India the superpower ... not

Came across this hard hitting article on India's current economic state. I receive a mail forward almost every week from all the tops and dicks and Harry's on why India is a super power; they talk about the IT sector and the growth of the middle class and the rise of consumerism and a lot of other such external polishes which only is true for the minuscule portion of the population. It's true when Maybach came out with the world's richest car it was prebooked for two years in India but it does not speak well of the fact that for every such maybach buyer there were a million looking for their next meal.

So of my friends might take offense to this article and may even go so far as to call it a western attempt to diminish (sic) India's image. But the fact remains that reality bites. There is no point in blowing the trumpet that Indian Americans are the richest ethnic group in America why the rest of the population back home is beset with poverty and corruption.

Green Card!!!

No not green bucks!! Just a card, which states that you can have the rights that you pay your taxes for. Ask any Indian (For that matter any other national on worker's visa) in the US and he would be a subject matter on this, even somebody like me who will violently defend his plan to go back "home".

And before I continue, yes I have applied for green card. Now that the full disclosure is done ...

The reason for this post was a lunch discussion that I had with a few colleagues of mine on the merits of going back to India versus settling down in the US. And boy was there a wide gorge in our opinions. But the general consensus was that, it is a very personal choice that every individual has to make depending on his or her situation.

The thought process that went into deciding on staying in the US was led by the charge that India is woefully lagging in the technological advancement compared to the US. You just can't get an iPOD as easily in India was a favorite refrain. Add to that the noise and other sorts of pollution and corruption ... its a pretty dirty list, explained by a single phrase "standard of living".

On the other hand for people like me its the people that make all the difference. And in that I don't mean that people are better anywhere, its just that blood is pretty thick for me. That and plus I don't have to cook, clean or wash ... ever!

There is a third group of people who complain that they would go back if things got better. In sense the corruption, poverty and pollution went down and the standard of living went up. The catch in this line of reasoning is that there is nobody to take a lead to make a change. This is like asking someone to bear the pain so you can enjoy the fruit. Not that it's wrong in a capitalistic environment but doesn't it sound hollow when you act concerned but don't do anything about it. The road to hell is paved with good intentions

"The quickest way to a green card is marriage"

Check out my other blog that's updated more often and is more like a journal

...great America....poor india

Ok before you guys go beating up on me for that statement, just wanted to let you guys know that, it is not my statement. This is one my mom oft quoted statements, whenever I don't agree with her point of you. Its actually even higher than "you are more educated than me"(Which is false since she has two degrees to my one).

I am not going into the merits of the statements itself, I'll leave it to the "nationalists" of both countries. The reason I brought this up is to talk about psychology! Ok I don't have a psychology nor am I a psychologist but am sure a master at the defensive offensive strategy. That's again a new phrase ... I am talking about the way people usually lower themselves so the other would feel guilty.

It's pretty useful if you want to say whatever you want and then hide behind the supposed direness of your situation. This strategy was pretty effective in college when a trio of us used to make fun of everybody and then would self-deprecate ourselves so others wouldn't get a handle to make fun of us.

It's usage that really bugs me though is when it's an emotional blackmail and yours truly has given as much as he has got. My sisters have most often been my victims, the closer you are to me the more you would be emotionally blackmailed ;) while my mom and uncles have been pretty effective giving it to me.

So why am I writing this ?? Well just confessing my sins in the open so I won't repeat them again... hopefully ... and who is to be credited for making a saint out of a sinner? Somebody who is trying the greatest defensive offense on me.

If you can't beat em', join em'..
If you can't join em', bribe em',
If you can't bribe em', blackmail em'..

Anatomy of an Indian Movie

I am finally stepping into the unknown and writing about stuff that I have no business about, not that I had any business with the previous ones. But for a guy who hasn't seen an Indian movie in well over 11 years, I do know a lot about it (Or so I think). Why would you let a guy who once infamously asked who Ramba(A then famous Tamil actress) was? The picture says it all.

All I need is one minute of the film to tell which of the general plotline it would take, so lets dig in and try to conjure up one right now. To begin with need a few songs with lots of dancing shot in various locations around the world. Then you need to decide if you want a love story between a rich girl and a poor guy or vice versa, this can be exchanged for a urban - rural matchup or a literate - illiterate match up. This will form the skeleton structure of the movie.

Next come the muscles, need to make the hero stronger than Superman, able to as the picture indicates walk with a bullet in the heart. Also needs strength to cut a bullet into two using a knife and kill two people using those sliced pieces. Also helps if the hero is always outnumbered 1000 to 1.

