Old wine in a totally new bottle

The title of the post must surprise you, intrigue you and might create an element of doubt over my character. Trust me, i am a total teetotaler and this post has nothing to do with the things mentioned in the title. As i am writing this post after an eon, I thought I might write about something that everyone talks about, knows about and gives a resigned look whenever there is a discussion on this with the most popular opinion being "Nothing can be done". Yes people i am talking about a relevant issue that has been done to death, discussed threadbare, and hung out to dry. I am talkin about a major problem called "The Brain Drain".

Why brain drain at this juncture? Well, i come from a very reputed community and a respectable known for having an assembly line of brainy and talented people(sumtimes manufacturing defects do creep in inadvertently) whose academic grades look like scores of Sachin Tendulkar at his peak. And invariably, our community has been one of the most affected(some say benefited) by this brain migration syndrome, coz almost every cousin of mine is in the uncle sam, or aspiring to go there. It is but natural for me have my own thoughts on this happening, and this is the right window for me to express them. What follows is a very hard hitting and a strong article, and might create divergent opinions. But The constitution of India says i have total freedom of speech,and n one can stop me from expressing them.

I have been a fierce patriot since i was a little boy, and i have always looked at brain drain as a serious issue. I have always wondered why people leave this beautiful country of ours, to go to some unknown lands, and trying to adapt to an alien culture and adjust to a totally new and sometimes hostile environment. Financial gains, a new window to exhibit their talents, a new horizon to explore their capabilities or simply a drive to explore new places, these were the reasons that a young mind of mine gave to satisfy my inquisitiveness. And of course the greedy side of me told that the brain drain was beneficial, coz it got me video games, t shirts ,shoes for free and things that were unheard of India those days.

As i grew older, came into contact with many people, read a lot of books, articles addressing this issue, i started getting some answers.It is the lack of opportunities some said, others opined that it was financially less viable in India. Some said the industrial infrastructure was absent, that left todays professionals in limbo, forcing them to seek greener pastures. Four years ago, these answers would have satisfied me. But i am not the same guy anymore and it is very difficult to convince me with the above arguments today. Coz I have actually lived and experienced the transition that the Indian economy has gone through and have been a first hand beneficiary of its spin offs. (Me writing this blog in an Adidas tracksuit and a nike t shirt illustrates this the best). Economic packages in our country have gone from a pittance to extravagance(a half baked engineer like me gets offered 3 and a half lakhs says it all), and opportunities have grown from insignificant to enormous tremendous. But still so many of our engineers are not coming back worst not even thinking of coming back, and the applicants for a us green card have never been more. All leads us to this one question WHY.

There are many answers to this question, and if u ask every nri , his replies will differ. I as a boy who is staying here, who has left so many of his us going relatives in the airport, biddin them all the best in their pursuit of their dream,try to present my own view here. Again i tell u it can be a very hard hitting read, and i may be wrong. But i am completely within my rights to express them, opinion be damned.

In India, we have been brought up in a gurukul culture, a culture placing great importance in the values of honesty and obedience. And since childhood, our parents have played a very important part in our lives, which they should, influencing our every decision and playing a part in whatever we have done. It was never left upon us to take our decisions, what we wanted to do. It was never our choice in what we wanted to pursue. Our creativities were stifled and our opinions were eclipsed. The word of our parents were the final, and if we used our discretion and went against them, it was considered blasphemy. And it was not that the parents opinion reflected the current trends and scenarios. It was based upon the life that they led, and the events that they experienced. Theirs was a separate generation, but they refused to acknowledge that. They were obdurate and stubborn in their thinking,unyielding in their beliefs and immovable on their decisions. They refused to see India in a post liberalized era, they could not see that they country they lived had changed.They never ever felt that youth could decide on their own,and they had to seek their suggestion.And this suggestion, was an extension of their view, a view totally out of sync with the life and times.

50 years ago, mebbe this was all right, coz the youth then were afraid to spread out their wings and take on the world.But the youngsters in the post liberaliztion era were not. They were restless and ready to grab any opportunity that the world afforded them. It came to Indian shores too, but no one was ready. Whoever joined the multinationals had only one aim, to get out. And i do not blame them. Which talented brain can work in such a stifling atmosphere. A place where one cannot be on your own, a place where you cannot be yourself. Every decision you took, was scrutinized, and you were badgered not only by your parents, but by all and sundry in your family. Risk taking was strictly forbidden and you had to play the game by the books. Security in your life was primary, and you had to sacrifice your wishes to protect a non existant family(and i am not discussing the jamboree of an arranged marriage). You could never express your individuality nor your talents in this forbidding environment.Even a three sensed bird would have flown away given the circumstances, these were after all geniuses.

Everyone who went abroad in this exodus, prospered were successful. But the benefits that came back home took time. Of course parents gloat in pleasure when they say their kid is in the US, but trust me every one of them has in one corner of their heart, wants them to return. But this they do not realize that it was their narrow mindset that made them leave the Indian shores in the first place. And it was this inability to adapt to the changing times, that led to the lost generation of geniuses, setting back the pace of development of our country. Their adamant nature, and belief that they know everythin, has according to me led to what we call Brain Drain.

Times are changing though, with the parents of my times, know that children have their space, and have adapted. and trust very few of us will be a part of the brain drain..more on this later.