USA - "land of abundant opportunities"
The so called land of promises- USA - "land of abundant opportunities"
I chanced to visit USA - Dallas to be precise about 1.5 months back. I was invited for a business meeting as part of my job responsibilities. Apparently i had a valid visa from 2006. I could travel only 2009. I am not a great admirer of USA. I always preferred Europe to US. My first abroad travel was to the Belgium and may be that is also a reason to it.
The first impression as soon as i landed at DFW(Dallas Forth Worth) airport was very disappointing. I had a very differnt picture of US in my mind( Partly influenced by the english movies i have watched - Padam parthu ketu pone pala pasangal le naanum oruthan). The Airport was very small, nothing great worth mentioning. Luckily i had travelled with 2 of my colleagues, so i had company, we took a cab to the hotel.
Once we stepped onto the Freeway(Highways for all the illiterates like me), i was wondering am i in the US?? no big buildings, no Malls etc. I should not have expected all these not in Dallas - a dry desert....The day i land at the airport, we are taken thru the immigration check, the officer at the counter looks at me up and down and asks me are u here on work? I have been tutored enough by my travel desk, boss, earlier visited friends and my colleagues, come what may never utter the word, Work, i as taught open my mouth and the only words that come out are " here for knowledge transfer". The man at the counter laughs scronfully ( உங்களக்கு வேற எதுமே சொல்லி அனுபமாடங்களா, எவளோ நாள் இதே சொல்லிடு இருபீங்க) and gives me a 90 day stay. 1st dissappointment - US Sucks
Day one at office.
The most important day, i am to visit my team for which i have been working for 3 years and my boss, a large hearted one, who had given a atlast a green signal for my travel is all set to receive me. I go into the office and i am disappointed by the ambience, it looks like a
run down mechanic garage...believe me i am not exaggerating. There are old desktops strewn all over the place, papers and files thrown carelessly in the cubicles, i am wondering am i at Dallas or the kothavalchavadi market( a vegetable market in chennai)?? My colleagues
welcome me with open arms and are very happy to see me. I keep talking to my friends and my boss arrives, a middle eastern man, well built, welcomes me and asks me tu be comfortable. Inge தான் ukaranama?? ஐயோ, இந்த galeez edathuliyaa, இது தான் the first thought that crosses my mind!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. I remember my plush cabin in Chennai, neatly arranged chairs, 24hrs AC, my room, water bottles, athu yenge ithu
yenge???? 2nd Dissappointment - US Sucks....
Life Goes on.............
My days in the US goes on as i count my days of my return. The only song that comes to my mind is "Sorgame endralum, athu nama ooru pole
varumaa". When i meet my fellow colleagues who have come there, they share the same thoughts. Their term of onshore is " KAALA PANI". These
were the same guys, who at some point of time had come to me and asked for their long impending onshore travel. Now the same guys ask me if they can leave early. Our typical day starts at about 6.30 AM with status update from my team. (Ithu bit mathiri, nama pasanga kite office pogarthuku munaadi yenna nadathathu nu ketukarthu, oru vilambaram than). We reach office and join the "STATUS CALL" ( onshore offshore sync up) where both the teams dont listen to each other, but u have to have this call daily athum twice. Yenna Kodumai sar ithu.. My job responsibilites were to attend the numerous conference calls with other teams and represent the team i work in a conference room called the "WAR ROOM". The definiton of a WAR ROOM in sofware field is a room where all teams meet up and solve the teething problems when different teams are invloved in a complex project, a very strategic one.. My co manager at oshore requests me to represent the team in the war room. Pogum pothe he tells me, Chandra your role is very important, we need somebody senior representing our team and you are the best man, the management's eye is on this project so play your role very politically.
Life in the US of the A.
