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.

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.