The inscrutable American’s - A Journey and all That..........

The inscrutable American’s is not a hate tale of conspiracy against America or a biography of a lost soul in an unfamiliar territory. It’s a story of a hilarious outtake on an Indian's experiences in the US.

It’s a journey which every Indian must have taken as a student and can relate to some of the cultural shocks that the character experiences. This book will have you in splits and wits. An interesting read which will make you think about some of your personal experiences as an alien student in this strange foreign land of dreams.

Although, it was written in 1991 at the time when India was a third world country and some of the descriptions seems to be really outdated for today’s times when India is modern, emerging and at the forefront of the world (I just read today India is going to be 3rd Largest economy by 2020). Unlike 1991 if someone comes today from India, there not much of a difference in living standards. Anurag Mathur, the writer has done an amazing job of describing the journey of Gopal physically, mentally and emotionally over a period of one year. A journey which can be described with the old-cliché, a journey of self-discovery, realization, acceptance and separation. The humor, the Indian English and the author's depiction of Gopal is what makes this book an excellent read and I am sure you won’t put it down as every next page is more intriguing read then the previous one. I couldn't stop laughing at the Gopalisms, which are direct translation from his native language to English.

This book although fiction raises some good points and propels with a lot of issues and gives us the prospective of both the good and the bad of America. It talks about the cultural and ethnic values of India and how a person who has never stepped out of his protective surroundings finds it hard to shed those values and mix them with the unfriendly western culture. It talks about the social acceptance of new people, cultures and even food. It shows us what goes on in the mind of a new immigrant alien and that people are alike everywhere it’s just the skin color that separates them.

The book starts off being funny & witty, then later moves into more serious issues. The book I feel can be divided into three parts. The first part deals with Gopal's amazement in his introduction to the great land. The way he discovers new things and concedes that America indeed is a strange world. He talks about the differences between two worlds unknown to each other. This part is mostly funny and will definitely get you to grin or chuckle multiple times. I laughed till the tears rolled out. This part will get you hooked to the book.

The second part deals with the stark realities of living in USA and it even makes one realize that America has a dark side too and is not all that rosy as presented to the rest of the world. This is the body of the book. This part talks about new discoveries, the racial discrimination, the liberation of mind, the fear to change, the fear of acceptance in an alien society, the educational system, the issues with staying away from meat, his introduction to bars, beers & cigarettes, and his introduction to women sometimes in strange ways, his perception of the Americanism and people around him, his bondage with Randy, Gloria, Sue and Anne and off course his mannerisms which gradually changes and starts becoming more Americanized.

And the last part the end where he has to part with his friends, the education and return to India to manage his old business, the boring life according to him which has been pre-set and arranged for him and back to interdependence rather than independence he discovered here in the US. This part is really touching and gives you a sulking feeling.

I feel the author has shown a great depth in writing the book and each character has made an impact on Gopal’s life. All the characters complement each other very well, especially the characters of Randy & Gopal. The other characters of Gopal’s cousins in the USA, the dean & his wife, his landlady Gloria, his crushes Anne & Sue, Randy parents, the white guy with leaflets, the African-American student 'peacock', the other Indian student Anand who calls our hero as 'Goh-Pal' are all different, funny and you can easily relate to them as one of your friends you made in the US.

This is a recommended read, you can relate to parts in the book maybe some and all that........

The Real Truth

This story is in continuation with “A true incident”, please read that before going on to this….

All my doubts were still on the dishwasher maintenance guy and I kept on convincing the landlord but due to lack of concrete evidences I couldn’t really prove it. I also called Dell and told them about the incident and as the product was registered with them they agreed to inform me if they notice any activities on my account. At first I had little hope of getting my belongings back but with time and as months passed the unpleasant incident started fading off my mind. I was also upset because there was a lot of personal data on my laptop and losing that meant losing all my previous years’ works. I lived in that studio for few months before moving out of the city due to professional reasons.

