Change of Guard

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Change of Guard

In the Indian offices of, say, Goldman Sachs or McKinsey, the
paychecks are fat and the intellects razor-sharp. But they seldom
speak English in the old, affected British way. They are coarser and
yet more confident. They feel the world is theirs, but are less
obsessed than the earlier elites with emulating the West. They are
proudly indigenous, often preferring Indian food, music and movies to
the alternatives.

While the observation is not off the mark, the analysis may not be
entirely right. The faux-British accent has lapsed over the years
simply because the vast majority of school teachers in India have not
been taught English by the British. Having learned the language from
desis, they naturally speak like desis do. To make up for that, there
is now a rash of accent trained young people who can speak like
Americans. The neutral English accent is the in thing and is something
both the old elite and new meritocracy are learning equally.

British colonization has long ended in India so emulation of their way
of life is no longer relevant or important. The parents and
grandparents who had the faux-British upbringing have likely passed on
some of their learned traits to their children and grandchildren.
However, in the world outside, these young people need to fit in with
their mainstream peers and any old school British mannerisms would be
considered quite odd in that social mileu. The world has moved on a
great deal since the days of the Raj and everyone recognizes that.

While effete Western-style refinement has given way to the more
wholesome, down-home coarseness at home, when desis comes to live and
work abroad (which they continue to do in large numbers), they find
the transition to be easiest if they are able to blend in. The neutral
English accent helps a great deal as does some familiarity with the
culture of their domicile country.

While it being proudly indigenous in India is more possible and
acceptable now than ever before, the rules change quite a bit once
they step outside the country. The thick desi accent along with
involuntary lapses into vernacular continues to be a source of
embarrassment and the cause of many a social faux-pas. Non-English
speaking Europeans for instance are hardly bothered by their lack of
facility with English. Such is unfortunately not quite the case with
desis even today - we still have some distance to travel before we
grow that comfortable in our skin.

Instead of celebrating the demise of the old elite in India as the
Hinglish speaking, small town high-achievers take over the reins, it
might be useful to consider how each may help the other to become more
assertive and productive citizens of the world. In the end, in all
cultures there will be those who are considered the elite and those
who are not. The parameters for both classifications can and will
change over time but intellect and achievement alone cannot confer
class.