SEVEN MONTHS IN THE USA

SEVEN MONTHS IN THE USA
(Last revised: 21 June 2016)

I briefly visited USA for the first time in 1977 while on my way to Guatemala, Central America, where I spent 15 months as a post-doctoral fellow at the INCAP—Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama. After that I have visited USA 5-6 times on brief visits for scientific conferences etc. Each of these lasted not more than a week and was related to scientific conferences that I attended. Then, in 1992, I visited the USA for 5 weeks on a specialized training course in training methodology at Santa Cruz, near San Jose, California. The present visit took place after 17 years. Much has happened during these years, personally as well as generally. Personally, I lost my wife in 1996. Internationally, the last decade has seen the twin towers; the Afghan war; the Iraq war; the economic collapse in 2008-2009; and, the Obama win. Many of the above events did not enamour me to the USA. A global survey 1-2 years ago revealed that India was one of the 2-3 countries in the world where the majority population favoured the USA as against the rest of the world, which was anti-American. Dr. Man Mohan Singh, the then Indian Prime Minister, even told President George Bush that “Indian people loved him”. I was among the minority of the Indian people.

The previous visits were away from general US life and the full day was spent in scientific sessions and evenings were spent looking for modestly priced eating and shopping. (Those were the days when India had not awakened to the concept of economic liberalisation and globalisation and ordinary foreign made goods were deemed to be luxuries. Now India is the third largest economy after USA and China). There was no time or occasion to meet people and observe daily life in the American setting. Lack of one’s own transport was an obvious impediment.

I came to USA for a longer period for the first time in 2009 and have been coming every year since then to visit my son living here. The visits have been:
First visit—26 November 2009 to 28 Feb. 2010
Second visit -- 15 December 2010 to 12 February 2011
Third visit ---7 December 2011 to 5 February 2012.
Fourth ---21 Dec. 2013 to 11 March 2014
Fifth--- 14 March 2015 to 30 April 2015

The main part of this memoir was written 27 February 2010, just before I returned from USA. I made additions towards the end of my second and third visits. Further additions are being made now, with a bit of revision, in June 2016. I had to curtail my visits because I developed cancer of the prostate.

What is written here is what I saw, was told by those who have lived here for a long time, up to 45 years, or read in reliable press. There may be inaccuracies. I shall be grateful for corrections / comments from readers. There is no intention to down rate any people or culture or country.

It is not a travelogue. I don’t feel inclined to write travelogues. I have visited many countries and places but I have been chronically short of time and have never had the luxury of having enough time to write the details about my travels. The purpose of writing this is to record my experiences and thoughts about USA, the country, the culture and the politico-economic system as perceived by me. However, I will barely mention about the last because I have written enough in that area, which can be viewed at:

http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1478230-THE-AMERICAN-FINANCIAL-CRI...

http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1266080-GLOBAL-WAR-ON-TERROR-essay...

http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1238898-USA-AND-GENDER-DISCRIMINAT...

http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1538436-TALIBAN-THE-FRANKENSTEIN

http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1535984-IS-ISLAM-THE-SOLE-VILLAIN

http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1470577-SCHOOL-SHOOTINGS

http://www.writing.com/main/books/item_id/950703-WAR-POETRY--award-winner
[This is a collection of 60 poems about war, mainly about the US “war on terror”.]

http://www.writing.com/main/portfolio/item_id/1241894-THE-US-AND-THE-WAR

[This is a folder titled US AND THE WAR and contains 57 items, mostly poems, especially in reference to the so called global war on terror.]


I applied for immigration to USA in the early 70’s along with some of my friends since that was the fad in those days. My application was approved and I could have entered USA, till 31 December 1973, as a green card holder. When I actually got the permission to immigrate, I did some hard thinking and decided not to leave India. Many of my friends, including my children, think that such decision was foolish. I do not agree with them. In all honesty, I have never regretted my decision.


The main thrust of the present write is US life in general. I was not able to observe the USA as a functional human society earlier because I had never really ‘lived’ here so far. My earlier visits were brief professional visits for scientific conferences when I was a professor at NIHFW and AIIMS, two premier health / medical institutions in India. Those visits involved spending time in the conference room during the day and the hotel during the night, with some shoe string shopping in the little time available for going to the market. My present visit was an extended three months stay in the USA after retirement to meet and live with my son who has been here 12 years. It is not very flattering that I never visited him all these years. My work kept me busy.

