08.23.07
At a bar.
So do you have to crawl over poor people to get to a bar in India?
No we have roads over which cars and other means of transport can run. Actually we have better connectivity through the public transport system in my city, than is existent in Philadelphia.
How come you drink alcohol?
It is a personal choice.
Women in India are allowed to make a choice?
I have been taught to think for myself. if I can think I can make a choice.
Don’t Indian women marry early? How come you are single and at a bar?
Indian women also study and concentrate on careers and wait to meet the right person. I am at a bar because you invited me here.
Aren’t your parents worried sick about you? You are all by yourself in a far off land? Do they worry what you might be up to?
They hope I am alright and happy. Phone calls keep us connected. They don’t really sound worried.
So if I came to India would I be robbed off my money?
If you behave like a silly American tourist I guess you would. It is always helpful to be an educated tourist no matter what country you visit.
Do people take offence if you don’t haggle?
Would people take offence if you gave them more money?
I am worried about getting AIDS in India?
Probability of you getting AIDS by just walking in India is slightly lower than you visiting Mars in this lifetime.
So what do you young people do in India?
Pretty much what most young people do anywhere in the world. Eat sleep drink have sex and make unwanted babies.
I always had this feeling that India is a poor, dirty, poverty stricken country.
It is. What you talk of is the projection of India in the media. I can stereotype a lot of countries to be all about war and oil. Is that all those countries are all about? Or do you think there could be more to them than that?
Hell I don’t identify with it.
Exactly a country is made up of a lot of factions. It depends on you what you decide to look at.
I’d like to visit India.
Well now you have a friend there. I’ll make sure you don’t get robbed though I doubt you could stop being a silly American tourist.
p.s: If the 4 bottles of beer has gone down well with pierogies, it might be a bad idea to top that off with shots of vodka no matter how bad you think the ongoing conversation demands it. Does leave you with a head ache next morning.
Mowgli said,
August 23, 2007 at 12:00 pm
Very smart & witty.
I might have punched that person the moment I heard the first question.
You did a good job.:)
Sometimes Saintly Nick said,
August 23, 2007 at 12:10 pm
Excellent! You did a marvelous job of correcting some misconceptions about India and Indian culture.
Pratik said,
August 23, 2007 at 5:36 pm
Some more dimwit comments I have heard…
Typical American: You speak excellent English!
Me: Well, English is the primary medium of instruction in most coveted urban schools in India.
Me, deep inside: You don’t exactly speak a Native Indian dialect, do you?
Typical American: So do Indians and Pakistanis always fight each other?
Me: That’s what the media would like the world to think, but Indians and Pakistani masses in general are more educated and cultured compared to the media and politicians
Me, deep inside: I had heard that Blondes are the butt of most jokes in America on account of their stupidity. But you are not even Blonde, you must be American!
Duhita said,
August 23, 2007 at 11:18 pm
Do they even know what happens outside the US of A. Do they even know there is life other than US of A?!!!! Excellent job:)
Little Miss Muffet said,
August 24, 2007 at 1:20 am
ooh i so loved that..I narrated this to The Better Half and i was like- yay, EU is my kind of feminist..hehehe…incidentally, I was recently asked by an ABCD who has visited India twice in 26 years if people in India speak English and who expressed surprise that I spoke it well..
Rohit said,
August 24, 2007 at 4:08 am
I died laughing when the American asked you about getting AIDS in India. Seriously, whats with these guys? Always the same thing. But man, did you take every question really well
vishwa said,
August 24, 2007 at 5:27 am
Mmmm, delicious and witty replies. Good one!
educatedunemployed said,
August 24, 2007 at 8:31 am
Mowgli:
You would have wanted to, but I am sure your civility would have taken over.
Nick:
That is what it was all about. Misconceptions. To give my company credit, they did listen to what I had to say and we did have a marvellous evening.
Pratik:
This isn’t about generalisations. This is about being amused by ignorance, which gets to me.
Duhita:
While I agree I am not a big fan of American media, but people are educated and they are aware of the world outside them. How ever they do get fed very little information and like most people are blissful in their ignorance.
LMM:
Yeah I get that about my language skills too. It is funny. But I am not sure I am a feminist.
Rohit:
If you heard the news here or the radio that question is pretty legitimate, what is hilarious is that inspite of knowing how AIDS is transmitted I was being asked that question. Ignorance is what it is.
Vishwa:
Thank you. How are you? and the baby?
Jolvin said,
August 24, 2007 at 1:05 pm
Just in case I haven’t mentioned this earlier - I have 2 elephants in my backyard, I do go to work on my tiger, and oh yes…I actually have 4 hands, but you have to believe to see them…
…jeez where did you get this high DQ being.
DQ = Doofus, Dork, Dimwit - Quotient
nisha said,
August 24, 2007 at 4:08 pm
nicely written…reminds me of the recent hindi flick namaste london…india - a land of snake charmers!
we need to correct loadsssssssssss i guess
Abaniko said,
August 25, 2007 at 10:48 am
I think you were talking to a stupid person. Sorry about that. You were just too kind to that dimwit. Sorry again.
What comes to mind when I hear “India” is “rich culture.” I want to visit the place one of these days. Cheers!
Sangeeta said,
August 25, 2007 at 4:59 pm
lol some ppl are just so ignorant - or maybe that’s the perception i would have seen it as … thank god you’ve got some patience to correct them!
educatedunemployed said,
August 26, 2007 at 8:17 am
Jolvin:
Ha ha! I like the play of words.
Nisha:
We need to realise what projections we make of ourselves.
Abaniko:
No need for apologies. I was talking to a very ignorant person indeed.If you need to know anything so you can plan your trip to India, please feel free to ask.
Sangeeta:
Ignorance it was.
MsCutePants said,
August 26, 2007 at 11:41 pm
I get the YOU GREW UP IN INDIA? BUT YOUR ENGLISH IS SO GOOD!
Oh this has started to ANNOY the HELL out of me. All I do now is give them that evil look like as tho they are stupid & ignorant (which sometimes scares them) & then respond. “YES, I LEARNED MY ENGLISH IN INDIA, where kids are expected to know their ABC’s rigth when they start Kindergarten, unlike North America where all they do is ART projects till Grade 2!”
People have NO idea how RIGOROUS the Indian curriculum is & that Indians have been speaking English since the Brits stepped foot in India.
THE END!
educatedunemployed said,
August 27, 2007 at 1:18 am
MsCutePants:
We are a better lot than them! Cheers to that.
Greensatya said,
August 27, 2007 at 7:59 am
Good ripostes.
Amazing that even these days when everyone knows everything about other countries, few people are so ignorant.
!
educatedunemployed said,
August 27, 2007 at 9:27 am
Satya:
Every one cannot know everything. That is being very positively presumptuous don’t you think?
Little Miss Muffet said,
September 3, 2007 at 9:36 pm
I guess it depends on how we define “a feminist”
I’m pretty sure all of us have a totally unique view of that word.