Experiences and observations-- Part 2 Development
We were driving back home in CLT, from work and Ankush was driving. Ahead of us a car spewed some weird fumes which entered our radiator and into the car's ventilation system. We could smell it and it smelled bad. Well!! But that's not any experience, we know how it smells near a sugar factory, paper factory or right outside a big city. While I was being sent to this "other people's dream" country, we were given a cross cultural orientation session. As ever and as my detestation goes about such tutoring, I filtered out most but two things I still remembered for I had a "as usual" argument with the session coordinator about those. She had asked us:
1. Do not stereotype 2. Americans are highly sensitive to smell. A lot of grubby nonsense about body odor, spicy food and the like.
Hmm!!! I found that self contradictory and fought. Anyways, after coming here I found
1. Who, ever goes out in the "out"? Life here is contained in airtight houses, offices or cars. There's no sweat, there's no odor. The tutor had made it seem like Americans, if there is actually any such race of people, were devoid of any sweat glands.
2. Spice 9, is an Indian restaurant in CLT. We tend to try going there once a week, for lunch as it is in DT while we work almost a Kilometer and half away from there. The food is as spicy as it can be, and it really leaves those flavors emanating from all around you. One just can't handle it more than once a week. But of all the patrons of Spice 9, I see a lot of Americans and I've seen some of them repeatedly.
3. I wonder how many Americans would ever be able to differentiate the smell of sugar factory from that of a paper factory. And those are not subtle aromas, mind it.
Observation: Americans, again if any such race exist, are still humans with flesh and blood and sweat glands. They just live in a cocoon covering of closed houses, closed cars and closed offices. They also like spicy food. In fact the entire world does. Spices was what India was known for, back in history and the world would kill to get those.
Going back to the car as we were driving back from office on another day, I observed how everyone maintained in their lane, how the roads were so wide, the traffic lights to control all that flow of high speed traffic, the almost perfect order, until we stopped at a light and the left lane was blocked for turning due to a big car in second to left lane. Wasn't his fault if his car was big and there was traffic. And lo!!! A car zooms past him, rolling it's left wheels on the divider to make it to the left lane and ahead, and then another and another. The order was broken.
I observe how the roads are good enough to reach 100 mph speeds, and one can unknowingly climb that high if he does not see the speedometer and is running on a wide and empty stretch. And as we drove the last night with Nikhil, who can himself break all speed records, cars zoomed past us as if we were all participants in some race. And all of a sudden the traffic slows down, and Gurmit exclaims "Udhar cop hai" . Gurmit and others who've been here for couple of years have heightened senses of identifying "the law". Those who are born here, must have higher.
Observation: Once again, these are people here. America has advanced, true in technology in standard of living and many other aspects. But still they are humans here. The order, the almost perfect infrastructure that many compare with India should be seen in the perspective of a country's history. America was non existent on the world map until October 12, 1492, when Columbus set foot here. And since it's discovery became colonized as a colony and wars ensued. The country came into being, only after stability in 18th century when Industrial revolution was already in it's inception. The country started in a time when man had already become "learned" and all that learning went into building this country. Moreover, not everyone could and did come over. The daring, seafaring men with a gut for challenge came here to build a nation of their own. That what made the initial population of this land, which was much like sowing the best and biggest seeds after filtering from many sieves. The concept of corruption, crime etc. slowly developed here as new generations came into being, as it always happens in any human civilization.
Comparing this to India, no one can even demarcate when India "Started". Not considering the very early civilizations that flourished and ended, still the country was well inhabited during 300 AD itself. Whatever we see in India today, is development under extension of what existed. Industrial development, alas, began only after the British left and India started conjuring the Industrial knowledge of the world. It wasn't an empty slate but a rather impoverished country with pre built infrastructure. One cannot pull down existing buildings where people live, to widen roads and put up traffic lights. The country was not planned, and whatever could be build was right on top of it. And I would say we have still come a long way. As for the people, all kinds of people existed here. Corrupt as well as dare devils.
People can argue that many European countries have developed far better, and they too have an old history. But what we forget is the fact that:
1. While India started in 1947 it was a colony which had been drained out of everything except a big enough population to be fed, clothed and taught. It was already years behind the world if we consider the effects of Industrial revolution.
2. Contrary to this, at the time when India was rejoicing it's new found freedom and trying to figure out what to do with it, most European nations were mourning the Second world war. Their populations cut short by the fiercest of wars, which should never be repeated unless we want Albert Einstein's prophecy to be fulfilled. They had knowledge, the infrastructure was in ruins and everything had to be "rebuilt". It is fascinating how the world war brought an opportunity for them to set things right.
P.S: I detest those who come here and living here for a few years, complain and talk low of India. The love of the words "Made in USA". (And it was a baffling discovery how difficult it is to find something "Made in USA" here).
What we need today is learning, and we are certainly doing that. But we need to learn what's good from these developed countries and imbibe that. Sieve out the bad.
Still it is damaging to consider ourselves "great". There are major problems that we need to accept. Chauvinism never and cannot help. What's needed is love for the country and a desire to make a change. People who complain, should reflect back as to how they follow all traffic rules here and blatantly break them when they go back to India. Yes, they can argue that there is a strong law enforcement here that makes people follow these laws, and to an extent that is true too. Chaos does starts ensuing here when there isn't a cop around. But I ask those Indians, if they like that order here and complain about it's absence back home, why do they need someone to force that order on them? So what does that make them? Isn't hypocrites the word?