I will divide my account into the following sections:

My itinerary
Observations about the American life
Reflections about the persons of Indian origin living in the USA
Would I like to immigrate now?
Would I like my children to immigrate to the USA?

1---THE ITINERARY

During the first visit for three months, I visited the following states: California (the Silicon Valley, Sunnyvale, Los Altos, Los Gatos, San Jose, Santa Cruz, Cupertino, Los Angeles, Rancho Cucamonga, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica beach, University of California at Riverside); Nevada (Las Vegas); Illinois (Chicago); New Jersey; New York; Pennsylvania (Philadelphia); Texas (Austin); Washington DC.

During the above period, my main stay was with my son in Sunnyvale, for about two months. In addition, I lived for a few days each, totaling about a month, in Philadelphia, Austin, Chicago, Las Vegas and Los Angeles at homes of friends and relatives, unlike my previous visits when I stayed in hotels.

During the second visit for two months, I made brief week end tours to the ski resort Lake Tahoe in Nevada, and to the home of an old class fellow of mine in Los Angeles where he is a well- known surgeon. I also made a day trip to San Francisco.

During the remaining visits, I mainly remained in Sunnyvale except briefly visiting my orthopedician friend in Los Angeles.


2--OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE AMERICAN LIFE

The main points about American life that come to my mind immediately are the following:

A—THE USA IS A LAND OF OPPORTUNITIES—This is not only a cliché but a reality. I heard many actual accounts of how those who took the initiative to come to the USA with nothing but their willingness to work acquired a reasonably decent levels of living that would not have been possible for them to have back home. This explains why there is such a craze to get a green card which entitles the holder to work in USA. As a matter of fact, even those persons without remarkable skills or educational background are able to lead a much more dignified and comfortable life in the USA than in their own countries. This used to give rise in my mind to a host of self-flagellatory and apparently patriotic feelings to the effect that men from other countries should not voluntarily, out of preference, seek to come to the West, now-a-days symbolized by the USA, merely for the sake of money and material comforts, abandoning their own poorer environs. As a matter of fact, I used to pride myself that I chose to remain in India, to serve my country and people, while many of my class mates chose to practice medicine in USA and England, some in Australia. At 74 (in 2016), having retired as a professor of medicine and having studied and practiced law for 15 years, I am not so sure of that pride. Though I don’t regret not having come to the USA when I was young, I don’t find anything wrong in others coming here. I have now come to believe that nothing is bad if it is neither immoral nor illegal. No immorality attaches to those who migrate to USA legally.

B—THE USA IS A LAND OF EQUALITY—This is a practically reliable statement, with certain reservations. FIRSTLY, there is not much discrimination here on grounds of race, gender, ethnicity, religion, disability and economic background etc. It does not mean that blacks and Hispanics and Asians here are fully equal, in practice. However, it does mean that discrimination against them is not very acute or highly visible. The tolerance to others is especially pronounced at the West coast compared to the East coast. California is a highly emancipated state. People coming to the USA soon find that as long as they work hard and honestly, and follow the law, they face less discrimination here than in their own country.

C—THE USA IS A LAND OF LAW ABIDING PEOPLE—This has to be seen to be appreciated fully. Some examples:

a--There are no policemen to be seen. I did not see one during three months. They are, of course, a minute away if one dials 911. But, no policeman is seen on the road side or crossings etc. Drivers routinely, and actually, slow to a stop whenever there is a stop sign on the road and whenever there is a road crossing, even though there may not be a road sign asking the person to stop. The road sense is terrific.

b--The most surprising thing I found here is that the delivery man / postman sometimes leaves valuable parcels (such as goods ordered on line) at the doorstep even without so much as knocking the door or ringing the bell. We simply find it there when we open the door by chance. Or, he just presses the bell and walks away. By the time we open the door, he is gone while the parcel is on the floor, waiting for us. Sometimes, if it is pretty valuable or otherwise, he asks the recipient to sign a receipt which is usually an electronic one with an electronic pen / stylus. This situation may not be ubiquitous. I lived in a more sophisticated part of the Bay Area and there is no law and order problem, no street urchins or homeless people or riff-raff here. The delivery man would certainly take more precautions in other areas. Yet, this was an extremely unexpected experience.

c—Nobody breaks the queue anywhere, be it the airport or a shopping mall or amusement park.

d—People take their duty pretty seriously. Employees are not found coming late to work or gossiping amongst themselves while the customer is waiting.

