Incredibly fake!

Playboy, ‘think’ before you act – Topless cabaret – Fantasy!!! Sizzling playgirls, the best rated show in the city – ‘Love’, come and experience the phenomenal beauty of the stage show -  Absolutely ’80, rock the floor – The sound and light show – ‘Menopause’ (different from the Indian menwhopause), truly musical – The strip place – Try your luck at the MGM casino…

Welcome to THE VEGAS babe – the city of sex, booze and hell lot of fun!

Well, these were the first things that I noticed as soon as I stepped out of the hotel room. Yeah, it was a totally new experience for me. And right at the start, I had made my intentions of settling in the USA very clear to my parents.

We had arrived at around 5 in the evening in the city. So, the first place of attraction was the grand floor laid down with beautiful mosaic. Then there was a botanical garden with an amazing variety of flowers followed by the musical fountains. Then there was the largest cluster of hand blown coloured glasses on the ceiling of one of the most expensive and busiest hotels of the world. The chocolate fountain was a major place of attraction; it had 21000 pounds of chocolate flowing in it – both white and brown. And then it was the Fremount street, one of the most desired destinations of the vegas! The lane was full of limousines huddled together. There were people, everywhere and all over the place. There was not single place to step as the rock show was going on. Every single person seemed to enjoy life one’s own way with a bottle of chilled beer or a glass of champagne in one’s hand. They all were dancing to the tune. It was a nice experience and I was happy to the core. The life in the vegas was fascinating for me. I wanted to be with them and one of them. Cleary this meant something different. It was time for the day to get back to the hotel.

I hopped in happily into the room and switched on my i-pod. And ‘aerosmith’ played ‘the taste of India’. It was then when the ‘expected happened’. It brought me back to my own country – the pot of spices, forests, traditions and gods. I closed my eyes and visualised myself standing in front of a temple in one of the inaccessible villages of the ‘majestic Himalayas’. The sweet aroma of the incense sticks and the flowers seemed to get inside me. The holy prayers of the priest were so calm amidst the innumerable pine and oak trees standing high with pride, but no arrogance. Suddenly a shriek made me open my eyes and rush to the balcony. Oh! Somebody had won the gambling in the hotel casino and was happy for he/she had won something around US $ 1,25,600.

I looked at the room for the first time. It was shaped like a pyramid. I suddenly suffered from claustrophobia. I again put on my headphones and closed my eyes. I was back again there, where I was minutes before – the Himalayas. Then suddenly, M.S. Subbalakshmi began to sing her famous venkateshwara song and the temples of the madurai began to form a self portrait before my eyes. Something was definitely wrong, I hurriedly opened my eyes, feeling uneasy. Yes! There had been a disaster; I was not at the place where I was supposed to be – India! I suddenly started to miss it, right at the third day of the voyage. I wanted to go back the very moment, but that was not an easy task – 18 hours made a big difference!

Well, this is not my story, it happens with most of us. But the outcome is always a cake walk. This feeling persists for some time and then vanishes into the dazzle of the foreign city. I met many Indians today in the Vegas who had information about every nook and corner of the city, various landmarks and to add more, they even knew the tariffs of the various hotels (lets not forget the strip clubs!!). These people were mostly from the big Indian cities – Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Madras. Its good that they had so much information about the vegas, and I see no flaw in it. Its always good to have information about the world, its history and geography. But on what cost? Co-incidentally, the topic of Indian tourism sprouted up all by itself and these people didn’t even know the name of the river Narmada, the aravali mountain ranges, leh and many more things. No man! This is not done. India is not a no man’s land. You need to pay respect to India. It means a lot to me and it should mean the same to you too!

Most of the people in India complete their +2 level and earn a normal degree. They then immediately appear in some exams and then their struggle for the green card begins. Soon after they get it, they leave there old parents in some old age homes in India and leave them to decay on their own. They just get stirred up with some unknown passion. They try to imitate and one day or the other they become – the fake Americans. They celebrate some Indian festivals once in a year to show their negligible patriotic feeling and talk high about India.

