'Hindi movies portray only rich Indian families'

Mark Bickerton is more Indian than any Indian. “Mai Hindi kuch kuch bolta hoon,” he says. He has travelled across India countless times and can dish out just as many Indian dishes as any Indian bahu. “I love Indian food and I cook a bit too. The last time I ate fish and chips was 20 years ago,” he says without exaggeration.

Mark Bickerton, Director, London Metropolitan University was in the City for a few days. Metrolife caught up with the charming gentleman and spent a few moments chatting up with him.

Mark has spent most of his career with students. He observes that the education system in India isn’t doing enough to orient the students to the practical aspects of life. “Here it’s all based on marks, percentage and cut off but these young men and women who’ve mugged up all that’s in the book and scored well are as good as nothing when they’re thrown into the market,” Mark points out. He feels the employers must insist that freshers have some amount of practical knowledge before hiring them.   

Commenting about India, he says the people are a confident lot.

“Should I use the common term ‘India Shining’ it would sound too cliched but the people are an intelligent community. People here have a tendency to look westward. I feel India must make efforts to open out a social and political dialogue with China, for instance,” thinks Mark who also feels it’s high time the dispute between the two countries are settled at the earliest.  

Mark agrees that Indians are obsessed with the United States. “The United States is definitely a country of opportunities but I must confess I hate their dominant character. It’s a put off. Indians must only borrow the good from the US,” he opines.

Mark has not only travelled across India, he says he has a keen taste for street food. He is unlike a typical white man who is finicky about eating off the streets, “Back home in London you would find Indian, Chinese, Lebanese, Bangladeshi and Thai food – all on a cart on the street. “I relish the idli, dosa, sambar... not too spicy though. The paneer and kababs are my favourites. I am not fussy about Indian spice, it adds so much to the flavour,” he observes.      

And what’s more is that Mark has watched many Hindi movies, “Hindi movies have English subtitles. But most movies portray rich Indian families with not less than 25 members in a family. I don’t think that is typical of every Indian family. There are different classes of people here,” Marks points out.
He wonders why Indians can’t get over their obsession with the caste system, “There are educated, English speaking Indians who are very caste conscious. I think that’s something that Indians will never get over,” he sums up.