A peep into Uncle Sam

I happened to visit the blog of a friend who has bookmarked my blog and it said "Updated 4 months ago"! "AGO" - Gosh! Not the word ago! Atleast a softer tone like "back" could have been better. The word "ago" sounds like aeons have passed since my last blog. This is an open insult to my blog and I take vengeance... eeerr.... by posting this blog.... :-)

This is a long due post. Everytime I have returned to this blog, there is something new to add. I started this sometime mid-jan but challenge my ever procrastinating nature.  Anyways here I am writing about my life in US post marriage and the heart-wrenching longing for home.... :-(

 

First of all wish you a very happy new year 2009...... I know its late but swalpa adjust maadi.... :-)

Hmm, so to cut the long story short..... for the past six months my life was on the fast forward mode - wedding, in-laws' place, visa interview, flight to US, new friends, new life and a new house in which I get to be the "lady of the house"......... Whoa! thats yet to sink in!!! And now that I'm little settled in the new house and new surroundings, the big question haunts me "What next?"

Its been two months in US now and I feel like running for cover when I hear these two obvious questions 

"How is married life?" 

"How did you like US?"

Well, to talk about married life....  everyday, there is something new I learn about Harsha that it makes me feel like am on some discovery voyage... :-)  

And about US, well, Harsha says I'm ill-qualified to judge US but still I put forth my observations of US and its life.

Welcome to the new world, where almost everything works opposite of the rest of the world. Right-hand traffic, anticlockwise locks, the upside down keys, the upturned electric switches and even the water taps operate the reverse direction! If Americans had the power to change the rules of nature then American sun would have risen in west and set in the east. Thankfully mother nature is consistent. 

I was exported from the local silicon valley to the global silicon valley. Yes, Bay area is where I stay. A favourite of our "desi" janta. Fremont, a small suburb is a concentration of residential complexes. Its a horizontally spread city, I bet you to find a building with more than 5 storeys. So basically people travel to the downtown(IT hub) for work consequently for major part of the day the city is dominated by my-type of housewives. One look at the city and man! Indians seem to be ubiquitious. Many sari-clad women go for morning-evening walks. The air in my apartment corridor is heavy with Indian spices. Stores like India cash n carry, Bharat Bazar, Dhana Bazar has got a whole range of Indian goods. No wonder why our desi janta is comfortably settled in here. With such Indian acquaintances, I personally little felt that this was the USA - The United States of America. On the contrary, I felt like am either in Delhi or Chandigarh or some such posh city in India. Wondering what kinda comparison is that? Well, wait and watch, I justify this statement later in the post. 

Continuing on the thread of Indians in US, I could classify the US-Indians into broadly three categories. 

Number one - These folks live the exact life as they would have in India. This category follows the traditions, rituals and festivals more diligently than people back in India!

Number two - The clan of totally Americanized Indians, desi look is the sole Indian-ness in them.

Number three - the people mid-way between Desi-ism and American-ism, confused lot....!

Two common factors among these groups - There is definitely a little bit of patriotism still persisting in them and all their children (category-no bar) are ABCDs.

I read this wonderful article about NRIs in US remigrating back to India.

 http://www.indiacurrents.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=97ee3d27ba2bd11f5fc07dc09c42c894

It has a power-packed caption

NRIs are trading in their non-resident status for a chance at the new Indian dream. But can they compete in the booming India of the 21st century?

NRIs having to compete in India.... wow! What a compliment to India! The article talks about the remigrated couple Swathi and Ramesh Ramanathan of the Bangalore Janagraha fame. A person comments in the article "Every year I visit India, I see old theatres make way for malls giving a very posh look to the city. Gurgaon, now looks like a mini Las Vegas". Now thats what is apple to apple comparison folks. Hence justified the corollary Fremont looks like a posh Indian city. My instincts were not wrong after all. 

I did find a couple of hypocrites too lured by the dollar dreams, well times are not far when rupee dream will lure you back to originality, so watch out buddy.  But these are the people who have missed out the actual fun of watching India grow in leaps. Well... I feel sorry for myself too since am currently missing the fun. That reminds me of the kannada movie CIRCUS I watched last weekend starring namma golden star Ganesh.  In one of the scenes I caught a glimpse of the trademark gulmohar trees of blore over ulsoor lake..... God did i miss home or wat? Suddenly some of my best moments at home swarmed me. The feeling of homesickness I went through then is indescribable. I miss those early morning sounds of blore.... the vegetable sellers, the sound of school bus horns, the morning walkers chatter.......... I miss it all, I miss home and all the things revolving around it but nothing much can I do other than blog and crib.....!

But between all these, there are some strong postivies about Uncle Sam.  Americans are logically common-sensed folks who live life by the uncomplicated KISS (Keep It Short and Simple) model. Impeccable submission to traffic rules awed me. (Ok.... here I go again about traffic... well thats me obessesed with driving!) Between its awesome to drive in US but anytime Autobahns are the best. The sense of freedom and dignity every US citizen has is highly appreciable. No questions asked, no pressing force, no age constraints and to top it all a well established system. This is in to contrast what I found in Europe. US is a free society which teaches children an independent attitude and to respect the concept the dignity of labour. Indians need to get there still. 

Currently am on a forced break from work. As with every Indian who lands in US, I started cooking too which occupies most of my valuable time.... :-) and I have developed a flair for the culinary delights.  And one perk of taking a break is I have no alarm clock - I get to wake-up whenever I feel like........... Do I see my working friends turning green?.....:-) 

So conclusion

First impression - I didnt like US

Impression after a week - I hate US

Current impression - Well, US is good but east beats the west. 

P.S: If you have not listened to the oscar nominated Jai Ho song from Slumdog Millionarie, do so right away. Mindblowing score by Rahman..... I wish wish wish he wins the oscar.