The New York Times


May 4, 2011, 2:00 pm

ABCD

American Based Confused Desi – an updating of the term “American Born Confused Desi,” used to describe Indians in America debating whether to return to their homeland.

Writing for The Times of India, Ankit and Hemanki Kothari asked: “When you read the abbreviation ABCD, what’s the first phrase that comes to your mind?”

Are you thinking of “American Born Confused Desi“? Well, that’s history! We would like to coin a new phrase for ABCD, and that’s “American Based Confused Desi.”

Most of the Indians currently living in USA are perplexed if they should continue to dwell in America or is it time to go back to India. Boom in the Indian economy has not only raised the eyebrows of all NRIs [Non-Resident Indians] but has also left everyone confused about their future.

The term American-Born Confused Desi was coined to describe second generation Indians in America. A longer version of the initialism uses the whole alphabet: American Born Confused Desi, Emigrated From Gujarat, Housed In Jersey, Keeping Lotsa Motels, Named Omkarnath Patel, Quickly Reached Success Through Underhanded Venal Ways, Xenophobic Yet Zestful.

ABCD has also been used to describe the most marketable segments of the Indian cellphone market – Astrology, Bollywood, Cricket and Devotion.


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