The Indians Abroad

Overseas Living: NRIs & India abroad

Archive for August, 2009

Jobs and Occupations in highest demand in USA: 2006 to 2016

Aug 31

Posted by admin in career planning, Jobs and Occupations, personal development | 5 Comments

Bureau of Labor Statistics: A summary of Tomorrow’s jobs

Making informed career decisions requires reliable information about opportunities in the future. Opportunities result from the relationships between the population, labor force, and the demand for goods and services. ~ US Bureau of Labor Statistics
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The unemployment rate in USA is almost 10% – the worst in decades. A large number of well qualified individuals are desperately looking for jobs. Finding a job that you really like, and getting it, can be a challenging process.

This article provides a long term view of the jobs and occupation that are, and going to be, in high demand in USA. The information and data is based on the study from U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. A wide variety of occupations are forecast to be in high demand. Among all occupations, health-care is forecast to make up 7 of the 20 fastest growing occupations.

The first chart displays the jobs and occupations that are supposed to enjoy the highest rate of increase. The Top jobs with highest percent change in employment over the period of 2006-16, as shown in the chart, include:

  • Network systems and data communications analysts
  • Personal and home care aides
  • Home health aides
  • Computer software engineers, applications
  • Veterinary technologists and technicians
  • Personal financial advisers
  • Makeup artists, theatrical and performance
  • Medical assistants
  • Veterinarians
  • Substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors
  • Skin care specialists
  • Financial analysts
  • and so on…..For more details, you may refer to the chart on the right.

According to this detailed study, the 7 top health-care occupations are exhibiting high growth rates. Overall, as you can see in the chart, the high growth rates comes from health care, social assistance, engineering, services and technical occupations. Read the rest of this entry »

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The Bollywood Quiz: III

Aug 29

Posted by admin in Bollywood, Entertainment, Trivial Stuff | 5 Comments

love-aaj-kal-review
The other quizes on this site can be found as linked below:
The Bollywood Quiz IV is based on the recent movies or related Bollywood stories as of November 2009
Bollywood Quiz 7 – Bollywood Playback Singers :A quiz on popular Bollywood playback singers.
Bollywood Quiz I: Know your Bollywood?:A Bollywood quiz about old movies of yesteryears!
The Quiz III below relates to Bollywood movies or stories from August 2009, (and originally published in August 2009):

Name the first film  produced by the "chota nawab" Saif ali khan?





Farhan Akhtar makes a comeback as an actor in  Luck By Chance directed by his sister..





Sonam Kapoor and Abhishek Bachchan star together in this movie from Rakesh Omprakash Mehra..





This Bollywood film about experiences after 9/11 is directed by Kabir Khan:





In which movie does shahid kapoor play a double role?          





In "sankat city" who plays the lead actor role?





Director Nikhil Advani is back with Akshay Kumar staring in a lead role in this movie:







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Mom, where is my backpack!!!!

Aug 27

Posted by admin in Culture & Society, Entertainment, india abroad | 1 Comment

sxc1030730_blackboard_in_the_classroom_4The life goes on; the time churns on. The days keep going by while we worry about meaningless and trivial stuff around us… The hot sun of summer is getting distant by the day – coming out of the East later and later every morning and hiding behind the West horizon sooner and sooner every evening….

The summer break is over; the schools are back in session. Moms are crowding the shopping malls; the kids are busy picking out their favorite shoes, stylish dresses, fashion accessories… Aand oh, the school supplies too. A 4 year old complains while trying on the lighting shoes with sparkling flash, “Mom, why do I need to go back to pre-school again, I am not a little kid anymore!”

The students – young and old – are updating their Facebook and MySpace pages with the newly received class schedules. They already know which of their friends will be in their classes. who will share their lunch breaks. They have filled up their closets with the latest brand-name clothes with the latest trends. The texting speed on the phones is picking up as everybody exchanges which sports activity to join, or where to meet before the class…. Read the rest of this entry »

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10 Tips on English pronunciation and accent improvement!

