Robertson House on CNN India

Thanks for your replies on my last post. By the way, if you want to make your comments public, press the link 'comment' on the end of every post, and write a comment on what I wrote. That makes a blog a blog and even more interesting to read. Make it 'interactive' - to express it in an up-to-date-jargon. übrigens könnt Ihr auch auf deutsch oder schwiizertüütsch schreiben. Nebo píšte český. Anyway. I will stick to English to make it understand for everyone around the globe.
Ok, before I will go on with telling you boring diary-stories on narrating what I am doing during a regular working day from morning till evening I will go ahead with my 'analysis' on the Indian culture. So far, you have a slight view on the city of Bangalore and I can tell you one first episode now which is linked to the city and which is so representative on what the Indians are like and the way they see (or want to see) this city. Last week, imagine, CNN India came to our house to shoot a documentary on how foreign people live in Banglalore. Oh, for all of you who don't know yet, I live in a big house with about 12-14 other people of all different kind of nationalities, really 'multi-cultural', meega multi-kulti:-). However, the CNN-team arrived with their equipment, light, cameras and started professional-faced and with determined countenances to investigate the house to figure out on what and what not to film. Finally they installed their cameras and kindly asked, a bit less determined, who of us would volunteer for an interview. Simon, our Chinese-'American' joined up first. Now, the Inteviewer, a typical 'new-Indian-generation-modern-acting' young women started, in a typical Indian cosy-nice voice to ask more and less stupid questions like: What do you like best in Bangalore? What is your favourite Indian dish? Do you like Indian music? Do you know any Indian words? (Indian -for those who don't know- does not exist as such, there is 'Hindi' as the official language and 'Cannada', as the Bangalorian local language). Well, Simon primarily focused on his enterprise here and his ambition to take advantage of the Indian economic boom, which he said, he missed in China. However, Dutch Harryet and Philippina Geena went ahead with documtenting their experiences here at their work and with the Indian culture, also mentioning differences which did not always put Indian and Bangalore into the best light, of course. However, on he request of the majority of the community I (being noted for my 'radical' views on India, Indians, Bangalore.... whatever) joined up for being interviewed and , slightly nervous, already making up and formulating sentences in my mind which would neutralize my views and opinions to a moderate level - to make it bearable also for an Indian cognition -. But even though I was prepared, the first question already confronted me and also the interviewer with the bitter reality: what do you like in Bangalore??? Well,........??????????????? and I started a studid explanation of why I decided to come to India at all, digressing subtly from the real answer to the question for not having to alienate the interviewer with saying: NOTHING, Bangalore is just a accumulation of rubbish, a rotten sh..hole!!! Well I didn't say so but my answer was as vacant as the question. However, the interviewer was a bit irritated with my unclear answer and went on asking me random dreary questions like the ones quoted above. In addition, Dutch Eelco and primarily Mexican David was interviewed and even portrayed on how he cooks his dinner and with whom he shares his room.
Two days later the documentary was screened on CNN Indian under the program AN EYE ON BANGALORE or something like that... the outcome of the program was exactly the way I expected: COSMOPOLITAN BANGALORE: fancy, trendy, INTERNATIONAL; so many nationalities living under one roof; we like indian dishes (the Indian culture is highly focused on meals: have you had you lunch = how are you etc...) we can say words in Indian languages; we like Indian music; we all LOVE INDIA because there is always 'life in the streets' with the 'piles of rubbish in the streets and the cows eating it'; India is developing so fast and there is so much???? in Bangalore.
However, that's exactly the way the Indians want us to see India. As in the documentary all the negative statements were cut, in reality, most of the Indians simply ignore them.
By the way, the Interview with me was cut down to two words I uttered: Salaam Namaste (which is a Hindi Pop-Song).
but have a look youself: the online version of the documentary on CNN India; Robertson house on tv:
http://www.ibnlive.com/article.php?id=7365&section_id=3

'who is who' on the pic on the right (sorry,there's too many poeple on the one on top):

back from left:

Patrick (Ireland); Simon (HongKong); Geena (Philippines) Rocco(Holland); Eelco (Holland); Deniz (Turkey)

front from left:

Yamini (Singapore); David (Mexico); Harryet (Holland); Myself