From Here To Where

Every Indian Muslim has a dream……
He wants to take his parents for Hajj. He has to get his younger sister married. Then maybe one day he will live for himself. One day (Sigh…).
With this hope and the promise given to his loved ones he packs his bag and goes away far to a place with unfulfilled desires in his heart.

This pack of young guns can be divided into three groups

One of them is what I call the “weak hearted”. After reaching a foreign country, they get a culture shock, they don’t know how to manage their lives, they crave for their homes, cry in their blankets. In a years time, they come running back into their arms of their mothers giving reasons like loneliness, depression, frustration etc etc.
.Then they lie to their friends saying “hey I went there for the experience, I love my country, I really so much missed India that’s why I am back”. But then they just sell their dreams for cheap for not being tough enough.

The second group is what I call the “Where do I belong?” group.
When they go abroad they realize that this life is much better than the one they left behind. Good money, less people, lesser competition, high standard of living, instant gratification of all those material things one desired, so different from the harsh realities of life which one had to face at home. They don’t have to see the worried faces, the half smiles; the indelible marks on their forehead deepening with concern on their future.
In fact when one of them goes back, people would be welcoming, loving, kissing hugging as if they knew this person would do something in life. So this set of expatriate only return when they have money in their pockets and the ability to make at least make some dreams true. But then there is big minus to this. Big Minus.

They can never really belong to their city again. Never.

And I am not even talking of this now sudden realization that their city really sucks. The heat, the dirt, the rush, the poverty, the travelling, the traffic bothering them. Not even talking about the ugly faces they make at people spitting, shitting, standing in lines. I am not discussing that.

They can never really belong to their city again even if they are planning to settle back for good. They can’t imagine seeing their salary drop ten times from what they were getting abroad. Most try to do a business with the money they earned over a period of time. And most of them fail. After 2-3 such ventures they return back disheartened to their now so called “Sasuraal”. So they live in this confused state of mind, of identifying themselves with one place. Just one where they really belong

The last group is the “No looking back” group. They have burnt the ships after reaching the foreign shores. They consider India their second home now. They don’t want to come back unless there is a wedding or a funeral. They have adopted this alien culture and just want to move on. They invest in the stock markets and buy flats in some posh places. They plan vacations every year & get the best of their cities. They love India but just about.

Now I don’t know which group I belong to. It’s only been a year I have stayed abroad and there are days when I feel like running back home. There are days when I feel like crying.But I am tough. I need to spend more years to get my dreams fulfilled. And there is a long list…
Do I fit in the second group?
Hmm…No maybe the third pack. The No looking back group.
No I can’t.
I miss my country too much.
I miss Bombay my city the most.
Time will tell me and its ticking…..