The many NRIs returning to India

For nearly ten years now, the exodus of NRIs from the US has been unceasing. It began much before the recent economic downtown - the current recession. I think it started with the opening up of India.

When did India's economy began opening up? Just before Dr Manmohan Singh took office. The 'India Shining' advertisements were the first ones that brought the world's focus on India. What started as a PR exercise soon became real. The advertisement turned into the personality of the country.

And with the entrance of Dr Singh, under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi, India's economy took off. In businesses and enterprises, in education and technology, in culture and fashion, Indians came to the forefront. Movie stars and authors came into the limelight of the international arena. Indian origin VS Naipaul received the Nobel prize for literature, Amartya Sen for Economics, Arundhati Roy, followed by others received the Booker Prize.

With the concept of multiplex cinemas, more and more movies started to be made in India, and demand for experimental movies began. People were willing to pay more to watch a movie in air-conditioned luxurious theaters like the PVR.

Enterpreneurs like RK Mittal and the Ambanis were followed by others. Companies like Airtel, an India-born business caught on. Other Indian businesses also prospered.

In every aspect of life, India began growing. And now it is among one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Despite its inflation and high population, it is prospering. Lifestyles have changed dramatically.

With the global Internet revolution, outsourcing started. And businesses became more global. The world now has become so small that one could live in one corner, and work for another corner somewhere else.

With the impressive growth of India, there has now been a reverse brain drain. The brains that had earlier deserted India because of better jobs abroad, as in countries like US, are now going back to India. That is great news. India needs these talents in such a period of time. Their intelligence is required to steer the country through the changes that it is undergoing. It has bigger homegrown business, its population needs better management, its markets are getting bigger and bigger.

It's Raining and I should be Happy in such Weather! But...

Since yesterday, it's been raining. Yesterday it was drizzling more than pouring. But then early morning today, I heard the heavy footprints of rains drops.

Drought is more typical of California than rain. Water has been a serious problem here for years now. But this year, it has been different. And the year end seems to be more different than anytime before. Looks like 2011 will be welcome with showers.

I was born in the rains. In July in Assam in India, where heavy rainfall is a way of life. And then over the years, have grown reading and seeing and experiencing floods. Have seen bamboo plant rafts during flash floods from the Brahmaputra in Dibrugarh while growing up.

But then, years later, when I spent a long time, another type of weather had dominated my life. Extremely hot, dry in summer, and cold in winter. So where was the rain? Occasional short spells that never continued over days. Like back in Assam.

And now, in California, the unending rains have brought back memory. Childhood, growing up years, etc etc. I should have been happy. Why not?

Because I am missing home. What to say? Parents, sisters, the sights and smells, the food and colors, the people and the festivals. It isn't easy to stay away from family.

Belly Dancing, the Contemporary Way

On the evening of September 30, my Equal Half called me on his way back from work. That was not unusual. Calling while driving is his usual way of cutting down the boredom of a lonely drive. And also his way of catching up with backlog of conversations. And although we were neighther freinds nore neighbors, and we talked and talked all the time we are together, he rang me up often to catch up on his latest ideas.

But, for the first time in the 5 years I've known him, he suggested something that was unusual. 'Would you get ready, so that we could leave for Bombay Bellywood by 7:15?' Keeping time, and him? How could he be so exact about what time he wanted to leave the house? And before leaving, having a bite of dinner?

It was no surprise when he told me he wanted to see belly dancing. I had always thought belly dancing, the sensual dance form of the Middle East where female dancers wriggled and jiggled mostly their abdominal muscles , wearing shiny elaborate costumes, catered to a male audience. It seemed to me a hand doqwn of a patriarchal form of entertainment, where women were the objects that men admired, and paid for the entertainment.

So, to keep peace, and to make him happy, I agreed to accompany him. So we set off towards the Marjorie Luke Theater on Cota Street, Santa Barbara. By the time we reached, the parking lot had was full. We were guided to a section of the Santa Barbara Junior High School playground to park our car, alongside others.

People had already gathered, some in twos, some in groups. A short line had formed near the ticket table, as many people had already booked online, and did not have to go through the strain of selecting the row or the aisle in the midst of shuffling feet, dazzling colorful dresses, solemnly dressed men who were trying to hide the excitement of the imminence of some exotic belly dancing.

The show started half and hour later than advertised. As it started, to me it changed concept, and impression. And here is what I have to say about it now.

I liked the beginning. The background of computer generated imagery - the pictures of dry trees, plants and run down buildings - transported me into a mix of memory. Memories of India, sounds of Arabic culture, tinkling of Indian temple bells. And I also liked the two dancers with their elaborate headgear and the jangle of jewelry that covered their heads, necks, shoulders, wrists, ankles and waists. The sober color of their dresses also denoted a solemn beginning.

No doubt the group's main aim is to offer a mix of dance forms, not in their purest avatar, but in fusion style. And if anyone was not a purist, they would like to see the easy movements from belly danging, to bharat natyam, to bhangra, to use of the hula hoop and other props. It is obvious that the group constantly changes its presentations, and the appearance of the group on stage by changing the color of their costumes and the props they use.

Camping: the other way to vacation

Only this year we have begun camping. It took us a very long time to do that. To go out and buy the tent, the sleeping bags, the gas burner, the air mattress, the hurricane lamp. As if we were scared to start out.