It had almost been nine months since the burglary incident happened. Now, I was working someplace else away from family and friends but I had made some new friends and got adjusted to the new place. My sister lived in another city and I visited her often. One time when I visited her she handed me a small package from Dell. I thought it was a laptop battery as one of those battery replacements Schemes by Dell were going on at that time; I was surprised because I never ordered one myself. I un-wrapped the package and found a laptop hard drive. It wasn’t of any use for me as I didn't want to replace my hard drive as my current hard drive was working just fine and moreover I had a lot of data stored on it, which I didn’t want to switch. I thought of selling it on EBay.

At home, as I was going through the package I noticed something very strange, I saw an unfamiliar name and phone no., below my name and address on the packaging slip. At first I thought it must be a glitch but the phone no. appeared to be the area code of the place I previously stayed, I was stunned. I immediately started linking all the pieces and figured out that this could be the person who has my laptop. I also noticed the asset tag number which is unique for each laptop and this one matched with my old laptop no.

I was thrilled that this could be the person who stole my laptop and might have ordered the hard drive and since Dell had the laptop registered under my name they sent it to my address instead. I was also angry at dell as I had reported the theft to them still they were communicating without verifying any details with me, the real owner. At first, I thought of calling the person but was a little scared, after making a decision to report this to the police and let them investigate, I called the local police station and provided them with all the details, to my surprise they claimed that they can’t take any actions or help me in this matter even though I have all the evidences. I was dumbstruck as if lightening has crossed over me, I thought police was here to protect you and help you out. I then called the detective agency but according to them the report had been archived and my case was closed as this was just a small theft. I was helpless, a little ray of hope I had of getting my precious laptop back was being darkened by the eclipses of immoral and unjust behaviors of the law authorities.

This is when I decided to take matters into my own hands even if it meant going against the law. Although I was a scared and didn’t know how to proceed, I decided to call the phone no. on the packaging slip. As the phone was ringing my mind was clouded with numerous negative thoughts, I thought that I might be dealing with a gang or mafia or a criminal as I had never ever communicated with any such people before. A boy answered my call. I asked him if I can talk to the person whose name was listed on the package. The boy told me that it was his mom and that she was at work at that moment. I then asked him if they own a dell laptop and whether they had ordered a hard drive replacement from dell. He thought that I was someone inquiring from Dell and answered all my questions. As soon as I got confirmed that they have my laptop, I told him that I am the original owner of the laptop they had stolen from my apartment. I threatened him that I will report this to the police if they didn’t return it back to me. The boy got scared and told me that he is just a high school kid and don’t do such things and his mom didn’t steal it, she bought the laptop from someone, he sounded very innocent but I was on fire and had no mercy for the kid or for his mother. I then told him that I will call up later to speak to his mom.

I called up later that night, this time the lady herself picked up the phone. I got her aware of the whole situation and told her that she has my laptop and if they don’t return it, they would go to jail, even though i knew that the police already refused to help me in this matter. She appealed that she didn’t steal the laptop instead she bought it for $250 from someone on the street. I told her to return my laptop as early as possible; otherwise she would be behind bars. She started pleading, for mercy, explaining that she has a family and a respectable job and that I should not report her to the police. She said that she will mail the laptop back to me in a package. First I agreed to it but then I thought she might break it and send it to me and blame the postal service for the damage. I immediately analyzed the situation and instructed her to deliver the laptop in-person. She herself got terrified by this and started insisting repeatedly to not to inform the police or get any cops along with me. We decided to meet at a crowded public place in the city. The time was fixed at around nine in the morning. I couldn't sleep the night before, may be because of the anticipation to get my laptop or fear or agony she might cause to me.

At 7 am I got a call from that lady, I was still in bed. I thought she might be cancelling the plans or maybe refusing to give back my laptop. Instead she had called to confirm the place and asked me again to not to get any cops I assured her that if she returned my laptop I will not take any actions. I got ready and went on to get my prized possession, almost nine months after it was taken away from me. I myself couldn’t believe that this was happening. Lot of mixed thoughts were going on in my mind I was scared, excited, angry and delighted all at the same time.

She called me again sharp at nine to let me know that she has reached the designated place. By now it was confirmed that she was more scared then me and she wanted to get done with this burden too. There was a lot of traffic and an hour fifteen minutes journey took me almost two hours, on my way i had a fear that she might have left the place as I was late by an hour. Finally I reached the spot, the only identification she gave me was that she will be standing near the subway gate and wearing a green outfit. I didn’t provide her with any identifications of mine and she didn’t ask for any.

