±«Óãtv

Speaking of wanting to turn things off, reading Fiona’s post today, it seems that’s how a few of you felt towards the end of last night’s show. Too shouty, too fast and too out of control some of you say. I know if you sit on the fence too long the iron enters your soul, but allow me to perch upon it for a while.

I’ve not heard last night’s show yet and it’s very difficult to judge when you’re in the middle of it. For instance, sometimes lots of people shout out, it feels very hectic, then you listen back and you don’t hear them because they’re off mic.

But with reference to last night,... Those who do have a mics in front of them, we need to treat with care. We’ve invited them to have their say and to be themselves... if they’re prepared to do that in front of millions of listeners, stopping them and saying ‘actually do it this calm and orderly way’ is a delicate thing.

The bottom line though is if you’re having trouble understanding what people are saying because they’re speaking too fast then we certainly need to watch out for that and we will do tonight.

So we have one hour of WHYS left this week. Being ill, along with the heavy travel, has meant I have ventured out into the cities we’ve visited far less than I would have liked. But during my brief wanders I’ve felt that they seemed much more defined by the local and regional identities than their national identity.

This isn’t based on much – billboards, newspapers, posters in shops – so I might be completely wrong. I’m very interested in hearing what the idea of being Indian means to people. I suppose I could start off by asking someone who was born here... over to you Anu...

From Anu: I’m what you call an ‘NRI’- non-resident Indian, so I’m not sure how representative my own experience will be for those who’ve spent their entire lives here.

If I were to ask my parents, being Indian would mean being Punjabi and Hindu. If I were to ask my cousins who’ve grown up, like me, in America, being Indian would mean eating hot stuffed parathas for breakfast while listening to country music... watching Bollywood movies and often (embarassingly) copying the dance moves!

For others I know, being Indian means trying to balance traditions like marriage, caste, ritual and extended family with a 24-7 jet-fuelled lifestyle.

For others, it’s about being proud about India’s achievements and wanting the rest of the world to know about them.

For still others, as we’ve heard again and again this week, it’s about solving problems at home.

Last night, one of our guests said to me, India is many nations: Hindu, Muslim, Jain, Sikh, Buddhist, Christian.... Assamese, Tamil, Bengali, Kashmiri, Punjabi, Sindhi.... there are so many variations! Can India ever be one nation, indivisible? We’ll be asking our guests tonight.