Hi,
These days a stange affliction is gripping me -strange becos most people wuld be thrilled to have some chance of going to US for study.
But I'm rather edgy. Once bitten twice shy --as the sying goes.
My experiences of a young teenager going from small town Jaipur to a collge in metropolitan Delhi have been rather painful.
Ofcourse I learnt and grew -but being one of the only 3 students from Rajasthan in a 1500 Delhi college crowd was a thrill which slowly become a daily nightmare as I got involved in intrigue after intrigue --as a scapegoat--thanks to enterprising Panjabi and Haryanvi "local' classmates on the one hand and the dominant Bihari hostelers on the other.
The fact that I was a Rajasthani who happened to be born in Bihar -and brought up in Rajasthan --with first memories of Chandigarh and Punjab --gave me a entree into every group --but made me part of none.
Thus the only real friends I made were some leftists who debated with me long and hard and some Indologist philosophers -as collegmates besides a few nature lovers from other deptts and sportsmen from Haryana and North East.
Slowly I did learn to understand how the people there viewed me --as a backward Rajasthani in Khadi kurta and jeans/shorts -- thus I learnt the art of image management - I think many of my batchmates followed suit -and changed from Khadi to jeans and T-shirt and listened to English songs and watched English movies.
I had NOT watched a single movie in the hall for the last 4 school years -which I made good at college.
The most striking change was in Chandanji - the enigmatic Khadi clad President of college debating society -from Hindi deptt -an alumnus of Netarhaat School, Bihar (a Hindi medium school supposed to be quite elite by all Biharis) and Univ topper - I wonder where he is now.
All this ate up my time -but in later years it helped me in mixing with all.
Thus having coped successfully as a minority in Delhi Univ I don't think I'll face much problem in any other community I might be a minority -since I now understand the dynamics --but as I said --once bitten twice shy.
So I'm trying to understand the dynamics of Indian group in USA. Some movies - like American Desi, Guru, Kal Ho Na Ho, I proud to be an Indian , Love at Time Square etc - I saw in the past few years did nothing to assuage my fears.
Many books I read and the websites and newreports I saw further confirmed that like Indians in India --the NRIs as a community are full of people who are divided into groups based on religion, region and caste.
And unlike India it is not the Hindu fundamentalists or secularists - but the pro US - read Christian or Christian related (thru marriage) who call the shots- Kanwal Reiki for one?
It all seemed strangely familiar to me -as if I had seen something similar in India too.
Today I realised that my visits to the Private Schools' Union of Rajasthan had a similar hue.
Becos, though by govt pressures all schools are forced to come under one platform -- still non -Christian schools' managers are vary of the Missionary run ones --frequently raising the term like --MNC schools amongst us. Keeping apart at dinner time.
The Christian nuns and priests too flaunt their financial muscle and acquired goddwill -and the fact that they dominate the educational scene -----if u read the matrimonial ads in the dailies ---Brides are highlighted as convented - even Hindus are running schools with names of English saints and as convents (is St Wilfred for real?)
Thus Christian dominance in these school forums is perhaps like what the Indian Caucus must be like in USA, UK etc with dominance of Indian Christians or Christian-related non Christians.
Is it, so what!!??
Umesh
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