AmreekanDesi

Are you an Indian settled abroad thinking of coming back to India? Read on.

First the all important question. Why do you want to move to India? Seriously. Think again.  If you are coming back because you think India is this awesome place growing at a rapid pace where you would be able to enjoy all that life (and money) has to offer, then please reconsider your decision.

If you come expecting a thousand watt halogen lamp, the hopeful candle flickering in the wind might come as a disappointment.

NRI City – Greater Noida. “Bringing Singapore to India“

Return to India only if you have a very solid reason that will sustain you through the transition period (and beyond), during which you will crib about everything from the traffic, pollution, corruption, cows, buffaloes, and the silly speed bump outside your house. This reason could be work, family, emotions, a hidden treasure that you left under the tree on that plot near the house, the one that has been taken up by the newest unauthorized temple in town.

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Welcome back to Amreekandesi! Subscribe to our RSS feed and get regular updates in your favorite feed reader.

It has been a 100 days since i moved back to India, after spending a fruitful few years in the US. I went to the US back in 2004 as a graduate student, and later spent a few years working on Wall Street, before packing up my bags to come back home.

A few months back in the run up to the Indian general elections, PM Manmohan Singh promised to turn the economy around in 100 days. That hasn’t quite happened yet, but amreekandesi’s 100 days in India haven’t been any less exciting than a Harbhajan Singh driving his Hummer around the streets of Chandigarh.

I am happy.

Happy to be back home. Happy to not be an alien in a foreign land. Happy that i will not miss important events in my family. Happy that i can get my dose of Gulab Jamuns without undertaking that long trek to Jackson Heights.

India is crazy. There is no discipline. There is pollution. There is crime. There is no courtesy.  There is no power, nor water. There are scoundrels for politicians who would sell us all for money if they could. You sweat so much in India.

India has gotten so expensive. It is often said that Indians going to the west would convert all the prices into rupees and get scandalized. Its the reverse for me now. I find myself converting prices into dollars and getting shocked at realizing that a lot of stuff is sold for prices comparable to what you would get in New york.

It’s taken a while to come to grips with this new India. This new India that keeps changing rapidly, for good or for bad only history will tell.

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The other day i was listening to the radio while returning from the office after the regular grind, and came across this very interesting exchange.

So this guy called up the RJ (Radio Jockey), and they were talking. Bhai saab was an MBA student from FMS (which by the way, is one of the top management schools in India).

RJ: So what are you planning to do after your MBA?
Bhai Saab: Bas yaar, ek achhi si ladki chahiye. A nice girl to marry.
RJ: Abe so you dont need a job. A wife is all you need?
Bhai Saab: Yaar job to mil hi jayega, but finding a nice girl is more important.
RJ: Ok. Well, good luck. So who do you want to dedicate this sing to?
Bhai Saab: That would be my girl friend. (Said very matter of factly)
RJ: WTF! If you have a girl friend, then why worrying so much about finding a wife?
Bhai Saab: Arre, she is just a girl friend. Shaadi ke liye to i need a nice girl.

Me: Gasp!

Maybe i am too old to understand this thinking, but nevertheless, WTF! Is this how our youth thinks these days?

This post is about Gurgaon, a little town in Haryana just outside Delhi. Till a month back, i had never been to that part of town.  These days, i spend quite a lot of time there.

First time to Gurgaon, and i was pleasantly surprised. I felt like i had suddenly come to a new land. It’s a veritable jungle mein mangal. There is some amazing architecture on display in the swanky office buildings coming up all over Gurgaon.

As you cross the Toll plaza, here’s what the view looks like.

Is it a building? Is it a ship? Its the ship building!!

The ship beckons you into Cyber City – and suddenly you are in a different land.

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Folks, i am still in India and i am also still alive. So far i have not gotten into any road rage related incident, and neither have i got injured in a police lathi charge. Apologies for the long silence on this site.

A lot has been happening, and overall i am very happy to be back home. Being in India is a fun experience, but i have yet to get fully settled down, which is the reason for the lack of updates on amreekandesi.

I have a lot to share. My experiences, my impressions, my observations, my frustrations, little things that gladden the heart, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

I have sweated like a water tap. I have lost four pounds. I have cursed out loud at the ridiculously idiotic drivers on the roads. I have exhausted the quota of Safeda mangoes, and moved on to the Chausa. I bought a car. I had my dear home theater system’s power supply burn out due to a faulty transformer. I used to sleep less, but these days i am sleeping lesser. I have had occasion to call up 100 (police) for the first time in my life. I travel across three states to get to work, everyday. (See how dramatic i make it sound!)

I have been in India for a month now, and have yet to have a day of complete relaxation. But i am enjoying every moment, and now it feels like i have always been here.

There is so much going on, and i cant wait to write in more detail. Don’t give up on me yet.  I will have some longer (and less hastily written) posts soon.

Walking through the mall the other day, i was pleasantly horrified to see this:

WTH is a Dollar store doing in Delhi? First the prices everywhere seem to be directly converted from dollars, and now this?

Somebody please tell someone that people in India earn in Rupees, not Dollars.

Last week your favorite blogger moved back to India after spending some many happy years in the United States, adding another dreamy returnee to the reverse brain drain statistic, assuming my brain hasnt evaporated already in the superheated Delhi.

You may ask – why? What the falooda is wrong with me?

I’d say I was missing the safeda mango too much. In the few days I have been in town, I have used up half the city’s supply of Mango. There have been days when I had Mango for breakfast. Only Mango.

Mango Mango king of fruits
How I have missed you.

You are awesome
You are juicy
Without you I was so messed up
I was turning all goofy

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