Who came before us?

Human civilizations have been built on the foundations of ancestral knowledge, societal wisdom, and cohesive existence. It is no wonder then that a majority of our customs and beliefs are remnants of the ethos of early AD society. At the same time, not just the customs, but the shared genetic material was carried forward as well. We indeed share a lot of hereditary traits, albeit a mishmash of different genealogies, that got filtered through the numerous invasions by delusional rulers that came rushing for India's wealth, ultimately the Mughal rule, and then of course, the British colonization. No wonder then that all talk of 'having a pure genealogy' might be hard to back up if one had the family tree sorted out to the early centuries. But that is none of my concern. Recent trysts with an advanced genetic diseases class I am taking as a part of my coursework, has made more inquisitive about a basic feature that the Indian healthcare system and the society in general seems to lack- Who exactly came before us, and more importantly, what led to their ultimate demise?


The flip side to having a longer life is that we end up overbearing our immune system. As the life expectancy shot up, from periods of endemic flu where a lucky individual would go on to live longer than 50 (don't believe those stories about people living more than 100 years being a norm- not true), to where the average national rate is close to 64.8 years according to the World bank report of 2009, an individual is becoming more and more susceptible to diseases which would have made Sushruta cringe in agony, for there is nothing anyone can do if a part of your genome goes amiss and leaves you vulnerable to the perils of, for example, Alzheimer's disease. The stark reality is that we are slowly moving from the era of 'treatable disease' to an era of 'manageable disease'. Sounds depressing? I hear about it for 3 hours every week. 


Which brings me to a pertinent question-How many of us are aware of our genealogy, or what our ancestors contracted and died off eventually? The question becomes very important, because with advances in genetics and sequencing technology, genetically predisposed individuals can be more easily identified and therefore put on management programs at earlier stages of the advancement of the ailment, thereby prolonging and improving the quality of life. I agree that with only 64 years of our existence as a sovereign state, the management of a national database or formulation of a national policy would take time. But that should be on top of the health ministry's agenda, along with other prevention measures. More importantly, make an effort and try to form a family tree yourself. Ask around from family members if a distant relative's family is a carrier for a disease, for the chances are that even that could perturb your genetic balance one way or the other. You would be surprised to learn that a disease like type 2 diabetes which would not be linked to heredity 50 years ago, has now been shown to be a heritable disease on the brute evidence of advanced sequencing technology and data mining from affected individual's families. 


Knowing what our ancestors did for a living, or whether they were part of a king's court, might be interesting, but knowing what they contracted in their lifetime might actually be life-saving. 


PS: A classic from Ozzy and his troops. Watch the illusion, or the drummer. They are both incredible!

Like a Siberian crane!

For the uninitiated, the Siberian crane is known for its robust migratory pattern during the winter, when mating  necessitates migration to far-off tropical places, in search of a recluse from the sub-zero temperatures. An abstract definition of this phenomenon would be that the search for rosier avenues forces the crane to leave its abode and wander off to uncharted territories, crossing obstacles along the way, and then return home when the time comes. A good enough hint to the direction of this post? I will not be ranting about how we should all become a part of the 'brain gain' phenomenon which has apparently strengthened into a trend during the last decade. To each his/her own! What I will talk about is how desis keep the des alive in their core, even when an eventual reunion with the motherland has been ruled out forever. 

In the good ol' days of IIT, the one time of the year when people would actually look forward to going back home, away from the luxuries of LAN and lukkha, used to be the Diwali week. Of course, 80% of the populace would wait for the last moment, and then adjust themsleves on a train ride to home (all of us have our pleasant memories of traveling in the proverbial cattle class, chatting away merrily while the co-passengers gave us an obnoxious glare at 1 in the night). One reason I always looked forward to it was to rejuvenate myself and come back fresh, with visions of toiling to a bountiful performance during the endsems (suffices to say that it never happened, probably for none of us!). 

This time around, going home was not an option. Not that the travel time was significantly longer, surprisingly. If you are over 15,000 kilometers away from home, it is plausibly better to harden yourself to the cultural alienation that will ensue and imbibe the tectonic shift as a necessity. Alas, words are indeed easier written than put into action. Homesickness struck, followed by a prolonged deliberation over the decision of leaving a secure life back home to pursuing a PhD in a discipline I have scant knowledge about. However, as diwali neared, frustration gave way to jubilation, thanks to some great friends and a social gathering of the Indian community in the city. Now social gathering is an oft misconstrued term back home, as all gatherings in India eventually precipitate into a free-for-all food and dance extravaganza. Surprisingly, the social gathering here turned out to be a well-organized affair, with plenty of food, ordered queues, and non-intrusive dancing. The entire spectrum of Indian music was covered: from the raaga stuti to rabindro sangeet to amplifier! Not to forget the excellent Bharatnatyam, but of course, Bollywood can never be far nehind. Here is a snapshot of tracks kids grooved to: Taal se taal mila, band baaja baarat, and a Karisma Kapoor track I cannot remember at the peril of my life! And their was no sing-along or synchronized applause with any of the performances, only a polite congratulation at the end. 

All happy tracks, picked from movies which were quintessential Indian family dramas. Even the tracks the DJ spun towards the end ranged from the nostalgic Ta rarara to Munni badnaam hui. And people danced (there were probably only 10 out of the 80 odd who were in the 21-28 age group). People asked us about our own migratory pattern, and remembered their own good times in Ghatkopar or Kolkata. While the parents might miss India every once in a while, the kids were clearly way too Americanized, if that term seems appropriate. They even left an American friend of mine guessing at a few tracks which they seemed to know every word of. I would not be stretching it if I predict that most of these kids will visit India once in a while will their parents force them to, and then never come back again from their cushy lives. These cranes have abandoned their migration. 


Oh, and the icing on the 're-connection' cake was last night's screening of Ra.One, the most 'expensive' bollywood movie ever made. Not that I am a fan of Shah Rukh Khan, but the feeling of 'how would I tear into this movie if I never see it' abetted me to give it a shot, even to the extent of parting with $11.50 (that's 2 days worth of lunch money). And it was not in 3D, in case you are wondering. Here again, to my pleasant surprise, the desi community showed up in full gusto to cheer upon the original overseas superstar from India, one who is as well known in Germany and New York as at Maratha mandir. Hollywood movies have no intermission, but Ra.one did. Importantly, the 6-to-60 formula seemed to be working great for the audience. Taking a cue from the trailers that were shown, it won't be a stretch to predict that a certain Dev.D or Udaan never made it to the celluloid here. Ra.One might as well be the deserving contender for the Filmfare best picture award for the desis here. 

Therefore, in a short span of 5 days, I witnessed how the Indian community survives and thrives in corners of the earth, where the only thing truly Indian might the over-priced restaurant serving $2 gulab jamuns. Movies are a solid connect for them, and I do appreciate YRF films multi-fold times now compared to the time when I saw Rab ne bana di jodi. They have taken upon themselves this invisible responsibility of keeping the Indian diaspora across the world connected to the root of our culture- happy endings and familial bonding. Eagerly waiting to see if Sachin's 100th ton evokes the same jubilation as SRK gulping spaghetti with curd using his bare hands. 

If there is one song that will bring tears to an NRI's eyes, this might be it, either due to the lyrics or due to the cheesy cinematography: