About Me
I am an Australian born woman of Indian origin in my late-30’s. I have lived in Australia my whole life, but travelled to India 7 times (for both work and pleasure) and feel a strong affiliation with the country.
Over the past few years, I unfortunately experienced a lot of grief and loss, and decided to turn my life upside down and see what falls out the other side.
So I gathered together enough old family documents to justify my Indian heritage, and was granted Overseas Citizenship to India. This means I can live and work in India forever.
My first 9 months were spent backpacking across the country, and I now live and work in Mumbai.
I wish you all the best and hope you find a sense of peace and fulfillment in this huge step you have taken.
Hi Aussie girl in India,
I stumbled upon your blog and read your piece about Indian men> It’s sad, though not unusual, for a single girl (more so when you are a foreigner) to have had such bad experiences. Also, please be careful about strange guys who might be over-friendly.
Perhaps, you may be right and an Indian male who has to choose his own bride may mind his manners! But I have heard of men who are charmers but turn into Frankensteins after you marry them so that is not saying much. I would blame the male attitude towards women, as rising from the patriarchy, which is so built into the Indian DNA. The mother who pampers her son and prevents him from growing-up is also reinforcing the patriarchy, without realising it. Also, perhaps out of a sense of insecurity- to be assured of some form of control when the other woman comes in!
Anyway, wish you luck with your stay in India and if you need any help when you are swinging by my city, feel free to use my e-mail id to touch base. I will be glad to be of help in any way. Wish you luck with meeting that elusive Indian male (:-)
So glad I found a blog like yours. My GF and I are planning our RTW and will stop in India for 3 weeks. Hope to gain some great insight through your blog!
Cheers. I have plenty more traveling to do here. Tip #1 only take a bus when absolutely necessary 🙂
good to know. I hear the train is a free-for-all too! =P
I am quite a fan of the trains, but I have only traveled AC classes. They are comfortable, clean and great value.
Hi… Wish all your dreams and desires get fulfilled in my motherland, and you find your moments spent here a worthy learning experience, something you will cherish day in day out. Welcome to India. And yes, I have gone through some of your posts. They make an interesting read. For someone like me, its as if watching self through a third person’s eye. Keep writing.
Warm Regards
Sarang
Thanks Sarang. I am looking forward to telling many more stories. I have also added your blog to my Google Reader.
Cheers
HI there good luck with everything….and good on you! I am also of indian decent and in my thirties and have picked up the whole family and brought them to Mumbai to live. We left Sydney 5 months ago now and really enjoy the change and look forward to our evolution as a family. But we do miss the pacific ocean! Check out my blog for a tongue in cheek look at the whole process…
http://queenofthesuburbs.blogspot.com
Cheers. I can understand your longing for the Pacific. I haven’t seen an Ocean in over 2 months and I just want to see any ocean. Hopefully in a few weeks.
First all many congratulations on your move to India. I stumbled on to your blog from the expat forum. You really have a way with words!! 🙂
Good luck with everything. My personal recommendation for whatever it is worth – Pune is a city you may wanna consider for settling down. I lived there for a year and found it extremely refreshing experience.
Cheers
K.
Thanks for your wishes. I will definitely keep Pune in mind, I have heard good things about it
Hi Rakhee, I’m also Australian born currently living in Amritsar, except I am not of Indian decent. I met and fell in love with my Punjabi husband In Brisbane Australia six years ago.
We decided to move to Amritsar for a different pace of life and to experience the extended family love and support. I wish you well on your travels and for your future happiness.
Thanks for sharing your story Nicky, I hope you enjoy the blog
Hello Rakhee,
I have no clue as to how I ended up in your blog in my expedition through the google kingdom…but,boy! am I glad I did!..I don’t make any claims of having read all your blogs so far…but in as far as I have read it sure was informative and amusing at the same time…cant purge the image of a man scratching his nether regions and staring at you..hehe! Never thought a woman in India would be treated to such vulgarities on a day to day basis.
Good luck with your life in India.Hope it at least gives you hope and happiness.Keep on writing.
PS: Don’t believe everything you read in the TOI.
Thanks so much, I am glad you enjoyed the blog
Guess tis quite Late..bt Congratulations n Best of luck for ur Decision n i Hope it works out Gr8888 for you
NJOiiiiiiiii ur stay here at India..like you wud have always had..n much much More 🙂
Hope to read more bout all ur interesting experiences here n on twitter..n maybe you ll temme bout places here m Yet to discover (specifically Delhi 🙂 🙂
So you are in Kerala now :). Hope you are enjoying your stay. Found your blog through one of the zillions of newsletters that arrive in my inbox, glad I checked it out. I have always wanted to travel, but haven’t quite had the courage to leave my life behind and do that. Besides, I am a travel dud, I am kinda lost unless there are good hotels and a chaperone. Do mail me if you can. Would love to get to know you more.
