The Chinese Community Part II
Buru or Nandita Das is my kid sister. Not as in she is my sibling, but we grew up together long long ago in Calcutta.She and her twin sister were our neighbours, and her father was a colleague and close friend of my father's. She is now in New Jersey, USA where she is a happy housewife and a very busy person as she works from home and teaches Bengali to children there in her spare time.She has two lovely children and her husband who is originally from Silchar, is another devoted father and husband. She has been in the USA for a long long time and i don't suppose she will return to India permanently ever. Her mother is a close friend of my mum's and she is also one of my favourite aunts; again of course , not related by ties of blood but by those of love. Anyway, she has written to comment on my post on the Chinese Community in Malaysia. And I think what she said is interesting , so that I am putting it up here, without taking her permission. I am sure she wont mind, and even if she does, we Indian elder brothers don't care!
"I agree 100% with your views on the Chinese community in Malaysia and they are very much in keeping with the Chinese community here in New Jersey. Here too, they are hard-working and inspite of their Western dress, they have clung fiercely to their language, culture and tradition. Indeed the fact that they speak the same language and use the same script have undoubtedly contributed to their strength and unity. Perhaps the Indians will never be able to be as united and strong like them as a community because of our diversity. I have seen that almost all of Deeya & Tuklu's ( her daughters)Chinese friends are hard-working, high achieving, ambitious students. Besides, I think that, in general, here the Chinese kids here are pushed much more by their parents as compared to the Indians. For instance, most Chinese kids begin their piano lessons from the tender age of 3 and practice for 2-3 hours each day. It is no wonder that some of Deeya & Tuklu's Chinese friends have already played piano at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York City more than once. Our town has a huge Chinese population and there is a Chinese school on Saturdays where most Chinese kids are enrolled. I heard that besides learning Chinese language and literature there, the kids also learn Chinese calligraphy, painting, dance and yo-yo there. It is no wonder that almost every big city in USA has a China town. When Tuklu was only in first grade, she commented that all her Chinese friends here have 2 things in common: they all learn piano and/or some instrument and they all have their grandparents living with them. In most Chinese homes, the grandparents who live here are physically quite fit (they take long walks in our development during morning and evening) and care for the children while both parents work outside the home. Tuklu's best friend since first grade is a Chinese girl named Lori and after Tuklu learnt about China's one child policy she said that "I know why there are so many Chinese here: whoever wanted to have more than one child, came to USA."
There is so much to be learnt from them. Can we take some lessons?
"I agree 100% with your views on the Chinese community in Malaysia and they are very much in keeping with the Chinese community here in New Jersey. Here too, they are hard-working and inspite of their Western dress, they have clung fiercely to their language, culture and tradition. Indeed the fact that they speak the same language and use the same script have undoubtedly contributed to their strength and unity. Perhaps the Indians will never be able to be as united and strong like them as a community because of our diversity. I have seen that almost all of Deeya & Tuklu's ( her daughters)Chinese friends are hard-working, high achieving, ambitious students. Besides, I think that, in general, here the Chinese kids here are pushed much more by their parents as compared to the Indians. For instance, most Chinese kids begin their piano lessons from the tender age of 3 and practice for 2-3 hours each day. It is no wonder that some of Deeya & Tuklu's Chinese friends have already played piano at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York City more than once. Our town has a huge Chinese population and there is a Chinese school on Saturdays where most Chinese kids are enrolled. I heard that besides learning Chinese language and literature there, the kids also learn Chinese calligraphy, painting, dance and yo-yo there. It is no wonder that almost every big city in USA has a China town. When Tuklu was only in first grade, she commented that all her Chinese friends here have 2 things in common: they all learn piano and/or some instrument and they all have their grandparents living with them. In most Chinese homes, the grandparents who live here are physically quite fit (they take long walks in our development during morning and evening) and care for the children while both parents work outside the home. Tuklu's best friend since first grade is a Chinese girl named Lori and after Tuklu learnt about China's one child policy she said that "I know why there are so many Chinese here: whoever wanted to have more than one child, came to USA."
There is so much to be learnt from them. Can we take some lessons?
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