“GAVAKADCHI
AMERICA” (COUNTRY LIFE IN AMERICA)
Background
For Indians, at least for the
well educated, middle class Indians, United States of America is no longer a
novelty. Presently there are more than
2.7 million people of Indian origin in America. Even though this represents
merely 1% of the total US population, the rate of this population growth in
recent years has been phenomenal. Today, of all the people of Asian origin in
USA, only Chinese and Philippinoes outnumber the Indians.
In the past several years, for
hundreds of thousands of Indians, getting admission in one of the thousands of
colleges and universities for higher education and/or landing a job (via H1B
visa) have become the two most trusted and well trodden paths to reach the
shores of America. In fact, according to the report of U.S. Institute of
International Education, based on survey of some 3000 U.S. educational
institutions, 94,563 Indian students came to USA for higher education (in year
2007). In fact, India held the top rank in terms of number of students coming
to USA for higher education from year 2001 to 2007. [However, in 2010, China
sent 127,628 students (18% of all foreign students) and managed to push India
to second position with 104,897 students (15% of all foreign students)]. Of The
annual allotted 65,000 H1B visas, the highest numbers go to Indians. In 2009,
48% H1B visas were grabbed by Indians, with the second numbered Chinese
managing to get only 10%.
The people of Indian origin in
USA broadly comprise two categories. One category is represented by highly
educated, well qualified people who have reached the pinnacles of their chosen
fields and left their mark in their respective spheres. According to some
estimates, nearly 38% medical doctors, about 36% of NASA employees, and
approximately 12% of scientists in various research/academic institutions in
USA are Indians. Contribution of Indians in the Silicon Valley is even more
remarkable. Indians make nearly 25 to 40% of the work force of companies like
Microsoft, IBM, Apple, Google and Intel. Several Indians have started and made
a success out of their own ventures in the Silicon Valley. Vikram Pandit of
Citigroup and Indra Nooyi of Pepsi are just two of the most prominent and
recent examples of Indians having reached the top positions in the best
corporations in diverse fields. Hewlett Packard’s Rajeev Gupta, creator of the
Pentium chip; Vinod Dhaam, creator of Hotmail; Sabeer Bhatia, AT and T Bell’s
Arun Netravalli, are some other
prominent names that come to mind instantly.
Indians in the second category
are business people – mostly motel or gas station/ convenience store owners. Quite
a few of these are well educated but have chosen the business option instead of
following a corporate ladder. Irrespective of the category, however, in
general, Indians have an image of being well educated, hard working, and
conservative in their money spending habits. Besides these positives, their
command on English language has proven to be a valuable asset for the Indians.
Armored with this arsenal, Indians in general have an edge over immigrants
coming from several other countries. Considering these facts, it is not
surprising that Indians in USA today are among the wealthiest ethnicities.
After establishing themselves
in their respective fields and followed by the financial stability, the next
step is social contribution and forays into political arena. Quite a few
Indians have been influential in social as well as political fields. Some
prominent individuals of Indian origin who have made a name in the political
arena include – Swati Dandekar (elected as Iowa House of representative in
2002, 2004, 2006 and Iowa state senate in 2008), Bobby Jindal – Governor of the
state of Louisiana and more recently, Nikki Haley – Governor of the state of
South Carolina.
In short, by following the
paths of education, business or career, more and more Indians are pursing the
American dream. Several Indians have their children settled in USA today. In
order to meet their children, grandchildren or simply as tourists, scores of
Indians are visiting America on a regular basis. Of course, as most of the
Indians in USA are well educated and are in medical, engineering, information
technology (IT) or banking fields, they generally reside in more industrialized
states or in urban areas of less industrialized states. Therefore, Indians in
USA seem to be concentrated in certain states or metropolises. States that have
a high concentration of Indians are – California, New York, New Jersey, Texas
and Illinois. These states are closely followed by states like Pennsylvania,
Florida, Michigan, Maryland, Virginia, Georgia and Ohio. Metropolises with high
Indian populations are – New York city, San Francisco – San Jose – Oakland,
Sandiago, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington – Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit,
Houston, Dallas – Fort Worth, Charlotte and Atlanta.
