicken counting procedure.

>
>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. 
>
>                  K. Muralidharan

Final comment:

When grapes go sour chickent-count might go sour too.  So take everything
with a sack of salt, especially when you encounter an Indian journalist
counting chickens in a phoren land.

It is understandable why this journalist takes this approach.  He is
targeting only non-NRIs and it should make them happy.  Only I wish 
a journalist would make an honest portrayal instead of resorting to 
this sort damaging and untrue portrayals, especially when most of
the readers may not be able to verify the facts first-hand or through
other sources as it is not often that they encounter this kind
of analyses.

Sreedhar Barakam.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian