This week, we feature two non-resident Indians (NRIs) living in Australia who sparked a discussion online with their thoughts on two aspects of life abroad. One that particularly resonated with our readers is a woman’s take on the catch-up culture in India and Australia. Smidha, who recently went back home to Mumbai, recalled her time in India. “Somehow every plan either became about a cafe, restaurant or a mall,” she said.
Comparing that to making plans with friends in Australia, Smidha said, “But here in Australia, I can meet someone at a park, walk by the beach, sit in a library or just spend an afternoon somewhere without ordering anything.” Smidha’s candid take hits home for us urban Indians who have allowed “let’s catch up” to quietly become “let’s spend money together”. No wonder a new matcha bar or an artisanal coffee place (avocado toast, we’re looking at you 👀) pops up in our cities every other week.
Staying with Indians in Australia, Sarthak Dhingra spoke about his fortnightly pay cycle, a rather unsual practice in India but common in countries like Australia. Dhingra took to Instagram on the day his fortnightly salary was credited. “My salary gets credited every 15 days. So I realised this thing: I can never go back to where you get a salary once a month,” he said. The NRI compared the monthly salary cycle with the one he has, saying he gets salary 24 times a year. Dhingra’s argument, however, was met with mixed reactions as several Instagram users disagreed with him. “You can cut the same pizza into 6, 8 or 12 pieces, but the size of the pizza remains the same,” a person said in the comments section.
An Indian entrepreneur in Germany, who recently visited Bengaluru, expressed his surprise at how Indians are still obsessed with the college someone went to or even their Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) rank from when they once attempted to get into the prestigious IITs. Mayukh Panja, who left India for Germany a decade ago after his Masters, said people there didn’t care about his Indian college, be it an IIT, an NIT or any other university.
“Why are we fixated so much on an exam taken during adolescence?... Why are 40-year-olds bringing up the JEE?” Panja, who did his B.Tech. from National Institute of Technology (NIT) Durgapur, said in a post on X. Click here to check out how other X users reacted to Panja’s post.
Is this a pyramid or a hole? What do you think?
That’s all from us this week. See you next time with more of what the internet is talking about. Happy scrolling!
