Rensil D'Silva: How to Make it in Bollywood Education in the Gulf ...

20
TURNING EAST
Westerners Head East
- for the Moment
To the West, India has long been known as a place that people are leaving,
as Indians make up one of the largest segments of immigrants of many Western
nations, particularly Commonwealth nations like the UK, Canada, and Australia.
The ever-increasing number of Indians moving to places abroad has made some
Western cities significantly Indian - like my hometown of Vancouver, Canada,
where Indo-Canadians make up about one-fifth of the total population.
But recently, more and more Westerners are turning their eyes east to India.
And as the global playing-field finds itself more and more levelled, India has been
among the first developing nations to emerge as a place to be in, and not just a place
to be from. Why are Westerners heading to India? What do they find when they get
there? And are they there to stay?
by: Benjamin Parker
WEIGHING THE CHOICES
COMING TO INDIA
The first reality: The choice
Anthony Apodaca
is usually made through a
went to India for
consideration of personal
one year as a liaison
advantage. In other words, the
for an electronic
path of least resistance for most
book publishing
of us is the path of greatest
company called Logos Research
personal gain. When it comes to
Systems, Inc. Summing up his
relocating to India, Westerners
reasons for taking on the one-year
weigh the advantages (often
assignment, he said “I was living
financial) of going versus
in Bellingham, Washington and
staying. Indian companies, as
was simultaneously offered two
well as foreign companies with
jobs in electronic publishing, one
branches based in India, attract
in Manhattan and one in Chennai.
specialized employees with
I took the job in Chennai because
packages comparable to what
I thought it would be the most
may be found in their own
unique experience and the salaries
countries. There is nothing
were more or less equal.” His
surprising about this practice,
views reflect those of many others
who choose India. Anthony Apodaca found many things that of course - except that it has
The International Indian
he appreciated about Indian culture.
become something that more and
more Indian companies are both
willing and able to do.
INDIA ON THE MOVE/
LACK OF OPPORTUNITY
BACK HOME
But in addition to what may
be called the no-lose scenario
of financial compensation, India
has it’s share of other things to
offer. One of these is that India
is going places. Employees
do not usually like dead-end
jobs, and India, with its rate of
growth, both economically as
well as in the number of kinds
of opportunities available, is
a place where Westerners can
realistically expect their careers
to go somewhere. And not just in
India. Indian experience on the
CV is now respected worldwide.
The other side to the story of the
change in economic fortunes is the
saturation of the market in the West.
As unemployment increases in
much of the world, the willingness
(or need) to look away from home
also increases. Job
hunters browsing
sites like monster.
com just might find
themselves looking
at monsterindia.com.
THE EXPAT
EXPERIENCE
But one thing
must be kept in
mind. There is still
a big difference
between the Indian
who goes west
and the Westerner
‘
“Westerners
complain about
everything.
Indians
complain about
nothing.” He
also has respect
for Indians’
prioritizing of
relationships,
especially
family.
‘
th
16
ANNI V ERSARY
who comes east. The Indian
in the West is an immigrant.
The Westerner in India is an
expatriate. And there are very
few exceptions to this rule.
The difference between
the Indian and the Westerner
results from both the nature of
the people and the respective
destinations. Historically and
culturally, many Western nations
are nations of immigrants. And
it is therefore expected (by one
and all) that foreigners in the
West are making a new home for
themselves. This is played out
in daily conversation between
the two cultures. When I meet
an Indian overseas (or someone
from many other countries,
for that matter), it is very
common for me to be asked
questions regarding Canadian
immigration. (By the way, this is not always a good line of inquiry
to Canadians. Most of us, being born in Canada, have no idea how
one would go about becoming an immigrant to Canada.) When I meet
Indians in Canada, a common question that I ask them is when they
will become a citizen.
But no one asks a foreigner in India about when they will
become a citizen - at least not yet. The fact is that Westerners are
not in India to stay - nor
does India usually want
them to. They are there
for the experience of it,
that is all. And as for the
prospects for Westerners
who might want to make
India their home? For now
few prospects and few
takers exist.
Anthony buying a car in India. After a small religious ritual,
he was handed the keys, which he then gave to Rama,
his driver (far left).
THE MYSTIQUE OF
INDIA
And one must not forget
one simple fact: India is
India. There is something
The International Indian 21