Does Brand India still need the white man’s blessing?
by Anand Halve
Quote ka vote:
The Red Indian Chief stared at the government official and said, “When white man find land, Indians running it. No taxes, no debt, plenty buffalo, plenty beaver, clean water; women did all the work, medicine man free. Indian man spend all day hunting and fishing; all night having sex.”
Then the chief leaned back and smiled. “Only white man dumb enough to think he can improve system like that.”
In spite of all the hoopla about India’s place under the global sun, I often feel that India acts like the poor boy from the village who has been taken to the party in the 5-star hotel by his rich, successful ‘foreign-returned’ city cousin. The cousin has then gone off to meet someone across the room, and India is standing next to the bar, sipping the single malt, but not quite sure it deserves to be here.
We still seem to seek affirmation by the white man to confirm to ourselves that we really belong under the crystal chandelier!
Witness the orgy of self-congratulations following the Oscar wins for ‘Slumdog millionaire’. For one, it is a British, not an Indian film. For another, there were 10 people named for the eight awards, of which only three are Indians. So how has it become the final confirmation that India’s film industry has been accepted by the world?
But we are like that only. Like an amoeba, we want to make everything part of ourselves.
M.Night Shyamalan has no particular desire to be called ‘Indian’ but we will drag him kicking and screaming, into our collective brotherly arms.
Sunita Williams had an even more tenuous link to India but at the slightest reason, sundry folk started ‘havans’ and other acts of petitioning the Gods on her behalf in India.
Indra Nooyi became head of Pepsi and the entire business journalism community almost climbed on to the podium with her.
Obama didn’t call our PM the moment he finished his acceptance speech, and we were in the state of feared rejection, until he did.
My question to the noble reader: Can we really say we have become independent, self-confident adults as long as we continue to want our NRI aunt to pat us on the head and say “Good boy”?
February 27th, 2009 at 8:10 am
I loved you blog Anand. I have been long gone from the world of advertising and branding, but I totally share your sentiments on Slumdog. I felt the exact same thing when I saw the Oscars. A Brit being a mesiah by sharing the stage with a bunch of poor brown people. I feel we need to stop seeking approval from the West for everything we do.
March 8th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
Interesting post…loved it…I love your comments on Slumdog…but I would call it a Indo-British venture…:)
March 22nd, 2009 at 11:34 am
Sir,
I agree with you on every aspect mentioned, especially about our tendency to lap everything successful and somehow make an Indian connection. We like Nokia, had been in the business of “Connecting people”….
“Failure is an orphan, and success has many parents”. Slumdog was a good movie, but effort to make it Indian, was rather cheap.
But, I would disagree with you, on one point. Our tendency had not been jus because of the lust to be seen as part of the West. It has been rooted because of our insecurity and also the feeling of deprivation. We think of ourselves to be great achievers. Indeed we are, we could make it here from nothing that we had after the British plunder. But even now, we are jus the peons of the MNC’s , doing their back office, oursourced business, in a plush office. This gives us the false feeling of having arrived. They are no longer in our coutry to rule, but they hire n fire us, through contracts or telephones. We are still slaves, in the virtually connected world.
The world sees us with the same mockery, as we see Bangladesh….don’t know whether the West, would ever realise, that Bangladesh is not Indian territory.
I have another take on the slumdog movie. Sir, do u ever believe that a film worth an Oscar nomination had never been made in India, besides Lagaan and Mother India? The slumdog, if made in India, would not even have been featured as an ART film, an malnutritioned cousin of the commercial made-for-NRI bollywood flick. Had slumdog been made by some director, i would have been considered in the same genre as a RG Varma film. It would have breathed its last in some B or C class Indian theatre. Now, David Boyle is not an India, and is fair skinned, so he seems competent enough for an Oscar….the discrimination exists from outside, sir. The majority of us are jus confused on the very status that we exhibit to the outside world. Or else, why would JLR (jaguar-land rover), even when it was bleeding try to avoid Tata during the initial phase, or why would Arcelor try to stub out the Mittal offer ? Even the most successful of them are seen as part of the “dark” world ( generalising the term Adiga used for Bihar - The White Tiger), so how would the ordinary people not feel insecure ? They jus look for a pat and also for the blessings of their NRI aunts, becos to them it pacifies them and momentarily makes them very much appreciated…
I have earnestly listed my opinion, incase of any pitfalls, do point out to me. Expecting your reply.
Regards,
Manu Mohan Das
February 6th, 2010 at 3:51 pm
dear anand,
remember me - BKS Textiles wanting to evolve into De Neer Textiles - 2008 ? was wandering by and chanced upon chlogs, great pieces here esp all of yours with dollops of wit and sarcasm and humour. you shud be writing a book. will make great enlightening reading.
best wishes
sashi menon
April 30th, 2010 at 3:47 am
Incredible post,I just subscribed to your rss.