Ofcourse you need the heart which would be 10 minutes of crying for whatever reason it might be. Maybe everytime the sacrifice of the hero is mentioned, it could turn into a sob scene.

The skin is provided by the fairer sex, specially with their "item" numbers*.

There is no need for a brain in this anatomy, if it had one, there would be a stroke as soon as it started functioning.

No movie is complete without the perfect climax, a pot pourri mix of fighting, blood(preferably from the hero), death (of one of the hero's close family/friend) and the triumph of good over evil.

If only I had the money or the backing of the underworld.

"I'll be back."

* Item numer -> When you have a pretty lass who has no connection with the storyline dance sensuously as a popcorn break during the boring part of the movie.

Credits to Vijay for the picture.

The Man stiffs us - Indian Style

Many of you might have read that Ford and GM are going to be cutting a lot of jobs to keep up with the competition and many more of you are aware of the technology driven resurgence of the Indian economy. The connection might not be apparent but there is definitely one if you look below the surface.

I am definitely pro out-sourcing (even though one day my job might be on the line), it is the price you pay to have a capitalistic economy. And the past few years have out-sourcing has been specially good to India. Kids my age are earning what their parents would have earned when they retired (If they were lucky). This has been driven by the information technology industry to a large extent. But the rosy picture belies the harsh well guarded truth, in a word sweat shops have been out sourced to the developing nations by the developed nations.

The bottom line has forced the companies out source, but I still can't figure out what motivates the off shoring companies to use sweat shops and screw(pardon my French) their own country men!

The source of all this rage is more close at heart... recently the vendor that I am contracted through to MasterCard was bought over by Wipro, one of top three technology/out sourcing companies in India. Though the change of guard did not affect me, it definitely had a big impact on their direct employees (Most of whom were expecting a better deal from such a well know /recognized company. The first transition meeting went on pretty good I guess, but then that was just a charade (Now I know what they teach in business school).

Yesterday one of colleagues who is a direct employee (Now called a wiproite) heard from them, the new package that they were getting. He was pretty let down, not only did they rescind from their word at the first meeting, they pretty much screwed(for lack of a better word) the employees. Their overtime was taken away (Even though my friend spends most of his time at the office), they sick leave was taken away and the vacation days was reduced drastically. To add insult to injury, their insurance was downgraded so they had to bear a part of the month payment.

This is not a isolated incident, my friends working for the technology companies either here or in India are almost slaves to the company. The salary is definitely better than any other business sector, but money does not make all things right. A lot of my friends working both in India and the US work from 7:30 to 8:00 in the morning to 11:00 in the night and a lot of times even later. All this while receiving only 1/5 th of the hourly rate that their companies get paid for them.

My mentioning of sweat shops might be a little exaggerated in the technology context (try making an employee work such hours with no compensation in a US based company), but it still holds good for the other industries like manufacturing (Walmart is a well known exporter of the sweat shops to China). The companies in the developed countries might not be legally in the black but ethically they are. Meanwhile the companies in third world countries are making hay before legislation (often ineffective) is brought in.

The reason I tied Ford and GM to this situation is because they are on the opposite end of the spectrum. They paid too much and are now paying for it. Believe it or not they have one employee working for every three retirees they are supporting, not a good ratio I should say. This is also the reason that these new age companies use for the maltreatment of their employees. The funny part is that they keep complaining about the attrition rate of their employee, what do they expect ... uncomplaining bots ??

For all the buster of the top executives, its the working class that gets short changed on both ends of the spectrum!

Some food for thought ...
How much would buy a woman for ... 20$s?
If you are on the path to a tummy tuck like me
Another reason I am all for the death penalty

History doth repeat itself!!!

The birth of a Nation

I do need to apologize for not being more current with my posts. I have had ideas fade in and out, as life trudges along in a mechanical fashion ( the forthcoming trip to India maybe a saving grace). I have finally decided not to let this thought fade out. As India celebrates its 58th birth anniversary, the times surely have changed.

Its that day of the year again in India and the Indian diaspora abroad. Time to wear their patriotism on their sleeve (for a day of course). I remember wearing the paper flag on my shirt pocket and attending the flag hoisting either at school or the apartment complex. It was day to remember long forgotten hero's and their sacrifices only to forget them the next day. I may sound a little pessimistic but that's the ground reality.

The last couple of days I have received emails and read articles on independence day, most of which seem to run along on just two thought streams. One talks about how proud you have to be an Indian and why you should not leave the country ... blah blah ... a lot of idealistic stuff that everybody needs a shot of once in a while. The only thing is in all the idealistic and patriotic fervor they forget the ground realities. And are content with making sweeping statements about the rest of the people with a holier than though attitude. The other line of thought is the pessimistic one blaming "the man" or actually blaming the politicians on how wrong our freedom has been used. They have a ready target - the politician - for all of India's ills while taking no responsibility for their own actions.

