In India Pop Music would typically mean Movie Based Music/Songs, Individual Artist Modern Songs, Bands and Groups. In fact there is a term named Indi-POP where songs could be in Indian Language but are highly influenced by Western Rhythm. Indeed we do find a lot of influence of African Rhythms and Melodies too. Lately we have instances where Indian Pop is also influenced by music from the other Asian countries in the South East.
Indian Film Music is a concept that needs to be understood. In the West you had these musicals where acting and the story is based on music and songs. In India it would be a variation of this Most Indian movies would have a story and at regular intervals the actors and actresses will break into song and dance sequences that may or may not be relevant to the main story. Hard core fans would tend to believe that they do enhance the film!
Film Music in India could be based on Classical Music for melody or they could be based on Indian Folk that given the geography of the country is very diverse in nature. They would also be influenced by or sometimes tunes could be directly lifted from other genres or countries,
The majority of Indian Film Music is created in Mumbai (Bollywood) in Hindi the national language of India. The other major film producing centres are in Chennai (Tamil or Tollywood), Hyderabad (Telugu) and Kolkata (Bengali). There would be films in other Indian languages too but ALL of them without exception follow the concept of incorporating song and dance sequences in their respective productions. There are directors who do not follow this format but that are a minority. There is extensive public demand for Film based music. In fact there would be a rare Indian who would not be appreciative of Film Music.
Indi-POP is however sometimes restricted in their appeal and face major competition from Film Music. These types of music evolved in the late seventies but still have not been able to garner a major pie. There are exceptions as usual and a few artistes have done very well for themselves.
Music Bands are very rare and have very little sustaining power and that’s the statistics. In elitist educational institutions they have these rock festivals that most often than not are head banger balls. These bands typically die but some of them continue on. However the more successful bands are definitely the regional ones singing in the local languages.
Please do post questions and then one could answer in detail and specifics.
Sphere: Related Content
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Do you need sales experience to be an effective SALES MANAGER? (My answers to Linked In Questions)
Sales as a concept to me is generic rather than being operational in a small boundary. So to me a Finance Manager could also be in the selling profession and similarly a Compliance Officer could also be selling. Selling ia locating customers who would need your value proposition and convince them to buy it.
The Finance manager would be selling his organisation to Banks and FIs for getting working capital or other fundings. A compliance manager in a Bank could be selling his org's value proposition to the Central Bank for various clearances.
Given this perspective, it is not about having a title Sales Manager and showing years of experience in sales that counts for me. I would look deeper into the person's competencies in terms of convincing, presentation, analysis, relationship building and team building skills for him to be a sales manager.
Most HR cosultants and experts and line managers have this habit of slotting people based on resumes and experience write ups and that's not a good thing. Like most of the things in life there is no hard and fast rule and your answer cannot be a digital Yes or No.
I know of excellent sales managers in the IT industry coming out from hardcore engineering production backgrounds. I know of industrial engineers having experience of more than 20 years running successful consumer durable sales operations.
You need to find the right person for the job, and its the aptitude, intent and capability that counts. The capability factor further dissected in terms oif attributes mentioned earlier.
Rule of the thumb is not a good way of going ahead, if you want a successful, sustainable organisation. Sphere: Related Content
The Finance manager would be selling his organisation to Banks and FIs for getting working capital or other fundings. A compliance manager in a Bank could be selling his org's value proposition to the Central Bank for various clearances.
Given this perspective, it is not about having a title Sales Manager and showing years of experience in sales that counts for me. I would look deeper into the person's competencies in terms of convincing, presentation, analysis, relationship building and team building skills for him to be a sales manager.
Most HR cosultants and experts and line managers have this habit of slotting people based on resumes and experience write ups and that's not a good thing. Like most of the things in life there is no hard and fast rule and your answer cannot be a digital Yes or No.
I know of excellent sales managers in the IT industry coming out from hardcore engineering production backgrounds. I know of industrial engineers having experience of more than 20 years running successful consumer durable sales operations.
You need to find the right person for the job, and its the aptitude, intent and capability that counts. The capability factor further dissected in terms oif attributes mentioned earlier.