In short, most Indians in
America reside in highly advanced, urbanized and affluent areas. People who
come to visit them, those who come on
business trips or to attend conferences/
business meetings, or those coming simply as tourists also visit these
urbanized pockets and sightseeing places of tourist attractions. As a result, mere mention of America brings
forth a vision of a magical and mystical dreamland. Skyscraper buildings, a
network of top class interstate highways and fast cars, huge shopping malls,
palatial houses, widespread automation in every walk of life, home of Silicon Valley
and NASA, land of Hollywood and Disneyworld, birthplace of giant fast food
chains like McDonald and Pizza Hut - all
these images are crystallized in our mind after reading, listening,
experiencing and watching Hollywood movies.
With 83% of its total
population living in metros, cities or towns, America is a predominantly
urbanized country. Surprisingly though, three fourths of this ultra-modern and
sophisticated country is considered rural. Of the 3141 counties in the country,
2052 fall in the rural category. However, our perception about America is so
rigid and blinkered that we hardly care to see or know beyond our truncated
vision. “Is there another America beyond the flashy, jazzy, materialistic dreamland
that we see or perceive?”, “Is there an America where common people lead
ordinary lives, dirty their hands working in fields, mines and farms, where
people have financial and real life worries, where people have not travelled
much beyond their counties/states, where people still enjoy simple, rustic
rural life, where people are religious…….?” – We normally do not entertain such
questions.
Ordinarily, such thoughts would
not have crossed my mind either. However, being in the field of animal science
and agriculture, our entire stay of almost ten years in the USA has been in
rural, semi-rural areas. Of the three states that we lived in, two (Iowa and
Pennsylvania) are to a great extent rural, while Connecticut is more of an
industrialized state. However, being a student of Animal Science in a land
grant university (University of Connecticut – UCONN), our stay in Connecticut too
was in a semi-rural area. For work and for sightseeing, most of our travel was
in neighboring states like Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, New Hampshire,
South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, Missouri – which are also rural or
semi-rural states. In short, America that we saw and experienced was mostly
rural or semi-rural and overwhelmingly from Northeast and Upper Midwest
regions. To extrapolate our observations from these regions to the whole
country would be stretching the limit a bit too far. Moreover, for a country
three times the size of India and full of geographical/cultural diversity, any
attempt of capturing the essence of any facet of life is a tall order.
It would be ridiculous for me
to claim having completely grasped the life in rural America in these past few
years. This is not a scholarly exercise in depicting the socio-cultural aspect
of rural America nor is this a technical comparison of agricultural/livestock
farming between India and America. This is simply a curious observation by an
Indian who happened to pass this way. I did not come to America with the
intention of writing this book. I am not a professional author seeking an ‘off
beat’ topic to write something about. So this is a book by accident and not by
design. As we continued to stay in these
rural surroundings, over the years, interesting facets of American country life
started unfolding. I was fascinated by this entirely different world. I don’t
think many people would like this kind of slow paced, laid back, low-tech life.
As we happened to be among the handful of
Indians who get a chance to live and experience the real American country life,
I started toying with the idea of extending the flavor of this experience to
others. I had two audiences in my mind for this book. One was, those Marathi
people (people from the Indian state of Maharashtra, who speak Marathi
language) residing in American metro areas and have little exposure to this
aspect of their adopted country. The other was, those Marathi people who while
living in India, keep dreaming about a distant dreamland that is urban America.
I grew up in Mumbai (Bombay) on
Western coast of India. The weather there is very hot and humid year round and
the winter is few fleeting days in December and January where you can pass by
wearing a half sleeve sweater. Coming from a part of the world where most days of
the year are bright and sunny and it is always lush, green around, the wonderment
of changing seasons in North America was enthralling. From the evergreen
monotony of tropical subcontinent, the prospect of four seasons, each with its
own beauty and appeal was an exciting change.