1. Do not stereotype 2. Americans are highly sensitive to smell. A lot of grubby nonsense about body odor, spicy food and the like.
Hmm!!! I found that self contradictory and fought. Anyways, after coming here I found
1. Who, ever goes out in the "out"? Life here is contained in airtight houses, offices or cars. There's no sweat, there's no odor. The tutor had made it seem like Americans, if there is actually any such race of people, were devoid of any sweat glands.
2. Spice 9, is an Indian restaurant in CLT. We tend to try going there once a week, for lunch as it is in DT while we work almost a Kilometer and half away from there. The food is as spicy as it can be, and it really leaves those flavors emanating from all around you. One just can't handle it more than once a week. But of all the patrons of Spice 9, I see a lot of Americans and I've seen some of them repeatedly.
3. I wonder how many Americans would ever be able to differentiate the smell of sugar factory from that of a paper factory. And those are not subtle aromas, mind it.
Observation: Americans, again if any such race exist, are still humans with flesh and blood and sweat glands. They just live in a cocoon covering of closed houses, closed cars and closed offices. They also like spicy food. In fact the entire world does. Spices was what India was known for, back in history and the world would kill to get those.
Going back to the car as we were driving back from office on another day, I observed how everyone maintained in their lane, how the roads were so wide, the traffic lights to control all that flow of high speed traffic, the almost perfect order, until we stopped at a light and the left lane was blocked for turning due to a big car in second to left lane. Wasn't his fault if his car was big and there was traffic. And lo!!! A car zooms past him, rolling it's left wheels on the divider to make it to the left lane and ahead, and then another and another. The order was broken.
I observe how the roads are good enough to reach 100 mph speeds, and one can unknowingly climb that high if he does not see the speedometer and is running on a wide and empty stretch. And as we drove the last night with Nikhil, who can himself break all speed records, cars zoomed past us as if we were all participants in some race. And all of a sudden the traffic slows down, and Gurmit exclaims "Udhar cop hai" . Gurmit and others who've been here for couple of years have heightened senses of identifying "the law". Those who are born here, must have higher.
Observation: Once again, these are people here. America has advanced, true in technology in standard of living and many other aspects. But still they are humans here. The order, the almost perfect infrastructure that many compare with India should be seen in the perspective of a country's history. America was non existent on the world map until October 12, 1492, when Columbus set foot here. And since it's discovery became colonized as a colony and wars ensued. The country came into being, only after stability in 18th century when Industrial revolution was already in it's inception. The country started in a time when man had already become "learned" and all that learning went into building this country. Moreover, not everyone could and did come over. The daring, seafaring men with a gut for challenge came here to build a nation of their own. That what made the initial population of this land, which was much like sowing the best and biggest seeds after filtering from many sieves. The concept of corruption, crime etc. slowly developed here as new generations came into being, as it always happens in any human civilization.
Comparing this to India, no one can even demarcate when India "Started". Not considering the very early civilizations that flourished and ended, still the country was well inhabited during 300 AD itself. Whatever we see in India today, is development under extension of what existed. Industrial development, alas, began only after the British left and India started conjuring the Industrial knowledge of the world. It wasn't an empty slate but a rather impoverished country with pre built infrastructure. One cannot pull down existing buildings where people live, to widen roads and put up traffic lights. The country was not planned, and whatever could be build was right on top of it. And I would say we have still come a long way. As for the people, all kinds of people existed here. Corrupt as well as dare devils.
People can argue that many European countries have developed far better, and they too have an old history. But what we forget is the fact that:
1. While India started in 1947 it was a colony which had been drained out of everything except a big enough population to be fed, clothed and taught. It was already years behind the world if we consider the effects of Industrial revolution.
2. Contrary to this, at the time when India was rejoicing it's new found freedom and trying to figure out what to do with it, most European nations were mourning the Second world war. Their populations cut short by the fiercest of wars, which should never be repeated unless we want Albert Einstein's prophecy to be fulfilled. They had knowledge, the infrastructure was in ruins and everything had to be "rebuilt". It is fascinating how the world war brought an opportunity for them to set things right.
P.S: I detest those who come here and living here for a few years, complain and talk low of India. The love of the words "Made in USA". (And it was a baffling discovery how difficult it is to find something "Made in USA" here).
What we need today is learning, and we are certainly doing that. But we need to learn what's good from these developed countries and imbibe that. Sieve out the bad.
Still it is damaging to consider ourselves "great". There are major problems that we need to accept. Chauvinism never and cannot help. What's needed is love for the country and a desire to make a change. People who complain, should reflect back as to how they follow all traffic rules here and blatantly break them when they go back to India. Yes, they can argue that there is a strong law enforcement here that makes people follow these laws, and to an extent that is true too. Chaos does starts ensuing here when there isn't a cop around. But I ask those Indians, if they like that order here and complain about it's absence back home, why do they need someone to force that order on them? So what does that make them? Isn't hypocrites the word?
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