Indian Samurai इंडियन सामुराई

In December 2013, I was interviewed by Sara for her site Aux cinq coins du monde,  which gathers experiences and interviews of French people living in the four corners of the world, on five continents. And we did it again in January 2015, the ' interview one year after '!

The interview in PDF. 

 

A year ago, you shared with us your impressions about your life in India (interview 2013). Do you still live there? (tell us if you have changed of city, country, if you are returned (e) in your country of origin, etc). 

Yes I did not move! Same city, same job, same flat! I have now started my 9th year in India ;)

If in 2014 there was no major change in my professional life (despite a lot of turmoil and learning!), I can't say the same about my private life: I got married in June with my favorite Indian and our little boy was born in December. 

What are you doing today? 

Over the years, I have had various positions within the same company. Today I manage the sales team in the South of the India, to the sheer delight of the Indian dogs and cats (we are in pet food!)… 

Today, what do you like in your life abroad, and what do you least like? Did you get used to the things you didn’t like one year ago? 

Despite a routine similar to what I could have in France, each day in India is spicy: every day something incongruous is sure to happen; I love it!

What bothers me the most is noise pollution, or even just pollution, and the lack of activities in Mumbai. And this situation is unfortunately not ready to change... 

Have you found other things that you like in this country? And that you don’t like? 

I discovered a rather efficient medical system and a network of women who share the same type of experience than me (married to Indians and living in Mumbai) – a good support when you start a family 7 000 kilometers away from home!

And I didn’t ‘discover’ anything unpleasant... 

Does one more year give you the feeling of being more integrated? 

Starting a family is a big step! Having a French-Indian family, I do not know if it has anything to do with my integration, but it definitely makes me more open to ‘other’ customs and get me anchored in this country... 

What is your general assessment of this past year? 

2014, a year vintage like I won’t have many! 

1.     First step: a visa

 You need to get a 'new visa' done at the FRRO for which you need:

·         Form filled online here http://indianfrro.gov.in/frro/ and printed out

·         Letter issued by the consulate

·         1 copy of marriage certificate

·         1 copy of baby and parents’ passports

·         1 copy of foreign parent's visa / PIO / OCI

·         1 copy of baby's Indian birth certificate

·         1 copy of residence proof

·         1 copy of the 2 forms in pages 3 & 4 of this document (it is not mentioned anywhere but I gave it and they filed it so I guess it is meant to be included - nice to notice that it has to be signed by

·         both parents, so don't forget in case only one parent makes it to the FRRO)

·         2 photos 3.5 x 4.5 cm with white background

·         Cash to pay the visa fee (4 800 rupees for 6 months for a French national)

NB: The visa will be valid from the date of passport issue and then it will take 3 months to get the OCI. You may want to take this into consideration to apply for a 6 month or 1 year visa!

It is said that you will pay a fine if you don’t process the visa within 2 weeks of receiving the passport. This didn’t happen to me, though I was almost 2 months late.

When to go: You need to go to the FRRO on the day you get an appointment (which you get once you have filled the form and uploaded the documents online).

Baby has to be there as his pic will be clicked.

Timing: Submissions are from 9:30 to 12 AM. The same day (either right away if the officer is there or at 3 PM) you will get the visa and registration!

 

2.     2^nd step: the OCI (Overseas Citizen of India)

After that you need to apply for OCI (there is no more PIO) at the FRRO. This is lifelong and doesn’t require registration. As the spouse of an Indian national you can also apply, after completing 2 years of marriage.

For which you need to bring:

·         2 print outs of the form filled online here http://www.mha.nic.in/ (you can do it before getting the baby’s visa) – the baby has to ‘sign’ it, by putting his thumb print in the cell below the picture (left thumb for a boy, right thumb for a girl)

·         2 copies of baby's birth certificate (the Indian one if born in India or the foreign one with official English translation if born outside)

·         2 copies of marriage certificate self-attested

·         2 copies of baby's passport, visa and registration

·         2 copies of parents' passports self-attested

·         2 copies of foreign parent's visa / PIO / OCI self-attested

·         2 copies of residence proof self-attested

·         2 photos 5.1x5.1 cm with light blue background

·         Demand draft of 15 000 rs payable at ‘Pay and accounts (Secretariat) Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi’

When to go: You go to the FRRO, straight to the PIO / OCI section, without appointment.

Baby doesn't need to be here provided he has signed the form!

Timing: Submissions are from 9:30 AM to 1 PM.

After that there will be police verification at your place within 2 weeks. And then the OCI process will take around 3 months.

You keep the passport with you so you can travel with the visa given prior to the OCI application! 

 

If you go early for the visa and the officer is there to sign it, you can immediately apply for OCI and avoid a second trip! If not, you may try and apply in the afternoon - they are open though it says they don't take submissions! 

Eventually they took me out of the water for good. And then, I was swimming (note the water metaphor, it's beautiful isn’t) in complete surrealism.

 

Imagine. I've always been the first one to say, as more than 80% of the French (2), that if I give ever birth, I will get the epidural. No question about it! With my argument: when you go to the dentist, you get an anesthesia. Well here it’s the same.

And here I was, drowning in pain, and saying nothing. Nothing at all. Not a word. I suffered in SILENCE. Just a voice in my head screaming "but just give me a fucking epidural already!"). A Samourai in all its glory!

And there, out of nowhere an anesthetist materialized, almost sorry to be there: everyone seemed to over-convinced that I wanted a natural birth (probably because I had opted for the water birth) and therefore was against painkillers. So I had to listen to the speech of my doctor who explained to me that I had no reason to be ashamed of reducing pain, that I had already gone through a lot, and that she herself had given birth to twins by caesarean. In total surrealism I was swimming, I tell you!

 

I refused to sniff gas and but accepted a spinal (no time for the epidural). Immediate relief!

 

In short, I ended up giving birth... Lying on a table, legs spread, with my favorite Indian, three gynecs, two pediatricians, an anesthetist, a midwife, and six nurses in the room. And I couldn’t care less! It actually even made me laugh thinking back of the 'intimate' childbirth I had planned!

 

And Baby Samourai was there! On my chest! Peeing on me! That’s how we realized it was a boy: doctors had forgotten to check...

In India, sex determination of the fetus is prohibited, since Indians took advantage of this technology to abort girls – which are expensive, with the dowry. India has a deficit of girls, and in some States it has started to cause serious problems, having to import brides and all (see these posts for more on the topic).

 

And the final word: baby Samourai hates baths, which should not surprise anyone... ;-)

 

(2) The French are apparently more sensitive than the British since only 30% of the latter opt for anesthesia (Sources: http://www.liberation.fr/vous/2011/10/18/70-d-accouchements-avec-peridurale_768628;) http://www.babycentre.co.UK/a542571/epidural)

 

(The End)