Identity Crisis

Hailing from the beautiful hill station of Darjeeling and possessing Mongoloid features, I often get asked this question a lot :

"Where are you from?", to which I reply, "Darjeeling, West Bengal."

"Oh! So you are a Bengali...", comes the response.

"No, I'm not a Bengali. I speak the Nepalese language and I'm a Nepali", I say.

"So... you're from Nepal??", comes the uncertain query.

I take a deep breath and explain,"I am from India. I live in Darjeeling, where the local cuisine, language and culture is of Nepali origin. Darjeeling falls under West Bengal, however, we do not speak the Bengali language. We have our own culture , which is similar to that of the people of Nepal. But, that does not make me a Nepalese citizen. I am an Indian as much as you are."

"Oh okay. I see...", they say, with doubt still lingering in their eyes.

It is moments like this, which occur quite frequently, that makes me ponder over the saying: "I have no reason to be proud of my country for I did not choose to be born here".