Are we Indians liability to our ex-countrymen outside India, eh???

Note: Purely my thoughts, my anxieties.. Please read at your own risk!

I still remember the sarcastic expression that I had made when one of my family friends had stayed with some unknown Indian family during their first visit to states back in 1998. I clearly remember the amount of jokes that I had cracked up with an aunt about this so called phenomenon of 'fellow Indians outside India are as good as family'. It was weird that how in US, UK, Canada, Australia...etc. Hindi could make people so mushy that they would actually go out of the way to help strangers. Honestly, I never believed in this then I just thought it was just another cheap trick to save money. I mean how is it possible that in this selfish world people would do such nice things without any self interest? who's got the time and energy to do so? It's not those few altruistic ones I am referring here, I am referring to the major chunk of Indians settled outside India!

In 2007, I left home for the fist time and went to Bangalore for my first job. In Bangalore, most of the  communications were in English and sometimes I used to get lucky with a four liner banter in Hindi. Marathi - my mother tongue, my most favorite language on the face of Earth seemed extinct to me! One fine evening when I was window shopping at Shopper's Stop, suddenly I had heard familiar words amongst mixture of Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam. No offence meant to any language but they all seemed same to my ears except change in pitch and tone. I saw an elderly couple conversing in Marathi. I approached them, introduced myself and started chatting with them. I had no shame in following them till their car, just for the sake of some conversation in Marathi. Unknowingly I had  followed them everywhere in the mall, I also carried their bags and helped them pick some stuff. The joy that I had experienced then I can never express in words ever. Interestingly I was in India, my family was just a call away and I was in decent circumstances still it was such a big deal for me! Ever since then I have become a lot more sensitive to such issues. This experience has evoked deep pride and great sense of belonging in me about my state, my country.

Here I am, again on set of leaving my home, my state and most importantly my country. I know I will not only long for Marathi but also for Hindi, there. I know that any Indian face will put a smile on my face. I will need moral support from my fellow countrymen, who are now better known as NRIs in swadesh. Will they be courteous enough to return my smile, a greeting, few kind words may be? Based on all the horror stories from many people (again no offences meant, these are just the things bothering me night and day) I am harassed by these questions for which I have no answers at least sitting here in India:

Are we Indians really bad at keeping in touch, especially with our schools, colleges and ex employers?
Are we really not interested in being referred to help the newcomers from Swadesh?
Do we expect every new entrant to seek help for employment? Is that the reason why we want to maintain safe distance from them?
Do we really see our fellow countrymen as a potential threat to our existence in that country?
Is guiding someone new is so much pain that we keep shying away?
Have we westernized ourselves so much that the Indian values have evaporated with our Indian DNA?
Do we laugh at the misery of a fellow countrymen in society?
Are our feelings dead along with our accent?

I don't know the answers to any of these questions, I also don' know how true/relevant are they. All I know is that if I am able to pursue  my current dreams. My answer to all these questions will be a big NO. I don't know the scale and the magnitude but I will always be there for my countrymen, no matter what! I am born Indian, and I shall stay one till my last breath!

''Garvach naahi tar Maaj aahe mala Marathi aslyacha!''


Image courtesy: Google images
Disclaimer: No offences meant to any particular person or community, these are the questions that have turned me insomniac for past few days!