3 Responses to “Wish you a very happy Independence Day”

1. G Vishwanath on August 16th, 2007 2:56 am

   Pranav,

   This is to reciprocate your greetings and also to share some thoughts.

   I am 58 years of age.
   I lived through the early years of independence (dominated by Nehru) as a child and cannot comment on what life was like in the early fifties compared to life that my parents lived in the pre-independence era.

   But from the mid sixties onwards as a teenager, I could start experiencing and understaning what was happening. When you look back at it from this distance, the seventies and the eighties under Indira Gandhi were turbulent periods in our political and economic history.

   As a young man, my most productive years were spent under her rule and that of the Congress.

   I could see and feel the difference from the nineties onwards under Narashimha Rao and Manmohan Singh who were the architects of the modern Indian economy.

   Later Vajpayee continued the good work.

   The period after 2000 has been the best in our history so far.

   I feel envious of the younger generation today.
   They are enjoying a life style we never had.
   Their income levels, capacity for spending, career opportunities and options today are something we never even dreamt of.

   Emigrating to USA was a cherished dream among the students of my generation. Not any more.

   I don’t claim that everything is hunky dory these days. But inspite of a lot of problems we still live with, India is great to live in today.

   The internet, the software and computer revolution and the mobile connectivity “miracle” has removed “age” as a handicap and given me options today that enable me to continue to be productive for as long as I want to be. These options and economic conditions did not exist in the seventies and eighties.

   I am feeling great at the age of 58 and proud to be Indian and want to go on living in India as long as my health does not fail me.

   Regards
   G Vishwanath
   Bangalore

2. Pranav on August 16th, 2007 8:56 pm

   Vishwanath,

   Opportunities and economy are opening up - no wonder.

   however, the one thing I still wish that we would develop further - the quality of life. Unfortunately, considering our everyday struggles, we (Indians) have never given a strong emphasis on the quality of life..lack of playgrounds, gardens, flooding during monsoons,traffic — all are small things but go a long way towards the quality of life..

   One question for you — I remember reading an earlier comment from you, where you mentioned that your daughter/son is in US..What sentiment does he/she have to share about this ?

3. G Vishwanath on August 16th, 2007 10:05 pm

   Pranav,

   My daughter and son-in-law have missed this great period in India’s history (1999 to 2007) when the Indian economy started zooming.
   They are greatly enamored of life in the USA.
   In the nineties, they both worked hard at planning emigration and succeeding in doing so.
   They are based in California.

   Both are gainfully employed and are doing well in their respective careers. When they come here on vacation they keep cribbing about our bad roads, the dust and dirt and about hassles in daily living that we in India hardly notice as we are so used to them. They keep telling me how much better life in USA is compared to life in India.

   I allow them to think so. They have been there for only seven years so far and want me also to go over and settle down with them after I retire. While I would welcome an opportunity to visit them I have no plans of emigrating.
   I am too “Indian” to be happy in USA inspite of all the attractions that I read about.

   After I retire, the single major item of expenditure will be Medical care and I shudder to think of the costs of medicare in USA. I would rather be sick here in India than in USA!
   The doctors here are as good as the those in USA and costs are just a fraction.

   Coming back to the topic of what my daughter and son-in-law think about this, they are today rooting for USA and only USA but I feel the wheel will turn. I hear of Indian couples settled in USA who have done pretty well for themselves and who later change their minds when they reach their forties and yearn to be back in India. May be my daughter and son-in -law will also consider this sometime in future?

   My son is still young and has just completed his BA. He is leaving next month for Oxford on his first trip abroad. He is one of India’s 5 Rhodes scholars this year. If I know him and read his mind, he is much more Indian than I am and will use the West only to further his education but will not think of settling there. But who knows what he will decide after experiencing life in the UK? Time will tell.

   My wife and I am are now preparing ourselves for the “empty nest” syndrome.

   Regards
   G Vishwanath