The genesis of this book was rather
unusual. It started out as simple daily observations jotted down in a journal
with the intention of creating a written account of seasonal changes in the
surrounding nature. The recording of seasonal changes during daily commute on a
beautiful stretch of road also made me fall in love with that road itself and
its surroundings. That inanimate object became my daily lively companion, so
much so, that I almost became possessive about it. Travel on this road for
three years, gave me two articles, a seed of a thought and momentum for writing
more.
So I started writing ahead. This
book is a collection of articles which I
hope, could make sense as ‘stand alone’ pieces. They all pertain to some aspect
of ‘country life in America’. However, in my opinion, to do any justice to this
mosaic of country life, it has to be seen as a whole. To create the ‘big
picture’, I wanted to put together articles on different aspects of American
country life. So here I am, with this potpourri of articles -
Following is a brief account of
these various articles -
1.
Nature Through
The Seasons
After completing my Ph.D. in
Animal Science at UCONN, we were living in Clarks Summit, a small town in the Northeast
corner of Pennsylvania, close to the upstate New York border. This area (Pocono
Mountains) is very scenic and is a part of Appalachian mountain range. U.S. Route
number 6, which was the first major highway running from Cape Cod,
Massachusetts to Long Beach, California passes through Poconos. It is 3205
miles long and passes through 14 states. In 1987, Harley-Davidson had declared
route number 6 as one of the 50 most scenic highways in the United States.
Similarly, the part of this road passing through Pennsylvania has been voted by
the ‘Car and Driver’ magazine among the 10 most scenic roads in USA. Clarks Summit was on route number 6 and my lab
was on the same route, 30 miles away. Due to nature of my work, I had to
commute between my home and lab at odd hours. That gave me an opportunity to
travel on this scenic road at all times of the day in all the seasons. I could
enjoy the unfolding beauty of nature through the changing seasons. The rolling
hills and mountains, woods, beef and dairy cows grazing in the pastures,
villages by the road side, meandering Saskuhana river accompanying the road,
all these produced a vivid montage that accompanied me throughout my journey.
As much I appreciated the
beauty of surrounding nature, I knew that if and when we moved to another
place, these memories would eventually fade. I wanted to capture them fresh and
preserve them to reminisce in future. So I bought a small voice recorder and started
to carry it with me in the car. From time to time, I started recording my
observations while driving and then I would pen them down in a journal. I did
this religiously for a whole year and tried to capture the captivating magic of
seasons. As I was compiling these pieces together to create a mosaic, I started
feeling that this could be a fascinating account for the city dwellers who
bypass the simple joys of outdoors.
2.
‘My’ U.S. Route Number 6
Travelling on that small 30
mile stretch of route number 6 for three years made me so familiar with it that
it became part of my daily life. For a person from a megapolis of nearly 18
million people and who had been used to commuting in suburban trains packed
with people like a can of sardines, commuting alone in a car on a practically
empty road was unimaginable. For that stretch of road to happen to be one of
the most beautiful roads in America was just a huge gift.
3.
Our
Farm Life
I am a trained veterinarian from
India and after working there for 14 years in different organizations, I
decided to come to the USA at the ripe old age of 38 to do my Ph.D. in Animal
Science at University of Connecticut (UCOON) in 2001. Considering my background
in veterinary science, right after my 1st semester, my advisor
decided to send me for specialized training and further research to ‘Trans Ova
Genetics’, the largest cattle reproductive
biotechnology company in USA. This company’s headquarters was located in a
small town called Sioux Center in the Northwest corner of Iowa. Soon after
coming to Sioux Center, my wife Mrunalini and our six year old son Siddharth
joined me from Mumbai, India. For a middle class, Indian family from a
megapolis of more than 18 million people, a move to a small Midwestern town of
6000 people was a huge cultural and demographic shock.