Rule of the thumb is not a good way of going ahead, if you want a successful, sustainable organisation. Sphere: Related Content
Why won't Salespeople call on executives? (My answers to Linked In Questions)
This is not a sales rep related problem, at least that is what I think. Over the years I have noticed that most organisations are spending even lesser time on their army in terms of strategic training that would constitute product traimings, customer acquisition methodology and bare sales training. Relationship building is not a lottery and requires careful planning and actual field level actions.
Depending upon the organisation, as a sales person you would sometimes need to attack at all levels and its not just a question of meeting different levels. For the problem that you are going to solve for the organisation, who are the key decision makers, who are the influencers, who are against you in terms of concept or competition. All of these need to be mapped.
It is again not a question of where you would start. Its more a question whats the easiest opportunity of opening that door and once you have opened it how would you cover the full building - the relevant areas of the building that is.
Sales perople need to be trained and monitored for such activities. Sales Strategy and Results monitoring are a given. It's measuring the efforts and taking corrective action is where most organisations lack in intent and design. Sphere: Related Content
Depending upon the organisation, as a sales person you would sometimes need to attack at all levels and its not just a question of meeting different levels. For the problem that you are going to solve for the organisation, who are the key decision makers, who are the influencers, who are against you in terms of concept or competition. All of these need to be mapped.
It is again not a question of where you would start. Its more a question whats the easiest opportunity of opening that door and once you have opened it how would you cover the full building - the relevant areas of the building that is.
Sales perople need to be trained and monitored for such activities. Sales Strategy and Results monitoring are a given. It's measuring the efforts and taking corrective action is where most organisations lack in intent and design. Sphere: Related Content
How do you listen to a client ramble on the phone and not talk? (My answer to Linked in Question)
Actions to take If you really think your client is rambling on the phone:
1. Put him/her on speakerphone, lower the volume and do something else. During regular intervals respond with am yeah or that's right.
2. Speakerphone, mute, and then disconnect in that sequence.
3. Mute and visit the washroom or get a coffee.
The above will not apply if he/she is an important person in your scheme of things. If the person is one who you have to tolerate or perhaps use then:
1. Look for a break and take the call in control.
2. Divert the topic to a relevant area of mutual interest.
3. Decently interject and put across your point and then ask a relevant question so that the response ceases to be a ramble.
And as fellow linked in members have suggested - Listen carefully, since you never know how information of use might just emanate, Sphere: Related Content
1. Put him/her on speakerphone, lower the volume and do something else. During regular intervals respond with am yeah or that's right.
2. Speakerphone, mute, and then disconnect in that sequence.
3. Mute and visit the washroom or get a coffee.
The above will not apply if he/she is an important person in your scheme of things. If the person is one who you have to tolerate or perhaps use then:
1. Look for a break and take the call in control.
2. Divert the topic to a relevant area of mutual interest.
3. Decently interject and put across your point and then ask a relevant question so that the response ceases to be a ramble.
And as fellow linked in members have suggested - Listen carefully, since you never know how information of use might just emanate, Sphere: Related Content
Can Creating Heroes within an Organization Motivate Employees? (My Answer to Linked in Questions)
My answer:
All of us know that management concepts do propagate the concept of recognising and announcing heroes. However we need to remember two important points:
A. Motivation of a person is directly linked to his/her own aspirations in that organisation and also generally his/her outlook towards life.
B. Is the "Hero" really a "hero"?
A lot of times Heroes would automatically come up due to performance or any other special achievements in the organisation. But typically msot recognition schemes are based on past results and that's typically not a good management practice in spite of the latter being the most practiced "practice".
Management and Senior Managers are typically fixated ONLY with results and deliverables and do not delve into the depth of the "HOW". Therefore the "effort" that goes into accomplishment is never understood, recognised, monitored and appreciated..In a soccer match while goals are scored by strikers, the midfielders and the defenders need to play their role and create the situation and that requires serious planning and execution for the final outcome to happen as desired.
