I moved to US in the early 70’s as a child. I lived there for close to three decades and moved to India to allow my own children to experience India. I have experience of a child, adult, and as a parent in both the countries. I have taken my steps for certain reasons and therefore want to share my views intermixed with my own observations.
Majority of Indians, who moved from India to US, are working class and are fleeing from CORRUPTION, STIFLING of their own minds and POVERTY. The businessman, who is the cause of corruption and has enough money in India rarely moves and if he does it is for expanding his own business.
They may have moved but “I” never left them either when they were being called NRI’s or PIO’s. NRI tried to emphasise the aspect that we are Non Resident and some even went to the extent of calling us Non Existent. We coined the term PIO and prefer to be called that as it does not differentiate where “I” lives, it may even be India, as long he was once an “I”.
I find that people who moved are the Indians who are living in present. They know their past very well and are proud of it. They locked India and her culture into their minds the day they left. Lot of people confuse Language with culture. Language is only a method of communication, culture is tradition, values, beliefs and religion does play some role in it as well.
RE:True PIO
by AK on Aug 08, 2008 04:58 AM Permalink
I am trying to live in the future. I saw the treatment of Indians in Fiji & Uganda, they truly became Nomads. My eldest daughter studied in India from 6th to MBA and has now moved back to US. She can truly call both US and India as her home, is not an ABCD but PIO in every sense.
RE:True PIO
by AK on Aug 08, 2008 04:57 AM Permalink
They are trying to instil as much of this culture into their children as possible. They do have constraints in a foreign land. Most of the time, changing of accent is automatic, sometimes necessacitated and only few times intentional to derogate our own culture. I for myself have kept my original Indian accent, it was my choice. But my children who grew up in a small town without Indian friends of their age group, developed US accent. They try their best to blend the two cultures and adopt what they feel is the best of the two. They are living in the present.
RE:True PIO
by AK on Aug 08, 2008 04:58 AM Permalink
Indians living in metro India are living in the past. They are proud of our past, preach what we are (were), adopting the western culture in all respects, take pride in communicating in English consider mother tongue too backward, still feel British(or US) are our rulers and use FAIR and LOVELY in an attempt to look like them.
