"I want to settle down in the US of A".
Sounds familiar, right? No surprises as this is what most young Indians like me secretly dream of. Fat pay cheques, seductive lifestyle, smart homes, flashy cars, last but not the least, a pretty Indian better-half(who knows, even a gori maim will do) are some of the supplements that come along with an American job.
But different from others that I am, my aspirations of a permanent foothold on the American soil are the outcome of a more rationale, call it more logical approach to life. The recent agitation by a 'sons-of-the-soil' organization 'XYZ' sowed the seeds of this logical thought process in my mind (and heart too). Complimented by timely watering in the form of a recent SC ruling on OBC reservations in educational institutions in the country, this seed has transformed into a full-fledged banyan-tree-conclusion firmly rooted by the following assumptions which might come true in the next 15 years, or, may be even earlier.
1> The 'XYZ' organization would have acquired the status of the law makers (or breakers shall I say!). Laws of the nation would get re-written to iron out the flaws injected by their original drafters, inline with the wishes of the organization chief Mr. 'A'.
2> I might not be able to secure admissions for my children in the premier institutes of the country even if eligible. Merit is the most underrated word in this country. I fear publishers of the famed oxford dictionary might have to publish special editions sans the word merit, for sale in India. To shoot the sales to meteoric heights they would rather introduce a new word 'Aarakshan' meaning 'suppression of the deserving, applicable only in India'.
3> Even if my children manage to get a decent quality of education, the chances of their getting employed would be as miniscule as Rakhi Sawants role in Main Hu Na! The only reason for their rejection by potential employers would be - yes, you guessed it right. The resume would have to mandatorily read like as follows to facilitate faster recruitment.
Name : Unaarakshit Mohnot
Age : 22
Sex : Male
Ed. Qualification : BE Mechanical
Reservation Category : None
4> The 1st of April would be the designated date for submitting application forms to secure S1B, S2B, ST1 and other types of Inter-state Visas. Did I hear you yelling 'Inter-state-visa' with double exclamation marks? People would not be allowed to move out of their respective states of birth without a valid Visa. Insufficient infrastructure being the secondary reason behind this exercise. Primary, Mr. A's wish. Any person residing in a state other than his/her birth without a valid visa would be considered as a threat to that state and put behind bars after his house, office have been stoned to ground-zero. Wondering why just one day for a population of 2 billion plus? Well there's just one fools day in a year. No prizes for guessing what the emails informing them of the visa status would read!
So, you see, I love my country very much and therefore i do not want to leave it in search of greener pasture for myself. But I love my children even more...
4 comments:
well said Ashish,
great blog,very very disturbing.
u should really write more often.
For one, I would say "...Fat pay cheques, seductive lifestyle, smart homes, flashy cars, last but not the least, a pretty Indian better-half..." is largely a myth, not a reality. Be there, do that to know more. My logic could be defeated if you're thinking in terms of the exchange factors and settling your grey cells with peace, which is a form of intentional ignorance.
Back home in India, a fat pay-cheque means literally 5-6 figures. While in the US, other than doctors or lawyers, I haven't heard any desi being paid 5 figures of local currency any month. One can own and enjoy as many privileges as one could afford. Get to the basics - the average software guy in India would hardly touch a mop, do the dishes or worse, clean his commode. I guess the underlying factor is the indifference we have towards human labor in the Indian subcontinent. Trust me, we all have it in some form or the other, its in our DNAs. So given the outlook, lifestyle and economy, the pay-cheques are really not that fat.
Seductive Lifestyle: believe me, its the biggest myth :P
The odds of scoring a fairer femme are way too low, given the accent, lifestyle and more importantly - the built. Yes, as a matter of fact, some desi dudes might look but ALL of them are barely athletic. For desi women, there is a good chance of success in a hunk-hunt provided they know what reverse cowgirl style means ;-)
Homes aren't that smart, its just the reflection of the respect for clean-green surroundings and a rock solid commitment of the government to provide services. It's just like any other house in Bangalore or New Delhi, with better surroundings and services.
I partially agree with the fact that one can afford to buy a good car in the US, which might have been a dream carrier for many in India. But as a matter of fact, driving is one big lesson one needs to learn here. I assume you can estimate how 'authentic' a procedure is to get a drivers license in India. Worse, wonder how easy is it to get away with the traffic police? On another note, In the US, getting a car might be easy though, but at times, it is a big pain in the @$$.
NOTHING is at walkable distance, Skyrocketing parking prices, tough-to-find parking spots and top it all, parallel parking on the streets :P
One definite thing that a US Visa guarantees you is a Pretty Indian Better Half. I completely agree with you here. Albeit all odds, speculations and compromises, what rests in store back home is the mindset that the american life is best of all. Families tie up, brides/grooms dress up and finally you can make a move. From an Indian point of view, I would say its a tough choice to come over and settle with new things and a stranger (what else do we refer to unknown brides/grooms who spent less than 500 hours of courtship with you), after completing more than a quarter of your life in COMPLETELY different social and domestic settings. Though with a broad and longsighted mindset, I see everything falling in place in the long run. Give me a count on how many fathers/mothers in a white collar job get home at 6PM? Ain't everyone addicted to working late, I primarily target the male species here. Most of us dont leave for work at 0800, dont get there by 0900 and hence, we're never done by 1700 so we can't get home by 6PM. Your spouse, parents and kins are mature enough to understand that you are busy and most of the times, they might be busy enough to miss you. Guess who is ultimately left wondering when his papa would get back home. In the rat race and procrastinated lifestyle, we often forget the basics.
So before you leap ahead with your pink slip for the big welcoming stamp from Uncle Sam, give a thought on what you lag and what you should have.
hey.. i completely disagree with ur view.. if reservations and education system is what bothering u.. then Ashish, i completely agree with the present situation. Inspite of going trough the pains of forced to take admission in so called "Not dream" Engg. college.. I would say we have a system which benefits the most..
As a matter of fact, I went through the History of Education system in America.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_education_in_the_United_States
It was not before a century and a half after Americans got their independence, that technical equality in education had been achieved.. Believe me if u go through this site, their system was worst than what we have now.
But we r proud to say that, we have not completely achieved but atleast created equal opportunity for the socially backward class within half a century.
Obviously reservation was not methods for this education equality in America because of the limited population they had. It was for us because of the large population and the immense competition we have..
If it wouldn't had been for these policies, we as young Indians would have never dreamt of learning and socializing with these sections of society.
With the glorious history we have of suppressing the poorer and discrimination against caste and creeds.. the minority student wld have never had good education..
We have this tradition of pulling each other’s leg which is very much present even in good educated Indians in big MNCs.. .Believe me as a miniscule developer I had to tough time to make my voice to be heard.
With all these qualities we have, I guess they have a rite to get first chance to advance given the limited resources and family educational background they have.
Yes obviously, there are ppl who get an undue advantage.. but its again in the hands of such educated class of Arakshit(as u mention) ppl not to take undue advantage and let the deserving candidate reap the benefits…
I have seen Maharashtra students from Reserved class whose family depends on agricultural revenue who have made a fairly good career after completing their engineering. Their aggregate was too less than what a open category student’s wld be. If u know the situation of farmers in Maharashtra.. We should be proud that alteast the future of one family is now secured and not on the verge of attempting suicide.
Maybe it’s not a long term solution, but yes it is definitely a short term .. And yes. The long term wld be changing ppl’s attitude.
Well U can surely reduce the competition for my children here.. By moving to US.. J))
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