Aug 25

Posted by admin in Communication Skills, india abroad, personal development | 11 Comments

Key tips on English pronunciation and accent improvement for people from India:

This post focuses on the specific difficulties that people from India encounter when speaking English, or during pronunciations of certain parts of English speech. For overall accent reduction and how to lose your accent, refer to the posts at the bottom of this article.
Based on common observations by everybody and feedback, here are some of the main problem areas, along with the tips to improve them:

1. The pronunciation of ‘Rs’, ‘Ts’, ‘Ds’ is not clear or hard to understand/distinguish:
‘T’ sound almost like ‘D’:T in some parts of American speech is supposed to be less crisp. It should sounds more like a ‘d’ in many cases, especially between vowels. Katie is pronounced almost like KaDie, water like waDer.
‘R’ pronunciation: There are varying observations on the sound of ‘R’:
-Let the sound of R flow; don’t put too much stress on this sound especially in the middle or in the end of a word.
-Don’t totally chewing up the sound of ‘R’ in other cases. Practice the stress on this sound, and listen to how your American/English friends use it. In ‘Robert’, the stress is on first R; let the second ‘r’ flow, without any pronounced stress.

2. ‘Vs’ and ‘Ws’ sound: This is a common problem for many Asians and Europeans, so don’t take it personally. There is a clear difference between ‘w’ and ‘v’ sounds. Even though most of Indians understand the difference, the distinction is often not carried out in spoken English. Let us try this:
-For the sound of ‘v’, place lower lip gently on the upper teeth and say the word. Don’t press it hard, you should be able to exhale through, while making the sound. Most of us find this hardest to get used to.
-For ‘w’ sound, it’s a different than ‘v’, the lips are supposed to be rounded and puckered like when we say ‘u’, and with no contact between the teeth and tongue. Move your lips in the forward direction as you vocalize the sound.
-The key distinction between the w/v sound and the ‘B’ sound is the fact that the lips are closed when we start to vocalize ‘B’. Read the rest of this entry »

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NRIs’ random ‘things-to-do’ for the day!

Aug 23

Posted by admin in Bollywood, Entertainment, india abroad, Non-Resident Indian, NRI, Trivial Stuff | 2 Comments

NRIs’ random thoughts of the day :

Check the weather forecast
Have a cup of tea
Say a Prayer
Watch ‘Love Aaj Kal’ movie
Update Facebook status
Check cricket score
Buy a recipe book
Order carry-out food
Check out the special sales fliers
Garden the flowers and vegetables
Google search ‘NRI Marriages’
Shop for cheaper phone service to India
Buy Samosa and chaat to make ‘Curry Samosa’ :)
Check stock market
Burn desi music CDs
Update resume
Go to Indian store
Google search ‘how to lose your accent’
Go for a walk Read the rest of this entry »

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Common myths and misconceptions about India!

Aug 21

Posted by admin in Consciousness & Awareness, Culture & Society, Entertainment, India, india abroad, Most Popular Stories, Non-Resident Indian, NRI | 15 Comments

The misconceptions that your American/foreigner friends may have about India and Indians!
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“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” ~Gandhi

I am delighted to run into more and more Americans who have so many good things to say about India. The younger generation in particular is very open-minded toward global outlook. However, from time to time, we do get some out-of-the-blue questions about India. Based on my personal experiences as well as the stories from friends and families, here are some of the common misconceptions or myths about India:

1. Elephants in our backyards: We don’t keep elephants as a pet. Here is an actual question from an elementary school student to an Indian teacher in US, “Do you used to ride an elephants to your school in India?”

2. Everybody snake-charmer: Not every Indian is a snake charmer. “Are those cobras poisonous?”, as if Indians are supposed to know everything about snakes.

3. The Indian Curry: Not every dish we eat is curry based. More and more Americans are trying and enjoying Indian food, but curry is invariably linked with India. An Indian restaurant manager always has interesting anecdotes to share about his experiences with American customers, like this one:
“Can I have some curry samosa please” asked the white customer when the waiter came around to take order.
“How would you like it – spicy or mild” The waiter asked without reacting to the choice of entree.
“Medium”, he replied.
The waiter came back with 2 Samosas and the chutney/sauce to dip in.
I guess Indian sauce is also considered curry for some. :) Read the rest of this entry »

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Shahrukh Khan is god; so is US Immigration Office: The lessons learned

Aug 19

Posted by admin in Bollywood, Business, Entertainment, India, india abroad, Non-Resident Indian, NRI | 4 Comments

Shahrukh Khan

Shahrukh Khan

“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” ~ Mark Twain

This incident of SRK’s additional questioning and detentionis in Newark is still getting so much coverage in the news. Actually, this was the main topic of discussion during Independence Day celebration.