I think that the law-abiding nature here is partly related to the factors like: the ever (electronically) watchful eye; the efficient law and order mechanism; the hire and fire system of work (such as, immediate issuance of the pink slip if one is late for work) and the quick judicial system. I believe that the basic human nature is the same everywhere. The same Indians who exhibit exemplary law abiding behavior here behave pretty differently when they are in India.

e—The most remarkable example of the disciplined nature of the American people is their behaviour on road crossings where there is no controlling light or the lights have gone wrong or out. In India what would happen would be a big jam, everybody trying to cross, the result being a jumble / jungle of cars high on horns, tempers and exhaust fumes. Not so in USA. Everybody takes his turn, maybe in a clockwise manner: one car, by cyclic turn, goes ahead from each of the four conjoint roads while others patiently wait!

D—THE USA IS A LAND WHERE INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM IS GREATLY STRESSED —People here let others do whatever they want. One can dress in whatever manner, for example. A child or adolescent need not pay obeisance to elders or to be influenced or intimidated by them. This streak of independence explains the unruliness of American kids in school that culminates in insults to teachers and school shoot outs. It also partly explains the easy and common divorce here, as also the system of live in. The proportion of live in partners to married partners exceeded 50%, for the first time, about 5 years ago. This attitude of freedom works the other way also. The young feel free to ignore the elders, including the old parents. Parents also, likewise, might not feel obliged to support a child who has attained majority. Things are a bit different in the oriental culture. My surgeon friend told me about a revealing incident. Another surgeon, about 75 years old, threw a small party in the hospital. When my friend inquired about the occasion, the answer was—“My daughter turned 18 yesterday, hence I don’t have to support her any more”!


E—THE USA IS A LAND OF COMPETITION —It is simple. Work and get rewarded and earn. Lazy around and get ignored and laid off from work. The same is true in business. Sell your goods or sell your business. How you sell is your business—by quality or hype, both of which are the focus of the manufacturer / seller. The no questions asked return policy helps in maintaining quality. Such a policy is rather the routine in the USA, the usual period of return being 30 days.

F—THE USA IS A LAND OF HONESTY —This statement is made in respect of individuals in daily life. It does not extend to billion dollar business conglomerates or the government, who have their own commercial or political compulsions. At the ordinary level of people, honest work is rewarded. There is much less chance of getting a job because somebody is highly connected or recommended by a VIP. He who has shown worth gets the job. He, who does not, gets fired. However, dishonesty seems to be the accepted American policy as far as international scene is concerned. It is OK for the US Prez to tell the world that Saddam Hussein of Iraq had WMDs in his backyard to remove which the sovereign country must be attacked, while it transpired later that not one but sixteen US intelligence agencies had independently reported to him that there was nothing like the much hyped WMD in Iraq.

G—THE USA HAS A GOOD SOCIAL AND PUBLIC SUPPORT SYSTEM —People who are old or disabled or orphaned have a good support system at government expense. This has a flip side also. Public transport system in many cities is insufficient. In general, anyone who does not own a car is forced to lead a pretty restricted life. Buses are few and other modes of transport, such as a taxi, are either not easily available or affordable. There is, of course, nothing here that could be compared to a three wheeler scooter taxi that is so common in India. It won’t be suitable in a country where climate is cold and snowy and distances are long and commuters few. However, in some cities like New York and Washington, the underground train / subway and bus services are fairly good.

H—THE USA IS ALL ABOUT MONEY —The driving force here is money. If one has insufficient money or lacks the means to earn money, he must suffer and he does. There is no concept of social mercy towards the less fortunate. This does not mean people do not care for others. Charity is a prominent part of life here and there are million-billion dollar charity foundations to which many people contribute. What this means is that those who do not earn or are not capable of doing so are, so to say, condemned as worthy of their fate or the consequences of their inaction. Poverty is considered, almost, a sin.

I—INDIA NOW HAS A PRESENCE IN THE USA —I have visited the USA more than half a dozen times between 1978 and now. What is obvious is that during these years, the presence of and respect for Indian people and culture here has shown a clearly perceptible rise. Earlier, ladies wearing Indian dress were deemed as objects of curiosity. Now they are not even noticed. I went to Santa Cruz, where I had lived for 4 weeks in 1992. I could not recognize the place. It now even has a large Indian restaurant. Earlier, there was no way one could have Indian cuisine. In Bay area, there are a large number of Indians to be seen in the malls, cinema houses etc. However, I noticed that they are mostly from the Hindi heartland and the South, as also from Gujarat and some from Maharashtra, but those from Bengal, Orissa and the North East were proportionately much less. Maybe this is a reflection of the development level of the region as regards education and industrialization.

J—THE USA HAS AN EXCELLENT LIBRARY SYSTEM —The public library system of the USA has to be seen to be believed. There are huge multi-storey well stacked and well managed state libraries in every city. They all have computers with free internet facility.

K—THE USA HAS LARGE BOOK STORES —The chain of book stores like Barnes and Noble in the USA are hugely impressive. They are almost like libraries where one can sit around and read well catalogued books all day. Many people actually do that. One can buy coffee and snacks within the book store.

L—THE USA DOES NOT BOTHER ABOUT RELIGION —This is a statement that needs explanation. There are many people here who are not overly religious and do not identify or do not prefer to strongly identify with a particular religion. They don’t bother about religious affiliation of other people. However, at a collective societal level, there is a strong Christian sentiment. Knowledge about Hinduism is still rather elementary. This is in stark contrast to the interest in USA about China. The reason is obvious. China is both a military and commercial giant and is the country in the world that the USA is most afraid of. Things are, however, changing after the new government in India under prime Minister Modi, who has, through his unique style, made India shine on the world map.

The influence of religion upon American psyche would be clear from the fact as to how Obama had to be almost apologetic about having a Muslim name though he is a Christian. In India, nobody bothers about the religion of the president or the prime minister. Their religion is rarely a significant election issue. That attests to the emancipated nature of Indian democracy.

An interesting experience was a visit to an Anand Marg temple in Los Altos. There were about 25 persons there, more than half of whom were non-Indian whites. The first thing that struck me was that Anand Marg, which was once rather discredited by the Indian establishment, has managed to survive nationally and internationally. The second was that the Christian world today seems to be getting more and more disillusioned about Christianity. Scientifically educated Westerners are apparently not comfortable with several dogmas of Christianity and seem to clutch at any straw that offers them a feeling of intellectually acceptable spiritual emancipation that may come from Hinduism and its sects (such as Anand Marg, Ram Krishna Mission, ISKCON and the like), Buddhism , Sai devotion etc.

Even in the 2012 Presidential election , when primaries were being held, the republican nominees were, to an extent, religiously characterised—as to who is a Mormon, Catholic or evangelistic.

M—THE USA HAS A GOOD EDUCATION SYSTEM—Education is free up to school level, which means 10 years of schooling or high school. However, there are private schools also which are very costly. Unlike India, the quality of education in government schools is very good. The stress is not on rote learning but on learning by doing. Children do not have to carry a big bag of books to the school and back home. Each child has a locker in the school where he keeps his books etc. when the school is off. The college education is pretty costly. The professional education, such as medicine and law, is probably the costliest. A medical student often has to pay fees like 250,000 to 750,000 dollars for the medical course. A law student might have to shell out 50,000 dollars a year. When fees in the college are heavy, the students are certainly concerned about the quality of education and are not afraid to complain to the dean if a teacher does not take classes well. Since the teachers are often employed on a hire and fire basis, they are unlikely to take liberties with their job as in India. Tenure jobs, which are something like permanent jobs in India, are very few in universities and medical schools in the USA.

The educational system in USA has its flip side too. I have referred to it in my poem
MATHEMATICAL KIDS where the message from the national leaders to American children is—“Finish your mathematics homework, lest the children in India make you starve!”
http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1673506-MATHEMATICAL-KIDS

I was told by my friends settled here that some 25-30 years ago, as per newspaper reviews in USA, the government planners took a conscious and voluntary decision, under the impression that the country had enough scientists and needed more workers, to cut down on higher education, especially in science and mathematics. The emphasis during school years shifted from excellence in education as such to excellence in games etc. I was told that the PT / games teacher in American schools is the one with highest say, respect and salary. This is in sharp contrast to what I saw when I was in school 55 years ago in India. The PTI (Physical training instructor) was at the lowest rung of the teachers’ hierarchy and science teachers were at the top. The situation remains similar in India even now, maybe with some differences. My friend told me that as per the newspaper article, the USA is now ruing its decision to curb emphasis on education. But, the habits once spoiled are difficult to reform easily.
Some examples of the imbalanced US education system are as follows:

a—US school kids are unruly. School violence is not uncommon. I have discussed it in an analytical article I wrote in 2008 titled “SCHOOL SHOOTINGS”,
http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1470577-SCHOOL-SHOOTINGS

I also wrote a sonnet about it –
http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1470590-A-STUDENT-PICKS-A-GUN-a-so...


b—School education is too much dependent on vagaries of state federalism. There are states where teaching of the scientific theory of evolution is frowned upon in schools because it clashes with the Biblical concepts. Educational standards and curricula differ from state to state. I think educational pattern and guidelines ought to be uniform across a country.

c—There is an acute shortage of school teachers. Teachers from India seem to be in great demand. Some companies based in India even provide on line coaching to school students through video conferencing etc. School teachers, hospital nurses and army recruits from other countries (for fighting US wars overseas) seem to enjoy special concessions, like early issuance of green card or citizenship if they want to come to USA. The US President Obama is trying his bit to undo the past. In his State of the Union Address, 25th January 2012, it was just enthralling to hear President Obama asking the people to support his plan for raising teachers’ salaries so that better and more teachers are available to strengthen the school education system in USA.



N—THE US HEALTH CARE SYSTEM IS IN SHAMBLES —Health care is very costly in USA. Health reforms were a major issue in the last presidential election. The reforms were needed because about a quarter of the US population was deprived of health care that is extremely costly. The government or free facilities for health care are meager. People have to pay even for immunisations which are freely available in India. The medical care in USA is insurance based. Those who cannot buy health insurance suffer silently. An idea of the cost of health insurance can be had from the fact that I have to shell out about 150 dollars per month for my insurance while I am in USA. For a poor person, that means the cost of basic food for sustenance. I know that if I wish, I can survive in USA spending 100 dollars a month on food and getting adequate nutrition. It is clear why poor people, for whom the first priority is food and survival, are forced to remain deprived of health care. The health care reforms of President Obama were aimed at making health insurance almost compulsory for all and providing government support for those who can’t buy their own insurance. I do not see any problem in that but the republicans oppose it. Unfortunately, I understand that doctors as a group are mostly pro-Republican and against the health reforms. At least one of the reasons for the opposition is that they think these reforms are designed to help the insurance companies. But that is the best Obama could probably do. The real answer to the health care problem probably lies in ridding the vice like grip of the insurance sector on the health care system. The alternate model in Europe and Canada seems to be better where there is a national health service that is available free to all. The basic difference between the two health care systems—through social welfare and through insurance—is that the former is without any motive of profit while the latter is aimed at maximizing profit for the insurance companies.

The health care system is also beset with another kind of insurance problem. Medical malpractice insurance is very costly here and all doctors find it necessary to buy huge insurance. I won’t be surprised if the average cost of professional indemnity insurance per physician in USA turns out to be $100 a month. It is naturally recovered from the patients. The cost of insurance is directly proportional to the amount of compensation payable for medical malpractice. American courts tend to award very high amounts as compensation. Some states have had to pass laws putting a cap on the maximum amount payable as compensation. Suing for malpractice has turned out to be a highly lucrative profession for lawyers who, the so called ambulance chasers, encourage patients to file malpractice suits with no cost to them, but pocketing 30-70% of the compensation awarded. Another phenomenon has sprung up over the last few years. Those who have filed suits of compensation for malpractice are lured to take advances against the compensation claimed by them in the court while the litigation is still pending. The advance has to be returned out of the money awarded by the court. If the court does not award any money, the person who has taken the advance need not return it. This facility is availed by those who have fallen on bad times and have no income or source of loan. The amounts advanced are often in the range of 10-20,000 dollars. The interest payable is in the range of 80-100% per annum. By the time the case is decided in their favour, the initial advance has swelled so much that hardly anything is left for them after payment of the legal fees. This is outright exploitation. The companies advancing such loans are often managed by lawyers who know how to oblige only those applicants whose cases are fool proof and sure to win. They are able to escape the laws against charging exorbitant interest on loans on the plea that they have given not loans but non-refundable advances where the applicants might even lose the case and don’t pay any fee for litigation. Lawyers sure are smart (and slimy)!

I met an elderly couple in California, both green card holders. The husband, 68, can avail of Medical care free. However, he has to buy health insurance for his wife, 63, at 500 dollars per month because the policy covers her pre-existing diseases. She will be eligible for free Medical after attaining 65 years. This example beautifully shows the two sides of the coin!


O—USA HAS A CULTURE OF CONSPICUOUS, WASTEFUL CONSUMPTION —This can be seen everywhere:

a—The plethora of cars and paucity of public transport means very high and inefficient fuel consumption. The results are scary. Had the USA not been such a petrol and diesel guzzler, its hunger for oil would have been less leading to, hopefully, less appetite to secure for itself, often in a violent manner, the sources of oil in other countries.

b—The newsprint is wasted unnecessarily. The daily newspaper that I get here is accompanied by more than its weight of additional advertisement inserts. I have no option but to throw that part unseen every day. With all the noise about environmental degradation and pollution, the mighty USA finds it impossible to curb this source of monumental deforestation!

c—Food is wasted unnecessarily. There are some buffet restaurants here where one can fill up the plate as much as one likes for a fixed price. Nothing wrong with that. What pains is that people fill the plate too much and discard uneaten too much with no frowns on any face. In India, not many would indulge in gross wastage of food. Even the restaurant owner might be expected to discourage the people from doing so.


3--REFLECTIONS ABOUT THE INDIANS LIVING IN THE USA

I had occasion to meet many Indians who have been living here for decades. Like immigrants from any other country, they are here to earn and enjoy and study and be successful in life because USA offers more opportunities than most other countries in a democratic manner. Some of the issues / common concerns are as follows:

a—Among Indians living here, the Indians born in USA are pretty different from those not born here. That is natural and hardly surprising at all. They are US citizens since birth. They are subject to lot of cultural stress. On the one hand is the culture of the country of their parents and, on the other, is that of the country where they are born and live. This is reflected in the acronym ABCD, which stands for America Born Confused Desi, the term desi meaning / referring to an Indian. The Indians born here speak English, naturally, like an American and when children born here speak amongst themselves, even their parents may not understand them easily or fully, as confessed to me by my friends living here. The values that such children acquire at home and school may also differ.

b—Indians miss their homeland sometimes but that missing is not sufficient to make them return back. It is rare that anybody reverts back after living here ten years. All of them generally agree that it is impossible to go back to India after the children are 8-10 years old.

c—It is not uncommon to see Indians here marrying those from other nationalities and faiths. Often that is a question of social environment and availability of likely partners. However, there is a streak among some Indian girls to seek and marry white American boys. The reasons might be many, but one reason as told to me by elderly Indian ladies living here is that Indian boys are too demanding and help too little in domestic chores.

d—Indian families here have a concern that their children do not marry or prefer not to marry till late years. This problem is not unknown or uncommon in metros in India also, but is more acute here. One of the obvious reasons is that while live in relationships are almost a norm here, they are rather frowned upon in India.


4--WOULD I LIKE TO SHIFT RESIDENCE TO USA NOW?

This question does not have a clear answer. There are pros and cons.

The pros include:

a—A feeling that I need to learn a bit more about the world, people and cultures from close quarters. Though I have a deep interest in socio-political issues, my thoughts and knowledge about these have been mainly second hand as learnt from people, books and media. Direct observation has been mostly lacking.

b—A feeling that with my interest in Indian and oriental ideas, traditions, culture and philosophy, I need, in my own little manner, to make people in the West aware of these while myself learning about the West. It is not in me to live in the West just to have a life full of comforts. During my periods of stay in the USA, I have worked almost 16-18 hours a day.

c—A feeling that even though some people my age, 74 in January 2016, might find it unwelcome and stressful to unlearn some old concepts and habits and learn a lot of new ones in the USA, I would welcome it as an opportunity to ward off Alzheimer’s disease, since it is now scientifically well known that learning new things prevents the onset of senility.

The cons include—

a—A feeling that moving to a very different and alien environment at my age will deprive me of the familiarity, comfort level and support system, including societal and family support, that I have developed all these years.

b—The fact that I will have to give up my law practice if I move to the USA, where I possibly cannot practice law.

c—A certainty that my movements will be curtailed if I don’t have a car and will involve plenty of driving (and adjusting to the American driving rules and etiquettes and roads) if I have one. The learning involved (and unlearning my Indian driving habits) is likely to be stressful.

Balancing the two, I think I would prefer to remain in India. This decision is reinforced by what an 80 year old retired person told me who had been a professor of statistics in an American university and had lived here 50 years and has probably 100 relatives here. He said—“I am now thinking of going back to India in my final years. There I can hire 24 hours nursing and house help and any necessary medical treatment at very modest cost while that is just not possible in USA.




M C Gupta
27 February 2010, (revised, 23 March 2010; 3 February 2011; 1 November 2011; 3 February 2012; 21 June 2016.)