Comments on: The NRI dilemma: This country or that home?

By: Study India Programme (SIP) for NRIs and PIOs | The Indians Abroad

Study India Programme (SIP) for NRIs and PIOs | The Indians Abroad — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 02:50:19 +0000

[...] The NRI dilemma: This country or that home? [...]

By: Bob Miller

Bob Miller — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 19:30:58 +0000

I agree – we all need to make a difficult decision about whether we want to live at home in India or abroad, where comfort is more likely. I have seen that even those who live the most lavish lifestyles abroad often miss home and want to experience their roots. The same cannot be said about second generation NRIs, who for the most part do not feel the same kind of attachment to their motherland.

Das makes an interesting point about friends and family.

Personally, I could never live outside my home country, no matter how difficult life here can get. Even though I can afford to go abroad and settle there, it won’t be the same as living at home with friends and family.

-Bob from Bond Registration

By: sean

sean — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 20:18:51 +0000

I can relate to the facts you stated above. I spent a year and a half traveling around the world. I went to seventeen countries on four continents. During this time I always had thought of home. No matter how adjusted I was to the place I was the draw of the homeland was there.

One thing I found quite interesting is when I was abroad I only seemed to think of the good things back home. And when I came home I only thought of the good things abroad. Interesting how the mind blocks out all the bad stuff.

By: Das M

Das M — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 06:07:09 +0000

Hello all,

I feel obligated to bring up another side which has to do with people and relationships. Two aspects are family and friends. Most seem to focus on a third aspect .. which is convenience.

As time passes, friendship with people ( Indians or others) tend to become strong. It gets to a point where there are memories of great times, follies, strife, children, family and such that one shared. People meet and talk about this and feel good.

In my case, I have been in the US for a while and I am contemplating moving to another state within the US. I will loose the comfort of seeing my usual friends, clients and all. That includes professionals who helped me which include the plumber and all. My point; relocation in itself is tough.

Unless the visits to India happens every year, going back to old memories can be a surprise. The old neighborhood you knew so well may look very different. The great big place (blocks of land) where your whole family, cousins, distant uncles and all lived may be split up to pieces. The temple will be there for sure but now it is all painted in strong colors. Friends have moved on to bigger cities in India or overseas. Family members, their entrenched views and relationships may have changed. Home is never the same. The old school may look so different.

Then you realize that you are looked upon in a different way. If you don’t rework on old tactics, things will cost you much, much more. As I sit and type this from India, I see a whole lot more that I am reluctant to articulate.

One thing I missed was the spiritual aspect. Thanks to the internet and true Mahatmas who visit once a year, that thirst is partly fulfilled. Thanks to all that plus more,.. my personal challenge is to feel at home wherever I happened to be. It is better to claim the whole world as our own.

Now the third aspect … To define life in terms of personal conveniences would be a mistake.

Das M