After living in the town for a year, we
decided to spend the next year on the company’s farm house in the actual
countryside. The house was old, huge and surrounded from all sides by cattle
pens (yards) and corn fields. From any window of the house, all we could see
were black cows and corn fields. The nearest neighbors were a mile away. Coming
from a huge city that never sleeps and whose roads, trains, busses are overflowing
with people, the quiet and solitude of a farm house was almost unimaginable. To
our surprise, our son adjusted to this country life quite well and with his
local American friends, enjoyed a completely fun-filled, different and rustic
farm life. Our year spent in this farm house was certainly one of the most
memorable ones and the American friends that we made here made our stay here thoroughly enjoyable.
4.
First
Thanksgiving Sale
As we were settling down in
Sioux Center, we were unbelievably thrilled to know that there was another
family from India in the town. What were the odds of two Indian families to be
in the same small, obscure Midwestern town of 6000 people? It was a great
pleasure to meet and befriend the Solankis, who had moved from Indiana just a
year ago for Mukeshbhai’s job. Their three kids and Siddharth became good
friends. This family really was a great help in settling us down initially but
unfortunately, they moved to Ohio within six short months, leaving us as the
only Indians in the town.
Sioux Center is close to the
border between Iowa and South Dakota. Sioux Falls, a city of about 150,000, in
South Dakota, is the biggest city in nearly a 200 mile radius area encompassing
the states of South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska. So we started
frequenting Sioux Falls and met a small Indian community there. Some of them
became close friends and we started participating in cultural events and Indian
festivals in Sioux Falls.
We were completely unaware of ‘Thanksgiving
Sale (Black Friday)’ and it was only through our close Indian friends in Sioux
Falls that we could dare to participate in that unique experience. From an
outsider’s perspective, the whole ‘Black Friday’ sale is a very amusing and
bewildering exercise. After that first experience, we have never dared to wait
again in those long lines through the dark, cold November night to participate
in the mad rush to grab a few items on sale. But the memories of that one time
event in 2002 were good enough for me to pen down and ruminate over each
subsequent Thanksgiving.
Even for the new comers from
India who straight away come to reside in major urban areas in America, getting
used to big malls, smart shopping and all kinds of sales, is a fast process.
For people like us, who get stuck in small towns in rural areas, where it is
common to have just a convenience store or a grocery store and having a Wal-Mart
in the town is a luxury, going for sale in a big city itself is a major
attraction. So this account is of a
small town countryman going to a city for the biggest shopping event of the
year.
5.
American
Agriculture – A Historical Perspective
Area wise, America and India
both are huge countries, although America is three times larger in size than
India with one fourth (300 million) of India’s population (1.12 billion). Of
the total available land, 41% in America and 51% in India, is being utilized
for agricultural purpose. According to a 2007 survey, there are some 2.2
million farms in America while in India that number is 120 million. The huge
discrepancy in numbers is easily explained on the basis of the average farm
size; in America it is 418 acres while in India, 3.3 acres. Presently, about
60% of Indian population is dependent on crop or livestock agriculture, where
as in America, this proportion is only 2%. Moreover, on a world scale, the
productivity of Indian agriculture and animal husbandry is quite low.
It is intriguing to know, how a
primarily immigrant community, transformed a vast and essentially virgin forest and grassland in to
a massive breadbasket for the world, in a little over 200 years. History of American agriculture is
intertwined with the history and geographical expansion of the country
itself. It embodies all that is truly
American – a free spirit, a risk taking attitude, hard working ethic and
ingenuity. The small farms and use of animal power in farming during 19th
century, Westward expansion and resultant large farm sizes, creation of an
extensive railroad network, technological innovations of 20th century, gradual mechanization of farming operations, government policies and laws that helped
agriculture over the years, all these are contributing factors that took
American agriculture to the pinnacle. No narrative on this fascinating subject
will be complete without giving it’s due to the Land Grant Universities, the
youth programs like 4H and FFA, and that all American invention called the
county fairs.
6.
