Tied down?

I don't know if it's just the desperation to go to familiar grounds, but I really have never felt so kindly towards my country as I do now. I remember distinctly as a kid, being enamoured with the West, with their achievements, their work ethics, the way their democracy worked. The politics, corruption and crime shamelessly flourishing in India didn't leave me with much adoration. I still loved my homeland, but much like one loves a cousin turned bad.

Words like 'heritage' and 'culture' to me were only exotic sounding baits, used by nouveau Gurus to entice westerners or Ekta Kapoor to script Tulsi's dialogues. It is surprising then that I sit today with my friend and discuss how this place is completely devoid of culture, in sharp contrast to India. Here you travel from one coast to another, covering 3 time zones, and the native people just about manage to change their slang a little!

India has some 29 States now and as you cross the border between any 2 of them, the language changes, the dressing changes, the food, music, style of living, least of all - the landscape, the soil, crop, staple diet, everything is new, different, interesting. Every place has a story and a different story to tell! That place is so alive, full of people, throbbing, pulsating, it has the energy and the conflict of a teenager. America is like this well oiled huge piece of machinery, a masterpiece of creation, a monument to the intellect and ard work of man. India is still a striving, stumbling individual.

But it is humane. And it is aware. Americans live like the rest of the world didn't exist, Chinese don't have any opinion what so ever on whether it exists or not. Indians however know, not only that it exists but also how to pull what strings, to make it go where they want!

I am now two sentences away from being labelled arrogant, yet again, so I guess that's about it for now.