You know what is the strangest thing about being an expat living in a foreign country? It's like being a theif in you're own house. We never belong anywhere! Well, actually, we know where we belong, it's just that other people have a hard time believeing it.

I mean, I for one live in the United Arab Emirates and sometimes I have people come up to me and ask questions like, "Where are you from?" Do you know any place in India where people stop you on the street and ask you something remotely like this?

But even as I answer this inappropriate question by saying, "I am from India," I can swear on the decomposing dead bodies of my forefathers, that more often than not, I literally 'feel' people cringing!

And God forbid, if I ever mention the fact that I am from UAE (actually it's very infamous if you call it Dubai, excuse me, 'Doobeii') to anyone in India, then suddenly the tables are turned and I am the one who is supposed to cringe! I have actually had my cousin look at me in anticipation that I may pass a rude remark at the state of the roads in India or comment on the cows that insist on taking a rest right in the middle of a main road, so she can hautily claim, "Ofcourse, that is because you're from Doobeii."

So, why will one ask, do I care to talk about all this? Well, my point is pretty simple.

Yes, we live in another country and yes, we may even be born and brought up in a foreign land, but that doesn't make us any less Indians. Similarly, living in a rich country and being originally from India doesn't mean we will spit on the roads!

Give us a break. For what it's worth, we still have something in common - we're all human beings.