Yes, success stories are required but we need to find out and highlight the successes that led to the final succesful result and highlight the men and women who worked for it along with the last striker who sent the ball into the goal. Sphere: Related Content
All of us know that management concepts do propagate the concept of recognising and announcing heroes. However we need to remember two important points:
A. Motivation of a person is directly linked to his/her own aspirations in that organisation and also generally his/her outlook towards life.
B. Is the "Hero" really a "hero"?
A lot of times Heroes would automatically come up due to performance or any other special achievements in the organisation. But typically msot recognition schemes are based on past results and that's typically not a good management practice in spite of the latter being the most practiced "practice".
Management and Senior Managers are typically fixated ONLY with results and deliverables and do not delve into the depth of the "HOW". Therefore the "effort" that goes into accomplishment is never understood, recognised, monitored and appreciated..In a soccer match while goals are scored by strikers, the midfielders and the defenders need to play their role and create the situation and that requires serious planning and execution for the final outcome to happen as desired.
Yes, success stories are required but we need to find out and highlight the successes that led to the final succesful result and highlight the men and women who worked for it along with the last striker who sent the ball into the goal. Sphere: Related Content
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Immature Attempt to Simplify India - II (Written for SAKAI - University of Rhode Island)
I am no scholar in music and therefore this would be purely an attempt to put forward to you a canvas that you could further explore. Indian music is surely diverse but this comment would need explanation.
Broadly, I personally would divide Indian Music into three categories:
1. Classical Music
2. Pop Music
3. Folk Music
Classical Music
The Free Online Dictionary describes Classical Music as “traditional genre of music conforming to an established form and appealing to critical interest and developed musical taste”. I somehow like this definition since it is sort of limitless and can apply to any distinctive society. The Indian Classical Music scenario could be divided into two parts. We have the Hindustani Classical Form while the other is the Carnatic Form. The former has evolved from the North while the latter is has typically evolved from the South of India. Before explaining the differences we need to explain some associated concepts.
The Indian Classical Form is based on Ragaas. Ragaas are unique, single combinations of notes and are typically monophonic. Western Classical Music on the other hand could be a multiple combination of notes played in harmony. The composition in the latter form could be polyphonic or monophonic or a combination. Am I making any sense? If you listen to the two, I am pretty sure you would discern the difference.
The difference between Hindustani and Carnatic essentially are in rendering styles. They also have different Ragaas. Again after listening to a Hindustani piece and then a Carnatic piece, you would sort of immediately recognize the difference in terms of the instruments, the style of music, etc.
Classical Music is said to be practiced in India for more than 3000 years and there are famous musicians from both the forms in the vocal and Instrumental categories. In the West I think my namesake, “RAVISHANKAR” had a major influence with his Sitar (originally a three wire instrument but later modified with more wires).
These days you have Ustad Amjad Ali Khan with his Sarod and there are many more. I just gave a sample and depending upon choice and perceptions there could and would be more famous musicians whom I have not named, since that was not the purpose. If you however would want some suggestion, I could produce a ‘suggested’ list of artists and their works!!
Typically Indian Classical Music, vocal or instrumental goes through a few stages when an artist is rendering a composition. To begin with the artist would warm up in the form of an ALAAP where the tempo is slow. Later the percussion players join in, the tempo increases and the artist starts rendering variation in the same form of the Raaga. In the end we sort of reach a crescendo in terms of tempo and variation. There could be situations where the artist and the percussionist have this musical tete-a-tete in terms of back and forth responses. In Jugalbandis (two artists with same or different instruments playing together) they would have similar back and forth responses.
There are instances where Indian Classical Musicians have also played along with Western counterparts e.g., Ravishankar playing with Yehudi Menuhin. There are also instances of Western Philharmonic Orchestras playing Indian Ragaas.
The most popular instruments used by Hindustani Classical musicians are the sitar, sarod, tanpura, bansuri, shehnai, sarangi and tabla. Instruments typically used in Carnatic music include venu, gottuvadyam, veena, mridangam, kanjira, ghatam and violin.
