Fareed Zakaria in the Village Voice

In the weekly Village Voice online newsletter, I was pleasantly surprised to see a feature on Fareed Zakaria (They've called him muslim, heart-throb and super-pundit : do read it). Fareed Zakaria is the editor of Newsweek International, a columnist on foreign affairs and, most recently, the host of a talk show on PBS called 'Foreign Exchange with Fareed Zakaria.'

And somehow, even though I have never met him (or perhaps I might have in my infancy - apparently he used to be a regular feature at the Bombay Gymkhana), I feel a sense of pride. And it would probably be the same if Salman Rushdie had won the booker (he's nominated for Shalimar the Clown) or if anyone else from Bombay won anything. It's almost an implication of sorts that because he was raised in the same circumstances that I was (Cathedralite, South Bombay, Cuffe Parade resident, Bombay Gym member), that success is somehow closer.
Of course, he's only one of the 12 million people who've made it in an 'unconventional' field, and there are the other 11,999,999 who haven't - but it's still inspiring.

I don't know whether it's independence week or just a general 'maturation of the mind' or Gregory Robert's brilliant description of the Bombay Psyche that has got me thinking , but, off late, I've been pondering the entire concept of being Indian - internationally and locally - and how much it really means.