Hello, Are you from India?

So this Desi stranger walked towards me while I was shopping in a mall and asked “Hello, Are you from India?” After 5 minutes of introduction we exchanged the phone numbers. The next thing I know is that I am a victim of DQMS (Desi Quixtar Marketing Strategy) again. I bet if you are a Desi then you know what I am talking about.

Seriously don’t get it. I truly might hold the world record for having been contacted by more Ambots than anyone else but none of them was non-desi!! May be there are non-desi who set the example for fellow desis. Do they not do this to white people? May be too scared to or may be its much easier to start a conversation when you've laid down a familiar base and used the time proven 'desi bhai' icebreaking routine. It's harder for Gopal Venkatarmanisubramaniam to approach Bob Anderson and find common ground.

And I bet all of this desi friends, who do this, know very well that people hate it when approached at Costco, Barnes & Nobles, Walmart etc. Then why?

May be they should come up with a new marketing strategy. India is the best country in the world and I am really proud of being an Indian. But the time I meet this kind of fellow Indians is the only time I have to say - I'm not "from India".

Reference:
http://quixtarsucks.blogspot.com/2005_09_01_quixtarsucks_archive.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4375477/