Visit to India, My Native Country

My Mother died on Aug 14, exactly two weeks ago from today, in India due to a heart attack at the age of 66. As a result, I boarded the flight on that day for my sojourn to India to have a glimpse at my beloved mother for one last time and to take care of the necessary rituals per our Hindu religion. I am in India for two weeks now and the feelings are nothing but nostalgic.

It has been little over twenty years since I have called the great United States my home. Yet, the motherland is a motherland. It has been nothing but the mixed feelings. Lots of good memories as well as lots of painful memories as life in India is not really easy, or at least, it was not not when I was growing up, for much of the middle class. I am really glad to see that India has come the long ways since I left the country. Over the years, I have visited India several times and every time, I have come to visit India, the progress I have seen is nothing short of impressive.

For example, the express highways, great many over bridges, number of airports and flights, suburban sprawling, growing wealth among all classes of people, emerging middle class, improving standard of living even for the most disadvantaged folks of the country are classic examples that India is really on the huge upswing since economic liberalization in early 1990s. Yet, a lot of work remains to be done and it will get there one day. That "one day" will whether materialize in 25 years or 50 years is a million dollar questions, nevertheless, it will get there, provided the current reforms continue.

China and India often possess a disproportionate share of the discussions and media coverage regarding their GDP growth and their growing presence in the world economy. One can see why such is the case, when you visit India. Though, India is behind China in creating unparalleled infrastructure as China had more than a decade of the leg up than India in economic liberalization, India can still learn a lot from China and other advanced countries regarding making the best of the investments.

I yearn to see India to be considered as one of the "developed nations". I just am not so sure whether that day will ever come due to the sheer size of its population and the baggage that it carries in the form of current systems in place. Even, if India is fortunate enough to see that day, it is highly unlikely that, I will ever see that day at least in my lifetime