Creations in distant lands

ASK any middle-class Indian household if they have members of their clan in distant shores and the answer would certainly be in the affirmative.

- JITHA KARTHIKEYAN [e-mail] (Jitha Karthikeyan is an artist and curator, passionate about making art accessible to the larger public)

Until the 90s, the annual return of these kinsmen was a spectacle indeed. As the yellow and black Ambassador taxi arrived at the doorsteps, ferrying the travel-weary passengers with their baggage precariously tied onto the roof, there was palpable excitement in the air. It reached a crescendo with the long-awaited opening of 'The Suitcase'.

Yardleys and Camays soon briefly replaced the Lifebuoys and Lirils in many bathrooms while children were presented with toys and chocolates they had never seen before. The imported alcohol further elevated the status of the foreign returnee to dizzying heights.

Nothing much has changed except that the non-resident Indian now has a fleet of cabs to choose from and 'The Suitcase' has lost its sheen, thanks to our supermarkets stocking up on everything that once filled those bags.