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Author: Nicola Woolcock and Lucy Bannerman
Publication: The Times
Date: December 23, 2006
URL: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2516317,00.html
* Children retrace parents' footsteps
* 32,000 Britons have already gone
Vandana Poria's only regret is that she didn't leave Britain sooner.
The ambitious businesswoman is just one of a generation of British Indians who, in a reversal of the economic migration of their parents, are deserting Britain for new opportunities on the booming subcontinent.
Just as her father and the young bride he met through an arranged marriage left Delhi to come to London 40 years ago, so Mrs Poria has forsaken life in Tooting, South London, to set up her own business in the city of Pune.
"India has this buzz about it right now," said the 35-year-old chartered accountant. "My mother-in-law still thinks we'll head back soon, but my parents understand that we are actually doing quite well out here.
"At the end of the day, they left to make a better life for themselves and their kids, and that's exactly what we are doing - just the opposite way."
According to a recent report by the Institute of Public Policy Research, 2.7 million British nationals left Britain to live abroad between 1966 and 2005. Around 32,000 are now living in India, with industries across the professional spectrum experiencing an influx of Britons hoping to make their fortune in their parents' homeland.
The rapid development of India's hi-tech economy has created particularly attractive opportunities for second and third-generation Anglo-Indians, who are using their knowledge of both cultures to seize the chance to develop their careers, earn comparatively high salaries and enjoy a luxurious standard of living that they could not dream of in Britain.
"I'm so glad we did it," said Mrs Poria, who made the move a year ago with her husband, just in time for the birth of their second child in Delhi. Together they set up a financial business outsourcing company with 20 staff. "Now I'm wondering why we didn't do it sooner.
"We are bilingual and bicultural," said Mrs Poria, who speaks Hindi and Gujurati, and has extensive experience with international financial companies such as Ernst & Young. "Our background means that we can understand the nuances of doing business here.
"Also, setting up a business was a lot easier than we expected in terms of bureacracy and corruption."
Roger Ballard, director of the Centre of Applied South Asian Studies, based at the University of Manchester, said: "There are very sound economic reasons to work there. The Indian economy is doing so well. There have always been some who go back, but many more are doing so now.
"People traditionally returned to the village where their family came from, but found that opportunities were not there and it wasn't what they were used to.
"Now we're seeing something quite different. Those who are making a success of going back don't go to their villages of origin, but to Bombay, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Delhi - all the places that are going boom."
The foundations of new life
Dalbir Bains, 37 . . . was director of lingerie buying for the retail tycoon Sir Philip Green. Last year she set up an underwear shop in Bombay. Boudoir London offers lingerie in a range of styles, shapes and sizes, a measuring service and changing rooms.
Her store - in a country where most women have never been measured for a bra and, in most shops, cannot try them on before purchase - has proved hugely successful. She is now planning to open a chain of lingerie shops across India.
"I wanted to take advantage of the really big opportunity in India - the booming economy. There's lots of domestic wealth and very little in the way of good lingerie stores.
"Here women normally buy underwear from general stores which sell a few dodgy bras. You have some guy behind the counter who sizes you up by looking at you, and hands you a bra in a paper bag.
"We've created ambience with all female staff, spacious changing rooms, and a personal service. Some women come in and are measured for the first time in their lives."
Nakul Singh, 27 . . . has struggled to find a job in the country where his parents set up home two decades ago in the hope of earning a better living.
Despite being a highly skilled worker, with a PhD in chemistry, Mr Singh feels there is little potential in research and development in Britain, and is now looking for a pharmaceutical job in the subcontinent.
Thanks to recent changes in drug patenting legislation, the industry is now booming.
He said: "It's a reversal of fortunes. We used to think the Indian companies were 'Mickey Mouse' but now they are global corporations, some of them are taking over British companies.
"Also, there seems to be a real buzz in India in the field I'm hoping to work in, whereas here everything seems to be more staid and well established."
He is also likely to be joined by his mother, Neelum Singh, 52, who is to return to her native country after retiring from the Nehru Cultural Centre in London. Her three children were all brought up and educated in Britain.
"I would have a very poor quality of life here for the kind of money I have. In India, I could enjoy a good quality of life," she said.
Cost of living
India
Litre of milk 22p (Rs20)
Loaf of bread 22p
Mars Bar 28p
Basic hotel room £1.14-£5.72
Basic meal 1p - 51p
Source: Lonely Planet
Britain
Litre of skimmed milk 53p
Loaf of multigrain wholemeal bread 88p
Mars Bar 34p
Basic hotel room in London £50-£100
Basic meal in London £3-£10
Source: Tesco and Times Database
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