An year after the USA Return
Its been an year in India after I returned from USA , This blog post is to share the experience about how it feels to be back to your place after getting used to US way of living or rather its a post on how I see India after returning.
Every Indian living abroad must have came across these lines 'You can go out of India, but you cannot take India out of you'. very true lines indeed. All the times I was in US there was never a day something or the other did not reminded me of my place and my people back home.
Well to be honest same is the thing when you come back from US to India. One just cannot take US out of the mind; reason not being emotional. Reason is more of the difference in the way things are managed in India and US. There is never a day I don't compare the the way things were in US after looking at the conditions in India, be it traffic management, garbage, food, anything and everything, and I think I will never be able to stop these comparisons in my mind, as now I have seen that world. Intentionally or unintentionally I followed and observed many details of the US way of life that are now imprinted in the mind.
There are many positive points of India that makes it a great country to live in to (on the condition you are earning good). Towns and city are alive till 11 PM in the night, local food joints, restaurants, grocery stores, medical stores all are easily accessible till midnight as opposed to US where it gets too much gloomy after 8PM unless you are standing at some exceptional places like Times Square.
Health Service is very cheap and is easily accessible , you don't have to take an appointment before just for some minor cough and cold. US is terrible in terms of general healthcare, you got to have a primary physician, book and appointment beforehand and sometimes they give date after a week or even month. Of course there are urgent care and Emergency facility available but they charge way too much.There are many other things that are positive about India, be it many people to talk too, cheap food, cheap services and others.
India is following US in many terms, be it Shopping malls, Food Joints like (McDonalds, Subway, PizzaHut, Dominos), Four lane Highways, Retail Shopping chains, Multiplexes and many such things. India is doing great in adapting the US culture in terms of development. There is hardly any day when I don't say "Oh, this the same they do it there and now they are trying to replicate same here".
But there is something about we Indians that will ever stop us from being a developed nation like US. Yes I know that we have our cultural values and that very Indian attitude makes us different. But there are some basic things that really really needs to change. Spitting on roads, breaking signals, not following rules, giving bribe these are the things that are very common for us and knowingly or unknowingly these are now a way of life for us, People now are proudly able to accept that these basic flaws only make us true Indian. and as everyone says "India me to sab chalta hai".
It sometimes hurt to see the way things are going here, but we have to accept the reality. Its a long road ahead in terms of changing the nation, changing the government alone will not help. I believe that mentality of people needs to change, There is no benefit of government creating four lanes when all people do is drive recklessly on the middle of the lane honking all the time, and spitting tobacco all the way. There is no point in pointing the finger at government all the time when the problem is deep within us.
Sometimes its frustrating to see things around, and I clearly don't know and see how things will change, But I have not lost the hope of seeing India taking the positives from the American's and I will try to do my part in doing that.
Every Indian living abroad must have came across these lines 'You can go out of India, but you cannot take India out of you'. very true lines indeed. All the times I was in US there was never a day something or the other did not reminded me of my place and my people back home.
Well to be honest same is the thing when you come back from US to India. One just cannot take US out of the mind; reason not being emotional. Reason is more of the difference in the way things are managed in India and US. There is never a day I don't compare the the way things were in US after looking at the conditions in India, be it traffic management, garbage, food, anything and everything, and I think I will never be able to stop these comparisons in my mind, as now I have seen that world. Intentionally or unintentionally I followed and observed many details of the US way of life that are now imprinted in the mind.
There are many positive points of India that makes it a great country to live in to (on the condition you are earning good). Towns and city are alive till 11 PM in the night, local food joints, restaurants, grocery stores, medical stores all are easily accessible till midnight as opposed to US where it gets too much gloomy after 8PM unless you are standing at some exceptional places like Times Square.
Health Service is very cheap and is easily accessible , you don't have to take an appointment before just for some minor cough and cold. US is terrible in terms of general healthcare, you got to have a primary physician, book and appointment beforehand and sometimes they give date after a week or even month. Of course there are urgent care and Emergency facility available but they charge way too much.There are many other things that are positive about India, be it many people to talk too, cheap food, cheap services and others.
India is following US in many terms, be it Shopping malls, Food Joints like (McDonalds, Subway, PizzaHut, Dominos), Four lane Highways, Retail Shopping chains, Multiplexes and many such things. India is doing great in adapting the US culture in terms of development. There is hardly any day when I don't say "Oh, this the same they do it there and now they are trying to replicate same here".
But there is something about we Indians that will ever stop us from being a developed nation like US. Yes I know that we have our cultural values and that very Indian attitude makes us different. But there are some basic things that really really needs to change. Spitting on roads, breaking signals, not following rules, giving bribe these are the things that are very common for us and knowingly or unknowingly these are now a way of life for us, People now are proudly able to accept that these basic flaws only make us true Indian. and as everyone says "India me to sab chalta hai".
It sometimes hurt to see the way things are going here, but we have to accept the reality. Its a long road ahead in terms of changing the nation, changing the government alone will not help. I believe that mentality of people needs to change, There is no benefit of government creating four lanes when all people do is drive recklessly on the middle of the lane honking all the time, and spitting tobacco all the way. There is no point in pointing the finger at government all the time when the problem is deep within us.
Sometimes its frustrating to see things around, and I clearly don't know and see how things will change, But I have not lost the hope of seeing India taking the positives from the American's and I will try to do my part in doing that.
Tushar,
ReplyDeletethanks for your blog. I am in Hong Kong at present and considering coming back to Gurgaon in same company. I have got 10 month old twin girls and non-working wife. I am also in same dilemma as how life would treat us, what about security of my girls when they grow up and their education standard. Do you have any word of advice for me?