I'm writing the general opinions of most of the NRIs, as I used to get the details from the discussions which happen during our friends meet here. Few of them are :
1. We might have lived in individual houses with garden and compound walls in India. But now, we live in apartments with single bedroom, congested and small ones. But people back in India (not the one who really knows us) always imagine as if we are living in houses as the ones seen in TV programs (could be Britney Spears house).
2. When you return to India, no matter how close or not, every one who knows you expects a gift from you (atleast a foreign chocolate, if not a perfume). They never mind about the maximum weight (20kg) allowed in airlines. You should some how carried the gift. (But I guess now this mentality is reducing a little, as atleast one person from every home are now NRIs).
3. Once when you landed in a foreign country, you can never say a word about India or anything bad happening there. You are considered as not patriotic. You might have did the same, sitting there in India, but not now. (of course lots of NRIs do show off as if they were born and brought up outside India and never knew the pathetic conditions of India before).
4. The moment you took the flight outside India for a job, you will be considered as "Bill Gates". I mean, one of the richest person in the world. Relations and friends will ask for money / debt and if you are not able to give, then the rest of the happenings (like scolding behind you, spreading rumors about you to others) are left for readers imaginations. They never knew, we spend most of our salary in house rent alone. I guess, since we convert the amount of rent in Indian money and tell them, they imagine the house we live would be like Britney Spears house.
5. Each and every friend and relatives expects YOU to call them and never think that telephone is not FREE for NRIs. That too, they all expect your call on some special days like "New Year" and never accept that we cannot make 100+ calls in a single day. The head ache increases if we called one friend and left another one, where as this two shares the matter in our absence. Thanks to PC - PC calling now. It reduced the burden a bit now.
What you say, NRIs?
so true mythili.... really same probs we too facing..i think all NRI's facing.. :)
ReplyDeleteSo true Mythili...when we came back after a vacation, my son asked me - wherez the rest of the house?
ReplyDeleteAnd the gift thing is spot on...so annoying!!
Dips, the another problem of NRIs is, "Loosing Value" once after returning back to the country :)
ReplyDeleteLaxmi, very same with my son gal. While returning to Switzerland, he cried saying "Amma kutti veetukku povanda. Valliya veedu mathi" (For those who cannot understand, he cried that he doesnot want to go to small house and want to stay back in his BIG house :D
Well, its because of the craze created probably by earlier generation. In previous decades, the the pay or salary gap was huge between India or foriegn land and hence it was obvious NRI had a fat purse. With globalisation, this has changed, one would get a hefty pay check even in India.. :).
ReplyDeleteThanks Guha Rajan for your input. True, now globalisation changed India's status. But still, in the village side, people are remaining the same :-)
ReplyDelete