Here is one of the best movie reviews I have ever read:
http://insearchofi.blogspot.com/2007/10/my-confession.html
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Monday, October 15, 2007
NRI
My idea about NRIs was, since they live out of their motherland, they would be very nostalgic about their country of origin. I used to think that the urge for money was the only strong reason for the several lakhs of NRIs to live in the prosperous countries, and they all would like to return to their motherland someday. Alas! I was so wrong. Here I would talk about the NRIs in Detroit USA, which perhaps can be generalized.
I got to attend the marriage ceremony of one of my relative’s daughter. They are settled here in Detroit since the last 40 year. On this occasion I met many NRI families and talked to them about their views and emotions for India. I will now share my inferences:
The 1st generation of NRI has an identity problem. Though he is settled here since many years, he is still at least 40 % Indian. How do I know it? Talk to some Bengali, Bihari, Tamil guy. You will notice the very unique accent of the place of their birth.
Not only the accent, the thought and behavior is also very much the same. E.g. In India we know the typical characteristics of a Bihari, a Tamilian and so on. From behavior of a 1st generation NRI, one can know in which part of India was he born and brought up. So I conclude, the 1st generation NRI has a divided identity, he may be an American among Indians but he is Indian among Americans.
The second generation who were born and brought up in USA, are no at all NRIs. I am sad that the govt of India tries to give duel citizenship to these people. They may be called Rahul or Vineeta or Surabhi or anything meaning something in Hindi. But nothing else is “Indian” in them. I request the people and govt of India, please do not call the kids of NRIs as NRIs. They are not.
PS: These are general observations and as always, there will be exceptions, but not many I think.
I got to attend the marriage ceremony of one of my relative’s daughter. They are settled here in Detroit since the last 40 year. On this occasion I met many NRI families and talked to them about their views and emotions for India. I will now share my inferences:
The 1st generation of NRI has an identity problem. Though he is settled here since many years, he is still at least 40 % Indian. How do I know it? Talk to some Bengali, Bihari, Tamil guy. You will notice the very unique accent of the place of their birth.
Not only the accent, the thought and behavior is also very much the same. E.g. In India we know the typical characteristics of a Bihari, a Tamilian and so on. From behavior of a 1st generation NRI, one can know in which part of India was he born and brought up. So I conclude, the 1st generation NRI has a divided identity, he may be an American among Indians but he is Indian among Americans.
The second generation who were born and brought up in USA, are no at all NRIs. I am sad that the govt of India tries to give duel citizenship to these people. They may be called Rahul or Vineeta or Surabhi or anything meaning something in Hindi. But nothing else is “Indian” in them. I request the people and govt of India, please do not call the kids of NRIs as NRIs. They are not.
PS: These are general observations and as always, there will be exceptions, but not many I think.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Mindless Research
I was just browsing the website of my engineering institute and happened to see the “Professional Resume” of one of the professors. He claimed to have 51 technical publications. The document listed the titles of his research thesis, papers published, the lectures delivered at national/international conferences and so on. I started to read the list and it went on and on. My god, such a long list, so many publications, lectures....
While
“Generalized Cell Formation in CMS using Metaheuristic Algorithm”
“Design of Cellular Manufacturing using Neural Network Model”
“A Methodology for Evaluation of Service Quality using Neural Networks”
“Application of Theory of Constraints on Scheduling of Drum-Buffer Rope System”
were some of the titles of his papers almost none made any sense to me.
Then I opened my own “Professional Resume”. It had almost nothing worth mentioning except a B.Tech degree and some 3+ years of experience in an IT services company.
I feel dwarfened. But the logical mind tries to argue.
No, I can not dare to compare my resume with that of my esteemed professor, but I remember Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam saying the universities to stop doing mindless research and do something productive.
I wonder how many people except this prof would have read his research papers. Well, he is just symbolizing the hundreds of research scholars in India who keep publishing technical literature here and there some for getting a better job, promotion, certification etc.
Thousands of people get PhDs from various Indian universities every year in engineering disciplines. So why don’t at least a few exciting technologies come out from India every year. Clearly the researches are directionless (as acknowledged by many including Dr. Kalam). I think the exam oriented mentality in our country has devalued PhD which now is mere another degree or certificate of a course completion rather than being finder of something new.
