Indian coming to India

icecoldbeer23

Hi Guys,

I am an Indian coming to india to startup a plant for my company in Chennai. I spent the last 2 days reading through the post by travellers and people stationed in India and have sort of come up to some sort of conclusion.
Becasue I am Indian, I am going to get questionable treatment, becasue my fiancee is Chinese, she is going to get under par treatment, all in all, the experience is potentially not going to be a good one. I really hope that this is not going to be the case becasue I am going to commit to a 3 year posting.
I dont speak a word of any Indian languages and have lost my little understanding of Malaylam which I did have, but I would look like any guy off the street but might be differently dressed. I can someone give me a no BS assessment of what I can expect.
Also, have any of you setup a company from scratch. I could use some advise on what kind of red tape I am going to encounter and are how to lubricate the right channels to get things done faster.

PeakXV

Welcome to IndiaMike, icecoldbeer23. You may want to peruse mira4bai4's thread on setting up a business. The trials & tribulations obviously will change for better or worse depending on the nature of the endeavour .... but it should give you some basic hints/insights of what to expect :

The Unfolding Process of Business


...... I'm sure somebody from Chennai will be along soon to advise you on the social side of things.

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ranjan154

Hi Welcome back to India..

Remember you might have learned to ride bycycle in the childhood, that doesnt mean you mean not be able to ride it now.. so languages are same once you know it.. you will be able to recall everything..

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capt_mahajan

In Chennai, generally you can get by with English. There was a time when Hindi was a no no, but it is more acceptable now. Lack of Tamil is a handicap,though, at least I found it to be so. I also found learning Tamil incredibly hard, but I am bad with new languages.

Generally, by the tone of your post, I do feel you are being over-apprehensive; I have a feeling it will be better than you expect, including with your fiancee.

icecoldbeer23

thanks for the replies. It seem that I am going to be jumping through hoops during the registration process for the company. Do you guy know any good consultants that can handle things like this, we are going to be doing a sizeable investment, would want it to go smoothly. I also need to start hiring for key positions as soon as possible so that I can get some company when I am running around.
I was wondering, where is a good place to live, I have a golden retriever, are there any apartment complexes that have nice gardens enclosed for her to run around? I am planning a first trip down sometime this month, want to get some of the housing and other stuff scouted out.

capt_mahajan

Do browse the moving to chennai sub forum

http://www.indiamike.com/india/forumdisplay.php?f=98

Of course, in choosing accomodation, a lot depends on your budget, and your place of work etc.

mairangi_vice

dont sweat about the language issue. Its only english for me, and I havent had too many problems, although I am learning Tamil. I would recommend you find someone to help you who does speak the local language for when you first arrive though, to help deal with setting up your house, hiring any help you might want etc.

The location where you should live, as anywhere depends on how much money you have and on where you will be working. There are plenty of large apartment complexes, and you see many ppl out walking dogs in the evening, so they are definately accepted!

Let us know where your factory will be, and perhaps we can help you with where to look for a place.

icecoldbeer23

Most probably we are going to setup in Sriperumbudur. Are there any nice places not too far from there that are convenient?

Nick-H

I also think you are being unduly apprehensive.

There are many non-thamil speaking Indians here. The ability to speak Malayalam, apparently, works wonders if you have occasion to do business with Malayalees here! My wife does, and it seems to work wonders at times!

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shashank.aggarwal

Language is something that is not a problem at all in India..if that was a problem then we would have not been able to survive..

every 200 KM language and culture changes..I am a north Indian and don't understand any language that is South, west OR east Indian, but I still travel happily across nation on business Or pleasure..

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mairangi_vice

Sriperumbudur is about an hour away from 'central' Chennai (T.Nagar), at least that is my guess. Ive never been there, but it is outside of what is generally called Chennai.

http://mapmyindia.com/index.html?lic...091ad1a7ec58e2

coleville

I agree with Capt. I moved to India after more than 30 years in the U.S. I was born in India, but even by my looks, people don't always know I am Indian.

But of the places I have been in India (Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai), I like Chennai the best. It has a good mix of modern amenities (sometimes you have to look for them though), and good traditional values.

In my experience, most people do know English, though it is helpful if you know at least five words in Tamil -- it helps break the ice and lets them know you at least are trying to fit in. People are generally polite, friendly and helpful. I had expected to experience some problems also, but overall, I have had a good experience in Chennai and think of it as "home" though I am North Indian.

Do keep us posted icecoldbeer23 on how things go there and with the plant -- my husband is the managing director for a large multinational company and has a lot of experience in startups. What type of plant is yours?

ISN

Is your husband working in IT or manufacturing?

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Cruzer

I agree with everyone who posted replies to your concerns.

I'm what you could consider a coconut. White on the inside, brown on the outside. I am born in London - lived there all my life, and with my grandparents leaving Goa when they were really young, had no native languages passed onto me.

The local community would look at me slightly differently and as soon as they heard me speak, would double the Auto fare. At this point, my Indian roots would come through, and I'd haggle (most of the time) for the principle of not getting ripped off.

I worked in Chennai for a good few months and found minor language barriers, however do consider that English is the standard business language here.

I was involved in the kickstarting of a BPO (ePublishing) which is growing by the day. Should I return, I will definitely focus time on learning Tamil.

It would be good if people stated what they do "occupationally" because networking, and who you know is the key to success.

All the best,

D

coleville

Manufacturing. But we do also have some contacts in IT.