3uhsa4rk7d Sphere: Related Content
Immature Attempt to Simplify India - I - (Wriiten for SAKAI - University of Rhode Island)
Typically what you want to see in a picture depends upon your perspective. So when I paint a picture it could have diverse connotations. First is my own perspective and then it would be yours. So ideally there would be no true picture but it would be all about what we perceive of the picture. Without complicating matters let me start of with my comments or commentary if you may name this one
The first thing that comes to your mind (here you would mean an average Urban American) when you think of India would be perhaps as follows and not necessarily in that order
Large Country
Lots of People
Lots of Poverty
Many IT Professionals
Taxi Drivers
Large democracy
Corrupt
Dirty , Dusty and Crowds
Call Centers
Now let me add a few more from my perspectives:
Many languages
Mix of extremely diverse cultures each of them rich in culture and tradition
Rich Classical Music along with the Popular Music
Natural Beauty in terms of mountains, seas, flora and fauna
Classical dances and other Art Forms
Culinary Diversity
Diverse Literature and Films
There would be more and we could go on and on but that’s not my intention. Of course I did not mention one more aspect that fascinate Westerners : The Indian Spiritual History, Practices and Quest.
When you mix up all these attributes you get a heady mix of confusion and perhaps you would lose perspective of what it’s all about. My first endeavor therefore would be to segregate your perspectives and then sort of clear the issues so that you get a clearer picture. I therefore cannot promise that one note like this would do the job and perhaps my off and on word paintings would be better for this gallery.
Let me dwell on the languages to begin with. There are 22 official 'scheduled' languages: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Marathi, Meitei, Nepali, Oriya, Eastern Panjabi, Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu. The National or official languages: Hindi and English.
The Indian Sub Continent was ruled by the British and since our Independence in 1947 the Republic of India was divided into states/provinces that was based on languages spoken, Now whether scientific or logical this was a rather populist move. It had it’s positives and negatives and today we are living with it and perhaps meshing well too. As far as the constitution of India is concerned an Indian is free to settle in any part of the country at any point of time. In other words one has a right to move anywhere, speak any language and follow any religion of your choice and belief
There is no language that we could say is Indian, technically that is. Like in the US we have a Central Government with certain rights and responsibilities and you have the State Governments with their own laws and administrative machinery. So the Central Government official languages are English and Hindi which means that official correspondence, reports and workings are a lot of times conducted in English and Hindi and sometimes both. Some of the states do carry out their official work in the predominant language of the region but when it comes to State – Center or Inter –State communication, English would be the prevalent language.
So typically in most urban areas in slightly better shops and establishments English would get you through with communication. In terms of Police, down the line traffic constables may have difficulties with English. However in the Southern states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, etc English is quite prevalent
As you travel and go to the rural parts, you would see that communication in English will gradually deteriorate. Exceptions will prove the rule here too
In urban areas the middle class and other upper classes would be normally sending children to English medium schools. These days due to the IT and Telecom penetrations even in remote towns people are realizing the strength of learning English and mind sets are changing. Its also not just about mindsets but also about opportunities and we still have a long way to go
Most regional languages are extremely rich in their home grown literature. I myself come from a Bengali family (my mother tongue is Bengali) and its literature like others are pretty developed and have world recognition. Tagore the Nobel Prize winner was a Bengali Poet and renowned literateur.
I am sure you would find detailed state wise language descriptions for each of the state in Wikipedia, and for that matter, The Lonely Planet Country Books would fill you in with quite an amount of detail
I would be glad if you could ask questions too and surely they would be answered. There is a lot to talk about. If you have the inclination, I have the time!! Sphere: Related Content
The first thing that comes to your mind (here you would mean an average Urban American) when you think of India would be perhaps as follows and not necessarily in that order
Large Country
Lots of People
Lots of Poverty
Many IT Professionals
Taxi Drivers
Large democracy
Corrupt
Dirty , Dusty and Crowds
Call Centers
Now let me add a few more from my perspectives:
Many languages
Mix of extremely diverse cultures each of them rich in culture and tradition
Rich Classical Music along with the Popular Music
Natural Beauty in terms of mountains, seas, flora and fauna
Classical dances and other Art Forms
Culinary Diversity
Diverse Literature and Films
There would be more and we could go on and on but that’s not my intention. Of course I did not mention one more aspect that fascinate Westerners : The Indian Spiritual History, Practices and Quest.
