HOW INDIAN AM I REALLY.. on Republic Day..

There has been a plethora of messages flooding my phone wishing me “Happy Republic Day” pretty much since I woke up this morning.. Every Hindi tv channel is telecasting an episode that contains a measure of patriotism and the radio channels are playing patriotic songs by various and sundry playback singers and composers.. All very nice and good to watch and listen to but it also set me thinking..

How Indian am I really? In terms of genes and heredity I am 100% “made in India” with both my parents 100% Indian as well.. I am marginally geographically dyslexic since I was born in Dishergarh West Bengal to a Gujarati Jain father and a Surti Rajput Gujarati mother.. After spending the first three years of my life in Durgapur, West Bengal I came to Mumbai, Maharashtra for a short while before my parents relocated to Hancock, New York and THAT was when I felt like I was very “different” for the first time!

On the surface I was as American as the next kid in my class.. but I struggled to understand and speak a different language at home (my mother tongue Gujarati.. At school I made peace with eating weird things like bologna sandwiches and at home I ate foods that were unpronounceable and equally alien to me and my palate! My father although very loving wanted to make sure that I grew up knowing I was INDIAN! A tough lesson to learn at 5 years old when no one could pronounce my name and insisted on calling me “the little Indian girl”.. and I HAD to learn ALL their names! Switching between languages at home became a game for me and I didn’t like losing so my verbal Gujarati became pretty good and my spoken English became very American! There were times and occasions when my mother had to ask me to repeat mysef a few times because I was completely “Yankee Doodle” with drawl and all..

We returned to Mumbai in 1972 just before my 9^th birthday and my Dad was offered a job up in Nabha, Punjab.. Mummy and I went up to what was a land of incredibly hospitable and warm people and 99% Sardar-occupied to see and experience it for ourselves.. After a house party where I was surrounded by little “surds and surdlets” who kept calling me “Gal sun” (instead of Pallavi as I mistakenly thought) and Mummy finally being served a whiskey (after asking FOUR times) we decided that living in Bombay was a more interesting option and returned home at the earliest!

Did I feel Indian then? Heck no! Getting admitted to Queen Mary School drummed it into me without a doubt.. I was admitted in July and had to learn Hindi and Gujarati (both spoken and written) and give the final exam in December if I wanted to be promoted to standard 5! I became “Indian” overnight with the languages.. the food.. learning to communicate with staff and nobody understanding my Yankee Doodle accent!

The years passed by and I grew to become totally “Indian” in spite of studying French and travelling abroad many times! The family intricacies of “kaka kaki mama masi etc.. were explained to me and also the ubiquitous usage of “uncle and aunty” to all other adults who were superior to me in age and henceforth must be respected as such! I integrated really well and did whatever I was told without question which lasted well through college!

Instead of traversing through the 20s to the 60s decadewise.. let me just say that today at 62+ I am completely Indian! I LOVE Indian textiles.. food.. hospitality.. music.. family values and culture.. What I do NOT like at all is the corruption that runs rampant through most channels in the country.. the commercialization of religion and education (am still an old fashioned idealist).. the filthy bathrooms that you can smell before you see them.. the fact that dowry still exists and lastly.. that we are still very much on the backfoot as far as retaliation to terror attacks is concerned!

I love travelling to different countries.. adore French perfume and am a diehard fan of Belgian soap.. I love the quality of rubber bands and safety pins they sell at Daiso and can only wear On Cloud shoes.. (That’s for medical and practical reasons).. I Just wish Indian manufacturers and retailers had higher standards of integrity and that in return for the insanely high taxes we pay.. we had better roads and infrastructure! Am grateful for the excellent medical care we have here but wish it was more affordable and available to the general population..

On Republic Day 2026, I am proud to say I am Indian but as with all things these days.. conditions apply! Let’s all vow to be more responsible citizens and caring human beings with gratitude.. kindness.. compassion and karuna towards those less fortunate!

As always, thank you so much for reading and do remember to share your name at the beginning or end of your comment (should you choose to write one)!

Happy Republic Day!