American
Agriculture – Modern and Future Trends
Over the last century, American
agriculture has undergone tremendous transformation. At the beginning of 20th
century, of the 7.6 million total American population, nearly 50% was rural. Of
the total workforce, almost 41% was involved in agriculture. Farming was
essentially a family centered, laborious activity carried out all over the
country on millions of small sized farms. Though not exactly a backyard
operation, most farms were involved in mixed farming – growing some crops,
orchid, oilseeds, a few cows, some hogs, chicken, etc.
Agriculture in 21st
century is a far cry from that low tech, laborious, small scale operation.
Today’s huge farms are run on mechanization. The scale of use of pesticides,
fertilizers, and irrigation are enormous. The mixed farming of yesteryears is
replaced by huge tracks of monocultures. The same mechanization, economy of
scale of operations, vertical integration, professional management, use of
computers and satellites have transformed the animal husbandry too. Small
family farms are increasingly being replaced by large commercial operations and
consolidation in to a fewer powerful corporations has become the norm.
Genetically modified (GM)
agriculture and cloned, transgenic animals is one end of the spectrum while organic
agriculture is the other. How the American agriculture achieves the balance
between these trends will shape the future of global agriculture.
7.
Life in
Small Towns
With nearly 250 million (83%)
population living in towns and cities, America is a highly urbanized country. Till
few generations ago, a much larger population was rural and life in small towns
had its own charm. After the end of the second
world war, industrialization and rapid urbanization hastened a steady stream of
young people from small towns across the country towards larger urban centers
in search of more opportunities and possibly a better life. A majority of the
small towns today (especially in Midwest) are facing a declining population.
Many small towns seem kind of run down, with fewer opportunities, less
facilities and with an ageing population.
From a city dweller’s eyes,
such small towns appear like out of this world. They seem to cling on to old
values, present a friendly and helpful atmosphere, and seem to embrace
newcomers. These towns are a small world themselves. Their small police
department, voluntary fire fighters, smiling postal staff and bankers, friendly
gas station attendants and helpful grocery store clerks all seem to make you
feel at home. But they also seem to live in a small bubble. “The outside world
is a little far away and all is well within the boundaries of our town”, is the
impression one gets.
8.
Religious
America
While in India, my knowledge of
Christianity was limited to only two major sects – Catholics and Protestants
and all I knew about America was that Christianity was the major religion in
the country. That there are numerous sects and sub sects in Christianity was a
surprise to me.
Irrespective of their
particular faiths and beliefs, overall, America seems to be a deeply religious
country. From outside, one perceives America
as a land of all glitter and technological marvel. But under the façade of
modernity, there is a core of piousness was a revelation to me.
9.
Country Music
I am a huge fan of old
‘Bollywood’ (Indian Hindi movies) music from 1950s and 60s. Before coming to America, I had little
exposure to Western music and had not even heard of Country music. While
working at Trans Ova Genetics, I got used to working in the lab with the radio
going on in the background continuously. Many times, it would be a station
airing Country music and before I knew it, I fell in love with this music.
When immigrants came to America
from different countries, along with their distinct cultures, they brought
their own music too. Irish fiddle, German dulcimer, Italian mandolin, and Spanish
guitar were the European contributions while African Americans brought the banjo
with their musical roots. As these different communities started intermingling,
music was a common thread binding them together. Country music is a potpourri
of several different musical streams. It originated in the 1920s, around
Appalachian mountain ranges and in the Southern states and traces its origins
in the folk music, Irish Celtic music, Church music, etc.
Except Johnny Cash,
unfortunately, I haven’t got much chance to listen to the past greats of the
country music. But in the contemporary scenario, Garth Brooks, George Strait,
Allan Jackson, Reba McEntire, Brad
Paisley and others have been instrumental in making Country music more and more
popular.
When I think, I find parallels
in Indian music and country music. After all, music of any genre transcends the
boundaries of countries, languages, cultures and touches a deep chord inside
all of us to bring us all together.
10. Wildlife
The free pioneering spirit of
American people is reflected in their adventurous nature. And we must not
forget that this is the country that created the first national park in the
world. Conservation of natural heritage and its preservation for future generations
is a uniquely American idea.
