Indianizing the world..

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North Korea. Pakistan. Bhutan. These are the three countries which don’t have a single NRI as per a recent survey. Surprised? Shocked? Stunned? Don’t be. Indians have been globe-trotting for years on end. From just a few of them in countries like Slovenia and Monteserrat to thousands in USA and the Gulf, Indians have set up their base everywhere. Labourers, Politicians, White collar workers, Sports Stars, Movie Stars, you name it and an Indian name would be announced for that particular field.

If you look towards NASA, you will find a huge number of scientists who are Indians or Indian Americans. If you look towards the American parliament, you would find many Indians or Indian Americans. If you look towards the labourers as well as individuals in white collar jobs in the Gulf, Singapore, Malaysia and the likes, you would find many Indians. If you look at the House of Commons in UK, you would find many Indians.

Why Indians are so highly regarded? One of the key reasons is the strength of the Indian economy. Over the years, India has grown at breakneck pace and the world has started to take note of the Indian success in various fields ranging from management to technology. Everyone wants to collaborate with an Indian in some way or the other. There are numerous graduates passing out each year. Another more important reason is the fact that Indians are very hardworking, sincere and know good English which helps them keep ahead of the competition.

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Wherever Indians have set foot, they have taken their Indian-ness along. From USA to Australia, there are a huge number of squares and localities where Indians have set up shop. From selling everyday grocery items to establishing restaurants of various cuisines like Punjabi, Chettinad, Bengali etc, there has always been an entrepreneurial streak amongst them. Some of these localities are named as ‘Little India’ giving the residents a feeling of having a home away from home.

While many prefer in staying in these localities as they miss their regular home food and spices, there are others who like to stay among the rest of the population. It helps to build interactions and learn about the cultures of various countries and continents.

Taking all this into cognizance how could the education system in India stay behind? There are branches of various Indian schools like Delhi Public School (DPS), Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan etc. as well as institutions like BITS & Symbiosis to name a few in various parts of the world. In many of these institutions, the Indian students study along with the individuals from various nationalities thus helping foster a great deal of harmony and love. As the number of students has risen, many coaching centers have sprung up to prepare them for the various entrance exams to get admission into the top institutions in India.

The celebrity industry is perhaps the biggest example of the way India is influencing the world. While Bollywood was considered nothing more than scenes filled with random song and dance sequences at an earlier time, collaborations between various directors, musicians and actors are taking place quite regularly these days. From guys like Tom Cruise coming to India to shoot Mission Impossible 4 to Anil Kapoor acting in 24, times have changed quite drastically.

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There is the love for all things Indian among foreign celebrities. While saree along with bindi and matching jewellery seems to have become common place among celebs ranging from Selena Gomez to Scarlett Johansson, a star like Roger Federer wanted his fans to photoshop his pictures beside famous places in India which he wouldn’t be able to visit during his short trip.

If all this wasn’t enough, then there are the various festivals from Diwali to Navratri which are celebrated with vigour in various parts of the world along with individuals of different nationalities. Many of the countries have started to declare holidays for some of the Indian festivals like Diwali. To top it all, Indians around the world have worked hard to help set up various Gurudwaras and temples along with mosques and churches.

Last but not the least, you also have international airlines offering Indian cuisines from Jain to Asian vegetarian. Whether its Masala Dosa or Chicken Tikka, Indian cuisine is gaining followers the world over. Tourist spots frequented by Indians like Mount Titlis in Switzerland have signboards in Hindi and various other regional languages.

Slowly but surely, the times are changing as India has started influencing the world in more ways than one!