Monday, March 01, 2010

Ethnic affinity ?

Ethnic affinity :
Steve Hsu quotes Robert Reich:

"The essence of ethnic affinity:


“We have never met before, but I instantly know him. One look, one phrase, and I know where he grew up, how he grew up, where he got his drive and his sense of humor. He is New York. He is Jewish. He looks like my uncle Louis, his voice is my uncle Sam. I feel we’ve been together at countless weddings, bar mitzvahs, and funerals. I know his genetic structure. I’m certain that within the last five hundred years—perhaps even more recently—we shared the same ancestor.”

--- Robert Reich, Clinton administration Secretary of Labor, on his first face-to-face meeting with Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan."

May be there is something in it. Yesterday, I had a similar experience in Footscray, one of the suburbs which was much in news about the recent problems of Indian students in Melbourne. We stopped in a small Indian restaurant 'vanakkam India' which specialises in Hyderabad Biryani and dosa(i). There were about twenty young people in the restaurant and I immediately knew that a few in one corner were were from Guntur-Krishna area. As I overheard the conversation, it became more clear though I did not enquire since the young people seemed to be really enjoying their weekend meal. I find similar things when I visit other places. It seems so easy to build some sort of rapport and even 'business' contacts and alliances. May be one should not read too much into these things. Anyway, the good news is : the food is ok, not expensive and there are forty types of dosa from paper dosa to schezwenchilly masaladosa. The restaurant is located at 198, Nicholoson Street, Footscray (phone number: 9687 2233).

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