Tuesday 15 March 2011

WE NO SPEAK AMERICANO






 This blog has nothing to do with this famous track by Yolanda be Cool. Read on if you are still interested. Indians are being hypnotized by the West. Everyone wants to speak English (perfect or not doesn’t matter) and everyone wants to go abroad. Some want to go abroad because of the money and some want to go abroad because they dream about the idea of being called a NON RESIDENTIAL INDIAN. “It sounds so cool na?” says my Aunt.

So the PAKKA DESI babu packs his PETIS and gets on the flight with the great Indian Dream. The women folks of the family are weeping; the garlands adorn his neck, the tilaks are poked onto his forehead. Ones the flight goes, the drama stops. Now the mother has something to flaunt and boast around. “Mera beta London gaya hai” is her new topic leaving the “Meri nayee benarasi saree dekho” topic behind.

Four years have passed and its time the BETA gets back home and shows his firangi face to his Indian family. The flight lands and there is another session of drama including the weeping, the tilaks, the garlands. The OPENING OF SUITCASE ceremony starts as soon as he reaches home. Versace perfumes, Hersheys kisses, Snickers, Gucci bag and other brands are introduced into the minds of the young in the family. Now you start talking to the firangi Indian. He looks at you with the London bridge shining in his eyes. He left India as a Pakka Hindi speaking Indian and comes back speaking English with an accent.

Four years cannot change so much. How can he say that he forgot Hindi in four years? How can he say that his accent comes naturally to him? He speaks his mother tongue like a foreigner in just Four Godforsaken years.

Now the  top five changes you see in him -

1)      He cannot take the spicy Indian food anymore- He fans his tongue with his hands and he goes red. He says the ALOO PARATHA is too spicy for him. Mind it! He used to crave it once.
2)      Bragging- He brags how good London is and how clean the place really is. Everywhere he looks, he has something to compare to the Videshi life. “In London they drive only big cars. Big means BADA. There are no Maruti 800 there. You understand?” All you can do is nod and call him a fool inside your head.
3)      He cannot take the climate- He needs Goggles, sunscreen, and other complimentary products to even cross the road and visit the next home. He wants Air Conditioner as his bodyguard wherever he goes. “Ye kya Garam Pani? Fridge ka pani do”. “How do you guys survive here?” he asks. Well I smile at him and think “Just like you used to four years back”
4)      Brand conscious- “What!!! You have not heard of TOMMY HILFIGER watches!!!! Tum toh TITAN se khush raho”. He asks me if i like LOUIS VUITTON bag and he pronounces it as LUIS VITTTON. Poser!!!!
5)      He wants to click photos everywhere-  From the drawing room to the bathroom, from the mother to the beggar sitting outside the home, from the Dhoodhwala to the Padosan ki Beti. He clicks everything!!!!

The list could continue but something has to end! The PAKKA HINDI BETA has been kicked out by the new FIRANGI INDIAN BETA!

35 comments:

  1. nowdays these kids just need to enter the airport to speak english with an accent!!

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  2. hehehe..tat was a funny post...
    yes u can find a lot of ppl like tat these days..n see lot of ppl wanna go abroad cuz of money...money matters a lot..i feel so...

    i dont wanna get settled thr..but i dont mind stayin thr for a couple of years..earn some money..n come back.. :D but m sure i wont 4get malayalam...no malayalis will... hehe...

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  3. Hah i am not against going abroad and making some money. I am against the posers who fake it all after they get back here!

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  4. U seem to personally know this special nri u r tlkin bout don u. ????

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  5. Nah... Its just an observation and everyone has come across such a person.

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  6. Hahaha...this was surely funny. Thankfully, I do not know of anyone like this :) But its certainly a stereotype...

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  7. Totally agree with u Red, some r posers, some r pretenders, n sum r simply called Ranjith Raj.

    Regards,
    Ranjith Raj
    :)

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  8. @ Siddharth- thnx for the read! Nd happy tht you havent come acroos such souls!!

    @ R-A-J- So you belong to the third species called "Ranjit Raj". Heh kidding.. Thanku for givin it a read!

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  9. It all stems from low self esteem. The fake accent, the nose up in the air attitude...apka India kitnaaa dirty hai! You should give it back to them,

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  10. idk but i just LAUGHED SO HARD reading this! what an ace entry.

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  11. Haha! This is SOO cool and SO true also.

    You write really well. :D Good job! :D

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  12. @ Sugarmous- I am so happy that you had a hearty laugh reading my post! made my day :)

    @ aishwarya- heh thnku so very much. m a baby in here. not even one month since i joined. So thnku for reading!!!! :)

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  13. i always wondered y i dont hav the accent...then someone reminded u need to knw ENGLEESSHHH 4 tht..gud piece and highly recomended to al those adhifirangs who think thy belong there...

