"India shining", a paraphrase are politicians seem to be advocating with great gusto. I was vacationing last week in Singapore and in the MRT station I happen to see our Indian tourism hoardings all over the place. And damm we look good. The Taj Mahal to the classical dancers of South India. Our country looks like a nice place to visit with its rich cultural heritage.
On one hand we are out advertising for tourism and on the other when out guests visit us, they are shown our Indianness. Yes Indians the world over are treated differently. Is it because of our color? No I seriously doubt it. Color has nothing to do with the way we behave.
Let me raise a couple of issues that I find so very disturbing every time I see and Indian being Indian in front of a guest from outside.
Our Indian culture says that guests hold the place of God. I think it is high time we decide to follow the culture that we so staunchly boast.
On one hand we are out advertising for tourism and on the other when out guests visit us, they are shown our Indianness. Yes Indians the world over are treated differently. Is it because of our color? No I seriously doubt it. Color has nothing to do with the way we behave.
Let me raise a couple of issues that I find so very disturbing every time I see and Indian being Indian in front of a guest from outside.
- If a firang as they are often called happen to be of the fair skin then the libido of the Indian man seems to take a jump start. We behave like the fair folk have descended from the stars and are down on earth clueless about the mating process. They do know!!!
- The so called stares that we give are seen. We might try to hide our intentions but the pervert nature of our peeking from the corner of our eyes is noticed. It is downright creepy if it happens to a lady and well the firang men are at least safe as of now in India as the gay folk out here are probably not yet into fair skin.
- The art of photography is an ancient art. In today's world we are given a world of opportunities in the form of technological advancements to capture the sweeter moments in life. Yes you get the idea, of capturing some firang's beauty as a trophy. That is down right disgusting.
- Another issue that comes to my mind is the fleecing of our guests. There is a great discrimination when we visit our heritage sights in our country. One rate is set for the Indians and another for the foreigners. And yes the carrying of photography equipment is an addendum to the cost. My travel abroad was devoid of any extra payment of either being a visitor or the camera that I carried. Yes it is a form of revenue generation for the country, but I doubt that gives any of us the right to overcharge our guests.
Our Indian culture says that guests hold the place of God. I think it is high time we decide to follow the culture that we so staunchly boast.
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