Identity is a strange thing! Isn't it? It broadens as your perspectives change and your identity is a totally different thing from someone else's perspective!
Long long ago, it was my first day of school in a village called Pattoor near our house. People asked me where I was from. ''Marlaje'', I told my house name to everyone who asked. Most people knew it because that was a tiny village with only a few houses and everyone knew each other. For those who did not know the house name I said, ''I'm from Patrame'', the village.
A few years later I went to a different school for my class 8. A bit far from my village - A town called Nellyady. Now ''Marlaje'' did not make any sense to others. Patrame did make sense to some people but a lot more had only vaguely heard about this village. So I had to add on descriptions - ''You know Kokkada? (another nearby town) Patrame is 8km from there''! That made people understand a little bit more but however many thought I was from Kokkada, because - where on the earth is Patrame?!
(Speaking about earth reminded me of Carl Sagan - So squeezed this image here. Don't bother!)
A few more years passed and I joined the med school in a town near Bangalore called Tumkur. Suddenly I had friends from all over the country. They again asked me where I'm from - This time I couldn't start with Patrame or Kokkada - ''Near Dharmasthala'' I said. Most of my friends from Karnataka managed to get it as Dharmasthala is a famous temple town near my village. However, I had to go one step further and say ''near Mangalore'' to many North Indian friends as they had never heard of Dharmasthla. Despite that, I was just a guy from Karnataka, a Kannadiga for most of them! or maybe just a south Indian.
(File pic of one famous Kannadiga explaining the exact GPS coordinates of his origins ;)
A few more years later I moved to Hyderabad, a city in a different state altogether. Not many knew Mangalore there. So I moved a bit further and explained Mangalore is near Bangalore in Karnataka (about 300km) and then they would get it! (Not to mention the Bangalore-Mangalore confusion).
Years passed. I moved to the United Kingdom. A country thousands of miles apart from India across the oceans. That I should say is a very different feeling altogether when you step out of your country for the very first time!
''Where are you from?'' many kept asking! ''Patr..Near Dharmasth...Mang...Ban...Kar...errrr'' my mind was drawing flowcharts and then the chak de India scene flashed in the mind and *Vidya Sharma* ''INDIA'' I said! That felt different. Very very different! I had never introduced myself like that before! Although few asked ''where exactly are you from, in India?'' for the vast majority I was just an Indian.
Although many had visited India, a lot more had just heard about this big colorful country and maybe had seen India on the media. ''Can you speak 'Indian'?'' many asked. ''Well, we have thousands of languages in India but 'Indian' is not a language'' I had to explain. I also made sure I gave some extra information about India and its diversity and encouraged them to visit India every time somebody asked this or anything about India! It felt so good! (Hey Indian tourism dept, hire me!;)
I recently was chatting with a taxi driver from Mozambique. He knew few bits about India and was asking me more about India and I was asking him about Mozambique as I had no clue how the country is. The pleasant articulate man had pearls of wisdom ''when you are outside your country, the country becomes your identity amongst all other things. People who had never been or does not know much about the country form opinions about the country based on your work and conversations with you. You are the true ambassador for your country!''. ''How true!'' I thought to myself. I don't really know what impression he had about India after the conversation but I had a very good impression about Mozambique!
When you are outside your nation, for many, YOU represent the country. YOU are the nation! You are India for many! You are not a village, you are not a district, you are not a state, you are not north Indian or south Indian, or whatever in between! You are just an Indian and people often see INDIA through you! But for you, you are all that and much more when somebody calls you an Indian. Including those things that are Indian that you don't associate yourself with when in India because you are from a different region, state, culture or whatever. Again, THAT, is a very strange feeling!
A few days ago I was watching this series on Netflix called 'one strange rock' which shared perspectives of astronauts who saw the earth from a distance. An earth without any borders! An earth that was completely unaware of the fact that it has so many imaginary boundaries called nations within it! I was just wondering how would the astronauts feel if some aliens turned up and asked them ''Hey, where are you from?!''
Will end this blabber with few quotes!
1
For the magnanimous-hearts however, the entire earth is but a family’
‘Every place is my home town; Everyone my kith and kin'
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Epilogue:
''Hey alien!, We are from earth''
''What earth?''
''You know the solar system with that sun and other fancy planets surrounding?''
''Eh..Where?''
''You know Milkyway?''
''Hmmm..i think I have heard about it, where exactly is it did you say?''
''Oops!''
-------
Long long ago, it was my first day of school in a village called Pattoor near our house. People asked me where I was from. ''Marlaje'', I told my house name to everyone who asked. Most people knew it because that was a tiny village with only a few houses and everyone knew each other. For those who did not know the house name I said, ''I'm from Patrame'', the village.