As I was walking I saw an African American lady with green scrubs holding a small bag on her thin shoulders, she looked short and timid. She was nothing like the image of a person a thief would have. Well I approached her cautiously and pronounced her name very politely; I was not scared anymore and sounded confident. She hesitated a bit and responded shyly handing me the laptop, I grabbed it quickly without even looking if it was the right one or opening to see if it still works. I again asked how she got the laptop. She told me that she bought the laptop from someone on the street and that she paid for it in cash. I was surprised to hear that and thought she was making up stories to cover up for the thief maybe a gang, she didn’t seem like a affluent person carrying $200 in cash and paying for it on the road without even finding out if the laptop ever worked. She was wearing a scrub, so inquisitively I asked her where she worked she said that she is an assistant nurse in a hospital. We then parted our own ways. I just ran off from the scene to the nearest shop.

I immediately went to a café to check if it was working, everything was intact accept all my old data had been deleted, well I was content that at least I had my laptop on me. I came home all happy and triumphed as if I had won a long lost battle.

I have been fortunate throughout in a lot of situations where I have lost possessions and have got them back as twice I got my lost cell phone back, once I lost my wallet full of credit cards and cash and I got it after almost three weeks, with everything intact but that’s another story.

The person who stole my laptop is still a mystery, maybe the burglar was known to her and she was trying to cover up for him. She had no idea about my microwave oven. I still wonder why police refused bluntly to help me. I had already filed a report for my stolen laptop with Dell, they actually encourage you to call if you loose any items as with asset tags its easy to locate the laptops but she was communicating with Dell constantly. When the detective had the hand prints and the name and telephone no. he could have easily done a investigation and catch the real culprit, but I guess they were lazy. This is the best Law and order department and the most reputed brand of the world. I still can't figure these out.

The chances of getting back my laptop were almost one in a million, and I still think this was an impossible situation, rather a miracle. I will call it destiny or luck or may be a desire of hope. This incident made me realize that one should never give up and always keep trying. This also taught me to deal with a tough situation. It has been three years since this incident took place but being my real true story, it is still fresh in my THOUGHTS and whenever I think of this incident I always believe that “When you really want something the whole universe conspires to help you achieve it”

A true Incident

In this long and tough journey called life, several interesting good or bad incidents happen some of which you will always cherish and remember others you would just like to forget like a bad dream. There are also some incidences which makes you believe in hope, optimism and destiny. A very interesting but unbelievable event happened with me where there was loss, grief, belief, hope, poise, quick thinking, prowess, joy and triumph.

Since the time I had known that it exists, I had always admired its sleekness, the usability, the convenience it provided and always wanted to posses one, but somehow never had a chance to own it, until my graduation. I was very happy to get it; it was a graduation gift from my parents and was a very prized possession for me. It was my first laptop I had ever owned. I could do anything with it anywhere. I felt free; it had made my life easier. I was obsessed with my laptop so much that I took it everywhere I went. Suddenly everything seemed to be working in my favor and I got my first job, out of college and since I started earning I moved to my own rented studio apartment.

It had just been ten days since I moved into my new place and I was still trying to unpack and settle-in. Life was going easy but busy. I was in a regular nine to five job. I always left early and came back tired as I was new and getting used to the workplace.

It was like any other bright morning and I left early to get to work. It was a Friday, I was exhausted with a whole week of grilling activities and just wanted to get over, go back home to relax and spend some time with friends over the weekend. As I finished my work my tired body hurried straight to my apartment. As I reached my apartment building I rushed through the door into my studio. I went in and changed from my office gear, relaxed a bit and ate a left over meal from previous night. I was happy to be back home. I was so tired that as soon as I lied on my bed I drifted off to sleep. Suddenly, I woke up with a thud sound, it was my neighbors playing their heavy metal, I cursed them and tried to get back to sleep but couldn’t so I decided to do something else.

