India in Other Places

Namaste! 

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For centuries, India used to be a place proffered to the west as the mystical homeland of magicians and snake charmers.  In reciprocation, we too had our apprehensions about the land across the seven seas.

One would wonder what it is like to be out there – outside one’s own country, in a different place, where the language, the food, the culture, everything would be so completely different from ours.  But what we forget is that in this globalized world we don’t really leave home as far behind as we think.

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A familiar face is always around – a quiet Mr. Iyengar waiting in the airport lounge, the beautiful Ms. Bose stretching in the neighborhood Yoga class in France; that jolly Mr. Singh at a Tandoori restaurant near London’s busy Piccadilly Street, or even a vivacious, middle-aged Mrs. Bhatt in the suburban boutique of a quiet Swiss neighbourhood.

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The global platter is not a stranger to our Indian food either. Our Basmati rice is favored all over the world, and our Tikka Masalas have made their way into great many restaurants abroad. Our Biriyanis are served in-flight for far away destinations.  Michelin star restaurants fuss over Chutneys with greater assiduity than we do back home. Clarified butter is now called Ghee in the gourmet TV shows filmed outside the country. The smell of Indian spices has for long wafted out of the kitchen doors of numerous eateries world over.

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We make friends with other people from other parts of the world, share stories and photographs over emails and on Facebook.  We learn about them a little more, and they get to know about us a little better.  They tell us about their traditions, and in return we share with them our culture.  We talk about Gandhian theory of non-violence, and about capitalism and Laissez-faire, about writers like Ruskin Bond or Salman Rushdie; and about our insanely famous film actors, Shah Rukh Khan and Amithabh Bachchan. We strike common grounds when it comes to the woes and fuss and intricacies involved in the art of draping a saree complete with its perfect pallu!

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That’s the beauty of globalization. Home is no longer just one particular spot in the world map. Just like the scattered fragrance of a garden in the autumn wind – it drifts and wafts in the air replacing the haze of pre-conceived notions and fears with memorable new experiences.

Our land is a land of festivals, but that, too, is no longer limited to our boundaries. Festivals are magical, and thankfully, our festivals are everywhere. We celebrate Diwali, Holi, Eid, Nav-Ratri, and Durga Puja all over the globe - across countries and borders, with such pomp and ceremony! We do everything we can to celebrate these festivals with the same zest and fervor as we do back home, in India.  After all, it is especially, when we are away from home that we realize how much these festivals mean to us. Even the foreign nationals embrace our traditions and partake in our festivities, dressed in gorgeous Sarees, Ghagras and Lehengas, and beautiful jewelry; sharing our traditions and our food. The men come attired in Jodhpuri suits and Sherwanis and the world suddenly becomes a confluence of cultural revelry. 

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Indian weddings are happening everywhere. Sometimes, it's the NRIs getting married abroad, at times it's a foreign bride or groom with our desi child, and sometimes, it's two complete foreigners who decide to have an Indian wedding!

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People from everywhere come to see India. Hiking in the valleys of Kashmir they might be reminded of the meadows back home in Cotswolds, England.  Trekking to an Ashram under the towering and mighty Himalayan mountains, their minds maybe drifting to the sunrise lighting up the Alps half a world away. Meditating in a monastery with a statue of the Buddha in front, the traveler’s heart might be reminiscent of the Sunday morning prayers in the church. And the same thing happens to us when we see the meadows and valleys in Cotswolds, or catch the breathtaking view of the Juanfrau in Switzerland. We too are reminded of the valleys of Kashmir, and the peaks of Kanchenjunga. The same scattered fragrance in the wind greets us there.

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Even our language that was thought to be a barrier is increasingly merging with the world’s.  So much so that the English language of today is peppered with words derived from Indian origin. Just the other day, I was reading a novel by Agatha Christie and was pleasantly surprised to find the words, “Pukka Sahib” in her narration, and more so because the novel was written way back in the 1930s. Globalization is a more recent phenomenon. So many new words of Indian origin have been added to the world language since then.

India was always meant to be in all other places; and through globalization the sharing of culture, cuisine, and costumes was bound to follow.

Not just that, our efforts are recognized and awarded all across the globe!  How else can we explain why we have so many globetrotting corporate high flyers whose services are needed as much in countries elsewhere as they are valued and required in India?  We are no strangers to foreign accolades either. The Nobel Peace Prize, 2014 that was given to our very own Kailash Satyarthi, the founder of the “Bachpan Bachao Andolan” is the most recent example of just that. Bachpan Bachao Andolan founded in the 1980’s has contributed towards the protecting of rights of more than 83,000 children from 144 countries.

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From the chant of Hare Krishna while strolling in Central Park, New York to the stories of Maharajahs and Nabobs about the exotic east set in the Hollywood movies; from the pajama parties and sleepovers in the west to the bungalows on Hollywood Boulevard; with the babus and the Gurus, the Mahatma and the mantras, the Pundits and the Rajahs, the Vedas and Ayurvedic medicines – we have placed ourselves quite firmly on the atlas of this terrestrial globe.

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The rest of the world is not as distant or as foreign as we are sometimes led to believe. We might have heard of the term, “culture shock” and a few stray anecdotes that lead us to imagine and concoct strange myths about other places.  But, India is not an isolated island.  India is in other places as well. It’s understandable – the fear of the unknown has always been bewildering and overwhelming.  But imagine: If our ancestors had never ventured out – would they ever know that there were more people just like them in this good ol’ world of ours?

In this globalised world we are more connected than we ever were before; and if we come to think of it, it has made us more alike than we were before – in our manners and our ways, in our lifestyles, our likes and our dislikes. Thresholds have merged. Worlds have conspired and met.  And having a good airline has definitely helped. 

Talking about good airlines that put India in other places, have you seen the Lufthansa ad? 

PS: You can also click on this link to know more. http://bit.ly/MITYTIndiblogger