So I watched a bit of All the Best with some relatives over the week-end. It was an okay film. In it there's this insult that a villian throw's at Sanjay Dutt's character - he calls him an NRI, which he said not only stood for 'Non-Resident Indian' but also a 'Non-Reacting Indian.' One of my uncles' was very impressed by that line, he found it to be quite true and profound. Being an NRI myself here, I found it rather insulting. What's so non-reacting about us?
Being an NRI in India can be a very strange experience. We're seen as immigrants by most people outside of India, and then we're seen as the "other" yet again in our parents' native country.
I say "yeah, yeah" a lot, I never noticed this back home. But here, everyone seems to notice my "yeah, yeah's" (just as often as my American friends notice my "eh's"). They say it's very NRI-ish of me; so is my extensive use of chapstick and tissue paper. On the days that I'm not feeling too hungry, I'm told it's very NRI-ish of me to be dieting. I wonder what other observations Indians have compiled about my kind.
From what I'm experiencing, NRIs are perceived to have very little Indian culture. Some are surprised to learn that I actually have Hindi songs saved on my iTunes. When Akshay Kumar seranaded Kylie Minogue in the last flick I saw, an Uncle talked me through it step-by-step, explaining that the music being played was called "bhan-gr-a" and that it was a "Pun-ja-bi" form of music. If only he knew that Canadians are exposed to a large Punjabi population as well, and at the very least, have heard bhangra blasting out of passing cars from time to time.
There are times when I wish I knew other NRIs here. It'd help being scrutinised as an NRI become less intolerable and more laughable.
Anyhow, I don't have too many new photos to share, so I'm signing off with a few more from my Diwali holiday spent in some Gujarati villages. 
really interesting about the NRI comment. i wonder too about how indians view us. it seems like with contempt- which is kinda effed up. i don't get what they mean by non reacting indian. do they have some expectation for us? its kinda annoying that they have perceptions on what it is like to be an NRI without having an acknowledgement that they may not actually know since they aren't one. pretty rude that the uncle voiced his dissapproval in front of you as well. i think maybe engaging you in a convo woulda been more productive than blindly agreeing with the comment. i suppose its easier to just have one simple identity for NRIs. i always thought it would be cool to study the relationship between NRIs and indians. you should write an article about it in the local paper! and then get run outa town!
ReplyDeleteha!
jk