I have lived in US for more than 5 years now. My daughter was a year old when we arrived here. Now she is in Kindergarten and does things that I sometimes cannot fathom. One of the more prominent things that I have noticed is she is very self reliant. I ‘d say, I was not even 1% when I was her age. Not only that, she already has choices of her own, and it is difficult to convince her otherwise in any situation. I guess most of you may say that it is a good thing and maybe it is, and I’d agree if I was born and bought up here in US. However, it makes me uncomfortable that she has a very different cultural influence than what I had growing up.
Please do not mistake me, US offers you what no other country in world does. The standard of living, infrastructure, facilities etc….and honestly it is a difficult decision to make, whether to live here or go back.
Why is this decision so difficult?
Especially when an Individual is earning more money and getting pretty much everything that he wants materialistically!
It is because he/she worries about how their kids are going to grow up and with what values. The same thought that I keep having in my mind all time and one of the main reasons that my decision is drifting towards moving back to India.
So what are these Indian values that I am talking about ? After all India is one of the most diverse countries. A south Indian living is Kerala for e.g. is completely different to a person living in Northern India. Their physical attributes are different, their professions are different, their language, their festivals and even the food they eat are miles apart from each other.
However, one thing that they have in common is values
Tyaga (renunciation), dana (liberal giving), nishtha (dedication), satya (truth), ahimsa (non-violence) and upeksha (forbearance) are the foundations for the Indian values system.
Following are the few examples that you see very commonly in India:
Respect for parents and Elders: In most cases you will see that children have high respect for their parents and elders. Even when they grow up the respect always stays. Also, children take care of their parents till their last.
Family orientation: Indians will have very close knit family. Nowadays it is difficult to have joint families, but in early days having a joint family was a matter of pride.
Sacrifice and adjustment: Most Indians are known for their adjusting nature. They are not rigid and in most cases, they put others before themselves.
Importance to Education: Education is probably the most important thing for parents about their children. Parents sacrifice their career and savings to give children better education.
Trust in Institution of Marriage: In India more than 70 % are arranged marriages and divorce rate is less than 3%. This only goes to show that husband and wife make adjustments and go to lengths to ensure that marriage is successful.
This is what I want my daughter to see in her everyday life when she is growing !
Todays Poll on Indian cultural value system: click here if you are reading this post in a feed reader and can’t see the poll
Further Reading: A case study on Indian Values
Note: This is the 7th post in the 30 part series that I am doing on Key success factors for doing business in India – A 30 part series!Earlier Posts in the series:
# An overview of India’s history, geography, and legacy
# India’s economic growth and Rise of Consumer Market
# The political landscape of India and its effects on business
# India’s new-found confidence: implications for international firms
# One of the largest English speaking nations.