Incredible India

Just today, I got a passbook and ATM debit card for my newly opened NRE account in my local SBI branch. I certainly do qualify as an NRI now, don't I. I have been in USA as a F1 student for nearly a year and a half now and with my job awaiting me in California once I graduate, I am certainly going to be there for three-four years to come.

As an aside, it is despairing to hear that most Indian parents of the post-2008-recession era are now wary of handing over their daughter to an MS qualified boy like me. Our market capitalization has really gone down in this aspect. :)

The question I have been asked by a great many of my relatives, friends and even strangers is how does it feel to be back from the US even if for a short vacation. Does India repel you now? Is the mind-numbing Bangalore traffic appalling to you now? My answer to that is, has Bangalore traffic ever been appealing to even non-NRI citizens? Although, I think the question has a truth in it. People's perception is that the US is generally a far more comfortable place to live in and has better designed cities. While that is generally true, the sum of your life cannot be immeasurably better just because you live in a better designed city and can afford a better standard of living than previously afforded. More on this in a minute...

A friend from college has been in the US for nearly 5 years now. He went straight for an MS after his B. Tech and has been there since. Incidentally, he is also currently in Bangalore on a short vacation and to get his work VISA stamping done. I can clearly see his distaste of living in India from his comments. He believes that the kind of salary he could command with his qualification here in India, he would be unable to afford the kind of lifestyle that he aspires what with the sky-rocketing inflation. Moreover, he is a very activity oriented person like me and likes to run, rock-climb, swim, hike, play tennis etc on a regular basis. All of these facilities are easily available to him at his doorstep at his place in Sunnyvale, but are nearly impossible to come by here in Bangalore. Clearly, he regards these as basic necessities and is riled that they are not available to the common man here. To that extent, I have to agree with him, India as a developing nation is only slowly starting to place importance to leisure and recreation and still comes at a premium.

I have always been a person who likes to explore new territories and get exposure different cultures, and perspectives. To that end, my MS program so far has been a huge success. I have learnt ice-skating, racquetball, surfing and ball room dancing all in a short span of less than two years, a feat that would have been impossible here in Bangalore. I have also tasted so many more cuisines and micro-brews than I would have had a chance to here. But I believe, that with time, all this excitement that surrounds the exotic will fade away. There was a phase in my life that I used to enjoy hiking, that I used to want to visit as many new places as possible. But nowadays, I enjoy kicking back with a glass of beer or cup of coffee with my school friends or preparing a meal for my mom for my birthday (which she really appreciated) more than anything else. Maybe its because, a chance to spend time with my school friends or my family is a very valuable entity given the limited time of my vacation. But I suspect that this is more a mental shift in my values and what I hold important in my life. The realization that it is not material pleasures ultimately, but the people you are surrounded with that matters for your long term happiness. Just the other day, I was mentioning to another friend that it is not so much the thrill of exciting new place but the company you are with that makes the trip/vacation memorable. A few years ago, I would jump at the opportunity to go to a new place even if my best friends couldn't make it to the trip.

Maybe once I get married, I will once again enjoy exploring new places and things with my partner for a few years, but after the magic of a new romantic relationship subsides, these things will again take a back seat.

I have come to strongly believe that home is always where your people are, and to me that is and will always be, Incredible India.