Taxi driver in Las Vegas

We hailed a taxi in Las vegas during our trip last month.The Taxi driver seemed to be a slightly built man with a soft voice.It took him some time to determine where he needed to take us to but finally he got it.

"I do know the place,but just wanna be sure so that i make no mistake" - he chuckled.
"Good" - we thought.

A short pause later, he asked us - "Where are u guys coming from?"

"Chicago" - we replied.

"oh ok, but ur from India?"--he asked.

"Yes" - we replied.

"Yeah i thought so..so this is your first time in Vegas?"

"Yeah thats right" - said we.

"Iam from outside too..Iam from Ethiopia..You have heard of it? - he asked.

"Yeah sure" - we replied.

Conversations with taxi drivers can be pretty amusing sometimes. I remember some of them. Like the taxi-driver who asked us what language we spoke at India.(He said it sounded good)Or perhaps the friendly Pakistani taxi driver whom we hailed in New york who sounded baffled when one of our friends told him that though he could speak hindi, he could not comprehend Urdu! Most of the taxi drivers we have taken in US are friendly and courteous ,but this man was very conversant.

"Well I have been in Us from the last 7 years" - he remarked.

Never the person to let go the chance of having a conversation no matter where, my husband butted in:"yes, we all come to US for the big bucks" - he laughed.

"Yeah" - the driver joined him."

"So you stay with your family?" - Hubby asked.
"No,Iam not married.My parents and siblings stay in my country. In our custom until you have discharged all your responsibilities (towards your family) you must not get married , you see." - he added.
Not to be outdone,my husband replied : "Yes, we have that too. In fact even after getting married we look after our parents and care for them."

"Thats' right, but after marriage it becomes kinda difficult, with wife, kids you know?" - he remarked.

"Yes,thats true" - we agreed.

"So you guys going to nearby places from here?Like grand canyon, Hoover dam eh?" --he enquired.

"No we are going to Los Angeles". -- we replied.

"Ah Los Angeles! Many of your folks stay there right? You guys are good in computers?"

"Is it?"-- We just smiled.

It surely is. LA or rather the Silicon valley has a rather significant Indian population working in the various Software companies some of them being multinational giants.A recent report even states that 30% of the companies there have been started by Indians.
"You people are very bright.It pays a lot does it? These computer jobs?"-- The driver asked next.
"Hmm ...pretty good"-- We replied.

Reportedly Indians comprise the richest ethnic group in US.

"Yeah..You guys (Indians) are a good lot, quiet, decent,educated "....He went on..

Indians are enjoying global presence like never before. Be it Politics,Business, software,law,medicine ,there are a lot of notable names today. Being the richest ethnic group in the US, we are also becoming more noticeable.and what does this mean? It means a great shift in the attitudes and perceptions about Indians and India. I remember one of the Tintin comics where Tintin comes to India and how is India depicted? It is full of jungles. There are elephants,tigers and sadhus. Not to forget the ubiquitous snake charmer! And how are the Indians shown?(rather the natives): brown- skinned,dressed up in a dhoti (loin-cloth.Certainly a reference to the Mahatma, nicknamed as the "Naked Fakir" by the English Press).

Novels, movies documentaries everything about India showed and depicted India the way the west better identified it : Snake-charmers, Elephants,Palaces, maharajas, sadhus sleeping on nails,kamasutra,slums,etc etc. Iam not blaming anyone though. But somehow these images were always associated with India. For an uninformed Westerner it perhaps continues to remain so.
Some sections of the Indian diaspora in US further help in cementing these ideas. Like this Indian colleague of mine ,born and brought up in US who went and told her American colleague how terrible it was for Indian women after marriage.They are forced to break off all ties with their parents after marriage! Imagine my shock when this American woman asked me if it was indeed the case in India. I mean, come on, gives us a break...what do these people think when they go around raking such stupid tales to people of different backgrounds?Aishwarya Rai in the Oprah Winfrey Show expressed surprise that people actually came up to her and asked her as to how she managed to speak English though being an Indian?

Perceptions are changing .India known as home to large slums,poor people, is also perceived as home to a large ,skilled,enterprising workforce.So be it.

"Your education system must be very good.In Ethiopia ,education not very good" --- he remarked.

Here inthe US it is always perceived that Indians are good in Science and Math.In many Indian families , children are always encouraged to concentrate more on these subjects as they provide more viable career options.Whatever the critics may say about schools in India, we must be doing good there.We still produce smart students with better analytical and problem solving skills.The engineers in silicon valley, other parts of the world in high ranking firms have been educated in India . An NRI mother was recently extolling the virtues of the American school her son went to. Needless to say she was still very concerned that her son knew as much maths and grammar as his counterpart in India and spared no efforts tutoring the child.Why?

"why don't you learn computers?" ---we asked the driver.

"I want to .I will some day" ---He replied wistfully.

Just one more encounter which reaffirmed the fact that India's face abroad is changing.No longer the land of the snake-charmer dressed in his loin-cloth, but Indians here are regarded intelligent, educated, smart. (At least most of them think so. Iam not bothered about the disgruntled racists).

And India--A country with a lot of promise. As for that nameless taxi driver( my inspiration for this post), i only hope he learns computers(as he says) and reads this post someday!