Today I have that house. But my parents are happy where they are. When they’re to come over to my place, I always call and ask, “Shall I pick you up?” And they answer, “No, don’t bother. We’ll just take an autorickshaw.”

Though I want to give them the world, I can’t tell you how proud I am of my parents’ way of life.

They have never, never asked anyone for a favor and that’s how it has been with me too. I am what I am because of my upbringing and I think that’s the real connect between my fans and me. It’s not my body or my hair they’re trying to emulate, it’s the manner in which I’ve achieved whatever I have on my own, without any connections or godfathers in the industry. They feel, if John Abraham can do it, so can we.

And they can. Because, just a few years ago, I was in the same place that they are in now. In 2000, there was just Rs 500 in my account with the Bank of Maharashtra in Agripada.

I can’t say I scrounged but we certainly didn’t have money for indulgences. I’ve known the angst of having my uncle pay for my MBA education, of asking my father, “My friend has a car, why can’t I?”

But my parents gave us a good education and a very comfortable, very beautiful life, full of love and joy… and good food! We were so happy we didn’t realise how little we had.

I might be making more money now, but I remain staunchly middle-class in my mindset. I lead a very simple life, have a very simple house and not too many clothes in my wardrobe. I haven’t splurged. That’s the difference between the true middle-class and the nouveau riche—we don’t throw around our newly-acquired wealth.

But there is another side to it too. Now that those early dreams of buying a house and a car have been fulfilled, I have no time to dream any more. I’m just caught up in achieving a new benchmark, a new goal.

In the process, I’ve stopped being sensitive to others’ pain. That hurts, but I’m so busy trying to get somewhere that I haven’t been able to get out of this situation.

I’m aware that, in spite of all the progress India has made, so much needs to be done for the poor and underprivileged of
our country.

But when I think back to the days of power cuts and shortages of all kinds, I feel a sense of pride in the progress we
have made.

I believe India has a great future. We’ve got the best president and the best Prime Minister, 65 per cent of our population is below 40, and our growth rate was nine per cent last quarter. China’s growth rate may be close to 11 per cent now, but I believe that in 10 years time, we will be ahead of them.

Truly, India is a miracle. I don’t know what holds this country together, but this beautiful confluence of cultures works.

And today it’s cool to be Indian; the sense of nationalism that I and all Indians feel is wonderful. We can hold our head high and say: Listen, world, here we are. This is what India is all about. And don’t mess with us.

The other day, I was at the airport to see off a friend of mine and I saw this cool dude, an NRI in his early 20s, with spiked hair, get out of the airport and – spit! I rolled down my window and shouted, “Hey, dude, don’t you spit in my country!” It felt good!

(John Abraham’s 2006 releases include Kabul Express, Baabul and Taxi No: 9211)