WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN INDIAN IN A FOREIGN LAND

On the occasion of India's 65th Independence Day, I was automatically guided to watching patriotic movies, changing my profile page on FB to the Indian tri-colour and so on. I couldn’t quite figure out from where I had this sudden surge of patriotism. I remember going to school during this very holiday, eating sweets, saluting the flag and coming back home, never really knowing why we observed this every year. Independence Day was long time ago! What’s gone is gone- right? WRONG! It took me 25 years and a trip to London to figure this out.

There is an incredible void about living in a foreign country. That feeling of alienation cannot quite be justified in words. ‘Home is where the heart is’, ‘there is no place like home’ and so many other well known quotes about home I am sure we are all well versed with. However, we never think of home as our country. That only happens (I hope) when you leave your country for another, like in my case. I need not write about the countless jawans that continue to risk their lives for us, the freedom fighters who actually got us this misused independence and so on.

        What does it mean for me to be an Indian? In London, I am just another face in the crowd. There is nothing more to it than that. However, the realisation sinks in when you start mingling with people from other nationalities. The difference in culture, appearance, the changes in attitude, the respect, and the honour- it’s prevalent in every country and not just India. Yet one look at you and they know where you come from. Why do you think that is? As one of the oldest civilization known to mankind, India has been credited with so many things that have somehow been conveniently dusted under the carpet by our fellow countrymen.

As an Indian in a foreign land I have seen my fellow countrymen degrade India’s image via the blame game. “India is corrupt because of the politicians, India is crowded and filthy, and there is shortage of this and scarcity of that”. That’s human nature- I get that. However, what I don’t get is that these people are bad mouthing the country when there are hundreds and thousands of trivia that could portray India in a completely different light! There is no ownership for the problems anywhere. Educated people do not venture into politics, hand the leash to the uneducated ruffians in the society and then sit back and blame them. They are themselves a part of the crowd and they are the very same people complaining about it! As India fights against corruption on this day of Independence, we are all guilty of sitting at home and not getting out on the streets for a just cause and supporting the RTI activists. “But, we do not take to the streets, we are educated people”. What use is all this education when you are blinded by the naiveté of the veil that obscures your judgement? 

We are well behaved in the foreign country due to fear of prosecution, but behave like hooligans- the minute we land in India. This year and a half long sojourn of mine in London has led me to realise that there is much more to India than meets the eye. People have under-estimated its ability in the past and will continue to do so. The resilience of the Indian economy was evident during the recent recession which has left Uncle Sam down on its knees, the crumbling European periphery countries inevitably to follow, along with many other less fortunate countries than India.

            True, I am just another face in the crowd in London. However, I am also the face of India in London, as are my compatriots in different parts of the world. As a citizen of your country, you should take pride in it. Why talk about the negative aspects and deprive the country of its achievements when you could very well talk about so many positive things? Mass tagging happens almost everywhere, you cannot really stop people from branding you based on prejudice but you sure can impress the hell out of them. Don’t just take pride in being an Indian, show them that you belong. Jai Hind!        

Memoirs of an International Student: Further studies in UK? Give this a read!

Memoirs of an International Student: Further studies in UK? Give this a read!: "Most of us are of the opinion that the grass is greener on the other side. It was with this in mind that I decided to pursue my Masters fro..."

Studying Abroad?? Give this a read!: Further studies in UK? Give this a read!

Studying Abroad?? Give this a read!: Further studies in UK? Give this a read!: "Most of us are of the opinion that the grass is greener on the other side. It was with this in mind that I decided to pursue my Masters fro..."

Further studies in UK? Give this a read!

Most of us are of the opinion that the grass is greener on the other side. It was with this in mind that I decided to pursue my Masters from the self- proclaimed business capital of the world. London, UK. Since a very young age, I always dreamed of visiting these foreign countries. This dream was obviously helped by numerous TV shows and Movies. Now that I have realized my dreams, I find myself being shaken violently from side to side, so much so that my teeth start rattling. I now realize that no matter how green the grass is on this side of the world, it still has to be mowed!

