21st Century Desi Family in US | 21st Century Desi family in India |
| Celebrates all Indian festival including Rakhi /holi even if they are South Indian adhering to typical Indian standards | Attends Valentines day, Mothers day , fathers day , Halloween parties leaving kids with their nanny (“ayah”) |
| Gets meager two or three weeks vacation time and working women gets meager 8 or 12 weeks maternity leave | Gets at least 6 weeks vacation other than EL,CL or SL. Women working for government gets a year of maternity leave |
| Most women chose to stay at home after kids so kids can have indian lifestyles specially food . | Have the freedom and choice to get back to work even after the third baby thanks to generous maternity leave and abundance of nannies or domestic help |
| Majority of Desi kids attends public school | Majority of kids in India from all income levels attends private school . |
| Children learn classical Indian dance, music. They perform in temple and in all desi gatherings just like our grandmother’s time | Kids take Piano. Salsa, fencing, swimming classes. They perform in TV shows and win high cash prizes like houses which only their parents can dream of. |
| Desi kids are into Indian music specially Bangra, bharathanatyam etc. I haven't seen any teenagers aha ooohing about Justin bieber yet. | Majority of the kids are familiar /fans the western music/artists. |
| Vacations are strictly spent with family back in India(Guilt takes over common sense) | Vacations in exotic places within India, Asia or if money is abundant , then Europe or Americas. |
| Furnishes the yearly wardrobe during their India trip(Men gets yearly wardrobe as gift thanks to his wife parents, sisters , cousins and brothers) | Buys American /European designer wear in India or in Europe/American designer stores during their exotic vacation. |
| Drive his/her own car everywhere at all times including driving oneself to hospital while in labor. | Have cars driven by Drivers. Those drives also come in handy to carry all the stuff bought from stores. (Before coming to US lot of people on the left column also enjoyed this luxury) |
| Buys a home which is bit more than their annual household income. | Buys a home for which the mortgage needs to be paid not only them and by their kids too. |
| Real estate prices affordable by most families. Home sqft averages at least twice their parent’s homes. | Some Indian city real estate prices are higher than Newyork(factor for Economic growth). Average home sqft is ¼ of their parent’s home. |
| In spite of earning a six figure US salaries, both men and women does all the chores in the house. | Have maids for every chore in the house |
| Mows the lawn, does the weekly weeding even if the house is on a one acre lot. | Have a gardener to water even the few plants in a planter |
| Has one or two credit cards | Wallet is filled with credit cards |
| Plans every bit of their life including retirement and death (Can’t borrow money from parents, uncles or aunts in case of emergency. Even wealthy parents can’t send money in case of emergency so careful planning in every step) | Present generation live American life. They live pay check to pay check. Most money is spend on life style choices and mortgage. |
| Hunts for deals on electronics | Pays double or thrice the price just to have the latest gadgets |
| Has the risk of no medical coverage if they lose their jobs | Majority of them can afford care in best hospital in the city |
| Has identity crisis during the teenage years. No wonder they are called ABCD | They even know what they want to be when they in middle school. Most of them aspire to be Bill Gates or Warren Buffett |
There are some extraordinary Desi families (super families as in super man)with pioneering spirit who grows their own vegetable, sew their own clothes, make paper, remodel their homes and even raise chickens in urban sprawl.
I came up with this list within five minutes time(took forever to type and edit it) .Yes. you guessed it right. I had a busy day with unending house hold chores and being a slave to a two year old.
Dear Readers going through my list would clearly give you an idea about where the real development is right? So next time when you start pointing fingers at US desis for not paying taxes or being unpatriotic , HAVE MERCY. We are already leading a life style two generation behind yours (like your grandparent's generation).
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