Dude! How on earth can you be such an asshole. This guy talked on and on about some of the corrupt politicians for they were his idols. He wanted to be like them. True! The followers of the swiss bank and the bank of Malaysia. He had absolutely no idea of what India is all about inspite of having spent his 20 precious years in this country. He seemed a typical result of a ‘failed experiment’ to me.

And these were his words – Look! It is a tradition in my family to study abroad and settle here. You know, US is fun! I love to dance and rock the night. It is clean and it has no beggars and lechers like India. India is a poor country you know. I don’t have any future there. India is never going to develop or make progress.

This shit head should be tied to a pole upside down and given a dose of enema! Not only him, there are so many people who ‘think’ like this. Tell me one thing, who are you to tell all this dirty stuff about India? Have you ever visited any beautiful place in there? There are many and do you even know about the beauty of the Himalayas, the Nilgiris and the gangetic plains? Who are you to say that India won’t progress? Is India a human being so that he/she can walk the path of success and uplift itself?

You are not a man for you have no love for your own country. You should be kicked out of the nation real hard and sent to the Bermuda triangle.

People! do try to think about it. Why do you try to escape the reality of India rather than face it? A single man is enough to stir up the passions of millions of people and bring about change. Gandhiji did that, why can’t you? Such a small country and such a huge population – how can the country be managed if all of us flee to the US or any other country to pursue our selfish desires? How can it be managed if we merely live our life here selfishly and satisfied? It can’t be done ever without your support. You talk of India – 2020, and try to say great things about the progress. Do you really think this can happen with such a high rate of current brain drain? Stop yourselves and others from leaving the country. You all are able and drenched in resourceful waters.

It is not only a religion hub, but much more! It is slowly growing up with new technology. Its an irony that an Indian in some part of the world discovers or invents something and India has to buy that technology. But still, it is trying to make up. There are some real people who have either come back to India or didn’t leave the place for they had something in store regarding the future of the nation. There are many who have highly evolved technical brains and talk about new stuff which is still untouched. 

Wake up one morning and go to some rural corner of the city or some secluded street. You’ll be able to see the real faces – malnourished and dry but still with the happy smiles. There are so many children on the streets whose future would never be attended. There are so many of them whose life is uncertain. There are so many of them – they need your support and care. Just giving them fake assurances and spending time with them would do no good. If you really want to do something good, gift them their future. Yes, they will make up the future population of the country for they have got no place to go and then you would have got no choice but to curse yourself for only you would had let this happen without paying attention to them.

Yes, they are the real face of India who would live here till they die. They are helpless and poor. If you want India to progress, then you need to actually change the face of India by helping these lives. Bring back the spirit of HOP! And work together towards the making of India 2.0

Well, one thing. I really can’t express what I really want you to see and feel. These words act as a mere medium to open up the chain of thoughts. As for me, I promise to never leave India and I’ll put in my best for bringing about the change, and yes I will. If the ‘yes we can’ speech by Obama changed the USA so much, why can’t a ‘yes I can’ resolution to myself do the same? Hell yeah! We’ll do it.

Come on folks, return back to the country. This is the time you can regain your lost respect and patriotism. Your country needs you. India can not take even a single step further without all your support. I am here and will always be, but I am not that strong to remove the big boulder in the path to glory. I need your hands and voices together to push that obstacle away. Let’s sing the tune of rising India. Let’s do it. I am there right beside the boulder waiting for you. Are you there yet?

And go grab a copy of the ‘Traveller’s magazine’ from your nearest shop – India is not ugly, it is beautiful. You just need to spend some time out of the lap of luxury, in the lap of nature. Try it once and your song of life would be changed. Experience the real taste back in India, for this is INCREDIBLE INDIA. I love this place and I proudly say it! Do you? If yes, then come on, join this self proclaimed resolution and a war with the dark side of self. Work individually but together to make this face of India smile a smile that is ‘one in a million’. :-)