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  14. heh thnku for readin sire n for the followup!!!!

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  15. Hey Red,
    u mite find this interesting ;)

    http://www.indiblogger.in/indipost.php?post=51480

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  16. Haha!!! so funny!!! It is evn more funnier when these people mispronounce stuff and still pretend like they're doin it ryt!!! And what I can't take the most is the whole, "your food is so spicy, your country is so hot, your country is so dirty" rant! Arre, itna problem hai toh yaha pe kyun aa rahe ho!!! Jus stay wheere you are, that ways, u are happy and so are we!

    Anyways, loved it! It was so funny! :)

    http://poetofthemind.blogspot.com

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  17. Nice one.. Poser is the word..:D

    - Raghu
    http://arewetrulyhumans.blogspot.com

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  18. I agree.Totally.
    "How do you guys survive here?" he asks. Well I smile at him and think "Just like you used to four years back"
    This one was the killer.I've thought on the same lines.

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  19. Funny post... Well there are lot of people in my life ,who showoff, just coz they are so called NRI's.... at the same time..I know few people who are so simple regardless they are leading a great life, with lucrative jobs in abroad.. :)

    nicely written! :)

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  20. @neeraja- thnks you for readin. glad tht u had a good laugh.

    @raghu- thnku thr :)

    @blue lotus- Thnku for checking out the post :)

    @ anuroop- thnx to you yet again

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  21. hahahah....its an ironical truth!! well written :)

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  22. it's very similar with us, filipinos. We are so "Westernized". Some Filipinos who go abroad apparently forget how to speak their own native language. it's frustrating.

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  23. @justin love- its the story of every culturally prosperous country. thnks for dropping by. :)

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  24. I liked the way the whole flow works out, in a humorous and subtle manner :) Thumbs up!!

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  25. @indigenou- hey thnx for readin :)

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  26. I agree wholeheartedly with the AC thing...even my bro in law cannot withstand the 'hot' weather in Mumbai! :)

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  27. Very true, and very well written. And I identify with this NRI to some extent, as I have been one for 7 years. Accept that we are all creatures of habit: how many of us urbanites will not find it difficult to drive/walk on Indian village roads where you cannot drive/walk without getting covered with mud or dust? Similarly, we NRIs find the heat and humidity difficult after living in cooler climates for some years. That does not mean we don't visit our home and families, or we forget our mother tongues. After so many years of working with foreigners, I've not managed to adopt the British or American accent and it's due to my linguistic deficiency. But neither I nor my family have forgotten our language(s)... As for the brand bragging: it depends on the individual. There are more and more residential Indians who are getting exposed to foreign brands and don't hesitate to flaunt them. If you are a show-off and unpatriotic, you will remain so whether in India or abroad!.... Finally, I find the term "non-residential Indian" offensive: it's excluding, discriminatory and derogatory. So you should not feel less privileged if someone flaunts that s/he is an NRI!!

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  28. I was talking bout the posers....the ones i have come across. Four years make no difference according to me.

    Thankyou for reading :)

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  29. LOL at the last line of 2nd and 4th point

    A very good post :D

    Stay Blessed ^_^

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  30. Loved the post absolutely without an exception to a single word. I have something more interesting to share which happened in India itself;)
    I am a Bihari and everybody knows about our Hindi. We proudly call ourselves HUM (not MAIN). This friend of mine went to Kolkata (Calcutta then) and when he came back just after two months, alas he was changed. He forgot HUM and learnt MAIN (but with the same old Bihari accent LOL)
    When asked about his new avatar, he proudly said everyone at Kolkata speaks like this and hence, it has become a habit for him as well. I actually wondered if people in Kolkata speak like this. In fact, Bengali Hindi is almost a reflection of our Hindi with a touch of Bengali accent to it.
    I also speak MAIN when I am out of Bihar and the moment I see any fellow Bihari, I am back to my old BIHARI HINDI:)
    Why do you need to pose in front of your own people, I mean its so kiddish

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  31. Hmm.. Interesting post and definitely there are posers.I have been living outside India for the last 2-3 years and I know that you cannot get an accent for your mother tongue. But you can get an accent for your English because unfortunately people can't understand you if we speak with Mallu accent.My English has changed , but my mother tongue will never change. :) But the climate thingie is unfortunately true and it is a very harsh change from cold and dry to humid.(Not that we asked every one for AC). and I found it difficult to walk barefoot like I used to. I am reading all your older posts whenever I get some free time . Love your writing.

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  32. But I'll never say NO to aloo parantha! NEVER

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