Hi friends,
Prior to 2013, I was not in favour of people going to the US. It will take a long time for the wards to get citizenship and until then their parents have to be alone. A person can go to the US only for higher studies.
I got my daughter married only to a boy residing in India. However, in 2006, they decided to go to the US for obvious reasons. So I had to be content by staying with my son in Hyderabad. I was rejecting the invitation from my daughter to visit the US.
After seven years, I had to yield to the love for my daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren. My son-in-law's parents and all my brothers and sisters persuaded me to go. She arranged for the visa and I arranged for the passports. We alighted the Etihad flight in May 2013 for a stay of 6 months up to Nov 2013.
That was the first time we traveled by air. The distance from Chennai to New York is 16000 kms. The flight sped at 1000 kms per hour at an altitude of 45000 ft. The food was good and the journey was comfortable. It took 19 hours to reach New York. Our daughter and son-in-law received us at JFK airport in New York.
Life-style, grassy landscape, education, research, technology, political system, cleanliness, discipline, good roads, obeying traffic rules, respecting elders, minding one's business, privacy, independence, women's freedom, job opportunities, work ethics, corruption-free, hero-worshipping, gossip-mongering, dress code, obeying queue are some of the areas we have to learn from them.
Niagara, New Jersey beach, the Manhattan, Grand Central, the Empire State Tower, the Statue of Liberty, the Hudson River tunnel, the Capitol, the White House, the Smithsonian's, the Mystery spot and 27-mile drive in San Francisco, the FALL when the trees change its colour were lovely to watch.
Prior to 2013, I was not in favour of people going to the US. It will take a long time for the wards to get citizenship and until then their parents have to be alone. A person can go to the US only for higher studies.
I got my daughter married only to a boy residing in India. However, in 2006, they decided to go to the US for obvious reasons. So I had to be content by staying with my son in Hyderabad. I was rejecting the invitation from my daughter to visit the US.
After seven years, I had to yield to the love for my daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren. My son-in-law's parents and all my brothers and sisters persuaded me to go. She arranged for the visa and I arranged for the passports. We alighted the Etihad flight in May 2013 for a stay of 6 months up to Nov 2013.
That was the first time we traveled by air. The distance from Chennai to New York is 16000 kms. The flight sped at 1000 kms per hour at an altitude of 45000 ft. The food was good and the journey was comfortable. It took 19 hours to reach New York. Our daughter and son-in-law received us at JFK airport in New York.
Life-style, grassy landscape, education, research, technology, political system, cleanliness, discipline, good roads, obeying traffic rules, respecting elders, minding one's business, privacy, independence, women's freedom, job opportunities, work ethics, corruption-free, hero-worshipping, gossip-mongering, dress code, obeying queue are some of the areas we have to learn from them.
Niagara, New Jersey beach, the Manhattan, Grand Central, the Empire State Tower, the Statue of Liberty, the Hudson River tunnel, the Capitol, the White House, the Smithsonian's, the Mystery spot and 27-mile drive in San Francisco, the FALL when the trees change its colour were lovely to watch.
In addition, the likes of IKEA, Costco, Wegmans, Walmart, Kohls, Target, Staples, Micheals, and the public library were wonderful. Life is beautiful in the US. In Nov, when we had to return, I felt sorry for leaving the US, my daughter, and her family.
Subsequently, we visited the US thrice in 2015, 2017, and 2019. It was a total disappointment. It was just like seeing a movie again and again. All things which were fascinating in the first visit did not inspire now. The grandchildren were busy with their studies. My son-in-law was always on tour and my daughter was busy with her career.
We did not go out. We spent the time reading books or browsing the Internet, seeing emails, FaceBook, and U-Tube, or lie in the bed staring at the ceiling. There is no life as there was no freedom. You cannot move outside the home. It is difficult to understand the local dictum. This place is only for young people. It is not a place for old retired people like me.
There was no sorrow to return. I was happy as I was coming back to my place, my home, my country, and to my people where I belong and where I am the boss., the decision-maker. The motherland cannot be compared with any other place.
Subsequently, we visited the US thrice in 2015, 2017, and 2019. It was a total disappointment. It was just like seeing a movie again and again. All things which were fascinating in the first visit did not inspire now. The grandchildren were busy with their studies. My son-in-law was always on tour and my daughter was busy with her career.
We did not go out. We spent the time reading books or browsing the Internet, seeing emails, FaceBook, and U-Tube, or lie in the bed staring at the ceiling. There is no life as there was no freedom. You cannot move outside the home. It is difficult to understand the local dictum. This place is only for young people. It is not a place for old retired people like me.
There was no sorrow to return. I was happy as I was coming back to my place, my home, my country, and to my people where I belong and where I am the boss., the decision-maker. The motherland cannot be compared with any other place.
Our lifestyle, the traditions, and customs, the beliefs, the friends and foes, visiting relatives, the quarrel with the neighbour, the temples, the rivers, the different languages, and the culture, the weddings, the hotels, the travels, the crowds, the music, the fruits, the cinema, the forgive and forget attitude, are all unique for this great country. MAY GOD BLESS YOU.
"You can take me away from India but you cannot take India away from me"
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