The Indian diaspora in the US

If you are an Indian immigrant in the US, know you are in great hands!

There is always a need for an ideal in one’s life. Otherwise, we make so many mistakes that it gets tiring. While I like the libertarian approach of America, where you F-around and find out what works for you, I feel this is a rather dumb way of doing things. I'm not saying exploration is terrible, but enlightened exploration has its benefits, and why not do that?

Growing up in India, I got my ideals from people working highly technical jobs and drawing huge salaries. I was immensely attracted to that goal and thus worked hard on myself to whatever extent I could. Most of my friends in India are in this stage. They are doing exceptionally well and living a good life. To some extent, I followed the same lines until I discovered and read sincerely about two American Indians: Sam Pitroda and Kanwal Rekhi. They are some of the initial tech-related Indian immigrants (around the 1960s-1970s timeframe) who came to the US and were employed in high-paying jobs. Just like what any Indian wants, they quickly reached the point where they had a good family, two kids, and a stable income. Perfect!

But then something unusual happened to both of them. While drawing huge salaries and enjoying a peaceful family life, they discovered entrepreneurship. Note that India of the 60s and 70s was an idyllic India, running on complete state and national controls except for a few notable private industries, which also were from the pre-independence era. So they drastically saw the difference in the mindset of co-workers they worked with within the US, as they would see people slowly moving out and founding their own companies. It occurred to both that this country differed from theirs in India. Their journeys after this realization are almost a breathtaking pursuit of exploration, adventure, and risk-taking.

I will explore them slowly in my future posts, but if I have managed to raise your curiosity, you know where to look. Meanwhile, let me share one fascinating anecdote about Kanwal. He got his BTech in Electrical Engineering from IIT Bombay in 1967, and immediately after that, he came to the US for grad school at Michigan Tech. Considering he had no money, he did dishes in various restaurants in Chicago. It is worth reading this in his own words, for it brings the joy of struggles we have to go through at some point in our lives.

Excerpt from his website on his initial days:

I ended up in Chicago in the summer of 1968, with $10 in my pocket. I had been at Michigan Tech for 9 months, and this was my first summer break. I checked into a YMCA hostel for $4 a night. That immediately told me that I could survive in Chicago only one more day.
It was early evening, so I decided to go out and see if I can get a job. I was told to look for “Help Wanted” signs in the windows, especially in Restaurant windows. It was only a few minutes before I spotted such a sign. I stepped in and asked them for the sign in the window.
The manager asked me if I was ready to work right away; yes I replied.
I was sent back to the kitchen and given an apron and asked to start doing dishes. There was no discussion about the salary or anything else. I worked for six hours and was handed $10 in cash and given a full meal.

With $16 in my pocket and a full belly, I knew I was going to survive in Chicago. I worked two jobs most of the days and saved all the money. I did not have to do dishes after the first day. I had graduated to become a bus-boy, a doorman and an elevator operator I took no more than two or three days off that summer.

I find his story exceptionally fascinating. I will explain why in my future posts, but in short, it is because of him and a few others that the startup ecosystem boom eventually came to India, which today is the din and cry among the youthful Indians.