The heights of Great Britain was fueled by the industrial revolution, that of USA was similarly supported by the pioneering technological innovations. So I think India can not ride high forever by only providing cheap services and labor. Innovations will be needed to sustain the growth and not the hundreds of publications without practical output.
While
“Generalized Cell Formation in CMS using Metaheuristic Algorithm”
“Design of Cellular Manufacturing using Neural Network Model”
“A Methodology for Evaluation of Service Quality using Neural Networks”
“Application of Theory of Constraints on Scheduling of Drum-Buffer Rope System”
were some of the titles of his papers almost none made any sense to me.
Then I opened my own “Professional Resume”. It had almost nothing worth mentioning except a B.Tech degree and some 3+ years of experience in an IT services company.
I feel dwarfened. But the logical mind tries to argue.
No, I can not dare to compare my resume with that of my esteemed professor, but I remember Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam saying the universities to stop doing mindless research and do something productive.
I wonder how many people except this prof would have read his research papers. Well, he is just symbolizing the hundreds of research scholars in India who keep publishing technical literature here and there some for getting a better job, promotion, certification etc.
Thousands of people get PhDs from various Indian universities every year in engineering disciplines. So why don’t at least a few exciting technologies come out from India every year. Clearly the researches are directionless (as acknowledged by many including Dr. Kalam). I think the exam oriented mentality in our country has devalued PhD which now is mere another degree or certificate of a course completion rather than being finder of something new.
The heights of Great Britain was fueled by the industrial revolution, that of USA was similarly supported by the pioneering technological innovations. So I think India can not ride high forever by only providing cheap services and labor. Innovations will be needed to sustain the growth and not the hundreds of publications without practical output.
Cost Reduction
Why are things so sluggish in big organizations? As students we do a lot of activities in our colleges, which are parallel to what the industries do. For example, I am working on an assignment of modifying an electronic circuit (which is an intelligent brake control of automotives) in order to reduce its cost. I belong to a service provider company in India which has posted me in USA at the client company location for this assignment. I have a couple of suggestions to achieve the goal. These are nothing but some slight modifications similar to what we used to solve in our engineering classes while solving numerical problems. My company sent me here in USA bearing all the cost to do these slight modifications which an engineering undergraduate does in his classroom as simple problems. Worse, with these ideas I am waiting for multiple levels of approvals so that it can be implemented or rejected. It has been one week since I am waiting for the team members and the manager to assemble for a meeting to discuss my idea. I know that if they accept it, it does not end there. It will go to the design team and from there god knows where for approvals. My concern is, why does it take such a long time to do a small thing in a big organization?
Actually, my company will be happy if it takes more and more time. Because they will get more and more hourly billing for my work. But it is a definite loss for the client company. Well, my job here is to try and reduce the cost of the product by modifying the design, but I think, if they become a little more efficient in execution of works, co-operation and communication among the various departments, they can reduce a lot of cost. Alas! I can not give this feedback for cost reduction here as it is against the interests of my company.
Actually, my company will be happy if it takes more and more time. Because they will get more and more hourly billing for my work. But it is a definite loss for the client company. Well, my job here is to try and reduce the cost of the product by modifying the design, but I think, if they become a little more efficient in execution of works, co-operation and communication among the various departments, they can reduce a lot of cost. Alas! I can not give this feedback for cost reduction here as it is against the interests of my company.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Relations
Life is an unknown journey. Everything, every moment is unknown. Although we can predict the outcome on a few occasions, most of the times future remains unpredictable. In this journey we make friends and relatives. Whose behavior towards us is pretty much predictable, e.g. I know how my mom will care for me when I go to my native place after many months. This also is a function of time and space. A mom in USA will not have the same feelings (or expression of feelings) for and the same expectations from her son as a mom in India. The relations mean differently in different parts of the globe.
NBC news channel here once reported that people have 40-45 % divorce rate in USA. Even the couples over 60 have around 40 % chances of getting divorced. I am sure these couples would have spent over 10 times more money on their honeymoon than an average Indian couple. (I am yet to go on a honeymoon after 7 months of my marriage.)
So, it implies that these cosmetic affections do not promise a stronger bonding. An Indian husband can not tell his wife, “Well, it was nice living with you these 5 years, may be we should look for a change.”
NBC news channel here once reported that people have 40-45 % divorce rate in USA. Even the couples over 60 have around 40 % chances of getting divorced. I am sure these couples would have spent over 10 times more money on their honeymoon than an average Indian couple. (I am yet to go on a honeymoon after 7 months of my marriage.)
So, it implies that these cosmetic affections do not promise a stronger bonding. An Indian husband can not tell his wife, “Well, it was nice living with you these 5 years, may be we should look for a change.”
Detroit Diary
The world is a village, thanks to the globalization, internet, the economic reformers and MNCs. Today you do not feel away from home in the sense of food and commodity market. I wonder what those early birds had faced when they flew to the USA or Britain all the way from India in early 80s or even before. It is unlikely that those people knew if pizza is edible or anything else, what is MacDonald’s or Subway or any other such brand. Today we are used to all these even in India, so when one comes to USA for the first time, apart from the infrastructure and the cars, you do not find much difference when compared to the Bangalores or the Delhies of India.
I reached Detroit at around 12:40 PM local time. As I came out of the airport, a smart young man approached me, “Taxi service required, sir?” I answered in affirmative but before that I wanted to make a couple of calls. He gave me his cell phone to make the local as well as international calls. This kind of generous behavior is hard to find in India. The taxi was a luxury car (I dunno which make it was as it is not available in India). With the help of GPS we reached the hotel without any difficulty. In India, I am sure; you can’t reach a place without asking several people if you do not know the way.
The first day, Vic and Steve took me for a lunch. We went to “Jimmy John’s” a famous restaurant here. Having spent around 27 years in India, I can’t say a veg sandwich and a coke a good lunch but their gesture was good. They wanted to know more about me. It was kind of a welcome meal.
The next morning as I was walking to office, someone called from a car, “You want a ride Sushil?” It was Hamid, my colleague here. He told me how he spent time till mid-night playing soccer at a club. My god, the guy looked above 45 and he has got such an enthu. And we Indians feel too old to play after 25 or so. It reminded me the saying, “You do not stop playing because you grow old, but you grow old because you stop playing.”
Then came the News of strike at General Motors. I saw all the demonstrations as the GM plant is just next to the hotel where I am staying. In our office people were of the opinion that the GM employees are cutting their own throat by going on strike. Fortunately, within 40 hrs the employees union reached at an agreement with the GM management and the strike was called off. Still the strike left its impact as I read many other suppliers of GM (primarily Delphi) started laying off people.
Truly, Detroit is the automotive capital of the world. All the major automotive companies are having their presence here. But hey, are not all the major global companies (of any sector) have their presence in India and still going strong? So India is definitely on her way to become the world’s factory and the world’s market.
I reached Detroit at around 12:40 PM local time. As I came out of the airport, a smart young man approached me, “Taxi service required, sir?” I answered in affirmative but before that I wanted to make a couple of calls. He gave me his cell phone to make the local as well as international calls. This kind of generous behavior is hard to find in India. The taxi was a luxury car (I dunno which make it was as it is not available in India). With the help of GPS we reached the hotel without any difficulty. In India, I am sure; you can’t reach a place without asking several people if you do not know the way.
The first day, Vic and Steve took me for a lunch. We went to “Jimmy John’s” a famous restaurant here. Having spent around 27 years in India, I can’t say a veg sandwich and a coke a good lunch but their gesture was good. They wanted to know more about me. It was kind of a welcome meal.
The next morning as I was walking to office, someone called from a car, “You want a ride Sushil?” It was Hamid, my colleague here. He told me how he spent time till mid-night playing soccer at a club. My god, the guy looked above 45 and he has got such an enthu. And we Indians feel too old to play after 25 or so. It reminded me the saying, “You do not stop playing because you grow old, but you grow old because you stop playing.”
Then came the News of strike at General Motors. I saw all the demonstrations as the GM plant is just next to the hotel where I am staying. In our office people were of the opinion that the GM employees are cutting their own throat by going on strike. Fortunately, within 40 hrs the employees union reached at an agreement with the GM management and the strike was called off. Still the strike left its impact as I read many other suppliers of GM (primarily Delphi) started laying off people.
Truly, Detroit is the automotive capital of the world. All the major automotive companies are having their presence here. But hey, are not all the major global companies (of any sector) have their presence in India and still going strong? So India is definitely on her way to become the world’s factory and the world’s market.
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