It is not surprising that
people living in rural and semi rural areas are closer to the nature. As an
extension of their lifestyle, domestic animals as well as wild life have become
a part of their life. City dwellers may be enjoying fancier vacations but
people in the countryside are more into hunting, fishing, camping, hiking and
such rugged activities. What is admirable is how systematic the whole approach
is. There are clear rules, regulations, well defined hunting seasons, hunting
permits, fishing licenses and so forth. These people enjoy their outdoors and
at the same time are extremely conscious about maintaining the ecological
balance, preserving habitats, conserving endangered species and in general
handing over a better place to the next generations. There is a lot to learn
from them and hopefully implement in India.
11. Rural America – Problems and Solutions
Though considered urban and
ultramodern, of the total American land mass, nearly three-fourths comes
under the category of rural. Of the approximately 3000 counties in America,
roughly 2000 are considered rural.
Till the 1950s, out of every
ten people living in rural areas, four used to live on farms and of the total
employment in rural area, one-third of the jobs were agriculture related. Present
day rural America is vastly different from the one in 1950s. Today, out of
every ten people in the rural area, barely one person lives on the farm and
only 14% rural jobs are related to agriculture. A rural economy which was once
heavily dependent on agriculture, has now turned to other sectors. In almost
80% of rural counties, industrial production, mining, services and government
projects/jobs have become the major economic drivers. Of all the geographical
regions of America, only in the Great plains states (North Dakota, South
Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma) there is still a predominance of
counties with agricultural based economies.
Educational backwardness,
technically less qualified work force and the resultant less paying jobs, inadequate
medical facilities, less developed infrastructure and fewer recreational
amenities, are common denominators in most of the rural counties across all
regions. Mechanization of agricultural operations has made a large rural labor
force redundant and it is not surprising to find a large chunk of rural youth
migrating to the urban clusters in search of opportunities. Declining
population and inadequate facilities seem to form a vicious circle.
The urban – rural tussle has a
social aspect too. Larger urban areas are flexible and cosmopolitan enough to
accept newer immigrant crowds from different backgrounds. Closed communities in
smaller towns are less equipped to accommodate the strain of new arrivals which
add to diversity.
Improving infrastructure,
enhancing educational standard, creating more flexible (work oriented)
curriculum for rural students, creating more and well paying jobs, providing
better medical facilities, using natural resources (wind, solar energy,
biomass) to accelerate economic growth, are some of the solutions to address
the problems facing rural America. If they work, perhaps they may be able to
halt the exodus of rural youth to urban clusters and who knows, in future, the trend
may even reverse.
---------------------------------------xxxxx------------------------------------------------
(All
the data are taken from various reliable sources. Comments about rural
education standards, infrastructure, medical facilities etc. are from these various
sources – they are not mine).
References
1.
United States Census (2010)
2.
Current
Status and Future Trends in American Agriculture by J.E.Ikerd (2010)
3.
National
Rural Health Association website - www.ruralhealthweb.org
4.
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Economic Research Service website - www.ers.usda.gov
5.
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Economic Research Services Report summary on Ethanol and changing agricultural
landscape (November 2009)
6.
United
States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Economic Research Services Report
on Transformation of U.S. Livestock agriculture
by James M. MacDonald and William D. McBride (January 2009)
7.
United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA) – National Agricultural Statistics
Services Publication - Census Of Agriculture (2007)
8.
Amber Waves –
The economics of Food, Farming, Natural Resources and Rural
America – (May 2007 – Special
issue)
9. United States Fish and
Wildlife Service - Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program
- National Survey of Fishing,
Hunting and Wildlife associated
recreation (2006)
10.
Carsey Institute Reports - New Immigrant Settlements In
Rural America –
Problems, Prospects and Policies by Leif
Jensen (2006)
11. United States Census (2000)
12. Heartland of a continent – America’s plains
& prairies – Ran Fisher
National Geographic Society (1991)
13. Reader’s Digest : The Story of America
Great People and Events That Shaped Our
Nation (1975)
