Narsi Narasimhan was looking for a beer in an Arab bazaar in Jerusalem last week when a shopkeeper asked his nationality, confirmed he was Indian, and thrust a drink into his hand, saying, "Free beer... for Indian!" How things have changed, Narasimhan, an Atlanta-based entrepreneur, mused a little later with a group of us wandering the Promised Land. Time was when being Indian was a handicap. Now, in parts of the world, it's a badge of honour, and gets freebies.

Many friends attest to such encounters marking a makeover of the Indian image across the world, the odd discrimination incident thrown in. On the other hand, a recent survey of European hoteliers rated Indians as the second worst travellers in the world (sandwiched between the French, at the bottom, and the Chinese, rated slightly better). But the Indian tourist is a relatively new development; long before we turned touristy, we were hardworking itinerants building railway lines and power plants, running health and education sectors, in many countries, probably much better than we do at home.

There are few places in the world unvisited and untenanted by Indians. As i tell my American friends, we are a small country of a billion people. We get around. There are few corners that have not seen an Indian teacher, doctor, engineer, sailor or trader, including in the Second and Third World, which has also been our stomping ground for long, although those who make it good in US and UK dominate diaspora coverage.

But even in the US and UK, one frequently comes across Ethiopian and Jamaican immigrants who will tell you their teacher or doctor was an Indian; or Kenyans and Tanzanians who say their neighbours were fine Indian business families; or Libyans and Algerians who talk of Indian engineering teams which built railway lines and power plants. We honour our physician and programmer hordes who went west, but among our less celebrated envoys are grocers, hotel industry staff, merchant sailors, and construction crews. On a recent visit to the Caribbean one found an entire resort dominated by Indians - from the kitchen up to the front office.

Across many countries in Asia, Africa and Arab countries, Bollywood is the icebreaker. Stories of shopkeepers accosting Indians with songs from Raj Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan movies abound from Beijing to Abuja. Indian cuisine provides another entrie. A Jewish couple i met recently rhapsodised about Indian food, and when asked where they first tasted it, said, "Oh, we lived in England!" A South African soldier we ran into near Gaza was only too happy to talk cricket, having missed the World Cup for more taxing action.

We can attribute all kinds of reasons why Indians are well-received across the world - from what could be our democracy dividend (many Third World and Arab countries admire our success in nationbuilding, however spotty it may be in our eyes) to spiritualism. But it could also be a mere function of demographics - and language. We are the world's largest diaspora after the Chinese (our 25-30 million to Chinese 40-50 million) with a crucial difference - we speak a little more English, variously accented though it might be.

Of course, there will always be the odd bad apple - the Ugly Indian - who brings in the bad reviews. But generally, Indians have come to be regarded as free, smart, hardworking people, which is a lot different from people from many other countries whose name invoke images of tyranny, terrorism, drug trafficking, financial scams, and sex trade. What a relief.

-- The Times of India