Camping in the wilderness is a new concept to me. Coming from India, where even living space is scarce, finding a bit of wilderness to set up the camping gear is not easy. Only sometimes we used to hear about people exploring the forests, or the mountains. The wildest one could go there is travel up the Himalayas. That is the definition od the remote and the exotic in India.

But here in the US, bits of forests and the wild seem to be everywhere. Especially in California, remoteness can be very nearby. Even adjacent to a city one could find a bit of forest. It is great to find pieces of what appeared like untouched nature.

And so, the camping sites are some of the bits of American wilderness to where people escape when the urban get on their nerves. When the fabulous beaches, the five star hotels and cruises do not hold any more fascination, when deserts do not surprise, when snowfall tires you.

Summer is the time when people get out in hordes, carrying their supplies, their food in ice boxes, their soaps and tissues handy, searching for that bit of nature that would touch their heart and cool their stressed out frayed nerves. The few sites we have invaded by now are El Capitan, Los Padres, and Big Sur. And we have not regretted for desiding to try out what camping is all about. Especially the fir at night! Isn't it romantic? Memorable?

Chinese noodles

I started reading the novel The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones three weeks ago. As usual, I read it slowly, savouring every scene, page, word. I have this habit if going deep into the setting, feeling the environment that the author describes.

These last few weeks, it was as if I was living in China. From Los Angeles I travelled with Maggie the protagonist to write a food article in China. Maggie's personal reason which was why she had made this trip to China, resoled as the story of food progressed. Rather than her personal story, it was the story of the Chinese cuisine that held centrestage, which was the main aim of the writer.

The foods that were described were so evocative, the preparation, the ingredients. This is the first time I had a close look at Chinese food, separate from what is available outside of China. It was a surprise to know that the Chinese noodles and soups that we find in countries like India and the US, is not the real Chinese food. The actual Chinese cuisine is far more refined, gourmet, deeper than the flash in the pan kind of Chinese food that we outsiders get to eat at Chinese restaurants.

It was a great experience reading this book, as it brought me insights into Chinese culture, food, the way food holds centrestage in their culture. Food in hina is never served individually, but to the group. Food holds its importance from sharing, not by itself.

I have always held Chinese culture fearfully until now. As if they were more militaristic and strict about everything. But they have a culture that is so different from that had been known after Tiannanmen Square and the government atrocities. The people's culture is far different from the picture that the government portrays.

Gender Selection

The gender selection debate seems to be never ending. Especially when we compare countries in the developed world and the developing world.

The recent legalization of gender selection in the US for couples conceiving through IVF is a great step towards boosting their chances of having a child, of the gender they prefer. They may be wanting to have a girl, or a boy. In the US, there is more equality among the sexes at present than it used to be in the past. So, there is rarely any predisposition to select one gender over the other. Hence, the passage off this law would only be an addition to the personal choices people make, for themselves and their families, without bias towards having children of only one gender. The possibility of people misusing this law is very less.

One shudders to think what would happen if such a law is passed in a developing country, for instance, India. Clandestine abortion in the advanced stages, in the hope of trying one more time for a son, the heir, jeopardising the life of the mother in the process, is very well known. The mushrooming of quacks and illegal clinics and dispensaries all over towns and cities in the country, to cater to the demands of people, is an open secret.

Amniocentesis is the most used procedure in India to determine the sex of a child. This is a procedure carried out in the advanced stages of pregnancy, but when couples desiring a son gets to know that they had conceived a girl, they take all risks and terminate the pregnancy. The Indian government has made it mandatory for hospitals and clinics to carry signs that they do not carry out sex determination tests. But the reality is too well known. All the things go on under cover.

With the sex selection has come such enormous sociological changes in some areas of India, that to find a girl for marriage has started to become a problem now. In a village in the state of Rajasthan, there are mostly boys in the households. There are no girls that these boys could marry. And the few families that have girls, now have a huge advantage in terms of who they would choose to marry, what amount of dowry they would demand. And a situation has cropped up such that, one woman ends up with more than one husband. She marries multiple men as they have not found wives.

Gender selection have already brought about inalterable changes in many parts of India. The desire for a boy, deeply embedded in the culture, has brought about negative changes. A lop sided sex ratio has resulted in more violence against women, more prostitution and trafficking.

There is a need for immediate change of the mindset about having a boy or a girl child. Girls are no less than boys. In fact, they are the emotionally stronger gender. Hence either gender should not affect family happiness.

Old Hindi Songs

After wrongly listening to it for a long time, I've rediscovered this amazing website called http://www.dishant.com/, which has compilations of Hindi songs, movie songs classified based on movie, alphabet, actor, actress, etc. What a fool I was earlier, just confining myself to the Live radio section, and never exploring any of the other tabs.

Before that, my husband discovered he could play the Pandora Radio on his Palm Pre phone through the sound system in the house, which improved its music quality by adding stereo. Gradually, we were able to plug in the computer, and the old cassette playing tape recorder to the sound system, which dramatically altered the type of music we listened to. My joy was endless when I could use my music cassette collection transported all the way from India on ship.

The computer, now attached to the sound system, has become many times more valuable as an entertainment outlet. Everything comes on stereo. Mainly http://www.dishant.com/ has caught my attention. It has a large collection. To be able to listen to my favourite songs in the US is such a privilege. I wonder, what an age we are living in. The computer and the internet has revolutionized everything.

A few decades ago, when someone came over from India to the US, there was no Indian television. And the Internet was not even born. Telephone calls were extremely expensive and beyond one's pocket. The postal system was slow and did not reach every corner of the globe. And now? I don't have to explain, I guess.