Here are the lessons we learned from the whole thing:

USA Immigration and Customs Office is god:Yes, god, but still with a lower case ‘g’. Nobody worship them, but they don’t care. So lets not tangle with someone with this kind of attitude. We can admire them or hate them from a distance. When going through the customs,  if you are over-friendly or over-nervous, they will suspect something is wrong. ‘Suspicion’ is their middle name.

Shahrukh Khan is god:Many worship SRK, so no quarrel here. Problem starts when our Desi god collides with a foreign god, like an Immigration personnel in this case. While you can decide which one of the two would be villain (I think I know your answer :) ), you don’t have to. This is no epic battle of Mahabharata where good and evil are already defined; sometimes nobody wins in these battles of today. In this incident, I think both sides won, in their own words of course.

VIP Treatment not everywhere: VIP treatment in US is very limited. Actually people get very upset when they see a VIP getting special treatment in a public place. Totally different culture, let us not fuss about this. Remember, most of immigration officers don’t know much about our big shot celebrities. Read the rest of this entry »

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SRK, “My Name is Khan”…umm… too bad!

Aug 17

Posted by admin in Bollywood, Entertainment, india abroad, News, Non-Resident Indian, NRI, politics | 5 Comments

Shahrukh Khan goes thorugh additional questioning at USA Customs and Immigration

SRK and Kajol to star together in 'My Name is Khan'

SRK and Kajol to star together in 'My Name is Khan'

Shahrukh Khan (SRK), the iconic Indian Movie Star and the king of Bollywood, was subject of additional inspection and questioning by the immigration officers at the Newark airport, New Jersey. He was en route to Chicago to attend an event related to Indian Independence day celebrations.

SRK claims that he was singled out due to his Muslim last name – Khan. He added that the immigration officer was not convinced with any of his explanation about the trip.

The US Immigration and Customs office denies that his last name had anything to do with the additional questioning; he was stopped due to missing baggage. As per the statement from the Customs, everything was done professionally and by the book. It is common for a customs officer to ask someone to step aside for additional inspection if they are not satisfied with the interview.

It is ironic that SRK was in USA earlier this year shooting a Hindi movie titled ‘ My name is Khan’. The film is about the experiences of a Muslim in America.

Another remote possibility is that it was all planned by SRK; a thought that I could not resist.Considering how good an actor he is, he may have staged the whole drama. This incident turned out to be a very good publicity for him and his upcoming movie. Everybody is now talking about ‘My Name is Khan’ all of a sudden, which will be released worldwide soon. Read the rest of this entry »

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2020: Corruption free India, Happy I-day!

Aug 15

Posted by admin in Entertainment, History, India, india abroad, Most Popular Stories, Non-Resident Indian, NRI | 7 Comments

Happy Independence Day, India

9:00PM, August 15, 2020; San Francisco, USA
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He plugged the PAT5000 robot into the electric socket for night time charging after it was done vacuuming and cleaning the kitchen and living room. Taking the newly installed escalator up to the bedroom floor, he went into his daughter’s room to tuck her in.
“Tell me a story papa”, she repeated her favorite request as soon as he walked in!
He was drawing a blank at first; fixing her sheets, he started:
“Once upon a time, long ago, there was a country ruled by a foreign Empire. The rulers from England were not very nice. They stole lots of Diamonds and Gold, and many other things…”
“Diamonds are very shiny, right?” She asked.
Yep, very shiny. ‘The Kohinoor’ was one of the shiniest and biggest of all” he went on…
….”After centuries of submission to the outside ruler, a small group of people started a fight for freedom.
She was not interested in this story; hoping it gets interested, she asked, “why were they fighting?”
“So they could be free. As the time went by, the fight became more and more popular and grew bigger and bigger.”
“Popular is good, right? You think I will be popular in my school?” She did not understand the story, so she started her own discussion.

Read the rest of this entry »

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NRI Tips: Commonsense guide for NRI marriages

Aug 13

Posted by admin in Culture & Society, india abroad, Marriages & weddings, Most Popular Stories, Non-Resident Indian, NRI | 4 Comments

NRI marriages tips – Don’t get carried away with overseas marriages

“Now very often events are set up for photographers… The weddings are orchestrated about the photographers taking the picture, because if it hasn’t been photographed it doesn’t really exist.”~Elliott Erwitt

The main reason for so many problems with overseas marriages is that couples and the families are taking too much for granted – before and after the marriage. Here are some of the commonsense tips for marriages abroad:

Don’t rely on online services for matchmaking: While an online site could be a good place to see what people are looking or what is out there, don’t put you full faith into these online services. Take the profile info with a grain of salt; people tend to lie, it is a fact.

