I have always been intrigued by the Indians (non-NE) and their myriad beguiling ways. Their behaviours and attitudes are hard to explain, and therefore difficult to predict. When you are just beginning to believe that they possess the heart of gold, that goodwill would be undone by one of their acts of malevolence and insensitivity. Sometimes Indians are angels; and at other times they turn into the most selfish creatures of all, with greed thrown in for good measure. Anticipating their next move is akin to gambling; you never know what side of face they will show you at certain times and circumstances.

I will give you an example: my landlord, Mr. Pradeep Sharma, and his folks are devout, pious, god-fearing Brahmans. Every morning before the sun rises, I would be awakened by their bhajans and chantings of slokas which usually culminate into an ear piercing riot of sound emanating from conch (moibung). I am used to this daily pre-dawn cacophony, but what puzzles me no end is what they do afterwards. Their rituals having completed, they will instantly shed their spiritual self even before the tikka on their forehead wears off and go about their daily business with every worldly tricks in the book. I am at a loss how they reconcile the two contradictory pursuits: their spiritual quest and their earthly materialistic ambitions. Is there a switch to turn their different personas on and off?

A deeply religious person like Mr. Sharma is expected, in my estimation, to be a compassionate human being. But I am wrong. He could also be mean, avaricious and vindictive, and he is. I have seen him treating his tenants like cattle when they default on giving their rents in time. He will abuse them with the choicest invectives (too explicit to print here) bringing the poor chaps to tears. Clearly he feels no remorse or sympathy for the wounded feelings of others. His main loyalty is with money and nothing else, and will resort to any tactics from threatening his tenants with eviction to inventing excuses for hiking the rent. All these from a person who disturbs my sleep with his daily devotional songs to please gods and goddesses.

Similar to this, there are many other aspects of an Indian that we can hardly understand. What holds true for some Indians are simply not applicable to others. The maddening diversity, the geographical spread, different languages, races have also added to our confusion when arriving at a definitive profile about an Indian. There are layers and layers beneath the surface of the Indian psyche, both edifying and unflattering. What you see is not always what you get- or the whole truth.

These sentiments have been echoed by Pavan K. Varma in his latest book, Being Indian, an in-your-face peek into the Indian mind (read my review here). Mr. Varma points out five distinct facts about India that is not often brought out in the open. These are:

1. Democracy blooms in India out of necessity in the post independence milieu, and not because Indians love democracy in their hearts. Indians realized that embracing democracy was the quickest way to attaining power, status and wealth. It also loosened the hold of social stratification in the Indian society along caste and racial lines.





2. Who says Indians are spiritual? Most Indians cherish material fulfillment. They take to spirituality only when it serves their most important goal: accumulation of wealth, i.e., artha. In this regard, Mr. Varma recounts an interesting scene that enacted itself daily at the infamous Gastion Bastion Road (popularly known as G.B road) near Ajmeri Gate in New Delhi. The street is lined with ceramic-ware shops, and between these are narrow stairs on which prostitutes position themselves strategically, soliciting clients who shout lewd comments and negotiate with pimps for a little piece of flesh. Seemingly oblivious to the sleazy happenings outside, the shopkeepers ply their trade, sitting in front of Lakshmi - the goddess of wealth - incense sticks burning bright. According to Arthasashtra, there are three objectives of human endeavour - dharma, artha and kama. Of these, kautilya says artha (sound economics) is the most important, as the accomplishment of the other pursuits are dependent on the material well being of the person. Indians know this by heart.





3. Indians' claim of being natural followers of non-violence falls flat under scrutiny. Mahatma Gandhi was an exceptional Indian; he adopted non-violence as a weapon to oust the British out of India. In hindsight, that weapon was the only viable one available at that point of time as Indians could never hope to challenge the English rulers in a battlefield. In reality, Indians are a violent people who are cowed down only in the face of a superior force. But once instilled the fear of a greater might, they purr like kitten before their invaders. Indian history testifies to this fact more than any argument that I can call forth.





4. Secularism, which the Indians pride on, turns out to be a lie when tested in the fire of reality. Tolerance is a commodity that is scarce in the Indian mindscape. Look no further than the mercuric rise of BJP and its fanatic affiliates, not to talk of communal riots, casteism, anti-proselytisation hate campaign, etc.





5. Indians are not self-abnegating people as they are made out to be. They are mad about power and will leave no stones unturned to acquire it. They have an antenna for locating the locus of power wherever they lie, and once identified, they will go to any extent to curry favour with it. Indians with power expect the lesser mortals to prostrate before them, and the latter do so obediently. Both the powerful and his sycophants understand the mechanics of their relationship; servility begets patronage. Naturally, Indians hold in great respect who can renounce power, not because they think it to be an act worthy of emulation but they consider it as something they wouldn't ever contemplate. There lies the hoopla around Sonia Gandhi's so called "renunciation" which astonished the Indians because it is so uncommon in India. Don't ever hope that Indians in the street would follow in Sonia's footsteps by abandoning position of power any day.

Now, I understand why my landlord is both a religious person and a cunning businessman. All he is doing is living his life in a truly Indian way. May God empower him too without affecting my rent. Anyway thank you, Mr. Varma.