American Dream...

Was reading the Rita Chaudary Article in The Sunday Times of India on the Great American Dream gone sour. The crux of the article was that there are hundreds of Illegal immigrants in the US who have gone on Tourist Visa but stayed on in the hope of getting the coveted Green Card and are now working in hotels as cheap labourers. Don't want to sound racist here(In fact I am a big fan of Gujju entrepeneurship) but the names given in the article suggested that the majority come from the Dhirubhai land. Now these immigrants cannot go back to India to meet their near and Dear ones even on short term visits as getting out of the American continent implies Deportation forever. Therefore there people have stayed in the US for years now surviving on phone calls and Pictures.

What was surprising was the tone of the article sounded as if the author was sympatizing these immigrants for not having met there kids/parents for years. But do they really deserve this sympathy ? I mean what is making these people enter legally a country and then stay on illegally for ever ? Who is responsible for there illegal status ? Certainly not the United States government. It is they themselves who came in on the Tourist visa and decided to stay on by doing petty jobs. Agreed that some of these illegal immigrants have made it big in the Land of Opporunities my owning Hotel/Motel chains but that is a miniscule percentage. ( I can vouch for this personally as I have visited motels in the US where the caretakers/room cleaners are all migrants from India legal or illegal with the Americans/Desis managing/owning the hotel) .

So let's not sympathize with these illegal migrants ( mind you I have no issues if you about migrating legally by taking the H1B-GC route). BUt I cannot vouch for Indians who work all night in gas stations at the minimum wages and aim to stay on in the hope of making it big once the "Green" signal is given by the US immigration Authorities. While this could have made sense in the 1970s , the current economic environment in India provides enough oppurunities to the willing entrepeneurs . So let us not waste our productive years in dreaming to make it big in the land of opporunities. Rather let's make the land we are born in the NEXT land of Opporunities.

Buses, Beer and Brawls :)

Had the chance to board a City transport bus (aka Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation bus in Namma Bengalooru, BEST in mumbai) after quite a long time yesterday. It was a late night (by Bangalore's standards) trip at around 10pm and as usual the occupants of the bus included people who had just had the daily dosage of Beers and spirits . Add to that the bus was jam packed with people jostling and strugling for every inch of space.

So in comes the conductor ( not as in the Music bands), the quintessential khaki clad Ticket issuer and money collector. ( They call him Conductor.. may be because he conducts tickets/money across the bus. ). The conductor also ensures that people don't stand on the bus doors Footboarding and also creates space(creative isn't it) by pushing and shooving the commuters together thereby aggravating already smelly sweaty situation the standing passengers are in. In his space creation endeavor, the ticket issuer (conductor if u like ), inadvertantly pushes one of the " Beer spirited " passengers . And there starts the verbal dual.

Spirited Drunkard (mostly a Migrant bhaiya ji from UP/bihar): Kyon dhakka de rahe ho bhai ??
conductor(in broken hindi) : door pe kada ho.. baaki log ko jagah do ?
Spirited Drunkard: Sarkari bus hai. Jahan chahiye wahan kade rahenge.
conductor(in broken hindi) : Bus sarkari hai lekin hum bus ke conductor hai .Jaise hum bolenge waise hoga
Spirited Drunkard: Humhe nahi hilenge
Another passenger jumps in support of our Conductor : arey bhai kyon halla kar rahe ho. Kaam karne do Conductor "saab" ko
Conductor with an Inflated Ego(saab effect) to the whole bus : pata nahi kahan kahan se log aathe hai . Dimaag ka dahi banathe hai. Khud to kaam nahi karthe, humhe nahi karne dete
Spirited Drunkard :Mumbles something to which noone is listening to

The driver on hearing the high pitch drama slows the bus and asks " Kaun hai? Yeh kya ho raha hai ?? ". By now someone in the inside the bus who is comfortably sitted has had enough of high volume shouts and chips in " Chup karo and Driver ko gaadi chalane do. Late ho jayega"

Couple of others shout their frustration on the Drunkard and ask him to keep quite. The Drunkard mumbles on, but onone cares.The bus chugs along and the conductor resumes his pushy duty.