Yearly Archives: 2008

Ravi Johal – candidate for Washington Hospital Board of Directors

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UPDATE: Ravi Johal lost his bid to be on the Washington Hospital Board.

Ravi Johal has been living and working in Fremont as a traffic and criminal attorney with the firm of Leon J. Mezzetti Jr. After a small surgery and the birth of his son made him do the rounds of Washington Hospital in central Fremont, Ravi became aware of the many niggling issues patients and their families face in their interaction with the community hospital that serves the tri-city area. Like long hours in the emergency room; not knowing right at the start what the out-of-pocket expenses are likely to be; your insurance plan not being accepted. Having the time, energy and inclination, he decided to stand for one of the two openings coming up in the Board of Directors of Washington Hospital.

I spoke to him about his message, his mission and his plans for the hospital.

What are the responsibilities of the job?
RJ: There are 5members on the board of which two are being contested. Washington Hospital is a community hospital, funded by tax dollars. The board makes sure the hospital functions properly.

What would be your mission as a member of the board?
RJ: What I would be working towards is improved accessibility to the hospital, a broader acceptance plan for insurance, expanded hours, improve emergency room services. Today if you go to the hospital during off hours, you are sent by default to the emergency room where the wait may be really long. There is room for improvement here. Our population has continued to grow but the infrastructure has not kept pace with it.  I would also like to see more transparency on the board, clear estimates of your medical expenses when you or a member of your family is admitted. We also have to make sure we improve affordability. As a district hospital Washington Hospital has an obligation to the people it serves.
The other thing we can do is to try to engage people without medical coverage in basic preventive care. We can work with local pharmacies to keep costs down.

Why did you decide to contest this particular post?
RJ: I am passionate about health care and people’s right to have affordable health care. I had surgery, my wife had a baby and I was in and out of hospitals. Previously I have worked with local government and done pro bono work for the community.

Is this your first foray into politics?
RJ: It is. This is a non-partisan position.

Do you get any benefit from your affiliation to the Democratic party?
RJ:I get a lot of endorsements. (Ravi has received an impressive list of endorsements from local elected officials.)

I have heard of an email that’s been going around that has some unsavory things about you?
RJ: I wanted to run a clean campaign that focused on the issues. Friends of Washington Hospital, an organization set up by board members in Washington Hospital, have been distributing this mailer arguing that voters should be voting for the incumbents. I have dealt with the allegations on my website.

What has the previous board not been doing that you would do better?
RJ: My message is one of accountability, transparency, and making sure that hospital remains solvent while doing that.

Do you think you could manage to implement any of your ideas, given that you will be g 1 out of 5 members of the board?
RJ: That is the whole democratic process. You need to voice your opinion so that you represent the community, facilitate a change in the mechanism. One person obviously cannot do it by himself. But one person can make a change if he is active and create open dialogue and be able to work with other board members.

How is it going so far?
RJ: It is going very well. In a short period of time I have been able to speak to a lot of people. I got the endorsement of the California Nurses Association (I am the only candidate to get the endorsement). I met with nurses, listened to them and gave them my input. They play a critical and vital role in giving the patient the best possible care.
We have done a lot of walking..meeting people wherever I go. It is mostly word of mouth.

What about funding?
RJ: This is a tough economy. We ran a couple of kickoffs in the beginning. It takes $2675 to file with the registrar which I loaned that to my campaign. I have asked friends and family to help. Being a 3-city election it is much  harder to target because it costs a lot.

Do you have larger political ambition?
RJ: I do not. I just want to give back to the community. I have the time, energy and knowledge to do this job.

More information on Ravi Johal at http://ravijohal.com

Other candidates for this post:

Evelyn Li

Patricia Danielson(Incumbent)

William F. Nicholson(Incumbent)

Article on debate between the candidates here at Tri-City Beat.

Community Calendar – October 17 – October 23, 2008

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–Water, No Ice and the India Community Center jointly announce a Parent-and-Me Geography Bee. Rules can be found here and registration can be done here on the  ICC website.  We have some terrific prizes on offer.