When you mix up all these attributes you get a heady mix of confusion and perhaps you would lose perspective of what it’s all about. My first endeavor therefore would be to segregate your perspectives and then sort of clear the issues so that you get a clearer picture. I therefore cannot promise that one note like this would do the job and perhaps my off and on word paintings would be better for this gallery.
Let me dwell on the languages to begin with. There are 22 official 'scheduled' languages: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Marathi, Meitei, Nepali, Oriya, Eastern Panjabi, Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu. The National or official languages: Hindi and English.
The Indian Sub Continent was ruled by the British and since our Independence in 1947 the Republic of India was divided into states/provinces that was based on languages spoken, Now whether scientific or logical this was a rather populist move. It had it’s positives and negatives and today we are living with it and perhaps meshing well too. As far as the constitution of India is concerned an Indian is free to settle in any part of the country at any point of time. In other words one has a right to move anywhere, speak any language and follow any religion of your choice and belief
There is no language that we could say is Indian, technically that is. Like in the US we have a Central Government with certain rights and responsibilities and you have the State Governments with their own laws and administrative machinery. So the Central Government official languages are English and Hindi which means that official correspondence, reports and workings are a lot of times conducted in English and Hindi and sometimes both. Some of the states do carry out their official work in the predominant language of the region but when it comes to State – Center or Inter –State communication, English would be the prevalent language.
So typically in most urban areas in slightly better shops and establishments English would get you through with communication. In terms of Police, down the line traffic constables may have difficulties with English. However in the Southern states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, etc English is quite prevalent
As you travel and go to the rural parts, you would see that communication in English will gradually deteriorate. Exceptions will prove the rule here too
In urban areas the middle class and other upper classes would be normally sending children to English medium schools. These days due to the IT and Telecom penetrations even in remote towns people are realizing the strength of learning English and mind sets are changing. Its also not just about mindsets but also about opportunities and we still have a long way to go
Most regional languages are extremely rich in their home grown literature. I myself come from a Bengali family (my mother tongue is Bengali) and its literature like others are pretty developed and have world recognition. Tagore the Nobel Prize winner was a Bengali Poet and renowned literateur.
I am sure you would find detailed state wise language descriptions for each of the state in Wikipedia, and for that matter, The Lonely Planet Country Books would fill you in with quite an amount of detail
I would be glad if you could ask questions too and surely they would be answered. There is a lot to talk about. If you have the inclination, I have the time!! Sphere: Related Content
Refractions - Written for SAKAI - University of Rhode Island
I have started these contributions for University of Rhode Island with blessings from Professor Nik Dholakia, centered on India for their students.
The first was a reflection on India, which I am repeating here. Would post the other contributions too.
REFRACTIONS:
The first was a reflection on India, which I am repeating here. Would post the other contributions too.
REFRACTIONS:
Self Reflection would literally mean looking at me in the mirror and that too at a 3-dimensional object of a present state of some matter. The image would also be bereft of feelings and would perhaps not convey my actual intentions. So I decided not to look at the mirror. I would rather do some rambling that has no pattern or restriction or boundaries.
I love India. It’s my birthplace, this is where I have grown up, studied and worked. This is where I have learnt about people and nature. This is where I have made friends and this is the place whose culture I have imbibed.
Now because I love this place so much I also have this liberty of praising as well as expressing dissent as far as my thoughts are concerned.
I am not sure whether you would know a bit of Indian History, but prior to independence from British rule, the countries of the subcontinent (now Pakistan, India and Bangladesh) were one. My parents and ancestors belonged to what is now Bangladesh but had shifted to India before independence. They were from an extremely humble background. Later my father studied in one of better colleges in Kolkata (then called "Calcutta") and then went on to join the Indian Police Services and did well for himself in spite of the degenerating governance. I was the pampered youngest child but not for long and I landed up in this boarding school south of Kolkata. It was run by a Hindu Religious Order called the Ramakrishna Mission.
In the western world, the most well-known monk from Ramakrishna Mission is Swami Vivekananda (pictured above), who electrified the delegates at the first World Parliament of Religion in Chicago, in 1893, by his clear exposition of India's religions.
