Changing lifestyle and its Implications


By K.N Ananthanarayanan
Chennai based journalist on visit to Atlanta

The general human tendency is always to follow the latest prevailing fashion in all walks of life. Fashions keep changing depending upon the shifting likes and dislikes of people. So too their lifestyles. What was top fashion a few years ago is not considered so now, and the current fashion trends yield place to newer concepts a decade hence.

In India, as elsewhere, the general lifestyle has changed a lot over the years. There is no more the decades-long secluded and conservative attitude among women. This is more than evident in their dressing style. In fact, the current wave is from the unobtrusive to the exhibitionistic, bordering on the narcissistic. The men folk too have a changed outlook and follow a whimsical life pattern. The trend got intensified with the complete disintegration of the traditional joint family system. The resultant tiny, independent family units that remain cut off from their moorings started behaving in an unorthodox and wayward manner.

Another noticeable feature of the emerging situation is the keenness with which people from rural areas and small towns migrate in large numbers to metropolitan centers seeking better fortunes. There were days when the people were self-sufficient with enough resources to fall back upon. But, as the family grew in size, reducing the means of sustenance in the process, they felt constrained to leave their hearth and home and settle forever in prospering cities.

Technology growth accelerated the migration process. The ubiquitous computer, with an easier access to the Internet and advanced software facilities, has virtually transformed the industrial scenario at the global level, throwing up enormous job opportunities for the young and talented. It is but natural then for the technically qualified Indian youth to prefer overseas employment. Nay, most of them are indeed crazy about foreign assignments.

There is already a huge population of Indians and other natives in several advanced countries, and the influx of job seekers into the UK, the US, European countries, Japan and Australia continues unabated. This has provoked the governments of these countries to initiate steps to check a further flow of immigrants.

The US Senate, for instance, has set aside a landmark Immigration Bill that would have paved the way for regularization of the status of 12 million immigrants, including Indians. The controversial Bill is unlikely to be taken up by lawmakers before the Presidential elections of 2008. While those Indians who have already settled in the US, which has proved a star attraction for job seekers, seem safe in their foreign homeland, the new upcoming aspirants find the going tough. What actually lure them are the work culture and the high salary earnings in the US.

However, considering the success of the new personnel recruitment approach of big corporates in India, the US job market may not remain attractive for long. In contrast to the usual system of inviting applications from candidates, Indian companies now rely mostly on campus interviews for personnel recruitment. Leading universities and technical institutions in the country are now agog with extra activity, with regular campus interviews being held there by corporate majors, particularly software specialists.

The staff chosen are offered almost similar salary and service facilities as available with the firms in the US. This corporate strategy is expected to encourage Indian job seekers to remain within the country, though this is not the right remedy for the malady.

Not that the permanent settlers, or rather the NRIs, in the US don't have problems. One of their main concerns relates to the status of their dependents, mostly senior citizens. There are two categories of dependents who are in their advanced age: those who used to visit the settlers periodically on temporary visa and those in possession of huge property who can't leave the country of their origin because of their social obligations. The former deserve special treatment, and the issuance of permanent visa for them may be expedited. In both cases, however, the parties involved -- the NRIs in the US and their dependents -- are subjected to occasional pangs of separation.

The plight of the senior citizens who have already settled in the US with their sons or daughters is no less pitiable. Having left India out of compulsion, these dependents of NRIs often turn nostalgic about their past life in their native soil to which they would never return. Some of them get adjusted to the new set-up soon, while others take a little time to get reconciled to the new environment. Still others find it extremely difficult to move with the times and curse themselves as a condemned lot.

All these elderly persons need that extra filial love and affection to keep themselves happy and contented at the fag end of their life. Of course, there are a lot of temples and centers for worship, and new ones with better amenities are coming up in areas where there is big concentration of Indian population. Besides the usual Indian annual and monthly festivals, special functions are held there with the usual mirth and pomp & revelry. The elders never fail to attend these functions.

The society or association in charge of the housing colonies where these senior citizens spend their last days have the additional responsibility of arranging for special entertainment for them. Construction or provision of a reasonably spacious entertainment hall on a rental basis is the right solution. The project may be funded with the voluntary contribution of the colony residents or through a marginal monthly fee levied on them by the society. Resort may also be made to the County authorities to meet shortage of funds for the purpose, if any.

The hall can be utilized for conducting variety entertainment programs designed for the elders. Indoor games may be arranged for the physically fit. The others who are less fortunate would watch the proceedings with the usual gusto. Besides, multi-lingual sessions with a special focus on promotion of different Indian languages as well as the traditional customs and practices
may also be arranged for the senior citizens. Health maintenance should also receive top priority. Since medical treatment involving huge insurance coverage is very expensive, there is need to supply medicines and related facilities at subsidized rates. The list of programs could include sightseeing tours to places of interest far and near.

The entire administration has to be necessarily run on the lines of the well-established old age asylums, the ultimate objective being keeping the elders mentally and physically fit.

--Ananth