The India Community Center has created a brand new Youth Space for kids aged 7yrs – 13yrs. Every Monday -Thursday from 4pm -8pm; limited for 90 min per person. ICC kids can come and play Wii games, compete in monopoly, scrabble and various other board games and also create art and crafts! For more info email them at youth(at)indiacc.org.

GiveIndia is sponsoring an essay contest for kids with great prizes.Details here. Deadline is October 31, 2008.

-Put in your job listings for free in the Water, No Ice Job Board. Ask us how.

Upcoming Events:

Obama vs. McCain – The Third Debate

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I succumbed and watched this one..from start to finish. And was pleasantly surprised. This one, of the 200 or so “debates” so far, actually hewed closer to the ideal format in which the candidates would be free to ask each other questions and argue.

Bob Schieffer of CBS moderated the debate. Before the event, lefty bloggers raised some doubts about his sense of fairness, since he has been on record praising McCain to the heavens. But Bob Schieffer lived up to his stellar reputation as a journalist and directed the conversation wisely, mostly staying out of the debate and blending in with the wallpaper.

The early minutes of the debate were harrowing for me as an Obama supporter. McCain went aggressively on the attack, and the stupid CNN audience meter went too high for my comfort. “Why doesn’t Obama attack,” I vented in frustration, pacing around the room. The blood pressure went down as the debate progressed. Obama opted to stay above the fray the entire time, forbearing from pointing fingers at Senator McCain’s record even as the opportunities passed him by. Perhaps he was just running out the clock, given that he is leading his opponent in the polls by an average of 6-7 points. Or perhaps that is his natural temperament, calm and unflappable and unwilling to engage in mud-slinging.

As time went by and the debate settled down to familiar territory of talking points, it became obvious that the split screen display is horribly disadvantageous to Senator McCain, who rolled his eyes, sighed audibly ,grinned uncomfortably and managed to look like a jittery teenager when he was not talking.

My impression was that McCain won this debate, mainly because he went on the attack aggressively and happily delivered bare-faced lies without being challenged by his opponent. Imagine my surprise when every single snap poll after the debate gave the debate to Obama. Is the American electorate finally ready for a president who talks to them like an adult?

Oh, but we can’t forget Joe the plumber. Here is the video of the encounter that Senator Obama had with Joe Wurzelbacher. Basically Joe complains that Obama’s tax plan will hurt him, as he makes more than $250000, and Obama tries to reassure him.

Early in the debate, John MccCain completely adopted Joe as the poster child for the middle class(and in his multi-million dollar environment, it probably is!) and from then on Obama and McCain pretty much spent 20 minutes talking to Joe ( contacted later, Mr. Wurzelbacher thought the whole experience of being referenced in a debate was surreal !) I suspect that we’ll be hearing more about Joe than any substantive policy issues in the next couple of days.

Anyway, thank God the debates are over. McCain attempted to attack, Obama played defense. It is probably not going to be a game changer, but the Teevee talking heads will be glad to have something to chew over for a while.

UPDATE: Oh the irony..it appears Joe the plumber is not registered to vote( at least in Ohio) h/t Politico

UPDATE 2: Apparently he is registered..his name is just spelt wrong on the electoral rolls. Voter registration snafu…. in Ohio! Who woulda thunk?

Palin-drone

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By Aarti Johri

Move over  Bushisms – we now have Palinisms.  And while Katie Couric and Tina Fey are doing all they can to keep our sense of humor up in these dour times, a number of columnists/talk show hosts are doing their bit too. Here is a brief compilation of what some of the best are saying about the lady who is a 72-year old heartbeat away from the Presidency.