Do not marry to the NRI status: As I stated before in the problems with NRI marriages article, many of the families go for a wedding blindly just to marry to an NRI living overseas. The more important requirements of mutual compatibility are often overlooked. And, that’s where the problem really starts. Don’t marry to the NRI status, but to the person of YOUR choice.

Meet your future partners – in person, and for longer than over a cup of tea: The arranged marriages of 1950’s are so long gone. Get to know the other side as much as possible, at least until you feel comfortable with making your decision – one way or another. Read the rest of this entry »

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The growing problems with NRI Marriages: A wake-up call!

Aug 11

Posted by admin in Culture & Society, India, india abroad, Marriages & weddings, Most Popular Stories, Non-Resident Indian, NRI | 5 Comments

NRI Marriages gone bad: the issues with the NRI Weddings

“My daughter _____ who is an attractive girl, has done masters in English and now she is working in a bank with salary____. She is a lovable, cute and calm girl.she has great respect of our tradition and culture. Interested persons can contact us at____ Must be an Non Resident Indian (NRI) with legal and valid residence in US or Canada….”

“She has a bachelor’s degree in Information Technology and is just finishing masters in Computer Science; very outgoing, friendly and caring person. She likes making friends and gets along with people easily. Looking for an NRI living in …..”

There is something fundamentally wrong with these matrimonial advertisements all over the Internet and on-line newspapers. Many of these ads are nothing more than fishing for NRIs living overseas. As you can see for yourself, the primary qualities for match-making are often overlooked. What happened to the need for decent human qualities; may be a search for compatibility, honesty or other values? These advertisements don’t seem like for a wedding but more like a business proposition: would you take our pretty/handsome daughter/son for a green card? The greed is written all over these NRI matrimonials.

Similarly, on the other hand, you can also find plenty of ads starting with ” Looking for a suitable match for a well settled NRI overseas…..” or something like that. Being an “NRI abroad” is the main quality being touted again and again. I guess, as long as people are willing to be exploited, there will be exploiters.

More and more problems are emerging with these NRI marriages. The problem is not just opportunistic NRIs, but also those who put their trust in someone whom they have barely met. The personal gains take priority over any consideration for the long term well-being of the bride/groom. We can blame the NRIs for failed wedding, but the fault lies with both sides. Actually, the blame lies more on those who get married to someone just because he/she is an NRI.
If you are lucky, you may find a decent match; yes, there are lots of success stories. However, it is too much to be left on luck alone; waging everything on blind trust and chances alone is no wisdom.

There is no wonder why the NRI weddings are getting increasingly negative press. Everywhere in the news and media, there are too many sad stories of NRI marriages gone bad everyday: Read the rest of this entry »

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LIFE IN CHINA…..A new place..A new culture!

Aug 9

Posted by admin in Culture & Society, India, india abroad, Non-Resident Indian, NRI | 13 Comments

This is a guest post from d. mirpuri– an Indian in China , sharing experiences and thoughts about living in China .

China is much like India . This is the place where you’ll see fields still being plowed by an oxen while the farmer chats away on his mobile as he works – just talk when u walk baby!

Executives dressed in fake chinese made Armani suits and louis vuitton bags dash between high-powered business meetings.Yet, they always spend their Chinese new year with LAI-LAI (grandma) at her village home where she keeps poultry, grows plum (Indian bear) trees, has freshly ground chilies (they don’t use much masalas), and cooks spicy tofu-chicken (mapu-tofu) in her kitchen wok over an open fire. The youngsters play basket ball, the oldies practice thai chii (exercise) in the wee hours of the morning or soon after dusk.They can be found in any garden. Non chinese are always welcome to join them.

In China , you can see bullet trains passing by the donkey drawn carts; skyscrapers towering over old Buddhist temples. It is here that you will see that the poor have nearly next to nothing, and the rich have all. With its booming economy, life in China can be both richly rewarding and incredibly frustrating. Read the rest of this entry »

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The growing trends of love-marriages in India!

