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To
Be, or Not to Be: That is
the Question
BY SAM
MUKHERJEE *
Several
years ago, I remember my sister’s father-in-law recounting an
incident from one of his many travels. He was at a restaurant in
New York and a man from Calcutta was waiting tables there. They
began talking and the man requested him to carry some money back
to his family on his behalf but instructed him not to tell them
that their much loved son was waiting tables. His wish was
fulfilled. Clearly those days are gone.
The
stagnating trap of living life uncomfortably in a foreign land
still looms large for some but it is not all pervasive. Along
with fossilized mindsets, gone are the times when letters would
take eons to travel and if they found their destination they
would contain descriptions of a fairy-tale land folks found hard
to visualize. My aunts stored my father's letters from the
United States but these days my cousins delete my emails right
after they are read.
Thousands
of Indians travel overseas every day, foreign banks and money
transfer facilitators assist families, parents visit children,
and students, immigrants and naturalized citizens with OCI
(Overseas Citizenship of India) passports fly home to share
their experiences. Shiamak Davar’s dance classes to pranic
healing and from Boroline to Bournvita, it’s not just
functional living anymore: things have moved on to a life of
fulfilment. You may argue whether drinking Bournvita after a
Shiamak Davar dance class can be called life-fulfilling?
Debatable. You may also wonder if Toronto can recreate the
ambience of eating pav bhaji on Juhu beach. Will boti kebab in
Vancouver feel exactly the same from Old Delhi? Or can panipuri
in Montreal substitute Calcutta’s Vivekananda Park’s
phuchkas? But the real point is that we are indeed globalized
and access to everything is a whole lot easier.
Every day the
Consulate General of India in Toronto accepts 45 applications
for Overseas Citizenship of India (dual citizenship minus voting
rights) and the crowds never thin. A
month ago I took up Canadian citizenship along with 87 strangers
from 24 different nations with distinctions in sartorial styles
clearly evident. Refugees, permanent residents who had waited
for too long for D-Day, people who did not want to take it up
earlier and kept shelving it until they could push it back no
more, and then, there were new entrants to Canada like myself,
who got a call from Citizenship Canada super-quick. It was
emptiness for some while glee coming home to roost for others.
Some listened to the speech of the Order of Canada with great
interest, others exuded coarse indifference. Some still appeared
in denial while others felt overly confident about the quality
of justice. Some had gone after immigration and citizenship like
bears after honey while others had it relatively easy thanks to
the aid of their families already settled here. Some experienced
landlessness and some heaved sighs of relief to finally,
officially belong. Some felt powerful and some appeared ashamed
to give up their old identities. Be it hope or hopelessness, it
was clearly a catfight within.
New Canadians waiting to be
honoured at the citizenship ceremony
Geeta
Patel, a Senior Finance Associate at YMCA of Greater Toronto
admits being equally excited and emotional during the ceremony
she attended a while ago. “Something just didn’t feel right
about choosing another country over your country of birth, but
then life creates new avenues.” Lucky to land her first job
within a month as a Manager, she feels blessed not to have
struggled like many new immigrants. But she misses her family.
Shruti
Shah, Artistic Co-Director of SAWITRI Theatre Group eagerly
awaits Canadian citizenship, “It will do away with unending
visa queues and expensive visa fees.”
Ashish
Parikh (Manager, Technical Services, BTNX Inc.) agrees and adds,
“Acquiring a Canadian passport is bound to give me a
professional edge and I can choose the country I wish to live
and work in.”
But
not everyone is in a hurry. Pinaki Ghosh, an IT professional
from Calcutta is eligible for a while now. But he has held back,
“At times life in Canada can get very stressful in spite of
all the available amenities.”
Most Indian immigrants arrive
after wading tirelessly through a chaotic pile of information
and misinformation with a lack of friends and knowledge of
tribulations ahead. We suffered successive invasions over
centuries but absorbed different cultures and exactly the same
qualities help us blend into different ones. The so-called
Indian hangover among Indo-Canadians will not be done away
entirely, but let’s face it: Indian intellectual firepower is
celebrated worldwide.
When
Sir Anthony Hopkins was called a traitor by someone in England
after he embraced American citizenship he had quipped that he
was not aware America was at war with England. I don’t exactly
recall being hailed as a hero upon acquiring my Canadian
citizenship but no one has called me a traitor. Congratulatory
notes filled my email inbox and answering machine after word got
around. The general feeling is that India has come much closer
now. The OCI is a blessing as no one wants to be completely
uprooted from his soil.
My
investigation revealed that the new Indo-Canadian citizen cares
less for job security (being in one job forever) and more for
employment security (ability to find a job after losing one).
All of a sudden immigration applications, inquiry queues at
consulates and visa fees, all turn into seminar-worn subjects as
a gamut of changes begin to define the new naturalized citizen.
The brain drain accusation – deliberation of a path we have
chosen for our own development leaving behind national progress
still exists to some degree but most know that just like movies
from Bollywood, reality and romance rarely meet.
We
are all aware that the Canadian experience is not uniform. For
some, self disclosure is hard and former enthusiasm is now
ennui. Some flog dead horses with their careers coming to a
grinding unpredictable halt while corporate and entrepreneurial
successes firmly believe that good times are here to stay. Some
ram themselves into buses like sardines to get to their minimum
wage shifts in freezing temperatures while others add
shot-glasses of crème de menthe into large glasses of chilled
Dom Perignon. Although hope and
hopelessness stand side by side,
it is hope and only hope that brings out the best in all of us.
For
every Indian awaiting his citizenship and each one of us who
have acquired it already, India is always lodged in the
subconscious. The key is to not lose touch with the person one
truly is. The Canadian dream with rights and responsibilities is
our very own now, but it’s important to keep both flags flying
high.
Canadian
history is changing. Multiculturalism is the new mantra.
Technology has tamed temperature and travel is now easy. Canada
has found a reason to love us. Now it’s our turn to love her
back.
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* Sam Mukherjee is an award-winning Screenwriter, a noteworthy
writer, a featured TV personality, a Researcher &
Interpreter, a broadcaster, Corporate Communications professional
and leader of media events - all rolled in one. You can
read more about his achievements @ http://sammukherjee.com/biography.html
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