1.    Sarah Palin is the perfect exclamation point to the Bush years. Op-Ed Bob Herbert, Oct 4, 2008

2.    Sometimes, her sentences have a Yoda-like — “When 900 years old you reach, look as good you will not” — splendor.  OP-ED COLUMNIST MAUREEN DOWD, OCT 4 , 2008

3.    After Ms. Palin had woven one of her particularly impenetrable linguistic webs, Joe Biden turned to the debate’s moderator, Gwen Ifill, and said: “Gwen, I don’t know where to start.” Of course he didn’t know where to start because Ms. Palin’s words don’t mean anything. She’s all punctuation.  Op-Ed Bob Herbert, Oct 4, 2008

4.    Will someone please put Sarah Palin out of her agony? Is it too much to ask that she come to realize that she wants, in that wonderful phrase in American politics, “to spend more time with her family”? Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek, Sept 27, 2008

5.    “BE AFRAID” (POINTING TO MCCAIN PICTURE). “BE VERY AFRAID” (POINTING TO SARAH PALIN PICTURE) – DEMONSTRATOR  CYNTHIA FRYBARGER IN SAN JOSE AT A LOCAL FUNDRAISER (FROM SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, DATED OCT 2008)

6.    “In Boca Raton, Florida, yesterday, a woman who looked like Sarah Palin caused a near riot when she walked into a diner for breakfast. And after a minute or two, people finally realized it wasn’t her when she started answering questions.” —Jay Leno

7.    “Are you excited about Sarah Palin? Well, yesterday she referred to Afghanistan as our neighboring country. Apparently, she can see bin Laden’s cave from her house.” —David Letterman

8.    “Actually, Sarah Palin is currently rehearsing for the debate, but insiders tell me it’s not going that well because she keeps saying, ‘I’d like to buy a vowel, Pat.'” —David Letterman

9.    “Meanwhile the big question that I don’t know if anyone has asked yet — while Sarah Palin’s yammering it up with Joe Biden in St. Louis, who’s keeping an eye on the Russians? What happens if Putin decides to rear his head?” —Jimmy Kimmel

10. “John McCain showed up without running mate Sarah Palin, which is a shame because she actually has a lot of experience with financial matters. You know, she lives right next to a bank.” Jimmy Kimmel, 27th September, 2008.

11.”The legislative panel in Alaska investing Troopergate released their report that says Sarah Palin illegally abused her power as governor by firing the state police chief because he wouldn’t fire her sister’s ex-husband. But they said she didn’t actually break the law so she won’t go to prison. Which is a pity because it would have been the first time she was ever involved in a complete sentence.” –Bill Maher

12. “In Boca Raton, Florida, yesterday, a woman who looked like Sarah Palin caused a near riot when she walked into a diner for breakfast. And after a minute or two, people finally realized it wasn’t her when she started answering questions.” –Jay Leno

13. “She kept reaching out to Joe Sixpack. That’s because her answers make more sense after six beers.” –David Letterman

Movie review- A Wednesday

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Wow, what a delightful year for lovers of good Hindi movies! Four of the six movies last reviewed here have been low budget gems that also made good, pointing to a crumbling of the studio oligopoly that has existed in Bollywood for years.

Three of those have been set in Mumbai, a city whose encompassing moods and multiple layers of existence have been rich fodder for young writers and directors. While Jaane Tu dealt with romance in the hip, sophisticated side of this cosmopolitan city and Rock On was a coming of age movie set in the comfort of urban success, A Wednesday looks at the seamy side of Mumbai, where gangsters and politicians co-exist in relative amity, where the man on the street is just a pawn in the complex games of the powers-that-be.

A Wednesday has been unfairly clubbed with other movies dealing with bomb blasts in Mumbai. Terrorism is a subject that goes deep into the psyche of the average Mumbai resident and it is not surprising that different filmmakers try to deal with it in their own unique way.

But this particular movie is not a commentary on the issue like Mumbai Meri Jaan or Tahaan. What it is, first and foremost, is a tight, taut thriller, a cat and mouse game between the police chief, played by Anupam Kher, and an anonymous criminal (Naseeruddin Shah) who threatens to bomb five unknown locations in the city unless his demands are met.

The drama plays out in just 100 minutes of movie time( about 5 hours of real time on a Wednesday), but each minute is a cliff-hanger as the terrific script keeps us guessing till almost the very end. The direction by debutant director Neeraj Pandey is impeccable and worthy of the enormous acting talents of Kher and Shah. If I had a quibble, and it is a very small one at that, it is that a couple of supporting actors don’t quite measure up. This is especially true of the guy who plays the Bollywood star threatened by the Mob, but I am really nitpicking now. Given that this is a movie that was probably made on a small budget, this cost-cutting is pretty forgivable. Especially as there are some scenes which could be used for a master class in acting.