Aug 7

Posted by admin in Culture & Society, Entertainment, India, Marriages & weddings | 6 Comments

What counts in making a happy marriage is not so much how compatible you are, but how you deal with incompatibility. ~ Leo Tolstoy

The love-marriage in India goes beyond the age-old love stories portrayed in the black-and-white Bollywood movies. Some of the earliest scriptures (Rig Veda), books (KamaSutra) and stories prove the fact that the love-marriage has never been a foreign concept for India.
However, these love flings are have been discouraged in the Indian society due to many reasons:

  • Very protective style of parenting- especially for girls,
  • Social stigma against pre-marital relations
  • Love affair are  always looked down by the elders.
  • Cast restrictions and wedding rules don’t go well with love marriages

However, the things have been changing. The society is becoming more and more tolerant with time. The love marriage is no longer a taboo in Indian society, especially among younger generation. The pre-marital relations are growing into a fashion in big cities, perhaps a statement of progressive thinking.
In fact, the semi-arranged marriages have been evolving more and more into love marriages. While the families try their best to stick with traditional wedding, including controlling the bride/groom selection, the new crop is quickly walking towards the western style of relations.
The semi arranged and love marriages have become a part of Indian culture and customs, just like arranged marriages were in old day. The society as a whole has come a long way to accept the natural evolution. Many social factors have facilitated the acceptance of love marriage very quickly, including:

  • Independent thinking and open-mindedness among today’s youth,
  • The exposure to western culture,
  • Hollywood movies’ wide-spread influence in India
  • Desi flicks from Bollywood that always have tumultuous romance stories with happy endings,
  • More and more acceptance of inter-class weddings by the older generation,
  • Modernization of India in the last decade…

Regardless if it is an arranged marriage or love-marriage, the accompanied traditions and matrimonial ceremonies have not changed. The pundits still have their jobs, the celebrations are bigger than ever and you can even hire a Bollywood star to dance at your extravagant wedding for the right amount of money.
Unfortunately, the freedom of marriage and partner selection also brings freedom of un-selecting. Divorce, the word itself considered ominous in India at one time, has become a part of the society. More and more couples are failing to make adjustments and compromises – a key requirement for any marriage.
And, in case of unhappy ending, there is no money back guarantee from the pundits, the singers or the expensive Bollywood dancers hired for the wedding.


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Hire a Bollywood star for your party: Aaja NachLe!

Aug 5

Posted by admin in Bollywood, Culture & Society, Entertainment, India, Marriages & weddings | 5 Comments

Who would you hire from Bollywood for your wedding party?

Madhuri and Aishvarya in film Devdas

Madhuri and Aishvarya in film Devdas

Have money?… Looking for the knockout punch at your party?….
Well, look towards Bollywood.
Everything has a price, they say. For the right price, you can get almost anything.
So, what is the price for the Baadshah of Bollywood Shahrukh Khan to dance at your party? How about Rs 3 Crores to start with. Shahrukh Khan agreed to put up a show at the wedding of real estate giant Kanti Govani’s nephew for this large sum of money.

Who would you hire for your party?

From yesterday’s stars I personally like:

  • Amitabh Bachhan:- I won’t mind watching him perform to the tune of ‘Pag Ghungroo bandh Meera Naachi thi..’ from Namak Halaal.
  • Helen: The queen of dance numbers..’Mehbooba Mehbooba…’ from Sholay is my personal favorite since childhood :)
  • Hema Malini: The ‘dream girl’, a trained classical dancer….

    • Read the rest of this entry »

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The semi-arranged Marriages!

Aug 4

Posted by admin in Culture & Society, Entertainment, India, Marriages & weddings, Most Popular Stories, Non-Resident Indian, NRI | 2 Comments

 The semi-arranged Marriages in India

She first met him in the English class in 1994. Not sure what it was, but there was something about him that made her skip a beat. May be it was that young foolish age of daydreaming, but she started to add him into her dreams……
Eventually, they became friends, good friends. Not many family members knew about him except her nosy aunt. Luckily for her, the aunt loved to be a matchmaker, and she took it from there on….
The families from both sides were very pleased with the aunt for finding them a great match….The rest is history.. This semi-arranged marriage…
The change is a part of the slow but ever-progressing ways of life. Based on the demands of the time, the culture and customs evolve; the traditions change. Similarly with time, the marriage concept has become much more relaxed and less rigid. The new way of life and modern thinking have naturally affected the way marriages are initiated. There is more transparency between the families and the potential couples; the restrictions of old days are fading – slowly but steadily. Read the rest of this entry »

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