Two Years in the US, What do I Miss about India?
Life is amazing in the US, but my heart will always stay in India.
The undeniable truth that standard of living in the US is much higher than India does not mean that one does not miss his or her home country. In fact, when I moved here 2 years ago, everything seemed very different — most of it was better than back in India. (Read my story as to what cultural differences I found visiting the US from India)
However, as time passed by I realized, there are things which I really miss back in India, which time and again makes me feel —
I wish I was in India now!.
“If there is one place on the face of the earth where all dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is INDIA.” ~ Romain Rolland, Nobel Laureate
No, I am not going to be generic and say family and friends — of course I miss them, who doesn’t ? But, here are a few specific things that in the last 2 years I have missed, and they in someway define the uniqueness of incredible India.
1. Street food
I am a food lover, so this definitely had to top the list. But street food is one of the things I miss the most. Not only can you find a ton of savory snacks which are freshly prepared, but also fill your always hungry tummy without burning a hole in your wallet. To be honest, in my 2 years in the US, I still haven’t got an American “favorite street snack”. The burgers and the fries just don’t stand a chance in front of the heavenly and delectable Indian street food. Here are a few of my favorite Indian snacks —
- Momos (was always by my side during my Bachelors)
- Samosa (obviously with the green chutney)
- Hakka noodles (can have it anytime of the day)
- Onion pakoda
- Jalebi
- ……… the list goes on
2. The hustle and bustle of the crowd
Almost all of my life was spent in major cities of India. I grew up and did my schooling till Grade 12 in Mumbai. Then for my undergraduate education, I moved to the capital city of India — New Delhi. This means that my childhood was spent with the fear of separating from my parents and getting lost in the crowd, while my adulthood in dealing with the crowd to get my work done.
But after coming to the US, I realized I loved the crowd. The roads, the stores in the US just feel so empty. Hardly are there people walking on the streets, no kid crying to buy chocolates, or hawkers selling weird products on the streets with a high pitched voice. Yes, one may say that Times Square in NYC resonates with what I am saying, but it is limited to just that. In India, almost all towns and cities have crowds — crowds which may seem irritating at times, but you only come to miss them, and the character they provide to your street experience when you are away.
3. Amazing festivals
India is a land of festivals.
Eid, Diwali or Lohri — we love them all.
Festivals form a very important part of Indian culture and tradition. Of course one can join Indo-American groups here to celebrate the festivals, but the excitement and fun that one experiences in India is incomparable to the ones celebrated in the US. When I was a kid, it was about school holidays, getting new clothes, going for vacations, meeting lots of relatives and family friends. Neighbors share sweets and snacks with each other, enough to last you for a week just eating those. My personal favorites were Diwali and Durga Puja. I loved bursting crackers during Diwali, while during Durga Puja, I along with my parents and uncle would roam around Mumbai city all night visiting different statues of Goddess Durga — and ofcourse eat yummy food from stalls.
However, as I grew up, the meanings changed (except for holidays). I still love Diwali, but being environmentally conscious, I stopped bursting crackers. The festivals became more important as a way to enjoy and relax yourselves by meeting and celebrating with your friends and family, rather than about new clothes. Though the loud sounds and noises seemed irritating back in India, but sitting on a chair and typing this article, I really miss the Bollywood songs being played on loudspeaker, and the crowd shouting.
4. Neighborhood markets
This is one of the major points when it comes to inconveniences in the US. If ever you need to buy something urgent or need an immediate printout at 9pm, you are pretty much stuck, if you do not have a car. Though grocery stores remain open till 11pm here, most of them are far away from your residence. Bus service becomes sparse at night, so your only best chance is to ask a friend with a car to help you out.
In India, it’s much easier. Most of the times, you will have small shops in front or at walking distance from your house. These shops generally cater to basic needs like urgent groceries, printing facilities or medicines. And since these are neighborhood shops, the owners are familiar to the customers, and always cater to the urgent needs of the people in the locality.
5. The eternal fun in bargaining
Have you ever tried to bargain? I understood after moving to Delhi, why my mother loved bargaining. As a student in India, every last rupee was important to me. I used to bargain with the rickshawwallas (auto drivers in India), the hawkers at Connaught Place, and the shopkeepers at Sarojini Nagar. It just gave a “king like” feeling to buy a thing for 5 rupees cheaper.
Don’t try that in the US. You may just get laughed at really hard by the employees of the supermarket. Most things here are sold at supermarkets and malls (with the exception of Farmer’s market) having fix rates, and if you go to bargain — “you may just make a huge fool out of yourself”.
6. Watching India’s cricket match
If you love cricket, you know how it is to watch those nail-biting moments of India v/s Pakistan back in India. No, it might not be the stadium, but even sitting at your home and watching the match on TV, you can hear the whole apartment complex shouting whenever India would hit a six or lose a wicket. It would just keep the energy of the your surrounding so high, that you would never miss not being in the stadium.
Alas, in the US, the feeling is completely empty. You just struggle with Hotstar to watch a match with almost no one to share your excitement with — and only to be prompted with messages saying “An error occurred while streaming the content”. I am sure, most Indians residing in the US will be able to relate with this feeling. Cricket is an integral part of the childhood of most kids in India, and almost everyone has a cricketer whom they worship.
Living in the US is very cool, with beautiful buildings, systematic comfort and amazing education. However, the sense of belonging, love, and comfort that you feel in your home country is unmatchable to anything you will ever experience in the US. I may have just described my experience being from India, but I am sure most internationals living here will be able to relate to it.
Once again, I would like to wish all fellow Indians
A Happy Independence Day !
PS: I am missing the independence day celebrations, and the jalebis as well.
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If you would like to say anything, feel free to use the responses section, email me at jishnudeep.kar@gmail.com or DM me on Instagram.
