By K S Venkataraman
India has its own harvest festivals — Pongal, Sankranti, Onam, Naukhai, and Baisakhi, among others — that the urban, English-educated, anglicized 
Indians who are completely uprooted from their hinterland, do not know, or do not care for. Lately, the American Thanksgiving bug seems to have bitten them, if you go by The Indian Express’ Lifestyle story (Ref: www.tinyurl.com/India-Thanxgiving-WkEnd). This English daily is published simultaneously in big cities and several second-tier cities.
In the Indian Express story reproduced below, there is not a single word on the American harvest, or on the Native Americans’ encounters with Whites. I have italicized the phrases to highlight the absurdity in the story. The bold letters are my comments.
“Thanksgiving is a time for family reunions, shopping, merrymaking, feasts and family dinner. People take out time to spend special time to meet near and dear ones and thank them for their kindness. Every year, people all across the world celebrate Thanksgiving Day.
“For Canada it is the second Monday of October and for United States it is the fourth Thursday of November. Other countries like Australia, Grenada, The Netherlands and India also join in the celebration. (Really?)
“This year, the Thanksgiving day will fall on November 23, one day before Black Friday, as per the US’s celebration date.†(Note that the writer puts the cart before the horse.)
Then the story gives a “quick and easy recipe†for roasting Turkey. Turkeys available in India? How many Indian homes have ovens to roast a 20-lb turkey for 4 hours? Then gives a recipe for mash (not mashed) potatoes and cranberry sauce. Where will Indians go for cranberries?
On reading the article, the urban, anglicized Indians in Madras, Bombay, Calcutta, (Chennai, Bengaluru and Kolkata maybe too provincial names for them) will develop a massive inferiority complex on what they are not able to do in India on the Thanksgiving weekend, even though these wannabe-gora Indians are sitting on the very top of the Indian socioeconomic pyramid!!!  ♣