One in particular is the final scene between Kher and Shah. This is the only time in the movie in which the two share the frame. The freeze frame at the end captures a look on Shah’s face and he manages to convey so much more with just his expression in that one second than reams of award-winning dialogue can do in hours.

What is more encouraging than the fact that this is a really good movie is that it is a big hit back home, gaining some kind of cult status among movie fans. It is unashamedly bilingual, with the English dialogue sounding colloquial and appropriate, and has no songs. Isn’t it great that a movie that bucks the formula can do so well?

I’ve been feeling lately that there is a renaissance of sorts happening in Bollywood. Studios like Yash Raj Films have been turning out turkeys like Tashan and Thoda Pyaar, Thoda Magic while the indie crowd has been scoring all the goals. Young filmmakers have been making the films they want to make, not the ones they think they should and the results, while not uniformly good,( witness strange creations like Ugly Aur Pagli and Money Hai to Honey Hai), have been interesting.

At the very least, this new direction in Bollywood is giving character actors like Anupam Kher, Naseeruddin Shah and Ranvir Shorey their place in the sun. Like movies produced by Miramax in Hollywood, an alternate channel of small, intelligent movies is emerging in India. As an avid Hindi-movie watcher, I can only rejoice.

A Wednesday

*ring Anupam Kher, Naseeruddin Shah, Jimmy Shergill

Written and directed by Neeraj Pandey

My rating – 4.5 stars out of 5.

Harmeet Dhillon – Candidate for State Assembly

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UPDATE: Harmeet Dhillon lost her bid for State Assembly from California’s 13th district.

Harmeet Dhillon is one of a rare breed – a Republican in Democratic California. Arriving in the United States as a small child, Harmeet was educated in North Carolina and went on to Dartmouth College with an active participation in civil rights issues. She came into prominence when she questioned a music professor about an inappropriate level of political correctness (too much! according to her). An article about the same landed her an interview on 60 minutes.

In California, Harmeet continues to be active in civil rights legislation, providing legal services to political refugees, victims of domestic violence, and plaintiffs in civil rights litigation, including several First Amendment cases. She is also one of the up-and-coming members of the California Republican Party, being the Governor’s appointee to the party.

I spoke to her about her candidacy for the State Assembly from the 13th Assembly District of California, which includes many progressive, liberal, San Francisco neighborhoods.

You have been an active member of the Republican Party in California. What made you decide to run for office?
HD: In every county we have a Republican committee that’s elected by the registered voters of each party. This committee determines party policy in each county. I was appointed to a vacancy in 2004. Then I was elected to the committee in June in this year.. The party then asked me to run for State Assembly.

As assemblyman, what would your responsibilities be?
HD: The State Assembly is like House of Representatives for the state.  We have a bicameral legislature that is responsible for passing legislation, coming up with the budget etc.

How Republican leaning is your district?
HD: It’s virtually impossible for a Republican to win in my district. It is probably the most liberal district in the state. About 27% of the voters are registered as independent and I am focusing on them.

In that case, why would you run for office in this district?
HD: They are various reasons why you run. The first generation Indian Americans think the reason to run is to have power. I am doing it to educate the people and grow the party statewide. If I am able to increase the number of people voting Republican, I would consider my job done. I am also increasing my profile, increasing my chances of getting a  political appointment. It is a long term view. People who run for office can be arrogant. But they have never been involved in politics, never written op ed pieces. The way it works here , the party has to know you and the party has to back you. Otherwise you have no credibility.

Is party affiliation more important to the voters or the personality?
HD: That depends on your county. In San Francisco, the endorsement of the Democratic Party for ballot initiatives or school board matters a lot. Particularly in the non-partisan race, voters tend to be influenced by the recommendations of the Party.

