land of work, noble land

tibetans are fond of referring to india as the noble land or land of the nobles ('phags pa'i yul or āryabhūmi) whereas indians are most likely to call it the karmabhūmi - land of ritual activity or as i prefer to think of it, land of work. they contrast it with america, which they call bhogabhūmi - land of enjoyments or land of wealth. if the idea is that one puts in one's time working (or performing ritual activities) here in india and then enjoys the fruits in the states, that might seem contrary to the usual immigrant experience leaving india and going to the states. but it seems right to me as i settle in for another year of solid work on my dissertation.