Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Returned to Bang bang bangalore!!

Hub and I had always wanted to return to Bangalore from the U.S for a variety of reasons. There was not the typical x+1 factor for our move. We came up with the basis for the timeframe of our return ..... when the second child was about 1.5 yrs old. :)) We worked towards the move from around the time our second child was born. I am not wasting too much of my blog space for the pre-move, but am pretty much dedicating the blog to our post-move experiences. Hoping the postings will help the couple of souls who may find this blog!!

14 comments:

Sriram said...

Chitra,
U say u r too busy all the time.I wonder how u got time to prepare this, lol :-). Anyways, ur viewpoint on Bengalooru is mindblowing. Keep it up

regards,
Sriram Ramani

Chitra said...

Sriram, this blog is one of the things that keep me busy too. :) I want to be active with this, since I can do it from home.

Anonymous said...

I cant figure out why people choose to move back to India because of kids.
We are in the process of moving to the Bay area in a month and I dont think I ever, ever want to come back to dirty old bangalore with all its problems!

Chitra said...

Hey anonymous, welcome to my blog. Everybody has reasons for all their actions. To assume problems are limited to a certain place is hardly real. In fact, I don't know if you have lived abroad for a long period of time, but every place has its own sets of issues. I wish you the best with your move.

Chitra said...

Hey anon, if you don't mind my asking, why are you so disgusted with Bangalore? Just so I can give my version of it in comparison to the bay area. Also, how long have you been in the bay area earlier? Pl post it just for the sake of discussion.

Thanks much!

Anonymous said...

Hi Chitra,

If we start a discussion on this topic, we can probably go on for ages! I am a native of Bangalore and while I do love my city, it pains me to see it being invaded by people from all over. We Bangaloreans are big-hearted enough to allow them here and give them space, but the end result is that we are ones suffering.
There are 1000s of problems here and no one to look into them.
I am sure you dont want me listing them here on your blog, you will run out of space :). If you live here for a couple of years you will experience them yourself!

There are not even basic facilities here like good water, uninterrupted electricity, proper drainage facilities, decent roads, etc etc...the list can go on. Can we even compare it to the real silicon valley of SF?

People in India like to brag about their culture etc, but we are downright inhuman.
Just take a look at this ...http://ia.rediff.com/news/2006/dec/20george.htm?q=tp&file=.htm

I hate the fact that I am an Indian!! In the US, one does not have to struggle for basic facilities. I am not saying that there will be no problems there, but I am sure there wont be corrupt officials in govt. orgs. trying to suck our blood.
I have lived in the US (not CA) for about a year and had to move back here for a few months due to some personal issues. But now I am looking forward to going back there and settling down for good.

I saw your latest post on medical facilities. You are forgetting that we earn in Rs here and not in $, its silly to convert everything into $ and say that it is inexpensive. Most good doctors today charge a min.of Rs.150 per consultaion. And they make sure you go to them repeatedly for some reason or the other! I maybe able to afford it, but do you think the average Indian can? Do you know whats the income of an average Indian vis-a-vis the average American? Try doing some research.
And You have mentioned that your hubby's co. reimburses your medical expenses. Do you know that, Medical reimbursement (against bills)upto 15K is already a part of his CTC? So you're not getting anything free. Its what yours that the co. is giving you against bills, thats it, leading people to think that its free!!

-- Anon.

Chitra said...

Hey Anon,

I am glad you came back and responded. I am sorry you are as dis-gruntled as you are. There may be tons of very obvious-to-the-eye issues here, but believe me there are tons there too, may not be obvious though.

Also, I am writing this blog from an NRI's perspective. I am not naive to think that Bangalore is cheap. Please see my post 'Why not to choose Bangalore'. Also, at no point did I say we moved back for the kids. Pl see my post 'No oceans to keep families apart'.

Overall, you definitely have the right to choose whatever it is that you want. After all, you must be happy at the end of the day. But, also pl understand, that is so for everybody else too. Pl don't assume somebody's level of intellect or even intentions.

I just got back, and however much the traffic, the lack of civic sense, the bad roads may be a bother, I am really enjoying a lot of other things. Especially being so near to my folks, in their times of need.

I was in your shoes quite a number of years ago, and was happy to leave it all behind and run out. But now, I am back here. :) And I am glad it was out of choice.

Thanks for the spirited discussion. I wish you the very best with your move and your life. You are welcome to mail me.

Anonymous said...

Hey Chitra,

I have read those posts you've mentioned and while I can certainly relate to your feelings, I somehow cannot accept to live a shoddy life here, no matter what the reasons. I feel I want better things for myself and my family!

Anyway, please accept my apologies if I offended you in anyway. I had no intention to "assume your level of intellect or even intentions".
Its just that I feel we Indians are capable of and deserve so much more than what we have now.
Its just impossible to change people here!

Thanks for your wishes and hope you too have a good life here.

Cheers,
A.

Anonymous said...

Dear Anonymous,
The REDIFF article that you talked about hardly shows India in a bad light. Can you imagine what would have happened to an Indian who landed in USA or WEstern Europe without proper papers? NRIs must realise that they cannot have everything the way THEY want in India without obeying rules. The children were not cruelly treated-they were merely asked to obtain proper docuemnts. SHAME on the parents for not taking responsilibity

Anonymous said...

Hi Anonymous,

If the officials were only doing their jobs, then what about the white who got a 2 day transit visa? Were they still doing their job?

We Indians face discrimination in our own country, thats the bottom line!!!

The fact is that these officials are jealous of NRIs and Indians visiting/returning from abroad. I am sure they would have behaved differently if the father had shown them a few hundred dollars.

Anyway, Chitra's blog is hardly a place to discuss this issue. So I do not wish to continue this thread here.

--A.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous No 1,

Not sure if you will come back to this blog to read this. But then just a humble 2 cents from my end -Don't hate yourself so much for being an Indian as you have mentioned. For, when u get to CA you will realise your friends circle would still be our good old Desis. Weekend parties would be either a Kannada koota (presume you are a kannadiga), or a dinner at a punjabi friends place, or a gruhapravesam in a Tamilian friends place, or a birthday party at an Oriyan friend's place etc etc. However advanced we are with our thoughts, however forward we are with our moves, we still need our people around us !! Despite the fact that we put up christmas trees, go trick or treating for Halloween, bake turkey for Thanksgiving - we still remain birds of the same feather !
You could probably come back to this blog at a later point and let us know if things have turned otherwise.

All the very best to you with your move ! I am really glad you are able to give the best to your family and children. And more glad that you have been able to make this choice with such affirmation.
Most are still trying to grab the best of both worlds !

Anonymous said...

dear chitra,

you deal with comments with real maturity. makes the discussion fruitful for everyone involved.

Chitra said...

Navmor, welcome to my blog and thanks for such a kind comment.

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