I agree to both schools of thought, but think that they fall short of being pragmatic or making a difference. People in general are ready to be patriotic and do great things as long as it doesn't cause them any discomfiture. Everybody wants a change but nobody is willing to bear the cost.

Born as it was after the second world war and in the midst of strife, both internal and external. The large behemoth of a country like India was indeed a hard place to govern for novices. The strides that the country has taken so far alludes to the common man's determination to rise inspite of the system. It was born during a time when socialism was only way to go for a country that had been broken by the capitalistic nature of imperialistic western power. The fact that it has embarked on the path of capitalism speaks of progress. Though the path so far has been full of great and ambitious dreams, poor planning and worse execution.

Sometimes I wonder and I know a sizeable amount of people would agree that we have only exchanged a foreigner's yoke for a domestic one. The amount of corruption that has permeated the society is alarming for such a fledging young country. Some might take offense to the term young country, claiming the inheritance to a 5000 year old civilization. But the fact remains that as a nation state India is relatively young. Corruption is a scourge that most countries face specially the developing ones. It is also one of the evils that cannot be blamed on external forces. Some people are content with putting the blame on politicians, while at the same time gloating on the fact that India is the world's largest democracy, which if true puts the blame squarely on the people's shoulder for electing such politicians. If you want the vicious cycle of corruption to stop then you need to stop giving bribes. If there is nobody to take bribes then there wouldn't be anybody to take them.

The other major factor that keeps a lot of Indian's down apart from corruption is dwelling on the past. If you want to move forward then we need to stop resting on our laurels and being satisfied easily. I have received a lot of emails from time to time about how Indian's created the number system thousands of years back and all the other things that happened thousands of years back. Because none of those matter too much now. If Bill gates says India has potential then the media is full of that quote and everybody is happy. It doesn't matter that we have potential unless we realise that potential. We as a country need to be willing to take risks, instead of being content of going down the beaten path. Even now kids are only give three choices - doctor, Engineer or IAS. So who the heck is going to teach ? I am not even going to talk about dowry, caste or religious issues (I have spoken on those before and anyways this post would never end then). We also need to realise that men were not made for traditions but traditions were made for me.

And the most sensitive subject of all, Kashmir. The right wing needs to accept the ground realities and not expect a miracle in the form of a akhand bharat ( we are definitely not going to annex two ailing countries). Also the people need to see through the politicians using Pakistan as beating horse to cover their own pathetic economic and domestic decisions. Pakistani ISI is easily blamed for most of India's problems (they do cause some) while the domestic terrorist is let go or even better given a government post! I wish they would spend more money on revitilising the agriculture sector than they spend on nuclear weapons.

Now that I have vetted my anger on the system(or the man as some prefer), I can go on to the good parts. I am proud of the changes specially in the last couple of years that has taken place in India. A change that allowed a middle class person like me to go to a foreign country to study, which was previously only the prerogative of the filthy rich or well connected. India is an experience ... a lifetime experience. The diversity that is present in it is incomprehensible to somebody that has not been there. The fact that each state has its own language and culture makes it rich in culture. As I have written before I have done quite a bit of driving in the US and the thing that irks me the most is that I get the same burger King of McDonald everywhere I go. It wouldn't be the same in India, which adds to the spice of it all. Sometimes that makes me wonder how we survive as a country at all? Inspite of the various religious tensions caused by extremists, it is truly a secular country, not by removing religion out of its life but by integrating it(religion) into its fabric, a fact that the second largest democracy(US) finds hard to digest. Some people make fun of the honour system, of paying respect to elders, of following the family dikat (right or wrong), forgoing individual happiness for the greater common good ... I could go on ... that make life worth living. Those are the things that money can't buy that, and you would see a lot of those around here.

Here's to India hoping that

• more people will take risks,
• sports other than cricket will be patronised (First need to kill the bureaucrats in those associations),
• people will stop giving bribes and taking them too (dowry is bribe)
• people will not be satisfied with mediocrity or even good
• the young will not be disrespected for their idealism
• the old will be respected for their wisdom
• people will not allow just scoundrels to be politicians
• people will not be satisfied with election gimmicks
• caste would be rooted out
• dowry would be rooted out
• people will know who has the power
  
• people will not kill me for saying the things I do :)

in the coming years

Jai Hind

Vox populi, vox dei