One of the hardest things to be is being a second generation Indian immigrant. The parents still tend to have the same set of values and expectations that they witnessed in India 20-30 years ago, while the fantasy world of Bollywood movies show a kind of society that is quite similar to the west or their adopted country. They don’t realize that Hindi movies are a fantasy land and often bear little resemblance with Indian culture and society, while the parents don’t realize that over the past 20-30 years the culture and values in India have modernized quite considerably.
Indians unlike the folks from China and Middle East try extra hard to mingle with the local population of their new country. There a conflict of the values and culture which they need to have to be cool enough in front of their friends and what they are expected to practice at home.
Most likely it is a short transitional phase which most people in societies facing rapid changes and development face.
3 replies on “ABCD (American born confused desi)”
I came across this phrase in a ‘better-to-forget’ film. The concept by itself is equally insightful and funny at the same time, probably the reason it has been exploited in a number of bollywood flicks. Since I haven’t come across such a specimen myself, I gather my inferences from whatever you have to say.
1. Indians try to mingle…says a lot about them being gregarious or trying hard to be a part of the local group. That is exactly the opposite of the ghetto mentality. If that be the case, then why do you have ghettos forming inside India? I see this phenomenon first hand in my campus, where people from a community/state stick do this.
2. Immigrants protecting their culture/values…what do Indians have in their value system that prompts their kids to mix with the locals while kids from other nationalities don’t follow suit? If getting bored from own culture was the case, I think it would have been the same case with others too, and that is not evident, as you say.
its good that u r writing your detailed comments here… fb is there just to drive some traffic to this site 🙂
0. I liked the movie.. good for first watch atleast.
1. and 2. Not sure of the reasons, but Pakistanis, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankans and Indians outside India are better friends than in their own country.
Good to know that there are people interested in the rich culture of my country, and working hard to bring it on the world view. Cheers for your wonderful blog. Even I’m a published poet. You can catch glimpse of some of my works here- http://souravroy.com/poems/