Many years back an overseas friend told me that what struck him in India was the lack of overseas brands at airports, railways stations, street... India had cafes' soaps, detergents, shampoos, refrigerator etc.... but most of them were Indian brands... This he said was unlike any other place that he had visited, where American brands were prominent. Since my life ran parallel with the Licence Permit Raj, I felt proud at the observation. But that was then.... Now American brands are everywhere, afterall we are strategic partners which means differnt things to Kapil Sibal, Sitaram Yechury, Pranab Mukherjee, George Bush and Strobe Talbott... never mind. But the Americanisation of India is happening quietly but most certainly. Our business leaders who till the 1990s went to UK to watch wimbledon and strike business partnership have forgotten London and are flying off to Connecticut, Texas, Seattle and California. Ratan Tata, Anand Mahindra, Rahul Bajaj and Jamshed Godrej, Gurcharan Das. Asim Ghosh all US educated CEOs of the older generation are trying to keep pace with the much younger harvard and wharton returned CEOs in keeping up ties with US. Our youngsters, especially of the BPO and software industry variety are geographically separeated Americans [Gurgaon and Bangalore can be the 51st and 52nd states of the Union including the wild west spirit]. Our babies are brought up on a strong does of barbie and American cartoons. Our elders too are getting exposed to small town US through their migrant children mostly as baby sitters... We are all exposed and there is no escape.
Yet, we are fiercely Indian and would baulk at the thought of turning into Americans. How long can this process go on till we can definitely say that India as a nation has become Americanised? There is no definite answer: perhaps if the nuclear deal is signed; perhaps we start making films only for our brothers and sisters in the US, perhaphs when all the fortune 500 companies have back offices in India; or perhaps when there is a McDonald in Purnea[my place of birth?
So far as I am concerned, we have already become Americans as a nation in the last fortnight or so. This has happened with the launch of IPL or Indian Premium League. Please do not laugh.... We had taken the game of cricket from our rulers and turned it into our own and now we have given it away to our newly made American friends. I contend that IPL has very little to do with cricket so please do not spend time discussing whether 20 overs is good or not. It is just a mixture or fusion of Baseball and American Football adapted to Indian conditions including the cheerleaders, the dress, the agression, the money and the teamowners.. There is very little of cricket in it.
We have finally beocme Americans... Mr Yechury you do not stand a chance here.....
Cheers to the Cheerleaders:)
Yet, we are fiercely Indian and would baulk at the thought of turning into Americans. How long can this process go on till we can definitely say that India as a nation has become Americanised? There is no definite answer: perhaps if the nuclear deal is signed; perhaps we start making films only for our brothers and sisters in the US, perhaphs when all the fortune 500 companies have back offices in India; or perhaps when there is a McDonald in Purnea[my place of birth?
So far as I am concerned, we have already become Americans as a nation in the last fortnight or so. This has happened with the launch of IPL or Indian Premium League. Please do not laugh.... We had taken the game of cricket from our rulers and turned it into our own and now we have given it away to our newly made American friends. I contend that IPL has very little to do with cricket so please do not spend time discussing whether 20 overs is good or not. It is just a mixture or fusion of Baseball and American Football adapted to Indian conditions including the cheerleaders, the dress, the agression, the money and the teamowners.. There is very little of cricket in it.
We have finally beocme Americans... Mr Yechury you do not stand a chance here.....
Cheers to the Cheerleaders:)
