New Zealand: March 27, 2008 - "Which part of India are you from?" asked my fellow-student studying journalism who happens to be from New Zealand where I'm presently based. I replied that though born in Chennai and I had my bread and butter in Delhi.
We were in conversation while on a trip to local crematorium in Hamilton, New Zealand to get first hand-experience as a journalist of how rituals after a person passes away would be observed. But instead of having all her eagerness ahead of the trip, she was more excited in knowing our country asked where is "Bollywood city?"
I was shocked but after collecting my senses and gave answer to her intrigued question that there was no Bollywood city in India. I explained to him that there is a metropolitan city in India called Mumbai, which was formerly known as Bombay. This city is considered as India's commercial capital and is famous for all activities relating to film making and film stars, film studios, prop houses and extra actors, actresses and special sites for action films.
These activities for the last 5 and a half decade have formed a major group of films and film stars and related industry and is famous by the name of Bollywood. In other words Mumbai being a major hub for films and related activities thereto has given this city an international filmy name of Bollywood.
My fellow- student's excitement would not stop there and she continued "Where does Aishwarya Rai stay in India?" I replied that she stays in Mumbai before I could finish my sentence, another eager student pushed his own question "To whom she got married recently?" "Abhishek Bachchan, the son of famous actor Amitabh Bachchan"I replied.
"Does she stay with her in-laws?" was another question. Yes was my reply. All the seven-students joined who were travelling with me in the van joined in a chorus and asked "How a world beauty could be a daughter-in-law at home?"
By this time my anger, temper and impatience all had increased. But collecting all some energy left in me I said "India is a land of contrast and so Indians." All our actors and actress in films and super-stars in cricket become sons and daughters at home. Family to Indians is not an option but a compulsory was my reply.
Silence prevailed and so our conversations stopped till we reached the crematorium. But neither my fellow-students nor my two tutors, who accompanied us, would let my un-open.
While we were observing on crematorium functions and learning nitty-gritty, my tutor this time sneaked in with a question "What is sati?" I countered it by asking how she got the name. She replied that she got to know about it through her reading.
Now, in a definite position to reply I said "Sati is followed by wife of a person who had died and she got to join him in the woods when his body would be burnt." and I continued "Sati is banned from 1987 though we hear some marred incidents related every now and then."
Perhaps, this time to increase their curiosity I went ahead "In olden times when Polygamy was followed by Rajas, sati was followed by all of his wives and his concubines." They were all shell-shocked after hearing this. But all in their mind must be wondering on how a country that could produce world beauties one after another could have the practice of sati.
At the end of our trip and day I was wondering with all my fellow-students," How could India be defined? "Is it atomic weapon, or ahimsa? The country struggling against poverty, or world's largest middle-class society? Is it still simmering with communal tensions, or land of brother-hood and peace? Is it Bollywood or Satyajit Ray? Is it the handloom or the hyperlink?
People who live abroad me or like my fellow-students who had never been to country can guess what India is? The truth is that no single image can possibly build the picture of our country. Probably it's existence that has to be observed with evolution of man-kind.
Lastly, my fellow students chucked on how Indian Premier League and Indian Cricket League could poach cricketers of other countries like Shane Bond of New Zealand while there are many, many Indians who make their living abroad. Another questions and so another contradiction. But my answer would be on another day. (The writer is presently studying journalism course in New Zealand)
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