It was a week day afternoon and I just walked out of CNBC office in Venus colony Alwarpet and a gentleman in his early 30’s approached me and asked me if I carried a match box. I didn’t intend to start a conversation with him, but I was waiting for the cab driver to come back. This gentleman was kind of disturbed and desperately looking out for someone with a lighter or a match box. He pacing on the sidewalk and I smiled at him. He stopped besides me and started a conversation. He is an Indian settled in US and had come down for a vacation to Chennai. He took me to his car parked a few yards away and introduced me to his wife. I asked him about the trip and how long has it been since their previous visit to Chennai. In the meantime my cab driver has arrived, but the conversation was getting really interesting. They were asking me if I were married and his wife said she had someone in mind wanted me to hook up with her distant cousin. Well dates and marriages are made in streets too.
The conversation soon took us to the fiery topic in US today. We discussed how outsourcing has brought back a lot of jobs to India, temporarily slowed the brain drain, helping the organic economic growth and finally improving the infrastructure and quality of life. Unlike the usual breed of desi who come home and bash the government and the country, this guy appreciated and enjoyed the change around. He soon opened up more and discussed his life there in US. He had been in US for 15 years now and was definitely a green card holder.
Like most of the NRI, he was quite guilty about the same thing, not being besides his folks in India. He then quickly started tracing his 15 year period in US. Confessions were profound and plain. He said he went through an identity crisis losing his values, Indian origin and getting caught in the usual whirlwind of late night parties, all American friends, weekend barbeque parties, pizza and beer. He said his priorities in life have got shuffled and he is looking for an opportunity to come back home for good and that he can see an exit on the US highway. He was very apologetic living a western life with an eastern soul. He spotted someone with a match box and I could the relief on his face and he looked settled. At the end he said he is missing something in life but said he has not be able to put his fingers on the missing piece and fix it. Let us hope and pray he finds the missing piece.
The journey goes on….
I pray for him too.. For only prayers bring miracles and who does not want a miracle in life :)
ReplyDeleteAs for the western life with eastern soul.. Yes, it happens to everybody who migrates to any place other than his home. Even if you move to B'lore from Chennai, you alwyas miss your street corner pillayar temple and would be lost thinking that you have adapted to the new life and would want the old life back. As long as one does not change his inner self, he can self-identify himself. As one rightly said, Personality is what merely others think of you, character is what you really are!
Thank you for this very interesting comment. I cannot agree more, even if you move to B'lore from Chennai, these things happen... And let them happen. They also help us to grow...
ReplyDeleteI have 2 little questions ; What is NRI ? abd what id Desi ?
Thank you, Chandra, and congratulations for this piece.
there are good things and bad things each society has to offer..take the good things from each society and enjoy life...you can live in india and have barbecues and late night bar hopping or in the u.s. and go to temple every weekend, recite slogas and live with parents...
ReplyDeleteNRI = Non Resident Indian, refers to people of Indian origin living outside the country.
ReplyDeleteDesi = Yet another synonym of NRI
Mr. Anonymous:
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, there are people here who party hard and people there who are pious. I am not categorizing the West to be a party animal. I was just reflecting the strangers thoughts and my observations from the shot meeting with him.