What are the issues of concern to the voters in your particular district? Could you enumerate your positions on those?
HD: Environmentalism, the budget crisis in California, the economy. A lot of people are concerned about illegal immigration.
Education – We have a terrible system. The main culprit is the teachers’ unions. They grant teachers tenure after just 2 years. After that it is impossible to get rid of bad teachers, we cannot monitor performance. I advocate a full scale reform of the educational system. I support vouchers and more opportunities for home schooling. The state should allow a charter school program. People can go to vocational track. In North Carolina where I grew up, there was a boarding school for the gifted. That’s a great system where general schools deal with the average students and there are special schools for the bright kids. In California they tend to get lost.
Environment – I am a strong proponent of market based solutions. I think we are over reliant on fossil fuels. I am in favor of drilling as a long term solution. I would encourage car manufacturers to develop cars with better mileage. The way to do that is by judicious of tax credits for people and businesses and making it attractive for people to make that choice. In terms of protecting the environment, I am in favor of that. Conservation is a republican value.
Balancing the budget – I think the governor made one mistake in proposing the 3-year one cent sales tax increase. The budget process needs to be started earlier. The Governor should make it clear right now that he will not sign any legislation any bills  without a budget.
Crime – This is more of a local issue. It is somewhat related to the immigration issue. Certain cities like SF declare themselves sanctuary cities. This prevents police officers from informing the INS about criminals who are also illegal immigrants. This was horribly put to the test in the case of the Bologna family murders. The killer of the family members, who had previously been in trouble with the police, was allowed to roam free because there was no provision for the police to make sure he was deported.
Immigration – I believe illegal immigrants should get in line like the rest of us did.

Does the latest spell of bad economic news make it more difficult for you?
HD: I’m mot sure it will affect state races. San Francisco is a weird place. The majority of people are renters, so they don’t care about the housing market..they care about protecting rent control, which I am opposed to.

What is your opinion on the budget stalemate in California?
HD:I think the original budget was a terrible budget and I’m glad the Governor stood firm and asked for some changes. Spending now needs to be cut. There are lots of wasteful and inefficient government programs. One, as I mentioned before, is the sanctuary city policy that coddles young criminals. The city allocated 650000 for cultural adjustment training for these young criminals, I think that’s an outrageous abuse of taxpayer funding. There is room to cut teacher’s pensions. The teachers’ unions have negotiated for a lot of unnecessary money. One thing I recommend is that the city and state should not be subsidizing education for illegal aliens. California currently subsidizes education  at the UCs and state colleges for illegal aliens. The irony is that they cannot find work once they graduate.
I believe we should spend on infrastructure. I am in favor of the high speed rail initiative and in favor of green technology. But wasteful bureaucracy must go.

I understand that you an ardent supporter of John McCain? Do you agree with all his policies?
HD: I don’t agree with the policies of any politician a 100%. On abortion, I believe a  woman should have the right to choose in the first trimester. I think he is correct in that we should get out of Iraq with dignity. I trust him because he is a POW. I agree on his immigration policy where he advocates guest worker program( Senator McCain has said since that he would not vote for his own bill). I support a path to legalization.

Do you have a message for Indian-American voters?
HD:  Indian Americans pay more than their fair share of taxes, more that their fair share of the intellectual process, but we are not sophisticated consumers of politics. We don’t run for school boards, state assembly. I am the first person to stand for election with the backing of the party. And we‘ve been here for a 100 years. Nobody’s even trying. We need to be more sophisticated. We need to get out there in the community and give back. Volunteer, work in public service. Take jobs in the public interest.

Incendiary politics

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I don’t know if this has filtered out of the blogosphere and into the traditional media, but there have been some pretty ugly things going on at the various Republican rallies.

–    In one incident, John McCain asks the audience, “Who is Barack Obama?” The reply comes back from the crowd – “Terrorist!”
–    At a Palin rally, as she accuses Obama of ‘palling around with domestic terrorists’ ( referencing Bill Ayers) a voice in the crowd shouts, “Kill him.” Unclear whether the directive is against Ayers or Obama.
–    Today at yet another rally there are references to “hooligans like Obama and (speaker) Pelosi. McCain pauses, then says, “I think you may be right.”

