Aakhir Dil Hai Hindustani..

Listening to some interesting Indian ways of doing things in a recent session by our Chief Mentor at PROTON, I went through a remarkable distinguished dual feeling inclusive of a embarrassment vis-à-vis extreme pride, both at the same time.

I am talking about certain things which have been inherited in us since birth, being an Indian. "JUGAAD", as they say, is a must to be known factor as a source of livelihood. Business me politicians se Jugaad, Class me attendance ki Jugaad, Doston se paison ki Jugaad, ya Officer se red signal ke baad phone pe Jugaad...
Rightly said, "Aadha Hindustan Jugaad se hi chalta hai…"

Talking about Mother tongue/Language- I was amazed to know about Canada handling diversity by having both French and English as their official language. In India, having being such huge diversified culture and a minimum of 30 different identified languages along with 2000 dialects, we remain united with just one {Hindi} language as our mother tounge.
However, another side of coin- Its pity that our's is the only country where student is punished and fined in schools/colleges if uses the mother tongue..

Complacency, a pre received virtue. In simpler words, the attitude of- "Chalta Hai.."
Being Indian allows you to cut into lanes unapologetically but abuse others who do the same. Where taxi drivers get into fights at signals and continue fighting even after the signal has turned green, then red and then green again! You will litter within your alley, but will be gung-ho about Singapore’s ‘keep this country clean’ drive. You are also capable of thinking any girl who exposes a shoulder/calve or smokes is ‘challu’. One of the few places I know of, where hundreds of cinema halls thrive on B Grade movies, and at the same place, people in hundreds, take the streets to burn effigies of Richard Gere for an innocent peck on the cheek and politicians label cheerleaders as ‘ashleel’.
Who is the culprit? We {aam admi} or politician? I bet on –None. The criminal is our complacent attitude.

We love our democracy like crazy, yet we want the biggest pie of it for ourselves. So we fight ourselves, kill each other, pull the neighbor down, but also magically manage to unite in face of external threat, perceived or otherwise, warfield or crickefield. Well, well.
We are probably one of the most racist societies in the world, priding the brown skin over the black, So Sonia Gandhi cannot be the Prime Minister of India because of her "foreign origin", but we celebrate the victory of Bobby Jindal or an Indian-origin PM in a little known country with the full pride of belonging.
We rejoice and cry in happiness when a mostly mediocre film wins the Oscar, mostly due to lobbying. Slumdog Millionaire was an entertainer made for the American audiences, winning their awards. We never rejoiced so much when Traffic Signal or Chandni Bar showed the gruesome reality of India in a much more realistic fashion.

Nevertheless, there are certain things that only an Indian can do. You don’t need to be gifted, just Indian.
-Take for e.g. our inherent ability to do the Bhangra. The ever eager non-Punjabi’s make it looks so entertaining and simple. Arms in the air move your shoulders, add in a few squats here and bbrrruuuaaahhh!!! Who cares, what the music you’re dancing on is! Another much loved- Wedding special dance, which involves rapid movements of the elbow, usually into the faces of other people.
State wise- Maharashtra ka ‘Ganpati Dhol Mix’. It basically looks like you’re trying to shake ants from your pants while dancing on hot flames. Gujrat ka Garba, this is the most accommodating form of dance, as it is nowadays integrated into trance with all sorts of music with three beats and a half.
-The other interesting thing is our palette, which is largely divided into pockets assigned as ‘Tomato Ketchup’. Without this it's not a table where food’s well enjoyed, then be it with your samosa’s or your pasta. Where else can the components of a ‘burger’ be Aloo Tikki and green chutney?
We swear by road side pani puri, pepped up with a sand storm and huddled together by hands, which will no time soon, be passing the bare requirements of health and safety . Yet we diligently wash our hands after eating.

All in all, what ever we say, these are all flavors that make my country the spiciest on the continent! And in that dual feeling, pride far outweighs the feeling of embarassment.

Rightly claimed, I bet too, "You can take the Indian out of India... but you can never take the India out of the Indian ",
Aakhir Dil Hai Hindustani..