De-coding the Indian in London

I am back in London this week for some meetings: there is also much work to be done at the London School of Economics but the real story is the one about the arrived Indian if there is any such thing possible.

Why is it that all the stories about Indians in London always revolve around their wealth? What makes the Indian London so proud of the monies he may have made than any other contribution? What is wrong with our DNA that leaves wealth at the heart of our identity? There are innumerable times when some reasonably mature Indians have come up to me (yes of all people) and told me how well they are doing. A pugnaciously ugly billionaire met me once to tell me all the properties he owns but how is heart in his charity and all he gave at one very important charity targeted for India was a paltry £ 5000. These people have a sense of entitlement: sometimes this gets them to the right places or so what believe the right place to be. But England is not America. You may buy your way to the next Palace Reception but the Queen will still not sup with you. And yet again, is this what you wish your identity to be? The same has begun to happen with the travelling Indian: the dolt who doesn't live in London but will travel for summer to. A London that centres around Mayfair and even more so around the kitchens of Indians that have now dotted Mayfair. The clubs in Mayfair which were earlier the riposte of the quintessential English have become home to the rowdy Indian. The justification given by the average Indian Joe is that listen we have the money. That may well be. But then do you have the class. Can you discuss a Monet with as much as ease as you discuss a Mojito?

Does the average Indian even know a little about the history of the land that he has now in a perverse way, colonised? There are Indians who haven't paid their bills in India living in opulence in London. There is no hint of remorse or of any abiding compassion. People who are fugitives in India have now become patrons of the arts in London and yes, they too have found the art of buying their way into English society easier than investing it with real long-term relationships. This is self-defeating. We as a race will be feared not admired. We will be reviled and not respected.

In the good old days, the Indian marriage was a celebration of a union of two hearts and minds. We Indians have now taken that to another level. It is about bragging rights and no longer about conjugal rights. I have just been told that there is a couple who are marrying off their daughter in Puglia (do most of you even know where it is) and the budget for the wedding is £ 20 million pounds: yes Rs 200 crores. The husband has made his fortunes in mining. And they are going to destroy the sanctity and grace of a charming little place in Italy with the shenanigans of halwa and poori-alu. I am no judge of either their morality or for that matter what they wish to do with their money. I am only concerned that this couple has never donated even a shilling towards charity. When the Indian begins to stop thinking about himself or for that matter his place in English society, he will begin doing much more for himself, his community and indeed India rather than allowing the Indian to become the subject of ridicule tinged with rightful indignation.