India-Pakistan Dream

My niece had written this poem couple of years back ,I think in her 11th grade and won some award. A guest post by Arthi.

India-Pakistan dream

We share the same sun, moon and stars,
Then why don’t we live like a family?
We all drink water and eat the
Same kind of food
Then why do we so often spoil
Each other’s mood?
Both of us have a strong cricket team
Then why do we have to be so mean

Same kind of birds and trees doeseth
Grow and live in both our lands
Then why do we wish to see
Each of our lands destroyed?
Why are we destroying our own friends?
Why aren’t we joining hands?

See how the birds migrate to each of
Our lands without a hesitation or a glance
See how the rivers flow in both our lands
Connecting us, leaving behind a bond
See how the trees live in peace
And offer anything we please

So, lets forget everything
And start afresh again
I’m ready now aren’t you Brother?

 

All Indians are my Brothers & Sisters

India is my country. All Indians are my brothers and sisters.
I Love my country. I am proud of its rich and varied culture.
I shall always strive to be worthy of it.
I shall love and respect my parents, teachers and elders.
To my country and my people I pledge my devotion




..So goes the Indian national pledge as most of us remember. Even if we forget the other lines, the brothers and sisters part is unforgettable and many a joke has been formed using those lines..



Never have I been made to realize and understand the brothers and sisters as much as after coming to the US. If you are thinking that my bros and sis talk was about comradeship, explaining how I realized desis are the epitome of friendship in Pardes, you are no where near the truth. Here, let me…



When I joined NSC in 2000, wondering how the new firm will be, hoping to set my eyes on some Desis ( not that it is very difficult in the bay area) , little did I know that we Desi girls all look alike to most people..little brown girls, clones of each other. In due time, I found a couple of friends in K and her buddy A. K was a south Indian, tall, 70%wheatish and 30% bordering on fair, short hair,not so sharp nose,a wide smile where as A was from Delhi, tall, 70% fair and 30% bordering on very fair,long hair, sharp nose,smiled very rarely. They were often confused for each other and asked if they were sisters…making one wonder how everyone knows about the Indian pledge.


Note: The skin color is purely based on Indian Standards.



I was often confused for either K or another girl S. For some more descriptions, I was short with short hair, 20%black,30%brown and 50% wheatish , with a perpetual frown on my face just so I could pretend to be busy and S was also short, long hair , 20% black,40%brown and 40% wheatish with a manly gait.( Yes! I considered myself 10% more wheatish or rather better looking by Indian Standards). Now, how in the world can S and I be mistaken for each other, tell me..


The other side of the mirror:
I didn’t know the difference between Chin , Soo ,Kowamoto or Tran. They all looked and spoke the same.

In this world of juggling jumbles, you learn and adjust, albeit slowly. You accept their ignorance and sometimes make use of it too. You can get away by blaming S when you break the scope in the lab. You get to identify Chin from Tran. Chin calls Suresh as “Sure” ( pronounced as Su.Rey ). Tran calls Sort as “Sors” . Soo actually is sweet with his own slang and Kowamoto doesn’t actually resemble any of them. At last, you realize they are not brothers but are actually from four different countries and hoping one day they all will recognize You too , without any confusion. I can see that I am digressing and even changed the tense..Back to..


In 2004, I switched jobs and the search for desis continued. Alas! I was the only Indian other than the girl in another building. No more confusions. Unique. Oh! The Indian girl? That would be Shoba . How Sweet! . I had adjusted to a life of pure bliss where I was recognized just for who I was, the 50% wheatish girl , when last year,with a shattering roar, all talking in Hindi, six Indian kids including two girls entered the scene. Should say I was also guilty of recruiting one of the guys. My own Indian brother ! The managers came with their tots in tow, to introduce the prodigies to their Indian Sister….. the Elder Indian Sister ( Sob! Sob !!)



Cut to the present, yesterday myself and R were having lunch and in comes this Cambodian Guy , wanting to know if we are from India and if we are sisters? Seriously, after working in this place for 5 years, where I presumed I was numero Uno and everyone knew me.. Hello!! R might be my height,with a perpetual frown on her face just so she could pretend to be busy but have you looked at her complexion? She is 10%black, 60% brown and 40% wheatish.
That is a full 10% less wheatish than me !! Give me a break !! Sisters..Tut..Tut..

 

Nodi Swami, navu irodhu heege

9:45 PM..The phone rings….

L: Hey Shoba, Did you see the fire engine outside?
S: Yep, I saw that . Don’t know where the problem is.
L: Hey! Its your neighbor. All the firemen are inside that house.
S: Wow ! really ! How do you know?.
L: I am watching them from my window. Go out and you should be able to see it from your patio.

( We live in a townhouse complex and the neighbour who got affected shares a wall with us.FYI)

I went outside and tried to get a clear view of what was going on . Unfortunately, with my height of 5’2” , unless I jump, there was no way I could see anything and it would have seemed a bit too eager for the bunch of firemen next door, if they suddenly see a face bobbing up and down over the wall and I was scared shit to show my face anyway.I came back inside the house , wondering what could have happened. By then, a police car rolled in , just outside my window.

10:00PM…..Phone rings..

L: Hey, Do you see the cops crawling all over the place?
S: Really, I saw just one police car coming in.
L: The fire engine is gone and there are 6 cops walking around with a camera , taking pictures. There is someone on a stretcher inside the house.
S: Wow, Where are you seeing all this from?
L: From my upstairs window.I can see their house very well from here.

I don’t know why we were talking in such hushed tones in spite of being inside our houses. Just watching 6 cops together does that to you,I guess. To better understand the scenario,L’s house is opposite mine, so she gets a better view of my neighbour, who is adjacent to me. I walked upstairs , switched off my lights and saw L’s house in complete darkness though I knew for sure she was peeking from one of her windows.I took a peek from my window and saw the cops in deep discussion.

S: What could it be?
L: Might be domestic violence, I think.
S: But, J who lives there is usually out of town. She has a bunch of caretakers coming in and out during her absence. Maybe, it could be one of them. I doubt if it is J.

With that, I went to sleep knowing that L will definitely solve the mystery the next day,as she was the director for our HOA and usually gets all the latest happenings in our area. I did come to know that someone had died next door and there were some legal complications as he was not a resident of that house and so the cops were called. Yes, it turned out to be a very sad story but we take pride in knowing it. I have never met an Indian till today who does not take pride in knowing facts. We just love to say,”Oh! I know…” .

” My son knows the names of all the past presidents.”
” My daughter can identify every single country on the map.”

If someone says actress Simran is from Punjab, my immediate response would be, “Oh!,I saw her once when flying from Chennai to Vizag. She was sitting right next to me ..phhh..Looks just like any other girl next door in person and very different than when seen on screen”. Just a mere mention of Simran is good enough for me to talk about my trip to Vizag.I just have to say something about Simran that I know.

“Hey, Have you read RM’s blog. He has written some very humorous articles.”
“Oh! ,That guy..Apparently, he was my S’s (my friend’s hubby) junior in school.”

As though,just being S’s junior make his articles less funny. Just knowing he is S’s junior is good enough.

But, that is who we are and I take pride in knowing that .

Nodi Swami, navu irodhu heege ( Kannada)
Yes sir, This is how we are (( or )) See Sir, We are like this only.