Tag Archives: india abroad

NRIs and the duplicity of life

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In India, NRIs – non resident Indians, are always looked up to; NRIs are often envied for their prosperity and the riches. NRIs hold a special status in all walks of Indian life. They are well recognized for their deep pockets. There is no debate that most of the NRIs are considered very successful among Indian society, regardless how they make their living in the foreign land.

And how are the NRIs and Indians perceived in the foreign land? What is their social status in the county they live in? Well, exactly the opposite in many cases. There are no stories of special stature to write home about. For example, in the American society, you can find lots of successful NRIs, lots of middle class Indians who are well settled, but there is nothing to envy about their social standings, at least not in the adopted country. They are just a part of another minority group. Continue reading →

NRIs and the Distance

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NRIs: Living abroad and the distance between families/friends

The long distance relations, the long distance friendship, the relatives far away and the families scattered around the globe – it is part of living abroad. ‘The distance’ is a part of the journey for most of the NRIs. The distance may be one of the variables depending on where and how far you live, but it is a constant – it is always there. When it comes to the overseas’ life, the distance is what identifies the lifestyle of majority of the NRIs.

Most of the Indians living abroad have what you may call ‘an international family’. The parents may live in one country, the kids in another place, and some of the siblings yet somewhere else. Most of us travel to the faraway places for opportunities – the financial opportunities, the chances for career growth, better jobs and so on…. We explore all around the globe looking for something better – better schools, better jobs, the better places to raise kids….

Along the way, while searching for a better life, come the compromises and the sacrifices. One of the obvious results of all these relocations is the distance.

At the heart of all this running around, at the bottom of all this hunting all over the globe is the search for a better life. The whole thing – the living abroad – revolves around the idea of finding a better life. Continue reading →

NRIs – Scattered relations, separated friends!

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“At first, I tried phoning regularly, almost every day. Then it changed from everyday to every week-end. Talking on the phone is not the same, and it becomes very expensive. Over the years, I have basically lost touch with most of my friends, even some of the closest ones,” He speaks in somewhat sad tone, with pain spilling out of his words, “I still call my friends, we email more than phone. We still understand each-other, but it is not the same. I am no longer a part of the friendship circle that I left behind.”

This is true for most of the NRIs. We often talk about going abroad; living overseas and we share our experiences in the foreign countries. We explore the pros and cons of leaving our homeland and settling overseas. Whenever there is a reunion or a get together, we discuss it all – the good stuff, the bad side and the compromises of living abroad.

However, one of the least discussed and the most unfortunate side-effect of the whole thing – going abroad and settling overseas, – is the emotional and social impact it has on our psychology. It is probably because we don’t like to talk about something very personal. Maybe it is uncomfortable and often painful to discuss something that was much cherished and now lost.

“What we leave behind is lost forever. You cannot go back after years and restart from where you left. Time does not wait for anyone, and people have moved on. Maybe that’s how it is supposed to be, but there are some aspects of going abroad that I will always miss – the circle of friends and families. Yes, I am richer now, but at what cost, I often wonder.” Continue reading →

A lesson in American History

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“Hi dad, I am home from school!” She shouted, entering her house.
“Very good! How was your day? You look tired!” He lowered the TV volume to almost mute.
“It was okay. I still don’t like America!” She said, putting her heavy school bag against the sofa.
“It’s normal Riya! Did you make any new friends?”
“Not really, all the white kids call me ‘the Indian girl’” She slumped into the sofa, next to her dad.
“That’s because they are not used to it” He said encouragingly.
“I love ‘American History’ class though. The teacher was so happy with me!” Her tone was happy again. Continue reading →

The way I used to be

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I miss aimless walking through the streets, the summer roam;
Venturing out in the winter chill, and wandering astray.
Not knowing the destination, but always feeling at home;
I miss howling at the rickshaws, telling them, “Just take me that way.”

I miss the dusty paths, the unpaved roads with no sign to ‘stop’;
Or treading through the morning fog, where one could barely see.
Or waiting for hours at the corner, for a glimpse of her from the roof-top;
And then wondering all day, ‘what her name might be’! Continue reading →

Quality of life abroad – going in circle

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Quality of life is often listed as one of the key reason for migrating to different country, or different place. For example, some the common reasons for migrating from India to countries abroad often include

  • The economic hardships and lower income,
  • Search of better employment,
  • Better education system or higher education,
  • Better medical facilities,
  • Ability to start and operate a business with minimum political and social corruption,
  • Financial and economic opportunities in a foreign land…etc.

All these facilities and much more developed infra structure, combined with financial advantages, add to the comforts of day-to-day life abroad. As a result, based on all this, it does make a difference to the quality of life.

Over the last many years, however, there have been lots of discussions about expatriates and NRIs going back home. There is even a cool term coined for it – R2I : return to India.