Consider this write up as a memoir of an international student who was once considering studying abroad and succeeded at it too. Or did he really? Back in India people were of the opinion that I never took education seriously. They couldn’t be more wrong. The idea of education in London is similar to a mini vacation albeit a very expensive one at that! All you have to do is attend about three classes a week. The lecturer throws a couple of PowerPoint slides at you (yes, even for Math classes!) and expects you to learn the rest by yourself through self-study. While this style of learning might inculcate some good values in people, all it does for me is the chance to procrastinate at a much higher level. What with no parents nagging you like at home, you are burdened with a tonne of course work to finish when the exams approach.  Sounds manageable? It isn’t that simple, really!

That being said, Education in UK is very much over hyped. An MBA in London is of one year duration as opposed to 2 in India. The modules are much simpler and no in depth knowledge is required. Academic discipline is not very evident in classes. Students attend calls right in the middle of the lecture with no respect to the sanctity of the class room. Very few lecturers pay individual attention to the student’s progress. It’s been 9 months in this country and I’ll be damned if even one lecturer knows more than 5 names of students in his/her class. Students usually come to UK for “International Exposure”, as they call it. As it goes, most of the students in my college are from either India, or other Asian countries! So there you are, just another needle in the haystack speaking the native language and not helping the cause.  

So, if there is not much to learn & if education in UK is similar to a mini vacation, why do I cringe about this being a nightmare, you ask? It all boils down to one factor; Money. UK is inexplicably & ridiculously expensive. You might think I am saying that because I keep converting stuff in my home currency. However, the fact of the matter is, even after earning whatever little I could from this country, I still find it difficult to make the rent. The bottom-line is that the purchasing power of the Pound is pathetic to say the least. You pester your parents to finance your education to come all the way to London, only to realize that you are going need approximately two times the amount you spent on education, for your basic survival. As a student, I find this ridiculous. Education fees at London are already at an astronomical high. That is not even considering the current Governments plans to increase the tuition fees.

So, in order to save face you are left with the option of working part time. Nothing in the UK is free, everything has a cost. These buggers would charge you for the air you breathe if they could. After four months of job hunting and posting endless resumes, I get the message. No matter what your background, experience, education, getting a part time job is not easy. Why? They blame it on the recession. I blame it on their operating procedures. They need references, from people who are already working at the organization you wish to join. I end up pleading my batch mate to set me up with a reference (whose relative was working in a Hotel). Reality Check! I was under the impression that, 3 years of Hotel School and 4 years of Work experience with some of the finest Hotel chains in the World should get the job done. It was not to be.  Back to the job hunt: I was redirected to an agent who places students to that Hotel I had worked my Jack (reference) in. Remember, I talked about costs? There are a few here. I ended up paying 30% of my hourly wages to them - to date.

Part time jobs are not easy to come by. I travel 6 hours to and fro with 6 bus changes accompanied by physical stress and mental exhaustion to get to the Hotel just so I can work as a waiter and earn some money. To put it in simple terms:  ‘to survive.’ That’s how far I have to travel, with no travel allowance, paid vacations & the work place is not the best either. This is my opportunity cost. (That’s economics speaking now) Very similar to labour work, it is to be a waiter. Forget respect, forget the fact that you are more educated than the guests you serve. It’s money that talks through and through. People say it is dignity of labour, I say it is pure stinking crap!

Imagine paying £ 300 per month on your PG accommodation alone with one full meal a day. Enjoyed snacking away at home whenever you wished? You can do that here too, except that the money would have made a hole in the pocket by then and will be nowhere to be found. The devil in your head keeps prodding you with a pitchfork to ask money from your parents; the sane angel says that they have supported you enough! Tradeoffs, compromises, borrowing money etc follow and no one is feeling any better. You are a broken person by the time realization sinks in. You have shed away your pride, stayed away from your loved ones, given up on endless wants & desires to keep yourself afloat in this shit hole.

I speak to some of my friends about this and they say that London is like that. My bloody question is why the hell did they not tell me about it before I got here!

I have many more of my frustrated memoirs to share with you except that the write up is getting too lengthy now. The purpose of this write up is to remind you what you are about to leave behind and at what cost. India and other such developing nations are doing far better than we give them credit. My sincere advice is to stay where you are. These foreign countries are only glorified in the movies.Do not fall prey to the band wagon effect. You don’t need it.

Please pass this blog around, spread awareness amongst your friends. If you are in London and have any experiences to share, please comment & contribute if possible.