Reading the Newspaper in the Houston public library somebody remarked ‘these……..Indians’. He happened to be reading the ‘Richard Gere’ kiss controversy. The words hit me hard. Immediately all my senses were alert. A pang of anxiety and anger struck me and to be honest I felt hurt. But as most of the timid people like me would agree to I chose to ignore the comment and walk past. But deep down somewhere the comment kept bothering my conscience.
Mark my words its not for the first time and I am not the only one who exhibits such symptoms.Infact each and every one who hails from the subcontinent suffers from this syndrome. It’s just that some of us choose to speak about it and others except it as a repercussion of staying in a foreign land.
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Every thing spoken, written or for that mater even mentioned about the country literally and metamorphically is our personal issue. As if somebody is talking about us. Negative or positive hardly makes the difference. The important thing is that it is about India. Be it a bollywood release, India’s devastating performance at world cup or who would be the next president. Each and every issue captivates our attention.
We love to celebrate all our festivals, eat all the fried snacks (considered unhealthy food in west), spices, pickles, papad and countless other delicacies. Believe it or not but almost all the Indians residing in US prefer home cooked Indian food to any other food .To this day an Indian woman no mater for how long she has resided in foreign land will happily say that her favorite attire is sari.
People spend almost their entire life in faraway lands but when ever one asks them about their home land there is sudden twinkle in their eyes. All their memories are fresh as if they are talking about something which happened just the day before. They meticulously mention all the details about the place so that on can have a crystal clear image of their native land. It may sound funny but all Indians can endlessly talk about India and every time they talk the excitement in their tone fills one with mixed emotions of happiness and sorrow .Its very nostalgic.
If one would summarize India is not merely a land mass; it is the legacy of rich golden heritage which flows in blood of an Indian .Truly a little India breaths in each and very Indian no matter where he stays. That I guess is the essence of being an Indian.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
"Teens and online chat - is it a good thing?
Everyday the cyberspace witnesses exchange of millions of messages, people participating in online chat groups newsgroups, surfing the World Wide Web and numerous other online activities. Teens are no exception to the phenomenon. For many of them the information highway is the most sought destination for friendship and relaxation.
The online world opens the door to freedom to chat and befriend anyone irrespective of race, nativity, age and sex.
A recent research in U.S shows that opposite to the popular belief that teens only use net for online chat they also use it for school assignments news hobbies health queries and lastly for entertainment.
But the picture is not as rosy as it looks. yes this package of electronic media also brings with it hidden hostilities .and these veiled perils keep surfacing now and then only to stun us and force us to introspect that ‘is online chat good’? After all who not heard about cyber bullying and pedophiles?
Well if we go by any of the popular census it’s evident that online chat is becoming a menace for the youngsters. Pew Internet and American Life Project confirms that 83%of U.S. teenagers are online at any time .in The cyber world too just like the non cyber world some people you encounter online might try to take advantage of you physically or financially. Anonymous chat room users interested in more than merely chatting ask teenagers for information about themselves ,their families or where they live-personal information that shouldn’t be given.
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Often they use these information’s to start illegal or indecent relationships or to hamper an individuals private or public life.
Thus the answer to the problem I believe is what measure one takes to protect oneself in an online chat room .How do you use your wit to avoid the pitfalls.Concluding it can be said that online chat is good provided one is aware of the traps and he/she uses his brain to keep clear of them. After all the motto is same cyber or the non cyber world don’t talk to strangers
The online world opens the door to freedom to chat and befriend anyone irrespective of race, nativity, age and sex.
A recent research in U.S shows that opposite to the popular belief that teens only use net for online chat they also use it for school assignments news hobbies health queries and lastly for entertainment.
But the picture is not as rosy as it looks. yes this package of electronic media also brings with it hidden hostilities .and these veiled perils keep surfacing now and then only to stun us and force us to introspect that ‘is online chat good’? After all who not heard about cyber bullying and pedophiles?
Well if we go by any of the popular census it’s evident that online chat is becoming a menace for the youngsters. Pew Internet and American Life Project confirms that 83%of U.S. teenagers are online at any time .in The cyber world too just like the non cyber world some people you encounter online might try to take advantage of you physically or financially. Anonymous chat room users interested in more than merely chatting ask teenagers for information about themselves ,their families or where they live-personal information that shouldn’t be given.
.
Often they use these information’s to start illegal or indecent relationships or to hamper an individuals private or public life.
Thus the answer to the problem I believe is what measure one takes to protect oneself in an online chat room .How do you use your wit to avoid the pitfalls.Concluding it can be said that online chat is good provided one is aware of the traps and he/she uses his brain to keep clear of them. After all the motto is same cyber or the non cyber world don’t talk to strangers
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Hindi and India
I am staying in U.K with my husband as he is working here.The week before last I met some of his friends.They had arranged a small party after the badminton match they played at the leisure centre.The topics at the party wavered from their clients to the net profit of their company to what is better chicken or paneer.All of a sudden somebody suggested the topic that; should Hindi be enforced to be learned by the Indians.For the first time in my entire life I witnessed so much of resentment against Hindi.Somebody even said that," I don't take Hindi as the language of India .I am a south Indian I know English I preserve my culture I help people as an when required to the best of my capacity and I don't think not knowing Hindi is a communication barrier for me so it implies that Hindi is not my cup of tea."I don't know weather he was right or wrong ,and I am strictly not contradicting anybody I am just trying to clear my concepts about the significance of Hindi as a language of today's India .
Hindi as far as my knowledge of history supports me originates from the word Hindustan.In ancient times it was referred to as "Jo boli hind ki sarzameen par boli jati hai".Considered as one of the richest literature's of the world it has writers like Premchand, poets like Chaturvedi and Dinker.No I am not trying to justify the language's grandeur what I am trying to do is just see it with a new light.
I am not against any regional language.What I want to say is that why can't Hindi be the uniforming language for the Indians ? Why today we are ready to accept English as the language to communicate through out India but to learn Hindi we say it should not be enforced?Don't you think that if all the states of India start talking in their own language what a pandemonium will it cause?Why is Hindi considered as a language of north India and not as the language of our country.Those citizens who think that they are preserving their regional culture and language and that is more than enough I would like to ask you a simple question if all the states of India start thinking in this way who will preserve the national language? So to conclude I would like to say that you must know your regional language but the nation is above the region so you must know the national language.Thats Hindi .My friends how long will you acknowledge a foreign language ,(English) as your language.Doesn't a prospering country like India with its rich culture and heritage deserve its own linguistic identity?
Hindi as far as my knowledge of history supports me originates from the word Hindustan.In ancient times it was referred to as "Jo boli hind ki sarzameen par boli jati hai".Considered as one of the richest literature's of the world it has writers like Premchand, poets like Chaturvedi and Dinker.No I am not trying to justify the language's grandeur what I am trying to do is just see it with a new light.
I am not against any regional language.What I want to say is that why can't Hindi be the uniforming language for the Indians ? Why today we are ready to accept English as the language to communicate through out India but to learn Hindi we say it should not be enforced?Don't you think that if all the states of India start talking in their own language what a pandemonium will it cause?Why is Hindi considered as a language of north India and not as the language of our country.Those citizens who think that they are preserving their regional culture and language and that is more than enough I would like to ask you a simple question if all the states of India start thinking in this way who will preserve the national language? So to conclude I would like to say that you must know your regional language but the nation is above the region so you must know the national language.Thats Hindi .My friends how long will you acknowledge a foreign language ,(English) as your language.Doesn't a prospering country like India with its rich culture and heritage deserve its own linguistic identity?
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