The Constitution of India talks about India being a secular country. The boarding school allowed me to live that concept. We had Muslims, Christians, Jews and Hindus there and we used to live together, study together and pray in the same prayer hall. There were prayers from Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and other religions. Given that background I never felt or feel to this day that God's ways are different for the various sects of society. It is the human being that always tries to create groups and factions, and harbors ill thoughts and for ill fated reasons.
When I was growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, India was also growing. Industries in various sectors were coming up but the pace was slow and riddled with corruption. Our political leaders at grassroots levels were changing for the worse. The educated youth was shying away from politics and their goal was to rather become a Doctor or an Engineer or a Bureaucrat. For the former two professions, studies abroad and migrating abroad were attractive propositions. Politics therefore was sort of a last thing one could think of. Also, politics in India is not a profession and I personally have an issue with that. But that’s another discussion.
We in India, however, were still marching ahead in terms of building roads, power plants, automobiles, refineries, and more. The population was also growing at an incredible pace and pressure on agriculture was immense. The farmers were exploited by landowners, there was lack of modern practices and technology, and so on and so forth. So while we were marching we also needed to boost our management styles, our financial management, our health care facilities, etc. In spite of Russia being extremely close to the Government of India the free minded spirit of Indians always looked toward the USA or UK for inspiration in terms of education, technology and research. There were collaborations and I guess we are still going strong in these areas in terms of mutual participation.
I personally did take up postgraduate studies in Management and then joined a technology company. Later on I joined the Telecom Revolution in India where - because of Sam Pitroda (an Indian ethnic high-tech entrepreneur from Chicago, lured to India by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi) - even nooks and corners of India suddenly got connected!! Though economists had been talking about it, the subsequent Governments are hot footing on building infrastructure and that would help us immensely in the very near future.
Software Industry in India - though famous and I was a part of it - has still a long way to go. The most renowned IT companies of India in the software sector are still making money based on "people" supply. Basic Product Research and Development (R&D) is still quite primitive. A few of the IT companies have surely done well with proprietary products but we still have a long way to go.
While I have been rambling on relatively boring issues, culturally we have been extremely vibrant. Most of USA would know my namesake, maestro Ravishankar, since he popularized the Sitar in the West and along with that Indian Classical Music. His association with George Harrison of the Beatles was well known. So I myself grew up with homegrown Indian Music along with western music like the Beatles and even groups like Bread influenced me. Simon and Garfunkel were favorites and later Mark Knofler, Eric Clapton, Pink Floyd and so many others were - and still are - my favorites. But western music was popular only with selected urban youth while most of India was enamored with Bollywood Film Music. Traditional Folk Music is quite rich in India and there is lot to learn and I am forever trying to grasp this immense musical diversity.
View of the International Airport in Mumbai
I have witnessed a transition in India, in terms of technology, automobiles, market economy, management styles and all other spheres of life. The Indian Youth today is more aware of the world than ever before, even in remote corners, unlike the times when we were growing up. Thankfully even in the politico-governance space there are changes and those changes are for the better. We still have a long way to go and I hope I can participate actively in every present moment for the future to unfold.
The New India is again waking up. We have to unshackle ourselves from misplaced priorities, casteism and prejudices, petty politics and bad governance. We will do it for sure and we will do it along with the world as all humanity advances towards the future. We need to collaborate, benchmark, consult and think of implementable strategies for them to work. The educated youth are again finding their way back to politics and civil services and that is a good sign. Good education is the key to a prosperous society and that is what we in India are aiming at.
These days I am in Dubai in the Banking sector but would surely go back to India. About Indians in the UAE, that’s another chapter.
Jai Hind…!!
(The Hindi equivalent of what would be "Vive L'Inde" in French…!)
Sphere: Related ContentTuesday, June 9, 2009
Brownie's Points
Like anything else in the world there are good and bad apples in a truckload. More good than bad I would like to believe since most of the latter would not have left the orchard. So when an Indian gets beaten up in Down Under I wonder and sorry folks for thinking like that, was there an issue behind the violence or was it plain robbery? The recurring events however is proof that the violence is focused and perhaps there is a n element of racism in all this.