A few years later I went to a different school for my class 8. A bit far from my village - A town called Nellyady. Now ''Marlaje'' did not make any sense to others. Patrame did make sense to some people but a lot more had only vaguely heard about this village. So I had to add on descriptions - ''You know Kokkada? (another nearby town) Patrame is 8km from there''! That made people understand a little bit more but however many thought I was from Kokkada, because - where on the earth is Patrame?!
A few more years passed and I joined the med school in a town near Bangalore called Tumkur. Suddenly I had friends from all over the country. They again asked me where I'm from - This time I couldn't start with Patrame or Kokkada - ''Near Dharmasthala'' I said. Most of my friends from Karnataka managed to get it as Dharmasthala is a famous temple town near my village. However, I had to go one step further and say ''near Mangalore'' to many North Indian friends as they had never heard of Dharmasthla. Despite that, I was just a guy from Karnataka, a Kannadiga for most of them! or maybe just a south Indian.
A few more years later I moved to Hyderabad, a city in a different state altogether. Not many knew Mangalore there. So I moved a bit further and explained Mangalore is near Bangalore in Karnataka (about 300km) and then they would get it! (Not to mention the Bangalore-Mangalore confusion).
Years passed. I moved to the United Kingdom. A country thousands of miles apart from India across the oceans. That I should say is a very different feeling altogether when you step out of your country for the very first time!
''Where are you from?'' many kept asking! ''Patr..Near Dharmasth...Mang...Ban...Kar...errrr'' my mind was drawing flowcharts and then the chak de India scene flashed in the mind and *Vidya Sharma* ''INDIA'' I said! That felt different. Very very different! I had never introduced myself like that before! Although few asked ''where exactly are you from, in India?'' for the vast majority I was just an Indian.
Although many had visited India, a lot more had just heard about this big colorful country and maybe had seen India on the media. ''Can you speak 'Indian'?'' many asked. ''Well, we have thousands of languages in India but 'Indian' is not a language'' I had to explain. I also made sure I gave some extra information about India and its diversity and encouraged them to visit India every time somebody asked this or anything about India! It felt so good! (Hey Indian tourism dept, hire me!;)
I recently was chatting with a taxi driver from Mozambique. He knew few bits about India and was asking me more about India and I was asking him about Mozambique as I had no clue how the country is. The pleasant articulate man had pearls of wisdom ''when you are outside your country, the country becomes your identity amongst all other things. People who had never been or does not know much about the country form opinions about the country based on your work and conversations with you. You are the true ambassador for your country!''. ''How true!'' I thought to myself. I don't really know what impression he had about India after the conversation but I had a very good impression about Mozambique!
(Some flight of ideas - Taxi reminded me of this awesome movie called Greenbook. Make sure you watch it. Ok back to the topic now!)
When you are outside your nation, for many, YOU represent the country. YOU are the nation! You are India for many! You are not a village, you are not a district, you are not a state, you are not north Indian or south Indian, or whatever in between! You are just an Indian and people often see INDIA through you! But for you, you are all that and much more when somebody calls you an Indian. Including those things that are Indian that you don't associate yourself with when in India because you are from a different region, state, culture or whatever. Again, THAT, is a very strange feeling!
A few days ago I was watching this series on Netflix called 'one strange rock' which shared perspectives of astronauts who saw the earth from a distance. An earth without any borders! An earth that was completely unaware of the fact that it has so many imaginary boundaries called nations within it! I was just wondering how would the astronauts feel if some aliens turned up and asked them ''Hey, where are you from?!''
2
3
4
5
अयं बन्धुरयंनेति गणना लघुचेतसाम्
उदारचरितानां तु वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम् ॥
‘ayam nijah paroveti ganana laghuchetasam
udaracharitanam tu vasudhaiva kutumbhakam’ | A Sanskrit verse from Hitopadesha
-translates to-
'This is my own and that a stranger’ – is the calculation of the narrow-mindedFor the magnanimous-hearts however, the entire earth is but a family’
6
‘யாதும் ஊரே; யாவரும் கேளிர்;
“Yathum Oore Yavarum Kelir”‘Every place is my home town; Everyone my kith and kin'
- A tamil poetry written about 2500 years ago by Kanian Poongundranar
Epilogue:
''Hey alien!, We are from earth''
''What earth?''
''You know the solar system with that sun and other fancy planets surrounding?''
''Eh..Where?''
''You know Milkyway?''
''Hmmm..i think I have heard about it, where exactly is it did you say?''
''Oops!''
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