I thought of checking my emails and looked around for my laptop. I realized my laptop wasn’t at the place I last left it. I looked around patiently, but couldn't find it anywhere. I had no clue how my laptop just disappeared. I thought my friend who I had left a spare key to my apartment, might have taken it. As I was calling him I noticed another thing, the microwave oven over my kitchen counter was missing too. Now I got worried and looked around for other things, everything else my clothes, shoes even my new vacuum cleaner were untouched and intact at the right place. I checked each and every window and door if there was a break-in through any of those, but to my surprise there wasn’t even a scratch I couldn’t figure out how someone could get into the apartment and take all that heavy stuff without breaking into those doors or windows. Even, some haunted stories started churning into my confused mind.

I decided to call the police immediately and file a report of stolen goods. The funny thing was since I had moved in ten days back and my renters insurance was supposed to start two days later, I couldn’t even claim anything for insurance. The cop arrived, did some routine checks, asked me few questions and made a report and as he was examining my apartment I noticed some hand impressions of grease on my kitchen counter table. I started assuming that this could be some maintenance guy, as being a rented apartment I had requested my landlord to repair the dysfunctional dishwasher. It was almost midnight and I wanted to sleep but couldn't, it was such a dreadful night.

Next morning first thing I called the landlord, they didn’t care much and it felt like that burglary is a routine word to them and it happens regularly in that place. Well, nobody had still figured out how the burglar got in without breaking anything, as I was at my apartment front door I saw a small slit between the door panel and the door frame, if you put a thin knife or object between that and push it hard against the lock you could easily open the door. Now I figured how it all must have happened, the burglar opened the door got in, took the stuff out, pushed the door lock back in place and closed the door behind him all this in the middle of the day on a very busy street. I immediately called a locksmith to fix my door and change locks.

Gradualy,things started to settle down and there were no more break-ins or burglaries. Meanwhile I bought a new laptop and a microwave. I moved on with a normal life as days, weeks and months passed and this dreadful true incident started fading of my THOUGHTS, but sometimes I used to remember that laptop as it was one of my most prized possessions, I had owned......to be continued

Well, this story isn’t over yet there is more interesting truth to it, I will publish the rest of it next weekend until then I will let you the reader guess, of what happened next.

Whether the landlord claimed responsibility?

Was it the maintenance guy?

What happened to the police report and did the detective find something?

Was it someone I knew, who knew about all my stuff and location?

Did I get the laptop and my microwave back?

Or just nothing happened and I moved on….

Believe me the story gets more interesting from here

I am just not Lucky Enough

“I didn’t get a job, because I am not lucky”

“I am not lucky enough to earn a raise”

“I am not lucky to win this game”

“I am not lucky to win a lottery”-may be true

We often say these words and blame our luck for every situation, but we never realize the real facts that has lead us to that unpleasent situation. We blame our luck if something adverse happens with us. I myself blame destiny and bad luck, sometimes. Blaming others, somehow gives us a kind of consolation to cover up our actions and wrongdoings which lead to that undesirable happening and then instead of blaming ourselves we just say “it’s my bad luck” and then instead of taking any actions to counteract and improve upon it we just sit back and wait for the luck to get better. This is how we become victims of destiny and life.

On the contrary, when Good things happen, it’s just only about us, our skills that lead to success, we like to praise us, self-reinforcing our own pride and arrogance. It’s rarely ever, "am I lucky” and it’s never "thank God". It’s only "thank God" when a disaster is avoided, not when un-instigated good things happen.

It’s always good to think of reasons, but rather than blaming our luck we must take the responsibility of everything that happens to us and if we do this we will feel immense power which will turn us from a helpless victim to a sure shot winner. Although, It takes a lot of efforts and courage to take the blame on us and taking the responsibility but once we do it the rest of the task to accomplish something gets easy. We have the complete control on how we react to things ( in this case our luck) and we must use it to our advantage.

Taking the responsibility makes us action oriented. We know it’s us who has to do something about it instead of waiting for situation or luck to change and once we take that action we will see our mind working toward the solution and finally towards making us a winner. There is no such thing as a foreseeable future however; we can set ourselves up to make sound decisions.

Remember, no one can be blamed for luck, good or bad. So next time if something bad happens to you, just don’t blame your luck and be called a victim of destiny, rather gather your positive THOUGHTS and put those Thoughts into good actions, it’s in your hands to change your luck the way you want it as “Luck favors the prepared, not the beaten”.