Indians Returning to a New India from Abroad

chillibreeze writer — Urvashi Devidayal

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“Yes, Yes, Madam, Ho Jaye Ga. No Chinta” (It will be done – don’t worry). Do you have any idea how many times I have heard this in the last six months. It is frustrating because NOTHING is ever done.

India is shining, gleaming really, and the government has done a fantastic job of splashing every billboard in every city, village and town. Newspapers, TV talk shows, the corporate head honchos, everyone is talking about it. Somehow the “India Shining” campaign found its tipping point and there is the gleam of “opportunity” lurking behind every conversation related to India. I am one of those phoren returns who jumped on the bandwagon of desis returning home. Originally, we all left home for promising America because we knew the job opportunities here were few and far between. Now with our shining new home country life would be perfect. After all if you get a good job, then with family and unlimited vada pao and chai, life should be perfect, right?

Yes and no. I don’t want to completely thrash the Indian system, as I am just too patriotic for that. I had a good job, great social life and was pretty settled in the US when I decided to make the “big move” back. Lots of people were doing it, my best friend, old college buddies, colleagues – the war stories on the “move back” was a constant topic of conversation amongst desis. Everyone debated it and when one finally made the decision to move you got two types of reactions. One from the group of people who waved you off saying, “We are on the next flight. See you at home” and the second obviously cynical group who waved you off saying “See you back here next Thanksgiving, you will never survive at home.”

I have always wondered why people said I would “never survive” here. The problem is the work place is very different here. I have been spoiled in the US by a work place that is light years ahead of the Indian work place. Yes, things are definitely improving, as you no longer have to bribe someone for a phone line. Everything you could ever want is available here in terms of material goods. However, there are still some things that need to be scrubbed till they are shiny and squeaky-clean. For instance, no one in India will ever say no to you or admit that they do not know how to do something or cannot do it. I think it is just a cultural thing where we are conditioned to say, “yes” to everything and we even nod our heads in confirmation. The part about actually delivering on the promise is a matter of luck, or maybe it is just a matter of experience where you have to learn how to sift out the actual doers from the “yes madams”. Or maybe you need to learn how to yell, it worked on several occasions. The problem with me is that I am just too laid back to yell so I guess I am just going to have wait till people get used to not being yelled at.

The last thing I will vent about is rather amusing. I do not find it amusing but apparently a lot of Indian companies have had a good laugh when I have spoken about benefits, days off, maternity leave or flexi-time. HR is not yet a part of the basic Indian company’s vocabulary. I am not even going to touch on the topic of the glass ceiling. It is about a foot high here and bumping into it ever so often is giving me a nasty headache. The director of a company asked me when I am going to get married and have babies, and what my father does. He did not even look at my past work experience!.

Everything is not as bleak as I am making it sound. There are parts that are shining, but there is more than a fair share of India that is rusty or that has only been polished on the surface and now the cracks are beginning to show. MNC’s and Indian companies that have been around for years are good places to work, family run business have a long way to go. The business opportunities are tremendous but one needs to sift through the madness to get to the real gold. We (India) have a very long way to go before we can retain our intellectual capital and reverse the brain drain. Lets hope that things change for the better in the future and we don’t have to run away to other countries again.

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Urvashi writes for chillibreeze.

Indians Returning to a New India from Abroad

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