Saying that you’re ‘Anglo-Indian’ comes with a side of having to explain what that is. And believe us, there’s a lot more curiosity and questioning that follows, post every half hearted attempt to explain where we came from. For once and for all, let’s clear the air today – Anglo Indians are people with mixed Indian and British ancestry. We’re a breed headed towards extinction, and since your curious ass wants to know why – it’s because we don’t understand arranged marriages. We have been wildly marrying outside our community, diluting our own population and culture because – Come on men, what is life without uninhibited love?
While growing up, I often noticed how people thought I was “so lucky” because I was granted comparatively more ‘freedom’ than those around me. Others were always pressed to reach home at a certain hour, to behave a certain way and to stay away from all the things that looked like trouble – namely (and ironically) me!
Let me tell you, it’s a general misconception that people have about us. Sure, we’re unapologetic about our mother tongue being English, we say it like we think it, we believe in living our lives to our own accord and we barely worry about “log kya kahenge”. But I’d just like to put it out there, that these are no reasons to believe that we’re a bad influence on the goody-two-shoes who are probably way better at concealing their “night-out” plans than we’d ever be. Or have to be.
While these choices may baffle a lot of folks out there, today, I’d like to share one such thing that we find rather fascinating. Arranged marriages are still a popular custom in our country. Instead of the girl-meets-boy process, it’s more often girl-meets-boy’s-parents situation, after which a gazillion pros and cons are weighed, based on religion, caste, physical attributes, wealth, astrology, numerology and the works. Only after those boxes are checked, does the arrangement a.k.a the relationship, get a go-ahead. For Anglos, there’s just one prerequisite – to fall in love. I recall what my mother said in recent times, when I jokingly asked her to ‘find me a groom’. “How and from where?” Came the reply. That’s when I realized how far we were from the cliques and circles that had a network so strong, they could find someone a husband or a wife… “Is that a curse or a blessing in disguise?” I thought.
Anglo Indians are probably one of the most misunderstood lot. Just because we don’t conform to what the idea of ‘normal’ is in the country, there are theories that deem us to be uncultured, frivolous and waggish. However, what I’ve observed is that it’s the same people who thought we were “lucky” while growing up, who paint us in that light once they grow up. And though we may have not agreed or understood that back then, while dealing with the grown-up version of that thought, we can’t help but think that maybe we are lucky. I am grateful for the freedom to love anyone without putting them into a box and for me love will always win.
