Sons, husbands fund the good life back home

FOREIGN FUNDING: 30 Minutes looks at the remittance economy of Kerala and Punjab.

          

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Mahender Singh is a farmer and a very rich man who lives life big.

Mahender survey his fields on horseback, he owns a cow flown in from Italy, a camel bought in Rajasthan, and a Great Dane from the US to guard his petrol pump. His opulent house and its swimming pool are famous in Hoshiarpur district and often used to shoot for local music videos.

And for all this lavish lifestyle, Mahender has his son to thank. Fifteen years ago, Mahender was like any other farmer in Punjab: a big family to support and a small piece of land.

When his son when to Texas and joined a transport company, money started pouring in for Mahender every month. “The money helps me a lot. I bought a tractor with it first and now I have bought a Honda CRV,” says Mahender.

Five members of Singh’s family now live abroad. His son married a British woman and has not come home even since he left home. Singh says he doesn't mind for he has others to give him company.

International remittances have changed Punjab's society and its consumption patterns. Money sent by NRI relatives was used to support life but now it is used to make a lifestyle statement. Rachchpal Singh is making his lifestyle statement by building a lavish bungalow. It is multi-storeyed, has grand interiors and dotted with expensive items but Rachchpal says he wants more. “I wan landscaping, a swimming pool and perhaps even a stud farm,” says Rachchpal.

Far away, in Kerala, remittance money is changing lifestyles too. Big malls jostle for space in a busy vegetable market and gold souks have come to nearly every village. Money brought in by emigrants has spawned a new kind of consumer.

“All companies test their goods first in Kerala. You will find the maximum number of Mercedes cars in Kerala. It has the highest proportion of usage of luxury goods,” says K C Zacharia, a scholar with the Centre for Development Studies in Thiruvanathapuram.

Car showrooms and white goods stores abound on Kerala's highways, as does large-scale construction. Palm trees have given way to high-rises, low-roof houses to apartments and beaches to bungalows. Remittances have made villages melt into towns, and towns into cities.

“Because of the large inflow of money, there has been tremendous construction activity going on in Kerala. All along the national highway, commercial buildings are coming up financed by Gulf money,” says veteran journalist D R P Bhaskar.

After land, it's gold that's often the biggest draw. In Kerala's new economy, the glitter of gold marks one's position on the social ladder. Migrants return home to conduct lavish weddings, with the amount of gold on display pointing to the wealth amassed in the Gulf.

But all this rapid growth has come at a price. The coveted Gulf grooms are often unable to take their families with them when they go abroad and leave behind old parents and lonely wives.

“Some women are married just for one week or a month. First, a woman is under so much pressure to get married to a Gulf man who then leaves her in two weeks,” says Dr S Irudaya Rajan, a scholar with the Centre for Development Studies.

Laly Mohan has learnt to live with the separation. This young teacher in Thiruvananthapuram has her hands full managing a house and two children. But she says she is comfortable with her 'gulf wife' badge, and knows it's her road to a good life.

Laly’s husband Mohan is a driver in Qatar and in the 15 years that he's been gone, Laly's learnt how to bridge the 3,000 kilometres with memories. A DVD player and expensive stuffed toys keep her children happy, but Laly waits for the day her husband will be back for good.