Why are lots of Indians returning to India? Guess what – one of the most common reasons for R2I is ‘quality of life’ back home. Continue reading →

Loving the life in Canada

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She waited in the line for 30 minutes before the Brampton Employment Resource Centre opened. Once inside, there was more wait. She sat in a chair waiting for her turn while people around her chatted.
She thought she was a people-person, but everything around her seemed to annoy her that day. She was tired of fruitless job search.

The place was crowded. There were all kinds of people around her. Two women sat in the front row, giggling and filling up an application. A group of middle aged men were standing nearby, with construction workers’ shoes on, as if ready to start some construction job right away. A young mother sat next to her, with infant toying with the milk bottle.
“They did not have any openings last week”, the young mother said, trying to make a small talk, and then added quickly, “Hi, my name is Kari!”
“Hi, I am Jassi.”
“So you are local?” Kari asked, while trying to control the little one who wanted to wander away from her arms.
“Sort of, but I have been in Canada only for a few months.”
A long silence; she grabbed the baby who was eager to wander around, “There are no jobs in accounting in Brampton area!”
“Really?”
“Yeah, the adviser showed me some openings in the restaurants last week, but I don’t want to be waitress; I need a real job!” Kari kept going; expressing her frustrations with the job search.
“I know how you feel”, Jassi said quietly. Kari most likely did not hear her; she did not respond. Or, she didn’t want to talk about her feelings.

“This sucks man,” the guy with construction worker’s shoes said, as he waked away from the counter. He obviously did not like the news, whatever the lady at the counter said.

“It was nice to meet you, I have to go,” Jassi said.
“Why? Don’t you want to meet the adviser; your turn should be coming up in 10-15 minutes?” Jassi had already walked out, even before Kari could finish her sentence. Continue reading →

Canadian Living – A multicultural society by default

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We are always busy comparing stuff around us. We compare apples to oranges, Bollywood to Hollywood, old music to new music….It is human nature we compare our experiences with all sorts of things all the time.
If you live in USA or Canada, you most likely have heard this from your desi friends:
“Canadians are much friendlier!”
“Canada is a much better place to live”…
Or something similar…

I have heard the same so many times from many Indians who either travel through Canada or have lived in Canada. Many of them have lived in both Canada and USA at different times of their lives, so they speak from their experiences.

Recently, while traveling through Canada, I got the first hand opportunity to explore the local living and local cultures. There are some things that stand out in Canadian cities:

Canadian cities are much more multi-cultural and diverse:If you walk through the streets of Toronto or any other major Canadian city, you will notice one significant difference compared to major US cities – you are surrounded by a very ethnic and diverse crowd. The brown skin seems much more mingled and much more predominant. Continue reading →

Welcome to America

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Husband’s third day in US.

“Slept well, finally”, he yawned.
“Good. I heated water in the microwave, for tea”, wife said.
“I like pan made tea, don’t you?”
“Yeah, may be later; can you help me with washing these dishes please.”

He hesitated, then walked over to the microwave slowly, “let me have tea first.” Continue reading →

USA Census 2010: Make yourself count as Asian Indians

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The Constitution of America requires that the U.S. Census count every resident in the United States, every 10 years.

Starting in March 2010, census forms are being delivered to every residence in the United States and Puerto Rico. Once you receive your form, you are supposed to answer the 10 short questions and then mail the form back in the postage-paid envelope that is included in the package. If you don’t mail the form back, you will likely receive a visit from a census taker, who will ask you the same questions from the form and will fill the form for you.

The questions are mainly related to the number family members in the household, type of residence and. telephone number. Name, date of birth and race of each person is also part of the questionnaire. The information you provide is confidential and for the purpose of obtaining population statistics mainly. According to the Census, “Your answers cannot be used against you by any government agency or court.” Continue reading →

Facilities on overseas assets for Indians returning to India

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R2I facilities on overseas assets for Indians returning to India

Here are some key highlights of the Indian facilities related to overseas assets and financial situations for Indians returning to India:

Retaining assets abroad:

  • Effective 17th July, 1992, the Indian Central Government has granted exemption from the surrender requirement to persons who return to India after a continuous stay abroad of one year and above in respect of funds/assets acquired by them abroad otherwise than in contravention of FERA 1973 or out of foreign exchange earned through employment, business or vocation outside India taken up or commenced while they were resident outside India. Persons satisfying the conditions of general exemption can retain their foreign currency accounts within bank abroad and/or hold, transfer or dispose of their other foreign currency assets such as shares, securities or investments in business, etc. and immovable properties.
  • They are not required to obtain any permission from Reserve Bank for holding these assets.
  • They would enjoy complete freedom for utilization of these assets as well as income earned or sale proceeds received subsequently.

