It appears that the American experience of the Malayalee youth is often a poorly understood or misunderstood phenomenon. Most views on such an experience are skewed, couching a view that there is something less than
wholesome about the adopted culture relative to that which was left behind. The zeal that spills over the remnants as seen in the rear-view mirror invokes an imagery of Kerala that is a far cry from the idyllic portrait it is framed in.
This once pristine State, I am afraid, is much less of “God’s own” as seen in the throw-away commercialization its streets have come to bear as emblematic of its (mistaken) stake in a progressive economy. Migration to greener pastures is very much the history of humans not unlike their evolutionary journey itself. These are not mutually exclusive. The osmotic like effect of better prospects will always draw people to that which
attracts them. In fact, there is something laudable to be said about those who undertake to leave behind the comfort and security of what is known, and venture into the many unknowns of a new country virtually blindfolded.
For most it is an instance of déjà vu, having to build their lives all over again: no small task.
Our own history crossed an ocean to touch the shores of Kundangaloor. Our ancestors adapted to their new home surroundings in such a way that today, we, the descendants, will be stranger than strangers in the very land our forefathers left over 1600 years ago. Why then should the outcome of such immigration be any different for those who have ended up in the US (or elsewhere in the world)? To lament the loss of the Malayalee identity of the youth in the US (the country that I will exemplify for the purposes of this article) is to undermine the very evolutionary intelligence of adaptation. The survival of the fittest meant not brawny traits (which, of course, won’t hurt) but the cognitive ability to converge successfully to changed and new environments. This is the historical success of the human species; this was our success in Kudangaloor, and this should be the benchmark for those in the US.
Again, there are those who use broad brush-strokes to paint a picture
of the typical Malayalee economic refugees, their new found wealth and
the ostentatious display of such as edified through mansions. Perhaps,
such egocentric and short-sighted endeavours are a blemish on the
Malayalee character. However, there are Malayalee cultural refugees as
well who chose to migrate from Kerala and other parts of the world to the
USA. This group migrated for reasons that had little to do with money, but
for reasons that upheld life for its qualitative aspects as embodied in the
spirit of the Statue of Liberty standing lofty and tall on Stanton Island, off the shores of New York. But, they are a convenient oversight in favour of the more generic caricature that the former group is, complete with the
sensationalist tabloid elements almost assuring readership.
Going back to the point of “lost” identity, the flip-side of this issue is
the general Malayalee reluctance to blend in with the society of their
adopted home country such as in the USA. Outside of the immediate work
environment, there is little desire or initiative for co-mingling and socially interacting or integrating with the larger society around them, thereby creating ghettos of “Little Keralas”. If this is considered to be some valuepreservation strategy, then the ABCDs are the best there is to show for it. The rather ludicrous dichotomy of this situation is that these very Malayalees are such ardent Keralites in the US, but all-American when in Kerala!
The “roots factor” is one thing. This is almost like the genetic imprinting
that is hardwired into our brain. This factor will show up in our
subconscious choices, awareness, preferences and likings. However, the
higher cortex of our brain is what helps us adapt to new environments
and situations for our successful transition and “survival” in Darwinian
terms. Such adaptive changes are inevitable and intractable. One may
choose to enshrine Kerala in the USA, but beyond a touch of sentimentality,
this may become dysfunctional. A confused parent can only engender a confused child. Parents who see some inexplicable merit in having Kerala
youth in the US hold on to a past of his/her parents, has to be a matter of
more than fleeting concern. Such past is of little consequence to the youth, unless there is a volitional and conscious choice on the part of the
youth to embrace it.
While the past of the parents may be meaningful for the parents themselves, to force it upon their children is a great disservice to the youth. There are cases of parents who pack their US bred kids off to high schools and universities in India for some “social” and moral” reasons. This is yet another instance of the imposition of the parents’ rather
circumscribed and biased perspective on life as seen through the kaleidoscope of their own past. Nothing could be more harmful to those kids, for they are forced into a split-personality trait, in schizophrenic fashion, which then gets fondly referred to as ABCD!
This is a world where the Berlin Wall has come to be a mere metaphor for an ideological divide. To be successful in China, some fluency in Mandarin is deemed an advantage. Saki may make greater in-road in Japan than a
choice single malt scotch. “Jai Ho” has already become a trademark
salutation for western communications to and fro India. It is time for us in Kerala to step outside of our little boxes with our rather outdated and subjective moralistic prescriptions where our past and history are given carte blanche immunity of unchallenged virtue, which when misquoted, often
become a burden - instead of an asset - on the journeys we have embarked for ourselves and our youth.
History without context is like packing one’s suitcase with woollies for an African safari!
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