If I haven't already mentioned it, I like to surf orkut and go through random people's profiles. I normally start out from a known person's page and a scrap here a profile there will catch my eye and before I know it il be going through strangers profiles.
Its quite interestin and has kept me entertained for many a time especially during office hours.
Anycase, in all these surfing trips and looking at people's albums I always note that when some Indians go abroad (especially to US) they almost always put up snaps of them visiting popular tourist hotspots. "Me with Lady Liberty", "Grand Majestic Canyon", "Pimpin Las Vegas" (??!!??), "Dancing with the stars in Hollywood", "All golden at SFO" are some of the CORNYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY titles I have had the misfortune of reading...
My whole deal is how come the same ppl who have lived all their lives in India never put up photos of them visitin touristy places here. It would be nice to see pics like "Wahh!! Taj Mahal", "Kanyas at Kanyakumari", "Pimpin in Ranganathan Street (which makes more sense considerin all the men on ranganathan street are pimps and SOBs), "Bhangra in Agra" , or some equally cheesy titles (Sorry - Im not too good at comin up with titles).
Also, its ridiculous when all these US returns talk abt "grocery shoppin" and doin "laundry" like its some big exciting event. My very close friend who just recently went to US to study sent me this huge ass mail abt how she has to do grocery shoppin and laundry every weekend...Im like...dude....I dont tell u everytime I go to Maami Kadai or Foodworld and give 3 pants and 2 shirts to dhobi..why the fuck are u tellin me all of this...
My cousin who's lived her entire life there tells me there's a term for Indians who come to US to study or work. They are called FOBs. (Fresh off the Boat). And while I hate her for sayin it...in a way I guess you can't really blame her!!
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
16 comments:
Yep about the Okrut-surfin thingy, I think you have mentioned it earlier...yep it's interesting n good time pass while at work :P. He he he I do second the all that you said about how most not all of our desi's behave once in the US - weird!
:D lol...nice post!! Totally second ur thoughts here. But u have to appreciate these FOBs -after all it actually takes one guts to make an ass of him-/her-self!
interesting thoughts!
BTW FOBs could be any recent immigrant, not necessarily an Indian newcomer. More specific to Indians is the acronym ABCD or the extended form ABCDEFG.
Oddly enough I occasionally find myself surfing strange profiles and noting likewise..the fascination with tourist attractions and self portraits next to such.
As an ex-FOB person (meaning no longer fresh), I roamed thru parts of India and what I found odd was that things that were hundreds of times more impressive than sights seen in the US, are hardly known outside of India..maybe more people should follow your advise and pose next to temples in Madurai and waves in Kovalam etc.
Give me a cold bottle of beer and a quite place to read, and Im set.
@ posie - weird it sure is....wonder if il ever get like that if ever i go abroad! :)
@nithya - thanks a lot....not only should be appreciate them for their guts...but also..if it weren't for them we would have no one to laugh at ;)
@bk - thanks...know wat ABCD (more so since there was a crappy movie with the same name)..not quite sure wat ABCDEFG is though! totally hear u on the impressive sights in India. Was in Kerala last week...wat a beautifuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuul place.... :)
EFG = emigrated from Gujurat.
Since Im malu I accept your kind compliments about Kerala.
Quite stunning if I do say so myself!
But then again Im partial to the south so its all good down there!
@bk - emigrated from Gujarat!!! hahaha..thats hilarious...though I was under the impression that most are golts there :)
yupp..kerala rocks...went to poovar on a 4 day break there...serene!!!!
You know Nithya and KK? Bloody hell. Small world.
As someone who has just returned from the US (ahem ahem), I can honestly say that I tried to stay away from typical touristy venues like Liberty. However, I found myself dragged to Times Square and through Central Park by my brother who insisted I had to see the sights. TBH, it was nice. One thing has changed, however- in conversation nowadays, I find myself saying things like " When I flew in from New York..." and "I'm sorry, I don't understand your accent". This usually earns me some pretty dirty looks. I wonder why.
Good observation btw. I find most Indians have not really travelled that much within India. This is changing nowadays.
hmm..never knew u blogged as well. Nice title to your blogs, if only someone paid you a penny for all your thoughts, guess I'll have the richest friend in the world ;)
@ashwin - show off!!! :) so how was US???u went on work or "pleasure" ;)
@siva - thanks macha...i think u should start with the pennys :)
:) talking of orkut, what i find more hilarious are the ones who 'want to make friendships'. LOL. Man!
vinni.co.in
hi,
Discovered your blog from the Land of Wimp. Interesting thoughts/posts, candid narration and reminiscent of RK Narayanan's observation of Indian life. It's been a longtime since i have read daily crap narrated in an interesting down to life manner and in a language that is not at times digestable!
And a note on India part: We rarely admire what we have or gifted with.
In my case, I am stuck in the ME, and if someone lands up here I would end up taking them to countless malls only. There is nothing apart from mad made structures!! Where as in India there are many natural and cultural wonders to witness.
And Taj Mahal being identified as a national symbol... i dont agree with it. There are far greater architectural splendor in South India which have been ignored like the Tanjore Temple whose constructions was an engineering marvel. Would recommend to watch the Temples of South India... if u haven't u can chk on google videos. Amazing piece of work, a real eye opener.
I am now a regular to your blog after first bumping into it from one of my friend's blog. You sure got some talent and great sense of humor!
Anyways, on one of these days when I have nothing else to do I started reading your old posts and for some reason I felt like commenting on this particular post. Probably it rubbed this FOB(in US for 5 yrs, not sure if I qualify as FOB but some damn ABCDs still give me that demeaning look) the wrong way a bit. I felt I have to try to give the other side of the story. Many people come to US come for their Master's when they are around 21 years of age. This is probably the first time they are living independently and start earning some money through scholarships from school. Money helps satiate their desire to travel places and and picture themselves using digital cameras which they can afford to buy now. Social networking sites like Orkut make it easy for them to upload their pics and show them to their friends and family. That is all that has to be read into their intentions. It is not that they are not proud of Indian tourist attractions. It is just that most people in India never had a chance to visit major attractions because of lack of time, money(admit fast transport and good hotel acc is costly in India) or other circumstances. I am sure there is a huge percentage of foreign travelers who come to India to visit mainly because of the wonderful stories the FOBs tell them about India. As for the titles for pics, I am sure they were just bringing out their funny or (not so)creative side. Not everyone is as talented as you are!
BTW, Instead of giving your clothes to dhobi for laundry try taking your two weeks of clothes to somewhat far off washer/dryer and try folding them as neatly as the dhobi. I am sure you would appreciate why your friend is talking about it.
@myself - iv been to dubai recently and while i agree wit u that there is nothin else to see apart from malls (though i aint complainin)..u have to admire the fact that they've made a world class city out a friggin dessert!!!!
@anon - i hear u and i hope my post didnt come across as being judgemental...it wasnt intended to be...
Post a Comment