A large section of people even thinks in English. It is a language a person has grown up with. It has become his language of expression as it comes most naturally and effortlessly to him. He has mastered it and uses it better than he does his native Indian language. There is no contradiction in what he thinks and how he expresses it, no dichotomy of thought and expression as in the pre-independence period where the poet thought in one language and expressed himself in another. .
In this context I recall the words of the well known poet, Kamala Das, in her poem An Introduction', where she defends her choice of English,.
"The language I speak Becomes mine, its distortions, its queernesses All mine .it is honest, It is as human as I am-.
The question of Indian-ness and language.
Indian-ness and language are two very different notions. Indian-ness refers to the rich heritage of basic value-systems, traditions and the socio-cultural milieu, which sets Indians apart from others. The bonds of family, the importance and understanding of relationships, the vast cultural heritage and social sensibilities of our country bind all Indians together in one fabric.
An Indian-English poet, like any other artist, is and remains a part of the same social and cultural milieu. He has grown up amidst family; he understands the bond of relationships; he has imbibed the same values and sensibilities, as has any other Indian. The family forms a major subject of his poetry and the intricacies of family relationships are endlessly explored. He is not detached from all things Indian. When he writes, it is merely an expression of the same in English, a language that comes as naturally to him as his own mother tongue or even more so. It does not by any means make him or his sensibilities any less Indian. .
Reflection of one's Indian sensibility does not mean communicating in an Indian language alone. Language is not a yardstick of Indian-ness' or Indian sensibility'.