That got hit by this:
Pasting below comments (to bump it ahead) from one of the user (Richa1909) that speaks true minds of current Indians and has potential of facing the ego's of Mint Editors by showing how a professional article can be written.
It is very easy to get mad at you for writing this article and curse you for being unpatriotic and cynical, but I guess being an Indian also teaches you tolerance and wisdom enough to put our point across in a calm but reasonable fashion.
It was very surprising that a journalist of your caliber takes refuge in such an article, cynical and mocking in nature to the point of being contemptuous. The entire article feels so disconnected from today’s India’s reality that it’s surprising you think an average Indian today does not have a mind of his own just because he is a part of the crowd – which is not the case as we are equally capable of questioning things. I’m sorry for the detail but I feel compelled to address all the points raised by you.
Since when does large-scale affinity of a demographic to a fruit or a post meal freshener, define the spirit of a nation. Are you trying to tell us that no other country in the world prefers mangoes or any other fruit to this extent? And if any of those nationals do not conform to the affinity, they start questioning their belongingness to the country? It’s almost as if you are conveying that India as a country is not allowed to have its own food legends.
I’m sure there are a lot, A LOT of Indians who do not understand or follow cricket. None of those that I know had doubts about their origins for that reason.
If you feel everybody in India reads Chetan/Paul, you are certainly yet to meet a lot of readers. Again, even if they do, do you think you can define the sample group even by one common characteristic? I don’t.
Salwar-kameez? It’s not even Indian in origin. And frankly that statement seemed really like a 40-yr old wannabe.
If all the conversations around you begin with “You’ve lost/gained so much weight!”, you have been attending way too many parties lately. Personally, I think it’s a great conversation starter, esp if you are trying to relax the other person. I’m a sales person. And this really works.
I’m sure if you researched before writing this, you will find that the followers of daily soaps have been reduced dramatically in the recent past, forcing TV channels to redesign their prime time programming. They are popular no doubt, and even the diehard regular audience do question the content, but large stay home populations of home-makers and retired people are largely dependent on TV for their daily entertainment and have to do with what is available. It is called soap for a reason – like soaps, the bathing soaps – this market is large enough, has a lot of scope and demand and thus, equally competitive and it does not mean that everyone is using every soap.
Most of the people I know, switch off their cell phones during a movie. You are saying you want to define my nationalism by my cell phone etiquette?
The national anthem before every movie – then say u are not a Mumbaikar. It is not played in movie theaters in practically rest of the country. I really did not understand whether you had a problem with standing to the music of national anthem in the theatres or to the national anthem at all.
The elevator thing – the most frivolous reason I have seen anybody use to define a nationality. What about people in non-metros like Mysore and Chandigarh, where people respect queues and what about those smaller cities where elevators are not present in every building? Wonder what parameters their residents use to ascertain the extent of their nationality.
Totally agree with you on the girl child point, but I had to sit back and rethink about your capabilities as a journalist if you are defining Indianness on the basis of the attitude of a corrupt chief minister, not even a policy maker mainstream politician. I didn’t see you questioning the Indianness of your parents anywhere, and they did dutifully raise a girl child with all enthusiasm without weighing how Indian they were or should have been.
Fake pride and nationalism?? This was seriously offensive. Will you pls enlighten my small being which country in the world has “authentic” pride in themselves and what were the measures they adapted to calculate the greatness they have associated with themselves?
Festivals and weddings in India are a part of our culture. They have historically been a reason that the family as an institution still exists in India. They have been portals of inculcating values in our children and that’s why teen pregnancy/abortions are yet to become the obsessive problems of this country. If nothing else, festivals/weddings are a great way to break the shackles of the daily routine we tend to fall in, unwind, have some fun, meet people and look good – basically all the things which release endorphins in the body. Can’t reach to a point where I begin to see the problem with this. This is one point where I don’t care if it defines who we are. I’m happy something cheerful defines who we are and so be it. (Holi is my favorite festival and if you find time, I’ve written a blog here which you can read describing how Holi is still celebrated in parts of URBAN India. It’s much more beautiful in the rural parts, which you wouldn’t know of since if this article is anything to go by, you have never visited any).
As proud as a Hindu I am, I find it unfair that you define Indianness by one religion. What about the so many other religions and cultures that are flourished, promoted and acknowledged in India? And trust me, Hinduism as a religion is probably which allows the most independence. It doesn’t force any of the natural followers to follow it to the core. Coincidentally all the atheists and agnostics I have seen are Hindus. (Most of the comments on the article are hung up on what you wrote about Lord Ram. As an educated adult, you are entitled to having your own opinions and believing in them, but as an equally educated adult, I think you missed out on having the sensitivity to ensure you consciously did not hurt anybody’s sentiments).
About the poor man who’s the girl’s father – his woes are much bigger than jus paying for the food of 800 people. And if somebody wants to celebrate the fact that their children are beginning a new life together (without the groom family’s pressure), I think this feeling goes beyond boundaries and nationalities.
You know what, reading this article I realized that you are so much more Indian than you want to take credit for. You are Indian because you find everything back home scornful and foul just because you spent some years abroad. You are Indian because even though you say white is not your favorite skin color; you attach much more credibility to a foreigner’s work than an Indian. You are Indian because, despite being a journalist for a national daily, you define the world only by what’s happening around you. You are an Indian because you find it easy to see villains all around, rather than getting up and being or helping a hero.
There are many many more good things that are really Indian but I can’t use them to say how Indian you are as none of them come out through this article.
This article seemed very very myopic and totally laden by personal bias. Not only did it seem extremely ill researched, even if everything you said was absolutely true, I find a disconnect with the fact that you are looking for reasons to define your nationality. I find it extremely unbelievable that a person with responsible duties of a journalist is sketching the face of a nation based on the description from its politicians? Which country in the world is a reflection of its politicians?
I’m a proud Indian and I always thought nationalism did not come by reason. I always thought everyone in the world felt proud of where they came from – without having to wonder if it was justified.
-- James
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment