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I have nothing but good things to say about my dad and grandpa. Well, not literally so, but any failings are rather minor in the grand scheme of things.
I was a somewhat sheltered child, so it took me until med school to realize that many people can't take the kind of functional, happy family life I had for granted.
I've done relatively well for myself, choosing between reference classes: Indian/Doctor. That being said, I don't think I could have done what my dad did, which was to hustle from being a refugee without a penny (or Indian paisa) to his name, to being modestly famous, and having set his kids up for success. Seriously, all I managed was to more or less not stagnate or back slide when it comes to socio-economic condition, whereas he took us from nothing to a very comfortable existence. He's hard working, to the point where it's taking its toll on his health, and tightened belts when not strictly needed so there'd be enough to go around on a rainy day.
My grandpa? The kindest man I know, and the best doctor to boot. He's at the age where he's finally becoming less than outright famous, but only because even his junior peers are dying of old age or going senile. There was a time when just mentioning that I was his grandson would open doors, he's 95 and there are still patients calling the smartphone he can barely use for medical advice or requesting surgery. Thankfully he's able to sign post them to his SIL, my dad. It breaks my heart to see senility, long averted, finally take him. He lived a ridiculously healthy, outright ascetic lifestyle, and as a consequence, lived well past 90 in good health and only recently took a turn for the worse.
It could be worse. He gets to live with my family, both because it's multi-generational, and because they couldn't bear to part with him. No care home for him, just the comfort of a house he built himself, with his daughters, son-in-laws and most of his grandkids doting on him.
My dad might be a better surgeon, but he'll never be as universally adored. Too stingy, by far. Back when I was in med school and sat in with my grandpa during his clinics, he'd waive fees more often than not when anything about his patient gave him the impression that they were anything but well off.
In contrast to them? I'm not nearly as hard working. On the flip side, I never had to be, having been spared, through the dint of their hard work, from every worrying where my next meal would come from. I've still done okay, but in a way, I side stepped direct comparisons of clinical competence by not taking up a gynecological or surgical field. Didn't like them, but I certainly felt easier knowing we won't be measured by the same benchmark.
Yet humans are (still) all too mortal and frail. The giants I looked up to now look up at me, and at times, I wonder if their pride in me is overly tinged by ties of blood. I tell myself I've done enough to be proud of, and sometimes, I believe it. I'd certainly be prouder than my heart could bear if my future kids looked at me the same way I look to them.
Since you pivoted into a comparative study of different cultures and places, I guess I can share my impressions of the UK/Scotland:
Slow decay.
Britain is a stagnant, often involuting place. Half the times I visit any but the largest cities in Scotland, I'm struck by the urban decay. I've never seen places with so many boarded up shops, hopeful cafes and hipster restaurants with only decaying shop decals to evidence that they ever existed. India might be dirtier, smellier and louder, but it always gives the impression of growth. There's just too much demand for entire buildings or prime real estate to sit empty and unlet. At the bare minimum, some entrepreneurial type would set up a food outlet or stall there.
Most of what appeals about the UK is old. Ancestral manors, cities and cobbled streets older than street cars. Even the NHS, considered a national treasure, is in slow motion collapse. Quick, free and high quality. Pick any two. By Indian standards, they picked the latter, but any good Indian private hospital will get you far more timely and attentive care than what the NHS can offer.
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