The Annual trek home

The annual trek back home

The annual migration is on. Like the wildebeest of the Masai Mara they are all coming back in hordes to their homeland. Shiv Pratap ,a lawyer puts it the best and says,' take a long hard look. Just the way salmon must travel to the exact same spot to spawn where it has been born after having stayed away all its life-our NRI's get the same bug to travel back-but its temporary  like a viral fever. The call of the root is strong but by no is it rational , after all they don't want to stay here-life is so much better there ; economic system is far more fertile for a hard worker or a person low on resources. Only now the changes happening here that will transform this part of the world attract them .'

A NRI  is a person resident outside of India who is a citizen of India or who has migrated freely to another country to work and who remits money back to his home country .A 'pravasi bahrati' who lives works abroad but maintains ties with hi shame country. The Indian diaspora is 25 million strong an dis the world's largest 'sending' nation.

Punjab attracts them back like bees to honey . The figures are roughly 2.5 million Punjabis settled in Canada, USA, England and parts of Europe. The famous joke is that you will always find a Punjabi and a potato everywhere on this planet and it so holds true! The NRI after his intensive hard work,diligence and when he feels he has made it big economically , comes back to his home land aka Punjab to leave his mark /presence in his people where he is  recognized . This is in keeping with Maslow's theory of wants where a man first works for food , shelter and then money and when he has reached the top of the pyramid he wants to leave a mark in the society ; a stamp so that his name remains forever. Isn't that consistent with all of us?

They come back flashing their dollars, pounds and proudly wearing the new white designer clothes arms loaded down with gold jewelry and women whose arms hold the newest designer bag announcing their arrival . In fact, they find Punjab very 'nice' going to the pind difficult as everything is dirty but don't worry they are carrying enough supplies of toilet paper, hand sanitizer,and anyway it is a short trip just till the path /haavan/ religious ceremony and little bit shopping is over.

The NRI has a few characteristics , he builds the biggest ,largest ,fanciest kothi in the village to in his colony , a marble mausoleum with the words behind his name proudly saying, ....UK Wale, German, Amrika wale! How can one forget the benevolent NRI and his patronage  to the local sports club, the gurudwara, mandir or the most lucrative the Sarpanch election.

The punjabi Nri lives and breathes elections. His blood, his next breath is when he is thickly in the contest supporting one political person against the other. In fact ,it is said that this invisible patronage has led to a 50% increase in election costs in the villages ; where opponents try to outdo each other by doling out freebies before elections .It all boils down to izzat / honor of the candidate and the parties supporting them .In fact , the sale of liquor shoots up considerably and it is common for the NRI to finance this and they also resort to buying votes in the Malwa region. A sarpanch's election costs Another subtle but the most effective way is to give money to a Dharamshala ( religious place) , so as to woo the voter. A novel idea by a sarpanch in the last held elections (2008) was to distribute salwar-suits thus winning over the fairer sex!!Their pet peeve as seen by the numerous supporters on the next battle field which is the virtual world arena is that they want to bring about change Navi Sidhu, settled in Sacramento ,California says,'My life is here, but still care for my relatives, my motherland, but my pet peeve is to bring about some change so people start thinking again." He wants people to come out of the nonsocial approach to life where they limit themselves to superstition and let it govern and take charge of their lives."

An NRI thinks that after living abroad he or she can conveniently come back and dictate what they want or they want to give back to the society ,their motherland the bhoomi from where they rose and went and conquered the world. Why do they forget that it is not easy to keep one's feet in two boats? One will either sink or swim and that  is so dangerous mortally and figuratively. An NRI  is of two types an old timer who has been gone for decades and a new timer.A new immigrant is one who has political associations back home and they want to stay in touch but as time passes interest wanes.They come to attend the customary wedding commitments or deal with land matters , property details. This is an ongoing problem where due to economic windfall and rise in property prices in Punjab the land and houses which had earlier seen desertion have risen in value mani-fold.As they gain economic standing overnight income cases , their ability dole out cash increases ( the conversion rate helps) . This category looks for recognition back home by sponsoring sarpanch elections , local sports clubs, gyms etc. another way of doing this by sponsoring school blocks , library and other developmental works in the village so as to leave that board/nameplate with the inscription left behind for generations to come. Immortalising in stone , has been done since ages and its practice prevalent now also.

As age catches the NRI , he wants to reconnect with his culture , his values , his age old traditions which were dormant but come to the forefront in the latter years of his life.The desperation sets in, as days to meet the Maker are numbered , the NRI comes back in droves and they get attached to some religious dera( sects following a learned master with spiritual and religious inclination). These deras have a large following as the babaji's regularly visit abroad to hold discourses ;NRI's form a major chunk of their devotees.  An exact figure cannot be pinpointed but they're substantial in numbers along with their financial aids.As age catches up so does the desperation . It is funny that the older generation wants to make the ties strong while the next generation does not even care . They do not want anything to do with it.

In fact , an NRI categorically says , 'Punjab is like butter love to eat, but to stay healthy , eat it once in a while". 

This love-hate relationship is what defines the non reliable Indian . He will poke his head into local politics trying to spoil the applecart but as soon as the call of the siren ( his adopted country ) beckons he leaves us high and  sundry.

It is to be seen that the NRI Sabha has 14000 members currently and they will try to influence the voting patterns in some segments of the state, to primarily safeguard their interests .

Ravneet sangha