Summer is one season eagerly awaited by the westerners and enjoyed thoroughly upon its arrival. The state of California on the west coast of the US is a place visited by numerous tourists. The Californians residents and visiting tourists take full advantage of the beautiful moderate weather conditions that exist year round.
People plan out their vacations and weekends in advance and have a relaxing time outdoors. The beaches are packed and so are the places near the bay or for that matter the parks in the suburbs.
A large number of Indian working professionals and tourists also come here each year and can be easily spotted at the above mentioned spots. It is quite amazing to note the adaptability of the young Indians (this includes me). You can see them sunbathing in the parks and on the beach, enjoying a glass of beer on the sidewalk restaurants, cleaning up the place before they leave and offcourse responding to a friendly smile from a stranger on street.
It doesn’t stop here, Thank you and Sorry become the commonly used terms, one would walk a mile to throw a piece of garbage, stand up in the bus or train for an elderly person to take seat and really one won’t pee outdoors even in the remotest locations (instead pay for it). Paying tips becomes a mandatory routine at the restaurants and when driven in a cab. One tends to appreciate the musical talent of the artists at train stations or on streets and a homeless asking for help on the road does get a few cents.
The young global brigade of Indians is making an impression everywhere they go. The talent for performing professional work or to do well in school/college was already there and now they are integrating in the society as well.
A thought need to be spared though on a scenario if the youth in India (including the ones who travel abroad frequently) would have practiced the same behavior and attitude as they do outside India. Why do everything right and abide by the rules in an alien country and not in our very own nation. Are we not responsible to make our own nation a cleaner and healthier place to live? or Have we finally accepted that one person’s actions can’t change the scenario? This is a question that need to addressed soon for if its not the young Indians doing things right and making the country progress then we are headed in the wrong direction.
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Friday, December 02, 2005
Monday, November 21, 2005
BPO – The Buzz is all around
The world is getting closer and especially when people are crossing borders as they never did before. One might experience India while in New York and an American will never feel out of place with all the McDonalds and Pizza Huts spread across in every major Indian city. Has this thing also got to do something with the spread of the BPOs’??
The Business Process Outsourcing (or the BPO) activity started gaining momentum in the 90’s decade in India and since then has become a large industry employing millions. The sheer size of operations, volume of business and a high rate of attrition requires BPO companies to recruit more and more people. People from traditional industries are not thinking twice before taking up a lucrative job in the BPO’s but the young turks, fresh out of college, are the prime target of all BPO outfits.
The majority work coming to India is from the United States. India with a bulging English speaking workforce has been able to meet all recruitment needs of the BPO’s. Though there is a simple logic attached to this, make Anjali-Anjela, Rahul-Raul and so on so forth.
BPOs’ dish out everything to make it employees feels at ease and when the employees are of the 18-25 age groups, it becomes a necessity. From swanky offices to recreational facilities to multi-cuisine cafeterias, it’s all there to ensure employees have a good time while at work.
The Induction and training program of all BPO’s is a rigorous one and runs on a minimum for 1.5 months. New employees are taught everything and anything about America. An accent training is given where the instructor teaches you to stress on the vowels and yes include as many slang as you can into your speech. The love for Donughts, Pizzas, Coke and offcourse Hollywood is ignited.
As the pay packets in the industry are good at entry level, it gives a lot of freedom to the young BPO employees to live life as people their age do in America. Branded clothes and accessories, movies, fancy cars, vacations, night outs etc have become regulars for them. The idea is to live life large and make the most of it. The idea of savings and a settled life has taken a backseat.
But is this ideology, is this culture taking over the good of our Indian culture. There are different opinions on this issue and the common Indian feels threatened with this commonly termed “American Invasion”. A significant Indian population is benefiting from the changing youth attitude and the increased financial freedom at a relatively young age. All should be ready to sacrifice few things for the betterment of things at large. Culture is what it always was, the Indian identity will remain, it’s just about taking the good of other cultures.
The Business Process Outsourcing (or the BPO) activity started gaining momentum in the 90’s decade in India and since then has become a large industry employing millions. The sheer size of operations, volume of business and a high rate of attrition requires BPO companies to recruit more and more people. People from traditional industries are not thinking twice before taking up a lucrative job in the BPO’s but the young turks, fresh out of college, are the prime target of all BPO outfits.
The majority work coming to India is from the United States. India with a bulging English speaking workforce has been able to meet all recruitment needs of the BPO’s. Though there is a simple logic attached to this, make Anjali-Anjela, Rahul-Raul and so on so forth.
BPOs’ dish out everything to make it employees feels at ease and when the employees are of the 18-25 age groups, it becomes a necessity. From swanky offices to recreational facilities to multi-cuisine cafeterias, it’s all there to ensure employees have a good time while at work.
The Induction and training program of all BPO’s is a rigorous one and runs on a minimum for 1.5 months. New employees are taught everything and anything about America. An accent training is given where the instructor teaches you to stress on the vowels and yes include as many slang as you can into your speech. The love for Donughts, Pizzas, Coke and offcourse Hollywood is ignited.
As the pay packets in the industry are good at entry level, it gives a lot of freedom to the young BPO employees to live life as people their age do in America. Branded clothes and accessories, movies, fancy cars, vacations, night outs etc have become regulars for them. The idea is to live life large and make the most of it. The idea of savings and a settled life has taken a backseat.
But is this ideology, is this culture taking over the good of our Indian culture. There are different opinions on this issue and the common Indian feels threatened with this commonly termed “American Invasion”. A significant Indian population is benefiting from the changing youth attitude and the increased financial freedom at a relatively young age. All should be ready to sacrifice few things for the betterment of things at large. Culture is what it always was, the Indian identity will remain, it’s just about taking the good of other cultures.