But racism is a strong word and can have different dimensions. When an Australian beats up an Indian its white vs. brown. When a Lebanese student beats up an Indian in Australia what would you term it to be? Brown vs. Brown. Or say if a African Australian beats up an Indian it would be Black vs. Brown.
Pardon my perpective, but I feel a lot of times its we Indians who perhaps bring this on to ourselves. This could stem from a variety of reasons. Decades have gone by where we have been ruled by foreigners giving rise to some sort of an inferiority complex. Then on Television the other day I heard Prasun Joshi saying that nowadays Indians are more confident and perhaps that's coming in the way. Would it be a case of misplaced superiority complex?
The fact of the matter is that we Indian do not understand cultures beyond our boundaries and therefore most often than not we are not able to mesh in an alien society, keeping our individual cultures and traits intact. Somehow we are not able to project ourselves as equals. Hard Kaur an infamous rapper said that we Indians are more intelligent than others!! In the software industry, I often come across discussion with the same trail of thought amongst developers and engineers. I find similar traits in other industries too where there are plenty from the sub continent. We do suffer from extremes!!
A lot of times I feel that we Indians are perhaps more racist than most of the other cultures. Maybe I am wrong, but we have divides in terms of language, the way we dress, what we eat, whom we marry and more. The matrimonial colums in newspapers or websites is a prime proof of us being racial. Castes, Tribes, Skin Color, Vegetarians vs Non Vegetarians, Marathi vs Bihari, Hindu vs Muslim, Delhiite vs Madrasi, we have it all.
So when on Television shows respected people come and talk a lot of sense while the same sensibility is not practiced in their own backyard, I have this wierd feeling. I think we need to understand that we are not holier than thou. The day we understand this, our debates, discussions and actions would be a bit different.
In our own country we are not mixing with others, and we have the gall of complaining against others. Charity starts at home, but we seem to be always looking for donations and sympathy. I am not justifying the OZ incidents. It's just that I have strong feelings against hasty unfounded conclusions. Sphere: Related Content
But racism is a strong word and can have different dimensions. When an Australian beats up an Indian its white vs. brown. When a Lebanese student beats up an Indian in Australia what would you term it to be? Brown vs. Brown. Or say if a African Australian beats up an Indian it would be Black vs. Brown.
Pardon my perpective, but I feel a lot of times its we Indians who perhaps bring this on to ourselves. This could stem from a variety of reasons. Decades have gone by where we have been ruled by foreigners giving rise to some sort of an inferiority complex. Then on Television the other day I heard Prasun Joshi saying that nowadays Indians are more confident and perhaps that's coming in the way. Would it be a case of misplaced superiority complex?
The fact of the matter is that we Indian do not understand cultures beyond our boundaries and therefore most often than not we are not able to mesh in an alien society, keeping our individual cultures and traits intact. Somehow we are not able to project ourselves as equals. Hard Kaur an infamous rapper said that we Indians are more intelligent than others!! In the software industry, I often come across discussion with the same trail of thought amongst developers and engineers. I find similar traits in other industries too where there are plenty from the sub continent. We do suffer from extremes!!
A lot of times I feel that we Indians are perhaps more racist than most of the other cultures. Maybe I am wrong, but we have divides in terms of language, the way we dress, what we eat, whom we marry and more. The matrimonial colums in newspapers or websites is a prime proof of us being racial. Castes, Tribes, Skin Color, Vegetarians vs Non Vegetarians, Marathi vs Bihari, Hindu vs Muslim, Delhiite vs Madrasi, we have it all.
So when on Television shows respected people come and talk a lot of sense while the same sensibility is not practiced in their own backyard, I have this wierd feeling. I think we need to understand that we are not holier than thou. The day we understand this, our debates, discussions and actions would be a bit different.
In our own country we are not mixing with others, and we have the gall of complaining against others. Charity starts at home, but we seem to be always looking for donations and sympathy. I am not justifying the OZ incidents. It's just that I have strong feelings against hasty unfounded conclusions. Sphere: Related Content
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