Think
about who 'YOU' are for a moment ... Mahen Rathi
Most of us left the Indian
shores to come here. We have bid our farewells with teary eyes to our
mothers. We hugged our fathers and left without turning back. We
silently took leave from that girl next door peeping from behind the
curtain. We all came here, some long time back and some recently. We all
were alone in the beginning. We missed our mothers cooking. We missed
the idle chats on the roadside. We missed those days when we gather with
friends at a tea stall and order tea with samosas. We missed that girl,
whom we used to see daily in the bus, who may have smiled at us, who may
even have talked to us in that angelic voice, if only we had the courage
to talk to from across the bus. Most of us grew out of it.
We all made new friends. We
all clung to each other. We watched countless movies. We even learnt to
cook and throw potluck parties where we always played Antakshari. We
confess that we even smiled at those beautiful overseasn girls across the
street.
We all took trips to India;
some annually, some less frequently. We all tracked the "sale" events at
Sears and Kmart. We all went to Indian Grocery Stores, and bought Rice
and Roots. Most of us got married. We, went back home, searching for the
love of a good woman-some found it in the old acquaintances from across
the bus-stands, some found it in their parent's choice, Some of us took
a gamble and married the one looking closest to Aishwarya
Rai.
Now what do we do? We all
work in software, We go to the local temple to socialize, we attend
movie screenings, and argue countless times that Honda Accord is better
than Toyota Camry or vice versa.
At times, late night before
falling asleep we switch on the stereo and listen to that old Hindi
melody which makes us remember the land that was ours. We recall the
green grass, the muddy roads, the wet monsoons, and the pretty girls
that we never talked to. We hear the words speaking to us from across
the oceans.
"Yes, we are Indians in
overseas ".
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