Monday, November 14, 2005
Access to God!!
A recent trip to the interiors of the state of Andhra Pradesh was a refreshing change from the quotidian events of my professional life. The landscape was amazing; the roads were in decent shape and the reason for the trip, ‘Srisailam’, a religious destination frequented by many Lord Shiva devotees.
It has been long since I last managed a religious trip and I bounced on the opportunity to go on one. It was foolishness to expect less people at the temple after seeing very low traffic on the road leading to the temple. The moment we reached the outer periphery of the temple, we could guess that we were in for spending long hours queuing up before offering our prayers to the deity.
The crowd was in huge numbers but with the beautiful weather conditions we thought that we would be able to survive the wait in the long queues. The first look of the queues we had and a state of panic we were in. The queue was about a 100 people strong but the way devotees were treated was inhuman in every sense. People were caged in a spiral formation walkway with limited space to ensure two people can’t walk together. It was a poor sight, with children crying, the adults unable to breathe and the elderly barely able to stand in the walkway.
I figured out quickly that I don’t want to stand in this line but hey what’s that, a small line on the other side which is moving at a really fast pace and is carpeted. I went ahead and asked the people around about the line and I was directed towards a small room in the corner of the temple campus. Outside the room were the rates on display for the various darshan (to be able to see the god’s idol for offering prayers) that one can opt for. Hang on a second is this thing suggesting me that for a mere Rs 30 I can avoid the queue and go straight right in. YES, it is the quickest way to get in – suggested the people around.
I was furious about the whole thing and kept thinking, where does money come between a devotee and God. How can one buy access to God?? Being poor in India is anyways a crime and when in a place like a temple you have this kind of a thing happening, it can’t get worse. Why can’t humane conditions be made available to everyone?? Why does there needs to be a difference shown between how bad the conditions are when you don’t pay and how good things are when you pay??. As they often say, if you have money you can buy anything, and now “Easy access to God”.
It has been long since I last managed a religious trip and I bounced on the opportunity to go on one. It was foolishness to expect less people at the temple after seeing very low traffic on the road leading to the temple. The moment we reached the outer periphery of the temple, we could guess that we were in for spending long hours queuing up before offering our prayers to the deity.
The crowd was in huge numbers but with the beautiful weather conditions we thought that we would be able to survive the wait in the long queues. The first look of the queues we had and a state of panic we were in. The queue was about a 100 people strong but the way devotees were treated was inhuman in every sense. People were caged in a spiral formation walkway with limited space to ensure two people can’t walk together. It was a poor sight, with children crying, the adults unable to breathe and the elderly barely able to stand in the walkway.
I figured out quickly that I don’t want to stand in this line but hey what’s that, a small line on the other side which is moving at a really fast pace and is carpeted. I went ahead and asked the people around about the line and I was directed towards a small room in the corner of the temple campus. Outside the room were the rates on display for the various darshan (to be able to see the god’s idol for offering prayers) that one can opt for. Hang on a second is this thing suggesting me that for a mere Rs 30 I can avoid the queue and go straight right in. YES, it is the quickest way to get in – suggested the people around.
I was furious about the whole thing and kept thinking, where does money come between a devotee and God. How can one buy access to God?? Being poor in India is anyways a crime and when in a place like a temple you have this kind of a thing happening, it can’t get worse. Why can’t humane conditions be made available to everyone?? Why does there needs to be a difference shown between how bad the conditions are when you don’t pay and how good things are when you pay??. As they often say, if you have money you can buy anything, and now “Easy access to God”.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
All the men: WATCH OUT!!
Things are changing in India and if some are for good some are for the worse. The men always had the freedom to live their lives per their wish and they have been making good use of it. The liberation of women and especially in the urban areas has been a refreshing change. The women today are rebellious, would stand ground and won’t take shit.
Men are facing a classic problem where they are getting the taste of their own medicine. They have used and abused women and their feelings in the past and the new age women are out here to take revenge.
To narrate an incident, a guy with all good intentions tried to be artistic on someone’s car in the parking using the dirt accumulated on the car. To the person’s surprise the car turned out to be of a girl who was walking just behind the guy. Both the guy and the girl were returning from a good Saturday night party and under the influence of alcohol. Can you beat that even after the guy wiping his art from the car and apologizing to the girl, was not forgiven. The lady was ready to free her arms, start a brawl and was more than willing to call the police.
India is at least one country where if there is a girl involved in a police issue: ‘the guy is always believed to be at fault’. The other thing is that there are always sympathetic people trying to help out a girl and especially if she is a beautiful one. The only option left for the guy was to walk-off or spend a night in prison. For crying out loud, point taken that no girl should take shit and be strong but then again should not misuse her women status.
This is a lesson for all the guys, beware of the girl power and that there is always something to loose if you fight with a woman.
Men are facing a classic problem where they are getting the taste of their own medicine. They have used and abused women and their feelings in the past and the new age women are out here to take revenge.
To narrate an incident, a guy with all good intentions tried to be artistic on someone’s car in the parking using the dirt accumulated on the car. To the person’s surprise the car turned out to be of a girl who was walking just behind the guy. Both the guy and the girl were returning from a good Saturday night party and under the influence of alcohol. Can you beat that even after the guy wiping his art from the car and apologizing to the girl, was not forgiven. The lady was ready to free her arms, start a brawl and was more than willing to call the police.
India is at least one country where if there is a girl involved in a police issue: ‘the guy is always believed to be at fault’. The other thing is that there are always sympathetic people trying to help out a girl and especially if she is a beautiful one. The only option left for the guy was to walk-off or spend a night in prison. For crying out loud, point taken that no girl should take shit and be strong but then again should not misuse her women status.
This is a lesson for all the guys, beware of the girl power and that there is always something to loose if you fight with a woman.
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