As seen on TV

When you have stayed in any place for nearly a decade you gradually start thinking of that place as home. What makes it more difficult is if that place in a completely different country than the one you were born and brought up in. Your identity becomes extremely blended.

After being here for quite some time I am often faced with the dilemma of determining my identity. An identity which is not based on what my visa status is or whether I am a citizen of a specific country. Its based more on what was familiar once is now not so familiar and what was at a time new to me is now my way of life. I am now confused if I am Indian in America or an American with roots in India. Now mind you this is not about patriotism or national pride its more of an adaptation of lifestyle and local norms due to the amount time you spend in one place.

But what annoys me the most is how people in both my adopted country USA and my motherland India seem quick to assert that they know everything about each other all based on "AS Seen on TV". I get tired of defending both the countires to each other because seriously both of them are a part of me and none of them are as bad as it seems.

In American media most documentaries of India will focus on crowded streets, half naked children under flyovers and animals on the road. I dont deny that is a part of India but it is so much more. India is a technologically advanced modern country with well lit metropolises and people with liberal thiking. In India reside a very urbanized set of people who are not unlike you. Making India to be a land of yogis and snake charmers would be akin to calling America a land only made of rodeo riders and baseball players. And while India may look to you like this

It is also this












In the same way Indians conceive America as a country with garish neon lights and divorce rates and infidelity through the roof. Nothing can be farther from the truth. Like in any country America has big cities and small towns. There are far more happily married families than divorcees here. And while the American outlook to life is far more liberal then the conservative India society permits you will find moms here with nearly the same issues and problems Indian moms face while raising their kids. And while you may picturize the whole of America to look like this

In reality most of America is probably more like this

Seriously if all you know of the other country is by watching TV documentaries and sitcoms then you are in for a rude awakening. Just like Kynki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi [or any other popluar sitcom] cannot be a true representative of Indian society at large similarly The Bold and the Beautiful cannot be considered as a primer to American scociety. They are sitcoms and as sitcoms go they are more there for the shock factor than to document a country's cultural landscape and hence should be taken with a generous dose of salt.

I am lucky enough to have both my Indian and American friends viewing my blog and  I hope I can be your window to both the countries. All you have to do is keep an open mind and ask...