Politics is, has been and will be a dirty game. Not even the founding fathers of the United States were good role models for clean campaigning. Thomas Jefferson hired a writer named James Callender to attack President Adams who wrote that John Adams was “a hideous hermaphroditical character which has neither the force and firmness of a man, nor the gentleness and sensibility of a woman.”

Even Harry Truman is supposed to have said as he campaigned for Kennedy, “If you vote for Nixon, you’re going to hell!”

This year’s mudslinging seems positively tame compared to the outrageous rhetoric of elections past. Nevertheless, a cold shiver is going down my spine. Maybe it’s because I am an immigrant and a minority in this country. A scenario comes unbidden to mind of November 5th, when the sensible voters of this amazing country may have voted President Obama into office. Will the crazy crowds, whipped up to frenzy these last few weeks, have collective amnesia about the middle name “Hussein” that is being bandied around at every single public event? Or will mosques and gurudwaras( nobody ever said these crackpots were smart!) have to be on high alert?

It is not surprising that there are elements like these in civilized society; that is to be expected. What is disappointing is that the veneer of civilization is so thin.

What is disappointing is that politicians, whose job is to lead the country through troubled times, are not even trying to pour oil on the troubled waters. I certainly don’t blame McCain or Palin for the behavior of one or two nutcases at their events. But there is every evidence that they heard what was being said, and instead of elevating the level of discourse, kept quiet or agreed with the out-of-control elements in their base. That is sad and not a little shameful. Their tacit approval of these tactics may yet win them the election, but it will be a pyrrhic victory that will be celebrated in the shambles of a once-proud and great country.

There was a presidential debate last night?

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I don’t know about you, but I am exhausted by the excruciatingly long election season. First it was the interminable Democratic primaries, where we went through the entire gamut of emotions, from hope to disgust to frustration to disgust to incredulity to disgust..you get the drift. Now the post-conventions drama is played out with such glee in the mainstream media, one suspects it was orchestrated entirely by them so they’d have something to fill 24 hours of airtime with.

I find it hard to believe that there are still people left in this country who haven’t made up their minds..what were you doing, sleeping under a rock this last year? Those uncommitted people from Ohio or Pennsylvania or Indiana or wherever the battleground du jour happens to be? They’re lying – happy to have their moment in the sun, their 15 minutes of fame, knowing fully well which candidate they’re going to bubble in their ballots come November 4th.

Meanwhile, the rest of us have to go through the reality TV of weekly debates, where the questions are boring, the answers are predictable and the only thing that changes is the moderator itself, not the smugness or condescension with which the questions are asked. The candidates go through the motions, hoping to make it through 90 minutes without any obvious gaffes, though they can be assured that every hand gesture, every eye scan, every hesitation and stutter will be pounced upon by the vultures garbed as political pundits, even as the substance of their answers glazes the eyes.

Yesterday was no different. I was determined not to watch, my little protest against the inanity of these formats, where the candidates are leashed to their respective little territories, unable to argue or defend or in any way have a real conversation with each other or the voters back home. You can tell that they are on auto pilot, as stock phrases from the stump come rattling out through lips that are trained to stay non-committal, in case a misguided display of emotion makes it to the headlines the next day.

Still, I caught some of it when the hubby insisted on turning the TV on. We had it tuned to CNN where the audience meter put us in a Zen-like state.. we were watching the watchers. Is it possible for the insta-reaction from the focus group to not influence your own perceptions of the event? I eventually gave up listening to the debate, having been hypnotized by the undulating green and orange lines. At the end, the lines gave me a vague sense that women liked Obama more, which priceless nugget of information I could have given to you based on the Senator’s pearly whites right at the start of this whole circus.

Nothing new comes out of these debates- at best, they are a judge of whether the candidate has the composure to not scream out loud in boredom and frustration. But, hey, these guys are senators; if there’s one skill they have, it is to sit through long boring sessions in Congress which have no useful value and produce dubious results.

