The accent.. big deal

"Its a big deal... if they dont get what you say... you are really not saying anything... if you dont talk American accent.. you are not one among them..." one of my buddies chimed in as part of an avalanche of rigmarole that i was inundated with when i let a few people know that i was traveling to the land of dreams. I even imbibed a few of their insightful ideas, ideals and definitions of what it is that i need to survive in a land where i cant claim to be a citizen. We have all gone through this one, when traveling to a different country -- well, my fellow Indians will acknowledge it happens to them when they cross state borders in the Indian countryside -- we are inundated with a bunch of outdated concerns that ends up unsettling us.

One of the things that we are always in a race with is where does our accent stack up compared to the land that we are traveling to. People are psyched about accent and for good reason, they are worried what would happen if they mispronounce something... it might be something subtle, it might be something common but what are the repurcussions of the adressed not understanding us.

This becomes more of a frightful scenario if we are going to a different country for some extended periods of time to work, there we are forced into a situation where we are obligated to both understand the foreigners and make them understand what we are spouting. Each has its own variety and severity of difficulty in its execution. I think the biggest flaw that anyone can commit -- and this from experience -- is that we try to speak a non-native language like its one, we try to think its just our back of the hand and we can flip it on whenever we suppose and it will work just fine.

Unforntunately we often find out that its not the case, in most cases we are even humbled a bit by how our most basic pronounciations are incongruent and even grating to someone who has never listened to our vocals before. With a bit of humiliation and a stomach full of humble pie we try to ape them.. we in lieu of a'pe try aa'pp'e .. in lieu hel'loo' try whazz'upp'... like oil and water, like black and white somethings just arent meant to mix. We are what we are and whoever we maybe... an American cant speak like a Srilankan, an Indian cant speak like a French.. we all have our own styles and sometime styles align but they never are parallel....

I found that the perfect equilibrium after quite a few humble pies, i realized a) i cant talk like a man who was born there talks and b) it would be better if i talk slowly so people have a chance.

Most people never realise that they have an accent, its like snoring.. almost everyone does it but they cant know it, the accent is very similar. Its not a shame to have an accent, but if we do a few things right we can all be communicate better. Ultimately its the content not the style, but a little effort to be presentable is required and really its alright to have an accent. We would be robotic without it. Imagine for a moment what would a world sound like when everyone talks the same wavelength, my i can think of quite a few professions that will be thrown to the attic... be proud of what you are... and accent should be the least of your concerns.

Obama Nation

Nov 4 was a red letter day. Simple. Sweet. Refreshing. I think for the first time in a million years the voting denizens and the onlooking political voyeurs look forward with hope and trepedity the oncoming change. Never before has the world stopped in awe and wondered aloud what one nation is teaching the others... change the eventual constant can happen anywhere. Can change be instant, is change the begining or the end. Is Change a destination or a pitstop.. is change a game-changer or is it a curveball/googly.

Change is what we want it to be. In an economy that seems to crack a little bit more each day, that seems to enjoy its own masochist orgy.. change is welcome. The only caveat is that we hope this change is for the better.

Minorities everywhere believe one thing, they are disadvantaged and cant win. Well a minority candidate won. The one shocking thing this is that it took so long even in the US of A. Is the American vote a reflection of the desire for unity or a vote for policy. I would love to believe that the vote for President-elect Barack Obama is a vote for mere unity. I would really love to. But, I believe its a convenient by-product. It's his policy that garnered the votes and thats the best part. We dont want a winner because we have sympathy for his melanin content, that would be cruel. I bet none of us want to win a victory thats conceded to us due to lack of competition or sympathy. Thankfully Obama won it, he wasnt given the presidency, McCain didnt concede it or lose it, Obama won it .

Obama won because he appeared articulate, knowledgable, coached, simple and mostly because he came across as someone who gets it. Oh the constant blaming of the Oil companies and the multi-millionaires didnt hurt.

Lets get one thing straight, he is not one of us. He was one among us who didnt deserve to be just another number in the population. He claims to be one among us, he just happens to be from among us.. now he is really in his league. Democracy or not.. Joe the plumber or Pat the soccer-mom cant get more than 15 minutes of fame.

It shows the guts of the American denizens to vote for a man who was recluse until one fine spring day a couple of years back when he provided the response to President Bush's budget. Obama represents a chance not a change. It will become a change if something really does change. Until then he is an opportunity, he is the dawn, let dusk come before we declare something changed during daylight.

Obama couldnt walk into a more complex chaos, its more pungent than a Pei-Wei exhaust, its as numbing as losing large toe. This economic climate is complex. We got out of one rut with some bandaid in the name of homeloans to an even more complex canyon. The thing that we cant afford to do is espouse another old wine of a policy, more often than not these policies of the past are sour milk.

I couldnt tell you how this is going to end up, i cannot fathom a chance that this will resolve in months. It doesnt matter who supported Obama or not, it doesnt matter who voted for him or not, it doesnt matter whether you like him or not, it doesnt matter if you think he can or not, it matters you provide him the chance. It matters you remain confidant in the choice of the majority, it matters you trust democracy and its fruits, it matters you contribute from the benches, it matters you provide him your voice of support, it matters you trust we stand to gain from this. Some people may not like him because of his skin, but lets find out whether we should rather shun him based on his results.

I am ready to follow the steps of the President-elect in the hope that he uses this chance to bring in change. Change didnt stop on the day he got elected, change just got born the day he got elected, change can die a quick death if he is not ready or is incompeteant... but lets wait, lets wait to see what he does with the chance. In the meantime make solid decisions for your life, your bank accounts and community. Think, Act, Work Hard and we will all thrive.

Lets hope Obama does that too, for we all need that change from up-top.