tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916122.post115338886715698120..comments2023-08-27T04:31:39.471-07:00Comments on Reflections of an Ordinary Indian: Grass is always greener – on the other side!!Prasanthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15361097905671284394noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916122.post-24579222807584171632007-05-21T07:33:00.000-07:002007-05-21T07:33:00.000-07:00Nigel,What you say may very well be true (about ha...Nigel,<BR/><BR/>What you say may very well be true (about having a lot of mortgage etc etc) but in this particular case, his house was paid off and he did not have any significant debt load. <BR/><BR/>As for Wipro, i think there is substance in what Premji says - I do not think that only overseas Indians are more demanding - I find guys back home as demanding as any body else.Prasanthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15361097905671284394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916122.post-56033255481383012102007-05-16T20:26:00.000-07:002007-05-16T20:26:00.000-07:00Prasanth,Interesting post. I have met many people ...Prasanth,<BR/>Interesting post. I have met many people similar to your friend. It is hard to guess what his motivations are, but here are some thoughts.<BR/>- He may have a $1M house, but it doesn't mean much if he has a $900K mortgage on it.<BR/>- The business too, may not be worth that much if he has outstanding business loans.<BR/>- 17 years in the US may not mean much. My observation of immigrants in the US is that people do not change that much after the first 5-10 years.<BR/>- Many people talk about moving back to India, but only a small fraction actually does anything about it.<BR/><BR/>Premji's comment seems disingenuous to me. The real reason he doesn't want to hire these people may be that they are more demanding (in pay and other things).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916122.post-1156449458389243812006-08-24T12:57:00.000-07:002006-08-24T12:57:00.000-07:00Hi Steve,I do not think that the drive to amass mo...Hi Steve,<BR/>I do not think that the drive to amass more wealth was a direct consequence of him being in US for such a long time. Indian's in my opinion are very entrepreneurial.<BR/><BR/>Here the reason was different - i think the main reason has to do with job security/demand. He is in Michigan working for one of the big three automakers - and you know what they are going thru.<BR/><BR/>As for people who left India in the 60's 70's and 80's, yes, the main reason was the lack of opportunities in India at that time and now they may be feeling the pull to be back in India especially as the old socialist barriers have fallen and it is much easier to set up a business and make money.<BR/><BR/>My fathers collegue recently made a very interesting observation - he said that he and my father belonged to the "lost" generation. What he meant by that was that they did not have the opportunities that i have now - a vibrant economy, rising standard of life and more importantly, hope and optimism. In their youth, jobs were scarce and to get a job, you either had to know someone in the government or bribe your way thru. You could not dream of starting a business and succeeding in it. You would not get the "license" to start a business in the first place. All that is gone now. <BR/>BTW, if you want to understand what India went thru till the 1990, i suggest that you read "India Unbound" by Guru Charan Das. It is the best book i have read on the time between India's independence till the liberalization in the 1990's.<BR/><BR/>Regards,<BR/><BR/>PrasanthPrasanthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15361097905671284394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916122.post-1156398612397697182006-08-23T22:50:00.000-07:002006-08-23T22:50:00.000-07:00Prasanth, thanks for your comment over at The Curi...Prasanth, thanks for your comment over at The Curious Stall. I thought this was an interesting post. Do you think that the drive to amass more and more wealth that you observed in this Indian American is something that he acquired from his 17 years in the U.S.? <BR/><BR/>Some of the stories that I've read from the U.S. media about NRIs looking for work back in India tell the story a little differently. They make it sound like people like the friend you met were sort of "forced" out of India before the economic changes because there were no opportunities for them to develop their entrepreneurial or other business skills. As the story goes, such NRIs have always longed to return to India (understandably so since many still have most of their family in India), and it's only recently that they've felt that the opportunities exist to continue in India on the same career trajectory they began in the U.S.<BR/><BR/>Just a thought. I appreciated you relating your experience.szavohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07463473147512205078noreply@blogger.com