Of course, the pundits jumped on McCain’s use of the term “That One” to describe Obama( I hear T-Shirts with those words are being printed even as we speak.) Come on, this is a guy from your grandfather’s generation – you’ve got to cut him some slack – at least he didn’t call him “that cocky young whippersnapper” or “that darn tootin’ busybody.” Other than that, there were no momentous moments, no fodder for late-night TV and for me at least, no memories of even the little bit I watched. And anyway, today the tanking Dow is overwhelming what little interest there was in the debate in the first place.

These “debates” are awful. Goodie…I get to see another one next week.

I'm moving!

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First of all, a big thanks to all the people who have been reading me here. You guys rock!

Secondly, as some of you know, I have a full time blog called Water, No Ice that is an online magazine for Indian Americans. We recently went with a new theme( sort of equivalent to the urge to move the furniture around the house every couple of years or so) and there is room for my personal articles the way it is laid out now.

I’ve been writing there under the category called “Blog”. I would urge all you subscribers to move over to Water, No Ice and join there. Eventually we’ll move all the articles here to that section.

If you don’t want all the WNI posts and just want the “Blog” posts, I believe there is a way to subscribe only to this particular category. Try it out and let me have your feedback.

Once again, thanks for your support and hope to see you over at WNI.

Roots

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By Isheeta Sanghi

There’s something infectious about India. When we get off the plane, we are disgusted with the so called bus that takes us to the terminal, we cringe at the thought of those oh so familiar smells of poor hygiene, sweat, and masala.. And of course, none of us look forward to being bombarded by thousands of (mostly short) Indian men all advertising one thing as soon as we exit the airport ‘Taxi Madam?’ No baba, nahi chachiye- obviously NRIs have family coming to greet them!

The fact remains that we all make the pilgrimage home at some point in our lives, maybe even a few times a year, because that’s what we do. We know that our grandparents, maybe a handful of aunts and uncles live there and that is the primary reason that we go. As a child, the trip is somewhat monotonous. The same things being said ‘oh the last time we saw you…’ or ‘oh you’re so big now!’ You get to a point in life though, when that trip is worth more than just bringing back lehngas (which are rarely worn) and pictures of exotic India to share with friends. It’s more of a homecoming. We’re exposed to our roots and our heritage, which in today’s fast paced world is something that we all will learn to appreciate more and more.

Roots are the origin- the starting point, and no matter how high up a tree may grow, branches may extend and leaves may appear- the root remains the origin. Likewise, no matter how much we may try to convince ourselves that after being born and brought up in America, that we are truly only American is a little bit of a lie. No matter how far apart we may grow from our traditional colourful culture, values and heritage; there is a part of us that will inevitably always be connected to our roots.

Initially I was hesitant about acknowledging my heritage. I convinced myself and everyone around me that I did not care for anything Indian. What I realized, after living in India, is that it really is not all that bad. Sure there are things that are ‘typical’ Indian that still I am still ashamed of- like the underworld that rips away the innocence of so many young girls and boys, the lack of preservation of the many monuments, and of course the smelliness of some of the gullies. However, there are more things that make me proud to be of my heritage. I love the family values, the colourful festivities, and the warm people.

Going back to your family’s heritage is amazing, and if you are lucky, you will have family members who have it all mapped out, and you can see where your origins lay. You may not have met most of the people, but just knowing about them gives you a sense of pride. You can smile at the accomplishments of those who came before you, and recognize that if they didn’t do what they had done, you probably wouldn’t be in the place that you are in right now. I learned that if my great grandfather had not pushed my Dada out of the country to pursue his higher education, we would be leading a very different life.  Since my Grandfather studied outside the country, he saw some benefit in it, and encouraged his own sons to venture out as well. When you hear about things like that you only learn to appreciate your roots- either family roots or cultural roots- even more.

Like you learn to love people, you learn to love India. You start to take pride in the fact that the country has come a long way- a very long way- sure it’s not perfect, but what place is? It takes time, and it will take a lot of compromise from your end, you will have to treat it like a child, and forgive its inconsistencies and wrongs.

Picture courtesy this blog.