An Indian man living in Australia has compared the struggles of building a life in India and abroad, saying that while both involve hard work, the rewards can be vastly different.
In an Instagram video, Srijan Swaroop addressed the students preparing for competitive exams such as JEE, NEET and UPSC, saying he was in a similar situation one or two years ago. "To all my friends who are currently preparing for competitive exams like JEE, NEET and UPSC in India, I was also in the same zone one or two years ago. I was preparing for competitive exams and failed once, twice," he said.
Swaroop said that he eventually became frustrated and decided to explore opportunities outside India. "Dekhte hain ki duniya kaisi hai. Duniya mein har jagah itna hi competition hai ya apne India mein kuch zyada hai (Let's see whether there is this much competition everywhere in the world or whether there is more competition in India)," he said.
He said that he then took the risk of applying for an Australian student visa. After moving to Australia, he called the decision a major turning point in his life. "When I got here in Australia, that was the best decision of my life," he said.
{{/usCountry}}He said that he then took the risk of applying for an Australian student visa. After moving to Australia, he called the decision a major turning point in his life. "When I got here in Australia, that was the best decision of my life," he said.
{{/usCountry}}(Also Read: Madhya Pradesh man quits job in Australia due to ‘toxic’ Indian manager: ‘Made my life difficult’)
However, Swaroop acknowledged that there are struggles in Australia, too. He also acknowledged that moving to a city in India can also involve significant challenges.
"There is struggle here too. I'm not saying there is no struggle here," he said. "Even in India, if you leave your village and move to a city like Delhi or Mumbai, you have to struggle there too," he added.
But Swaroop argued that the difference lies in the rewards that follow the struggle. "Par yahan ke struggle ka reward aur wahan ke reward mein zameen-aasman ka fark hai," he said.
"Yahan pe tum struggle karoge, phir tumhe reward milega uska 1000%. India mein tum struggle karoge bahut zyada aur tumhe reward milega uska 0.1%. Yahi hai difference," he added.
"Mehnat same, but rewards different!" Swaroop wrote in the caption of the post. The text overlay on the video read, "Struggle in Australia vs struggle in India."
(Also Read: Indian woman in Australia explains how things called ‘too desi’ in India become ‘premium’ abroad)
Social media reactions
The video prompted a discussion in the comments about moving abroad, financial opportunities and responsibilities towards family.
Reacting to the clip, one user wrote, "Will tell you one thing , not everyone can make the difficult decision to leave their parents behind when its our time to look after them now, its better if you have elder siblings for that responsibility."
"1000% nahi 2000%, The earning you get in dollars are roughly 20X more than the earnings you get in India, same work gets you paid more," commented another.
"India mein struggle ka fal hai aur struggle-coming from an ex neet Aspirant who is now a med student," wrote a third user.
"On point, the rewards outside make the struggle worth it," said another.