In Dallas, i wonder if i am really in the US? Everywhere i see, i can see only Indians, be it the malls, Restaurants, roads, Indian markets, but the surprising part is nobody talks to each other. They just do their work and go on. Over the weekends we go out to explore Dallas, i
should admit, they have such wonderful cars and roads..fantastic, we had rented a car and we jus drove, drove and drove. Beautiful roads, excellent road discipline. Our own guys who used to cut signals here, adhere to all rules and drive. adadada ithu yeppo nama Indiaku varum,
this is the first thought that comes to your mind. We went to a mall on a sunday eve, it was about 6.00 pm, they Mall was closing, they close at 6.00 in the evening. Dai yenna da ithu, naanga ooru suthara nerathule, ippadi mooditu poreenga, Atagasathuku alave illiya. Generally all Malls in Dallas close by 6.00 on sundays. We come back dissappointed. I casually ask my fellow Indian friends what do they do over the weekends as i dont see much options for them.
They ask me have you ever visited "Gandhi Park" ?? I am astonished!!! aahaaa, Gandhi park nu oru peru, apadiye pullu arikuthu. US le Gandhi park, I have been here for 3 weeks and i never visited this place, must me something historic, wow, Gandhiji and Dallas what is the
connection? and it is on our way to the office nu additional information. Bloody hell, i cross the place atleast 4 times a day and how did i miss this? I tell my offshore Indian friends, "Machan, inge yetho Gandhi park nu irukaama, naama kattayam pogarom, matha sight seeing yellam aparam. This is historic nu oru feeling, get your cameras and we should not miss this place. Ivalo build up kuduthu, i ask my onshore friends to take me there. They say, definitely. We, well armed with our Digital cameras and camcorders take our car over the weekend and call up my friend for directions.
neengalum yengala maathiri thana nu oru feeling. My friends tell me this is Jefferson park a small park. I say, dai naama thapa vanthu irupom, let us find out, and we ask few people, they deny any knowledge of such place. I call up my friend and he says, yeah it is the same
Jefferson park that we call Gandhi park, and we spend our time here. Ada che, ulaga maga kodumai. Yenna kevalamana vaazhkai, ithu thana unga time pass. Yenna oru polithanamana vaazhkai..i wonder....how come people can stay in this place....4th Dissappointment - US Sucks.
Lifestyle
While i was in the US, a ex colleague of mine pings me after a really long time. He used to work with me before he took a H1B and relocated in the US for greener pastures. AVane maariye naraya peru, i tell them that i am in their land and all of them call me. This guy who pinged me,asks me if there is any openings in the company that i work for? I ask him what happend and he says, he is going back to India as he has lost his job, and is doing a distress sale of his belongings before going back. His wife is already gone back. He says most of this
colleagus have the same situation, the same place which had offered them abundant opportunities was turning thier back now. They are given a time before they can look for thier job or will be given the pink slip. I ask him to immediatley send his resume to me as we had some openings in my concern. I take to my Boss and the co manager, luckily for him the co manager also knows him as he had worked with him when he was in India, we use a bit of influence and get him on board as a contractor. This guy profusely thanks me and says he does not know what he would have done if he did not have this job.
I tell him i did not do anythng, jus that you are lucky. He says Chandra, you will not understand my situation. Nijamave i will not understand his situation and i will never want to be in that situation. Nimathiyana vaazhkai in India vitu pone palarukum ithu than nilamai. The so called land of Infinite possibilites, was no more there. people on a daily basis worry if they will be on the rolls the next day. All my friends call me and ask me if i can get them a job in India for even a less salary?
I feel sorry for them. Irukarthai vitutu parakarthuku aasai panteengale....ippo yenna acchu? At the same time, fellow indians who have planned never to return to India, thier thought process is completely screwed up. I hear two of my colleagues speaking to each other, " Bring up your son like an American Indian and not like a Indian American". I wonder what it is? evelo
naaliki intha aatam yellam...naanum paakren, aadi adangum vaazhkai ada, aaru adi nilame sontham ada, is the song that plays in my ipod..how symbolic. I am happy that i am not one of the lot that lives a life so pathetic.....Nth Dissappointment - US Sucks....
I can go on and on and on....
To sum up, i dont say that US is an absolutely lousy place, it definitely has its own + and _ . India is more or less equal now, you get all that u want. Give the country soemthing back that gave you such a solid foothold to grow and learn and it is only people like us who should
support our country to grow into a super power. As i always say patience is a virtue. LEt us all take India to the next level. JAI HIND......
P.S. This is my personal opinion......
Sunday, May 24, 2009 | | 6 Comments
