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…!)
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