Thanks and glad you are enjoying the blog. I will continue to share my experiences here and perhaps give you a taste for some travel.
hey rakhee… ur blog on the backwaters in kerala caught my attention and liked the snaps u have posted. i hope u have a lovely and safe travel across the country. mumbai is where i am, so incase u do come to town and need a few pointers on the places that u may want to see… drop in a line. cheers.. keep posting.
Thanks so much, glad you enjoy the blog
Lol. Rock the world, and turn it upside down.hehe
and just for knowledge, have seen many people, longterm NRIs, Indian origin people , whose ancestors shiftd years back, now returning to India,. And many westerns coming here marrying Indians and staying here! What had happened suddenly!! Is it coz of economic depression n west or wot?
I can’t speak for all, but to me India is a great country with a lot to offer and learn from. Hence why I am here.
K.Just askd. Still wondering ! Why a sudden shift by many?
Not meaning to imply anything, but when I first read this blog, i initially imagined a young back packer typish white Australian girl..
Anyways wish you all the best in whatever you do . I am an Indian male currently in Australia.
I was in India till 23, and I have seen all sorts of people. On your earlier opinion about Indian males , yes there are quite a few with idiosyncratic behaviors which tend to be sublimated here because afterall the majority of the population is still below middle class and not really educated. It is not a homogeneous society like australia , hence I can understand your shock.
But at the same time there is an ever growing middle class sector now, recently surpassing the 400 million mark, and the young adults from this middle class generation are fluent in English, have strong ethics and morals(read anti corruption, does anna hazare ring a bell?). These adults are quite modern, why some are rather suave as well..The point I am trying to make is after a bit of time, you will probably find suitable men , ie men who are around your wavelength for sure!!.
I welcome you to “your” country. The country which has potential to grow as consciously liberal nation, but wont be able to do because of its social force. This force is so much powerful that people often ignore the truth and their loved ones in front of the social force. And looking back on India’s history whenever there was any revolution, social force was the first one who opposed the revolution and it was defeated in the history repeatedly. This force hinders the development of India. And when I say development I dont urge on making Mumbai in to Shanghai. I want Mumbai to remain as Mumbai but development should be inspired from the culture and resources around you, and not just copying the west, from the constitution to the institution. If you wanna get objective and rational view of social India, never become part of any particular social group. Remain independent and think independent. Furthermore, to get brain food follow the thoughts of Javed Akhtar, the prominent poet, MP and lyricist. They are all over the internet.
All the best,
Pankaj
Read your blog on Indian men ( I was searching for a news item that said that 53% of Indian girls think wife beating is justified)
Having born and brought up in India I am desensitized to poverty (I stay In bandra too but my carter road walk end at CCD), but I’m still very appalled at the way Indian guys are made to believe that they’re God’s Gift and the way society actively condones if not promotes crime against women
I wonder why you came to India, what’s so good (bad) about this country for you to decide spending time and you sure are staying in a very comfy place (Bandra is as chic & urban).
So what’s your trip in life, though you seem to have spent time in rural Indian villages (that I never did) you don’t seem the activist type who stay with villagers to uplift them.
Cheers,
Arun
Thanks for your comment Arun.
I came to India to explore my ancestry and experience something new, kind of a mid-life change. It is such a rich and fascinating country, so far I am enjoying it.
Hi Rakhee
I’m the editor of ExpatArrivals.com, a site devoted to developing comprehensive destination guides aimed at easing expat transition abroad. I came across your blog through the course of my research on India today, and I really enjoyed your posts about life in India. I was hoping I could convince you to share some of your expat insight with our site. If you’re interested in learning more, please contact me at catherine@expatarrivals.com.
Thanks!
Hi Rakhee,
We have a lot in common …. I went to India after a prolonged period of grief and loss. I’m not if Indian origin, well not officially anyway. I feel so at home in India, I wonder if I am Indian on the inside!
I found that the liveliness of India — the richness of the culture, the friendliness of the people and the full-on technicolour experience of just being there, brought me back from my grief depression and kick-started my life again. As a consequence, I love India!
Hi,
Found your blog on blogadda and must say i spent my last two days reading about your experiences here. You have your own unique way for expressing yourself. I hope you have a few more memorable trips to India 🙂
Thanks I am loving it here and glad you are enjoying reading about it
HI,
I read article related to indian men. I believe you haven’t met a true Indian. ya! I agree with you on most of the points you have experienced but I would say have some patience. A True Indian heart would be most generous, caring, and passionate. He would never leave you on your own on the face of adversity, this virtue winnow out from others.
Hi, I’d like to send you an email but can’t find your mail ID Rakhee…please shoot me a mail when you have a second. Much thanks xo Angela
I have sent you an email, do let me know if you don’t receive it.
I love your food posts. It looks amazing. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, glad you enjoy them. You should follow me on Twitter (@rakheeghelani), I post a lot of pictures there of the food I am eating!
Cool. I also love when you put the price of the food too. It helps me get a vibe of the cost of living. Have a great day.
Hi Rakhee,
Couldn’t find your email address here. Please send it to me. Sharell referred me to you.
Thanks.
Sure Anita, I am just sending you an email now.