When I was 11 years old, Dada (that’s my elder brother) told me I was defensive. I disagreed, only to realize 10 years later (that’s 2 years back) that I was.
(Though, if he’s to be trusted I’m also irritating, repulsive, a pain in the a** and basically shouldn’t have been born in the first place ;) but let’s not go into that presently... :)
I recently realized that this defensiveness of mine is extendable(yeah wrong word but who cares?), and covers not only me but my family, friends, relatives, and (surprisingly?) my country.
I’ve found that when it comes to India, my defensiveness takes the shape of Aggressive Patriotism, owing to which I become almost antagonistic with whoever belittles my country, or talks badly of it.
I spent a lot of time in London arguing with people who insisted that
- the Rick Guys in Mumbai leave their home in the morning pledging to fleece at least 435 NRIs/ tourists;
- Snake Charmers and Elephants freely roam the streets while fakirs dance naked and fat Maharajas belch;
- anyone who earns a fair bit only have to snap their fingers to conjure 100 odd servants to do their bidding;
- Life in India is so much ‘Easier’ etc.
(yeah I’m exaggerating a bit, but what can you do about it? Hyuk. Hyuk.)
Well, whenever such charges came up, I responded immediately, with anything between intelligent, logical argument to unreasonable and irrational justifications, just to put my point across.
My point being; that I’m proud of my country, and not apologetic about it.
I’m not denying that there are things that are wrong about India, but so is the case with every other country, na? Let’s take a moment and reflect how India is decidedly Unique, and has reasons to be Proud; reasons even beyond Tajmahal and Democracy and Tradition and Beauty.
So here goes…
- Most of the population speaks at least two languages. And pretty effortlessly.
- Whether it’s Diwali, or Id, or Ganesh Chaturthi, people irrespective of their religions will celebrate the festival together, truly joined by spirit.
- No matter who’s getting married, if there’s a band playing on the road, you can go start dancing and you’ll be more than welcome (try it, if you haven't already)
- Whether it be Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi or Bangalore, each city has a different Spirit you can’t help but perceive... and enjoy.
- When there’s an India Pakistan cricket match, there’s no one outside and total strangers gather at shops to watch the match together. And when India wins, people dance on the roads and make a ruckus (I Love this part so much!!)
- People are emotional to the limit of being Dramatic; and that’s totally endearing.
- If you’re a guest at somebody's place, they’ll let you take their room and sleep in the lounge themselves.
- You can have 50 guests at your home no matter how small it is… people will manage in one bathroom, sleep on the floor, and yet enjoy themselves to the hilt.
- People will do anything for the sake of Love, Loyalty and Friendship, and proudly at that, and believe in these values from the bottom of the heart.
- Everyone has an opinion about everything, and everything is everyone’s business.. :)
The list, actually, is Endless... but this shall do for now. A lot of the points are generalised, but had i written 'Almost Everyone' instead of 'Everyone' it would have pretty much defeated the purpose, and my post's tone as well.... :)
No matter which country we belong to, it doesn't become any of us to talk badly of the place we come from. For me, defending my country is a part of respecting it (though this might not hold true for the next person) and I'll defend it tooth and tooth (i would have fought tooth and nail, but i ran out of nails while assembling the Do-It-Yourself furniture at Dido's).
Bad jokes apart (I know they aren't bad, but I'm modest) I'm Extremely Proud of India, and Everything Indian.
And if I'm overdoing the Patriotic bit, it's because I'm capable of overdoing just about anything. To the point when i become irritating, repulsive and a pain in the a**...
Hey, What do you know? Dada was right about that as well... :)
10 comments:
"everything is everyone’s business.." :)
This is indeed a very special characteristic of us!
about being defensive.. leaving aside being explicitly defensive about say, a country,.. well..on a finer side everytime I need to use "( [to say something] )" I know I'm being defensive..
even in your case!
"...extendable(yeah wrong word but who cares?)"
:) I know here, it add some pun.. but u had to clarify!
(not being judgemental! just an observation)..
(there..thats me being defensive!)
Perhaps due to some recent economic developments, the image of 'country of snake charmers' is perhaps fading. But by some means or the other, India remains a topic of discussion worldwide.
We really make a strong democracy; and have a very distinct, rich culture.
Good to see your assertiveness in showing pride for the country. You are quite expressive here.
Whats amazing is, I just started drafting a blog on similar lines a coupls of days back!
Didn't look like you wrote the article. Or it seems some other girl wrote it. Less Personifications. Very little philo.
Most of all, I'm on the other side of your stand. I feel our very strongly about our country, but I do think that we are way behind from where we should be. I'm collecting data about the country .. stark data that actually shows that for every two steps that we have gone forward, our country has managed to take a giant leap backward.
Today Sunita Williams came back from her space ship. She called the world a village without boundaries. When asked whether she would got to space for India, she said she'd love to, but quietly also added that she is a US astronaut.
When will we be sending people to space?
You may ask, is that important? Sending people to space. But that disucussion would not be relevant when you realise that the subject of the discussion is not the problem, it's us!
superb list, so true about india - and thats why 'we're lovin it!' :)
ek baat,, u r proud of india or indians???
My roommate is Kannadiga.I talk to him in English.Another buddy of mine comes from Delhi.We speak in English.
A third colleague comes from Sikkim.Ofcourse we chat in English.I knew 4 other languages,but damn it has not helped me.
But you know what : thats the beauty of our country.To any Indian,Europe and US should look like a soao opera or a Lux commercial.Everything is smooth,the train comes exactly at 16.57,you know it will rain tomorrow,people drive in boring lane systems and what not.India looks like a massive treasure hunt on the contrary.
I got terribly drunk a couple of nights back in a couchsurfing.com meeting and talked to a few fellow Icelanders,Dutch,Irish,Turkish... (ect) travellers.All i remember is me talking pretty passionately about something and loads of people listening to me at the same time.I got around 6 emails today from people stating that they are packing bags to a "new India".
You know what:i can peacefully die right now :)
@ by.vinay
Yeah... I've finally made peace by accepting that I'm defensive!! :)
@ Prashant Das
Thanks Prashant!
@ Fuzzy, the Ducky
It doesn't look like my post because one of my alternative personalities has written it.. you haven't met her.. :P
@ Swapnil
Thanks!!
@ Raoul
There you go argument picking again!! Come down to the city and I'll tell you who I'm proud of!!
@ Oneirodynic
I'm impressed.
:)
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