There was this interesting topic thrown up for open discussion in our community picnic event at the park this evening.. A group of Indian, mostly tamil-speaking, expatriates (i.e. NRIs) settled in the US got together at the picnic table and started chatting about the pros and cons of what a return to India would mean to them. (The stated intention of the mediators was to mimic the SunTV arattai arangam discussion format, but of course the interaction wandered off into your typically lively mottaimaadi arattai that you indulge in with your old school buddies.)
What caught my attention was practically the very first point made at the session - the mediator made a mention that it seemed as though the women folks are the ones that are more in love with this country (the US) and they are the reason why the men would not force the decision to relocate back to India. I could not help but notice that neither the women or men in attendance particularly complained about this observation, so there must be a whole lot of merit to this contention. All the usual discussion stuff then followed - the optimists saying how Indian economy and such are now booming, and how the salary and standard of life there was appearing to catch up with US standards, and how nice it would be to be back home and close to parents, family and friends... and the naysayers rebutting essentially saying that things are never as good in reality as they seem on paper, and that India from a practical standpoint has a long long way to go in terms of progress if or before most of us will want to go back.
I did pitch in with my two cents every now and then at the session (btw, my better half did better than me), but I did not really feel like I was able to share my full take on the topic. If you care for my opinion - I would start by saying this is the same old "pattikaada pattanama" question that has evolved and taken global proportions. True, India is becoming more like US in certain obvious aspects- the IT-industry driven change in modern Indian standard of life and culture comes to mind right away. But the more subtle and interesting and almost-going-unnoticed change is the one that is occuring here in the US - that America is becoming more like India in many ways - that you now get that healthy dose of indian family, culture, language and other intangibles that you did not think was possible here even say 5 years ago. In my estimate, in less than 20 years from now there will be very little to choose between the two countries in terms of professional careers and rewards, but public infrastructure in India will continue to lag for 50+ years, so for lifestyle reasons we will continue to see a net braindrain from India to US through the later part of the 21st century. Although I largely subscribe to this theory that India will never ever be what US was or is or will be (in both positives and negatives), I see that the differences will become pretty blurry in about 100 years, obviously beyond a timespan that my generation will live to see. For our generation, as it will be for all generations to come, I see that the decision which country to live in will ultimately be purely a matter of personal choice.
On a somewhat different note, I must say this - From what I have seen, only a small proportion (I would say less than 5%) of the desi folks who came to the US have ever permanently gone back to desh. Now be that as it may, I seriously question the sincerity of those who have consistently said for several years that they want to go back and have never been able to make that big decision. I wonder if all of their stated intentions is only a matter of old-fashioned homesickness and wishful thinking and not really any sort of genuine soul-searching. Have you ever seen a barking dog bite? I have noticed that it is these same people who deep down in their hearts do like the things that this country (the US) offers but never really are openly appreciative about such things because of their sense of personal-guilt stemming from years of indecision when it comes to which country to call home. While such hypocrites have every right to dwell in and glorify the things they like in their motherland, they have no right to trash the country that they made a conscious and willing choice to come live in for career and lifestyle reasons. I would just say if you want to go back home please feel free to do so, but bear in mind America could not have treated you any better while you were here. More soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment