India – to stay or not to stay

I have lived outside India for 3.5 years and came back. My life and times in the US was perhaps the best. Of course the fact that we were newly married may have added something to it.

And yet, we came back. I had reached a point in my career, where I felt India makes sense. We felt, it was better to raise our children in India. During those days, we had the idealistic notion of Indian values and principles being far more salubrious for our growing kids.

When we came back, we got the shock of our lives. After 3.5 years staying outside, it became a nightmare to drive here. On the second day I grazed my car on the side and got a mouthful from a trucker. That never happened to me in the US. No accidents for me there at all. And it was very difficult to hear those cuss words coming out of his mouth.

We started falling sick often. But on the brighter side, it was much easier to speak to a doctor. In the US, you  virtually never get to speak to a Doctor over phone. My wife had a minor ailment and had to undergo a surgery in the US. Given their insurance norms, she was wheeled in the morning and in the evening I had to walk out a groggy wife to my car same day after the surgery! That did not fix the issue. When we came back, she underwent the same surgery in a small hospital in a small town in Kerala (it was a simple ailment) and they kept her in the hospital for five days. That professional care mended her for good!

We knew exactly what needed to be done to get a driver’s license. There was no uncertainty. If we clear x, y and z test, we would get the license. Getting an appointment was very easy. We could get one with one week’s notice. The day we landed in the US, we went to the local social security office. But details of our arrival from the immigration had not reached the social security office yet. But they still let us give all of our details and passport copy. One month later, the social security number came through to our address.
 My son was born there. One week after he was born, I walked into the local district office. There is a counter to get the birth certificate. There was no one in the queue. I paid fifteen dollars (if I remember correctly), and the lady at the counter printed out the certificate. I could get as many copies as I wanted.

My second one was born in India. The hospital informed me that they will send the details to the local Bangalore office. 2 months later I went in to give the application. It asks how many copies I require. I put in five. I was told to come one week later. One week later I went. He asked me how many copies I need. I told him five (as was mentioned in the form). He said, he will only give 3, his tone was almost admonishing. I said ok and took three.

I have not yet transferred the power meter from the builder to my name. Last time we had gone about five years ago to the electricity office, we were told it will cost 1900 Rs. The receipt was only for 250 Rs. I chose not to go ahead. Since then, I have enquired a couple of times, and the amount stays about the same (not much inflation there!).

I was used to filing taxes myself in the US. After the incometax gov website came up in India, I have been filing taxes myself in India as well. Initially I began using the xml format the government was giving. In my second year of filing, I got a letter – 7 months after I had filed that there is something amiss and I need to pay a significant amount extra. I got really scared and nervous. I met a tax consultant – and he said that year this snafu has hit a lot of other people also. I need to just send all the proofs of my investment with a letter. I did so. Since then year after year I have been going back and forth with the income tax office. After a few years of follow-up with the income tax office, another tax consultant helpfully told me, it may require a bit of expense to make this headache go away. I told him, I don’t see why, when Iam not in the wrong. I asked if I should go the legal route, to which his answer was an emphatic no.  Recently, only after I dropped a note to the commissioner of Income Tax did they revert the charges. But in the meanwhile, they held on to an excess I had paid on a different year. Now, Iam sending letters to them over reclaiming my amount.

In India, you often need to work the system. People speak about Jugaad, the innovation engine of India. This Jugaad is ever present everywhere. It’s almost always a work-around or a favor. There is always a sense of uncertainity. That is why, the have-nots  queue up without knowing what the outcome would be. And that is why the have-lots have someone queuing up for them instead.
We feel entitled to get into a sleeper coach even if our ticket is on the waiting list. You may just end up getting a berth. You never know!

We have been enjoying our life here for the past seven years. Things have improved a lot. When I was a child, driving from Bangalore to Chennai was unheard of. Now, for most of the well-off that is the primary mode of travel. The help has a phone. So you can co-ordinate with her – more importantly, she can co-ordinate with you. Doctors give their mobile numbers. So you can sms and get responses for minor issues for the kids.

Does that mean, we are settled here for good? I frankly don’t have an answer. In the new set-up, many of us are global citizens. And I fervently believe it is useful to travel and see other countries and cultures. It gives one a well rounded perspective. Sadly not everyone has that opportunity. I can bet that almost every young boy and girl who has Internet access will jump at the chance of going to London, Singapore or the US. (I say Internet access, because that is a medium by which they see the possibilities – see the green grass on the other side – the glitz and the glamor). And hey – lets face it. 90% of us are material in our outlook.  Most of us prefer a pepsi or a coke to water (unhealthy as it may be).

I will say that those who are filled with national fervor and want to make India the best nation in the world, must also travel. Not just to developed countries, but also developing nations. You will develop a deep sense of where we stand – how much we have come ahead and how much more has to be done.  And more importantly, we will get a more practical idea of what ‘progress’ actually means. What is the right balance between financial security and peace of mind. What is the right balance between health and wealth. What is the right balance between a homogenized and an eclectic community. These are hard real-world topics that hold the key to harmony.

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2 comments on “India – to stay or not to stay”

  1. Jishnu Raghavan

    Nice one friend…you echo the emotion of all the people who have stayed out for a while

    Reply

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