Chief Guest's speech

I see before me a microcosm of the Indian-American Society, and I tempted to avail myself of this occasion of a happy get-together to do some thinking aloud in your company. What little I propose to speak now is only by way of reflecting upon my thoughts and it is my hope that I will not be inflicting myself upon you beyond your patience.

It is said that some seven or eight out of every ten air passengers get into somewhat of a pensive and reflective mood, particularly in high-flying zones and in dizzy heights. My mind answered to this rule while flying over the Atlantic some two weeks ago. But this mood did not get erased or even blurred as I went about moving in towns and cities, meeting friends and relatives in this country; it went on cajoling me into remembering me of my boyhood days and student days in my village, at Hassan and Mysore, and the way a village urchin that I was has been transformed into a man of some reckoning in my own community and society. For a moment, I felt proud that the son of a poor farming couple in a non descript village had been transformed into a man who could walk erect with self-confidence in this far-off advanced country of the world. I stumbled upon quite many kin of mine, who hail from what we call Vokkaliga community in Karnataka, made up basically of small farmers and landless laborers, and here they were as Engineers, Scientists, College and University Professors and as Medical Professionals, not to speak of Hoteliers, Industrialists, Real Estate Developers and the like, jostling in the company of high and mighty, I mused over the sense of pride they have been for USA and also of India.

We are gathered here in connection with the solemnization of the function got up to name my grand child born here two and a half months ago. Many of you here are Vokkaligas, in the sense that your parent's and/or grand parents - and some of them may still be - were farmers. What was centuries and millennia ago a class based on profession or avocation turned out to be a cast - in our case, the Vokkaliga caste - and so we belong here. Till not long ago, we were confined to our lands and villages, with modern education hardly touching us. But the middle decades of this century brought about a new dawn on us, and we started in a low pace graduating ourselves into schools and colleges, civil services, industries, and so on. Vokkaligas in Karnataka, and the farmer-class known by other castes - names in different states of India, while continuing to be pre-dominantly agricultural, made forays into fields so varied as business, industry, science, technology, etc. and their explorations into these non traditional pastures have paid rich enough dividends. And so we are here as a match not only to the products of the so-called traditionally, intellectual sections of society in India but even the advanced West. In passing I remind myself that while Vokkaligas remained uneducated in the modern sense of the term, their contribution to the diverse and pluralistic society of India has over the centuries, been by no means small. For that matter, they have contributed substantially and richly to the making of the rural economy and culture of India - in fields so varied as agriculture, horticulture, folkart, folk literature and the like. It is heartening to see so many thousands of the children of the soil having made a significant impact on the American economy and society, by sheer dint of their merit, by virtue of their employment in several vital sectors, on the one hand, and by their dedicated work in trades and professions, on the other.

I have been speaking of the community of the Vokkaligas, and of their advancement and achievements, not with any sense of parochialism and not with too much of caste - conscienceness, but only with the feeling of immense satisfaction that at least some members of this community which had languished for long centuries has woken up and is able to participate meaningfully in so many of the national and international, social, political and economic activities. In fairness to other sections of the Indian society, I must add, too that their contribution to the forward and upward growth of society has been very significant and great, both here in the USA and over there in India. It is the pride of India that Computer Scientists and Engineers and Health Care professionals of Indian origin have made a deep and healthy impact on the American Industrial, economic and social sense. They are here by the legion and this legion has prospects of further growth. The lakhs and lakhs of Indians who have either migrated or are working here on contract have bought India and the USA closer than ever before. If we feel proud of the Indian origin or dissent of the famed Biochemist Yellapragada Subba Rao, Nobel Laureates, Har Govind Khurana and Astro-Physicist S. Chandrashekhar, Americans feel proud of these very same eminent men for the reason that it was their universities and research institutions which nurtured them.

Whether we are from India who are settled in the US are Vokkaligas, Brahmins, Kayasthas or Veerashaivas, we are all Indians. It is but fair that we should go by the age-old saying of wisdom, "Be a Roman in Rome," but it does not and should not mean we should forsake or deny ourselves our roots. Let us preserve our culture and good aspects of our tradition in such way that what we do will not offend the mores of the society in which we are living presently. Let us remind ourselves that USA is a nation of Immigrants and time may not be too distant when America will perceive that those cross cultural currents here have as much traces of Indian origin as there are already of England and European and Latin American countries. You have been a source of inspiration to the younger generation of your clan in India, and I hope and expect that while leading your lives of comfort and dedication to work in US, you will extend your hand of help and care to your compatriots in India to the extent practicable. Let us keep the interest of our country of origin, but let us not forget to strike a balance between these interests and what is expected of us by the country that has given us employment and shelter.

May your tribe increase - increase not merely in numbers, but intellectually, academically, entrepreneurially and may you generate a new warmth friendship and understanding between Indian and the US.

Thanks immensely on behalf of my wife and children and on my own behalf for gracing this occasion!
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