For Indians opportunity knocks in Uruguay
Many Indians found opportunity to work overseas but the newest destination is the Latin American nation of Uruguay. Biz week in pics | Weekend Platter | Day in Pics
By Agencies |
MONTEVIDEO: Bhavana, a 24-year-old computer engineer, has like many Indians found opportunity overseas, but she came to out-of-the-way Uruguay, far from familiar crowds and the tastes of home.
"I like Uruguay," said the young Bangalore native, flashing a brilliant smile in the cafeteria of Tata Consultancy Services's modern facility at its Latin American regional base in Montevideo.
The culture clash between India and Uruguay might seem potentially daunting.
This smallish country sandwiched between Brazil and Argentina has a population of just 3.4 million people, most descended from immigrants from Italy and Spain.
Its open rural areas are home to ranches and cowboy culture. It is fabled for serving up beef, beef and more beef. Spanish is the language, and not too many locals speak English.
But "my husband lives here, and works in Tata, too," added Bhavana.
And it's a good thing she has someone to remind her of home.
"I like Uruguay," said the young Bangalore native, flashing a brilliant smile in the cafeteria of Tata Consultancy Services's modern facility at its Latin American regional base in Montevideo.
The culture clash between India and Uruguay might seem potentially daunting.
This smallish country sandwiched between Brazil and Argentina has a population of just 3.4 million people, most descended from immigrants from Italy and Spain.
Its open rural areas are home to ranches and cowboy culture. It is fabled for serving up beef, beef and more beef. Spanish is the language, and not too many locals speak English.
But "my husband lives here, and works in Tata, too," added Bhavana.
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And it's a good thing she has someone to remind her of home.
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In the 11 months she has been in South America, Bhavana acknowledged she had not tasted any local-style food. She and her compatriots have had a very tough time finding the spices they need for home cooking, she said.
Still, she says, she is happy.
Certainly her workplace is impressive: dubbed the Jamsetji Tata building in honor of the father of modern Indian industry, it is a 2,630 sq meter facility in a trade zone known as Zonamerica, just north of the capital, which was built for about three million US dollars.
Its walls are decked out with weavings and banners brought from India. Many of them bear company mottoes such as "lead in changes," "respect for the individual," "learning and sharing," and "excellence."
The company employs about 500 people at this facility and another 250 at a downtown Montevideo office; among them there are just about 60 Indians, as well as people who have moved here from Peru, Colombia and Argentina to work, said regional manager Mario Tucci.
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At the downtown office, another computer engineer, Charandjit Pabla, a 28-year-old Sikh from Punjab, works with a western style suit and a sky-blue turban.
Pabla, who has been here just over a year, said the Indians at TCS seem to be the only OIP (overseas Indian person) community in Uruguay.
"Food is a real problem; there are no spices," he confessed, though he said he "enjoyed the local dishes" that did not contain beef.
In this mostly Catholic country, Pabla said his faith -- though basically unknown here -- was not a problem.
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"I have my holy book; the only difference is that we don't have a temple," he said. Generally speaking, Pabla said "I feel comfortable.
"People see my turban and ask me 'where are you from?'. People like me. People are very friendly," he said, noting "I've got very good friends."
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Pabla also burst out laughing as he recalled one time "I went to the (football) stadium and people watched me instead of the match."
On the down side, Pabla said communication at first can be a challenge.
"I was feeling very scared because people here don't speak English. I felt as if I were dumb and deaf," he said.
He also said that Uruguay in some ways can be very expensive.
But "people share apartments," he said, and "we can save good money."
TCS, from Uruguay, works with clients across Latin America on building new software applications and guaranteeing proper performance of existing ones. It has invested $10-12 million in the past five years, Tucci said.
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