Celebrating Indianness

The Indian-origin culture, which the original immigrants brought with them, has mutated into a distinct identity of its own, writes Vijay Dutt.

The other day the Times computed the total worth of singers who are participating in the Live 8 Concert at Hyde Park on July 2 at £2 billion and suggested that if enough money was not raised at the show to make " poverty history", the artistes themselves could write a cheque. A similar thing could be done by the group of Indian ladies who assembled for their luncheon meeting on Tuesday.

It was an astonishing and quite an uplifting experience for me. As I waited for a senior chief executive of a major bank with whom I had a lunch appointment at the Zen Chinese restaurant in Mayfair, I saw a shining huge Mercedes roll to a stop in front of the restaurant. A smart chauffer in a suit, many of us might find unaffordable, sprang out to open the door. I saw a very well dressed Indian lady come out and walk into Zen.

More cars, Lexus, BMW 7 series and such like continued to come, and a succession of well-groomed ladies with expensive clothes et al kept going into the restaurant. Finally a huge Rolls came and I saw the wealthiest Indian lady emerge.

The total worth of the ladies, around 15, and their husbands, I reckon, would not be less than £17 billion. Both of us, me and the bank senior executive agreed that this was, if it was needed at all, the proof of how well our community has done in Britain. The more gratifying was the fact that the ladies, unlike some of their counterparts back home, had no airs, never tried to show off their opulence or throw their weight around. Most sociable, quite a few of them stopped at our table to say hello. When we left they were still partying and I am quite sure they were not talking about who has what car, yacht, farm/ country houses and the latest purchase of a ruby or diamond set. My friend and me decided this was London!

What Mayor says

I have often compared living conditions in the twin cities London and Delhi. I must therefore admit that I was not too surprised when I read that the Mayor, Ken Livingston, worried about the water situation in the summer, has advised people to avoid as much as possible flushing after a pee. I told you, London and Delhi, like all twins, are acquiring each other's talents or lack of it.

The number of complaints against bus drivers has increased so much that an immediate inquiry has been suggested. The incidents of yobs killing or hurting perfectly family-loving people are now assuming alarming proportions. Signs are ominous. A national lottery jackpot winner (£9.5 million) continues his yobbish lifestyle and has been, one is told, hauled up in the court for the fourth time, on charges of vandalism, like damaging others cars and stoning at houses. And imagine we are in 2005.

Cultural take-over

What was on the fringes has become mainstream. When Channel 4 had decided, a couple of years ago, to hold an Indian Summer at the sprawling Regents Park in London, it was called a daring, bold move. But recently when Commonwealth Remembrance was held at Westminster Abbey, it ended with the breaking out of Bhangra in full colour and vigour.

The explosion of music and the rhythmic swirl of the dancers was instantly accepted and cheered. The British "genteelness" at such occasions gave way to the loud and open expression of delight. There could be no better symbolism of the globalisation of the Indian culture, in the very midst of the stiff upper lip gentry.

One may call it globalisation of the Indian culture or cultural synchronisation or trans-cultural movement or cosmopolitanism or put it lightly the emerging curry and tandoori factor, the reality is that there is now an amazing awareness of all aspects of Indian culture among the English. Be it yoga, ayurveda, or the various forms of Indian spirituality, music, fashion, food or even family values and the tradition of respect for elders, all are widely known and accepted even by the inner city conservatives.

Special mats and clothes for yogic exercises are now available. There are nirvana gyms and saunas and there are reportedly two centres for tantric rituals. Those who go to these places are mostly non-Indians. Led by Tony Blair, almost every leader stresses on the Indian family values and how much lessons from that have helped the British society.

The highbrow English literary circles recognise the "valuable" contribution of Indian writers in English. One often sees commuters on tubes or buses reading a novel by Anita Desai, R K Narayan or Vikram Seth. Of course Bollywood has its own pre-eminence. A kurta worn by Amitabh Bachchan in Major Saheb had sold for £900. No heads are turned at Selfridges when suddenly Mundia bach ke rahe, or balle balle fill its floors through the piped music system.

Since the Celebration of Bollywood at the exclusive High Street store, Indipop intermingling with western pop causes no surprise. This only underlines the permeation of the Indian culture into the everyday life in Britain. One saw Maharishi (not of Mahesh Yogi) brand garments at Selfridges, not far from Guccis and Diors.

But what is more significant is that the Indian-origin culture, which the original immigrants brought with them, has mutated into a distinct identity of its own and characterises the Indian Diaspora in Britain today.