100 Reasons I love America: #5 What’s up, America?

“What’s up?” — how is it possible to misinterpret this simple question? And yet, that’s what I did for the first year in America. If I am not careful, I sometimes do that even now. After 15 years here. I launch into a detailed discussion of all the things that have been really been going on in my life that day. Then, I learnt the right response to this very American question is just one word. “Good”. You could possibly follow up with a question in the same segment. “How are you?” “How was your day?” or “What’s up?” or just say “Good” and smile and walk away. It seemed incredible to me that a small conversation could be had with as few as 3 words.

There is a phrase called “Ram Kahani” in Hindi. Ram, as in the the Hindu God, Rama and Kahani meaning “story”. Ram Kahani refers to someone who gives a long-winded, circuitous response to a question. We desis love doing that. Here are some examples:

1. Try asking an auto rikshaw driver or a pedestrian or a shop owner directions to get to a place in India. You will never hear the answer, “I don’t know”. Indians are helpful. They offer directions whether they know the directions or not. It seems like the right thing to do. “Take a right, then you will hit Nageshwara Rao road, then take a left and probably to your right there, you might find it.”
2. Try asking a FOB (Fresh off the boat desi), “What’s up?”. 15 minutes later, your head will be reeling with the stories he would have conveyed to you about his day.
3. Just watch desis in America or India. We love to talk. You would not find us serenely sitting silently (Ooh — alliteration!) at a park. You would find us loudly discussing Cricket or Bollywood or [Insert cliched Indian interest here]. I bet if there is a study conducted on #words spoken by Indians vs other populations, we will be 5x times in the lead.
4. When I worked at a software company in India, people talked, coded and talked some more. No one wore headphones and stared at their screens for extended periods of time. But, they still managed to get their job done. Just along with a lot of talking.

So, if I love using lots of words and talking, why love America for “What’s up”? Because these 2 words give you a way to connect to a stranger on the road, to a colleague, to another human being to just let them know, you acknowledge their existence on this earth. You both may not have the time to share your life secrets with each other but you crossed each other’s paths and shared time and space for a moment here and that is worth acknowledging with a nod and a “What’s up”. Maybe another day, you can stand and chat for hours together and become best buddies. For today, a “What’s up” is sufficient. A connection has been made. And that matters.