India
By Michael Boyajian
I remember in the early 1980s when the Psychedelic Furs landed in the U.S. with their big hit India. That song, that musical arrangement hypnotized me and carried me away to that far off country.
Then there was the photograph in the New York Times Book Review a couple of years ago of Alan Ginsberg feeding a monkey on the balcony of his home in India. The hazy luminosity of the light made you feel that it was the early morning of what would be a very hot day.
Then, a couple of weeks ago, I was reading in the Times of how American lawyers were taking jobs in India doing outsourced American legal work there at lower salaries than they would earn here but with a much lower cost of living. That is when the light bulb went off in my head and I was going to try and go to India.
In two days I sent out five resumes to India and within a day I got a response, a nibble if you will, the possibility of a job. You see, I have been out of work since early December and have had no nibbles since March even while sending out resumes 24/7.
So this is the new global world with Americans living and working in India. The allure of India with its charm now attracts as never before because now you can work there and live there for years if not forever. It is a place after all that seasoned travelers say is life changing.
I have been reading up on Delhi, India’s great capital filled with history and fantastic architecture and luxurious parks as I hope to get that email that handshake from around the world that says welcome aboard.
I am afraid I will suffer great disappointment if I don’t get the job because I am so enthralled with India. But then I think so what, I can always travel there, stay a couple of weeks. Add it to my international travel itinerary that included Europe and now includes Egypt, Machu Picchu in Peru and maybe even China. But then I become dejected realizing would two weeks be as great as living there.
But none of this will be possible without a job whether it’s here or in India. The Great Recession doesn’t just threaten lives with the loss of one’s home and savings but it steals your dreams, the dreams of far off places in exotic lands places with futures filled with hope and adventure.
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