When We Remember Past And Meet the Present
Posted : March 24, 2006 at 7:00 pm [IST]
I was talking Gagan, IITian from Delhi; son of my nearest friend today and known to Rakesh and Alpana in USA from i2 days. He came to i2 India, and later on joined another American company in Bangalore. He is going back to US and perhaps he will be joining Amazon at Seattle. I asked him why he was going back to USA. He is better positioned here with a better designation and perhaps perks too and the dignity of the status that matters in social circles, particularly in orthodox larger Indian family. In US, he will be one of many, mainly on staff function. But he felt he would be better there. Why is it so? Have the conditions and quality of life in India not changed? I was of opinion that there is no difference between the lifestyle in Bangalore and that in US. Over the years many things have changed and improved. How did we live here in industry at much lesser compensation package and perks and dismal conditions of living? Many of my IITian friends left for USA in 70’s. I don’t find them happier or better placed. Perhaps it is the mindset. It is difficult to understand the present generation.
Younger generation must appreciate how have we come so far. I have seen that and experienced that myself. Here are some stories of the conditions from media.
MANJU VAISH writes in ‘The Times of India’ on March 23, 2006 a feature ‘Ultimate Accolade’:
“When I had to run my own home in the seventies, in Delhi, my most prized possession was a milk token, which entitled me to three half-litre bottles of government DMS milk. With two growing children, this was not much, so on the days I set some curd, the kids had to forego their evening milk. Milk from private dairies not only cost double the price, but was of questionable quality to boot. Ice-cream and paneer were luxuries reserved for special occasions.”
Arun Jaitley remembered those days in his recent speech to ‘India Today Conclave 2006′:
“When I went to school and college-and that was not in the 1940s or the 50s, it was in the 1960s and the 70s-in a middle-class family like ours, one of us would go out at five in the morning to stand in a queue to get milk. People needed a letter from a Member of Parliament to get a gas connection, telephone connections and, in the 1970s, for even an out-of-turn purchase of an HMT watch. We lived in an era of shortages. In that controlled economy, those who were entitled to grow or allowed to grow at the discretion of the state also managed to make sure that their competitors did not grow.”
I remember how difficult it was to get a cooking gas connection and bribe we had to pay for the same in 70s. It was a nightmarish experience to get telephone line and keep it live. Even today, the public sector has not improved as much as it would have. But still many sectors are much better of. With liberalisation and other reforms, we have many options. If BSNL was troublesome, I could switch to Airtel. If there was difficulty in getting Internet in Kolkata, I could use my Reliance mobile for that. Now R Connect data cards are also available for Internet access anytime anywhere.
In last 30 years, India has changed immensely. Many annoying and embarrassing situations have disappeared. But perhaps, still for younger generation, US is the benchmark for everything and ultimate destination. When I keep on hearing that many enterprising NRIs returning to India and many foreigners taking jobs in Indian companies, I feel good. But when I hear younger persons like Gagan going back, I feel we are to go many miles still to make our children come back willingly.
- Indra
Category: Religious/Social issues |
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