What if.....?
What if..................??is the question, to which most of the Indians living in US wake up every morning and sleep every night in their minds!
What if.......our kids dont turn out to be intelligent like Indian kids?
What if .....our kids are confused as to what to be-Traditional Indians like parents or Americans like their f riends!
What if......our kids wish to celebrate thanksgiving over Diwali?
What if......our kids never ever wish to leave US...for a developing and prosperous India?
What if .....our kids decide to be on their own at 16 and leave home?
What if ......our kids just want burgers and sodas instead of dal-chawal?
Being a parent of a three year old ,i myself battle with these- what ifs every day and i really dont have any answers!
5 comments:
I agree that Indian parents are never sure how they would like their kids to be when they grow up. Most indians in US want their kids to reap the benefit of everthing that is good in American society but don't want the kids to completely mix into this society. That is one reason why we have confused children who can never assimilate and always feel out of place. The parents are to blame here. The children were raised (in most cases also born) here. They don't know any better than the american way of life. To keep them away from the only culture they know is unfair to them.
In my humble opinion we should let our kids celebrate whatever they want to. They are part of this culture and be assured that once they grow up they would start appreciating the culture of their roots. Thanksgiving is not all that bad - Its an American festival.
The assumption that indian kids are intelligent sounds very naive. I have lived in this country for more than 7 years and have worked with people of different origins including Americans and never found this simple assumption, to be very untrue. Americans are very smart people who are very good at whatever they do.
I wonder at what age did you leave home - I left at 17 to attend college. I have lived away from my parents since then. I am an Indian.
It is really not all that bad as we think :)
earn money
head back home
Guds...living in US isnt just about making money.....
Uh Oh! i thought we go there to earn loads of money and have a secure future for our loved ones..and then return..(pls correct me if im wrong)...why else would we leave our cosy homes and neighbourhoods and venture out into an unknown land?
My cousin asked me -"If its not only money then why do so many Indians venture out in a foreign land away from home??"
I guess each one has a very different reason,a very different goal ,a very different mission to accomplish in life and based on that they decide to leave or not leave their homeland....this by the way also includes leaving Uttaranchal and moving to a different state for a job and offcourse a better life!(each one has a different definition for that again)
For me i have always believed in holding dear ones closer to my heart...even if they are miles away it doesnt matter.As far as the physical distance is concerned ,it takes me same amount of time to reach Delhi by train from Blore as it takes me from NY to Delhi by flight.I still visit home every year as i used to before when i was living in Bangalore.So it doesnt matter if i live in Blore or NY as long as i get to see my folks every year.
Life in US is definately more comfortable.Inspite of extreme weather conditions in NY one can live comfortably through the severe winter and extreme humid summer comfortably.
Indians here really push themselves hard to excell in everything.....i guess they realise they have come far away to excel ....i guess i like the energy and zest for excellence which i see in every Indian here...which somehow is slowly dying in India(no generalisations)
And offcourse i being away have been able to appreciate my country more than i ever did when i was in India.
So it isnt only about money...there is a lot more to it.
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