    • Continue reading →

Happiness outsourced

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His house sits in one of the most upper-scale and affluent residential area of Chicago suburbs. As I walked inside the double-door entrance with marble sidings, I quickly realized that the inside of the mansion is even more impressive and pretty that outside view. There are two separate staircases leading to the upper storey; there are multiple bathrooms on the main floor; the open ceiling concept has a catwalk that overlooks the family room; the kitchen alone is bigger than decent size luxury apartment…

If you look at the size of house, you would think that some millionaire lives here. Maybe, he is a millionaire; it is hard to guess his wealth out of his humble disposition and very friendly nature.

After a brief chit-chat, I asked him about his occupation. I knew he was not working much currently, but I was very curious to find out where he got the big bucks to build that big mansion.

“One second, be right back”, he briefly went into the kitchen and came back with two cups of hot tea – steam still floating over the edges.

“It was a good job, a very good job. Only 15 minutes drive from the house,” he reflected on his past occultation, the cup of tea resting on his thigh as he leaned back in the easy-chair.

For 15 years, I found out, Ramesh had worked for an electronics company as a quality controller. He does not have any special technical education –engineering degree or anything else of the sort.
“I started on the assembly line, but I was promoted to the supervisor within years”, there is a happiness in his voice as he walks down the memory lane.
“Everybody appreciated what I did for the company. I used to get letters of recognition all the way from Japan – our upper management headquarters.”
“So, what happened?” I asked curiously.
“Outsourcing!” he did not feel any further need to explain. But then, after a brief pause, he spoke with a sad tone, his voice lowered, “they did not need us anymore, they found cheaper ways to do what we did, in other countries!”
“Oh, I see!” I did not know what else to say.

For the past 4 years Ramesh has struggled to find a decent job. Most of the jobs that need his skills are outsourced. After trying for years, he gave up on the job market, and tried to do what one of his best friends does – real estate agent. Continue reading →

Welcome to the world of Holi festival – without colors

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The Holi day in India; the festival of colors! Dry colors , wet colors, sticky colors, shiny colors, or just plain water if you run out of the colors – everything is a fair game. Friends, foes, families, strangers – everybody is a fair target, well, most of the time. No one minds, or to be politically correct, no one is supposed to mind, if their all dressy outdoor wear is smudged with colors. No one is supposed to hold a grudge if their best dress gets messed up from the Holi colors. Why? Because it is Holi, the festival of colors – no other explanation is needed. A rainbow of colors is an expected scene – almost everywhere.

If you live in India or grew up there, we all know, you can go crazy with the colors if you want to. The day itself demands you to be colorful – inside and out.

Just like in India, the Indian communities abroad – all around the world, celebrate Holi festival. However, there is a often one big difference in the celebrations – the absence of the colors (or very few colors – just as a symbol). Plain and simple – it is not as colorful!

In many overseas celebrations, the scene is not quite the same as in India. In many countries, it is just like any other normal day. You can celebrate the festival within the walls of your own home, or in your own backyard, or with some desi friends if you are lucky to find those who understand the Holi spirits. That’s about it. Your choices and your enthusiasm are limited. Even within Indian circles, very few bothers to celebrate Holi now-a-days! At least, not like we used to, in India. Many westernized Indian kids want to enjoy it in their won way – from a distance, as long as the colors don’t touch them. Why would you want to look ridiculous and messy in the middle of the day! Continue reading →

Desi fundas 101: Education a fundamental driver of Indian success abroad

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The big red letters on the front of our school used to read, in two languages:
In Punjabi: “Vidhya insaan di teesari akh hai!”
In Hindi: “Vidhya insaan ki teesari aankh hai!”
Meaning: Education or knowledge is the 3rd eye of a person.

Growing up, we all knew that some of the rules should not and could not be questioned; rules like:

  • Respect your books. Stepping on a book, even by mistake is a sin. A book never belongs under your feet.
  • Education is your priority number one.
  • Respect your teachers….

If you look around, you can always find many neighbors or colleagues that sacrifice so much to educate their kids. Many of them may not have enough to afford three meals a day, but they damn make sure that their kids go to schools – good schools, including the prestigious schools or colleges abroad.

The same priority on education is equally true for Indian Americans, British Indians, Indo Canadians….and other Indian families overseas. Continue reading →

Indian head wobble – the desi nod

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The way many Indians and nod their head is often described as the ‘Indian head wobble’ or ‘Indian head bobble’. If you live outside India, it is not a widely understood body gesture.

What is Indian head wobbling?
For those who are not familiar with the term, the head wobbling is a motion that is somewhere in between the up-and-down nod, and the sideways head shaking. So, it is somewhat rotational motion of the head – a light head shake combined with a head roll.

What does it mean?
Does it mean yes, or does it mean no?

Simply put, it means ‘yes’, but is it really that hard to understand??

Well, for those who are not exposed to Indian culture and desi body language, it is a confusing response. Continue reading →