One of the down parts of growing up in 2 different countries is you dont know where you belong. I have lived twice as long in Singapore than in India. But the India I grew up in is very different from the one I visit now. At the same time, I hardly do things like a Singaporean. I dont eat much local food, little but not so much. A lot of my foundation of things and basics are from India, so I often feel out of place even with my Singaporean Indian friends.
Recently I remember a local friend passed a comment about pav bhaji in India. My instant comment was "India is huge and pav bhaji is not part of India, its only available in some parts of India". The worst part was when the person described a vada pav and called it pav bhaji. Well I am sorry I come from Mumbai, the city which is synonymous with pav bhaji and pani puri. Its quite normal for me to praise Mumbai chat among my other friends from Chennai, or even with Sumit. I am very sensitive of my chaat and my city. Even though I was not born in Mumbai, its the city I grew up in, its the city I have most of my memories in. Its the city that gave me sooo many opportunities, which 20 years of living in Singapore hasnt given me. I am very defensive of my city and my chat, say what you may. I know its wrong of me to expect it. But I am not being rude either. If you want to be ignorant and small minded go ahead.
To me India is too huge to be clubbed and generalized. No offence to anyone but Singapore has half a million people and India has nearly a billion people. You cant generalize 1 billion people, with 400 over "living" languages and probably a zillion culinary variety.
(I know there are too many arguments in this post and a lot of them are not linked or connected)
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