We churn out engineers at a rate greater than our own population seems to increase. With Indian economy on rebound yet again, papers like Times Accent and Hindu Opportunities seem to get back their lost shine. But a closer look reveals that most of the opportunities lie in IT outsourcing, in turn dependant on the US. Much of the revenue and work for most of the Indian companies come from US Banks and while the Wall St would have recovered, the Main St. is still limping back to normalcy. So now that we know WHY this is happening, we also know why the other sectors aren’t as fast in making use of the spaces in employment supplements of newspapers!

But if you haven’t guessed, this is NOT about recruitment. It’s about something lot more basic. It is about the infamous Indian Education system. Yes- the same system that has churned out armies of highly qualified engineers, burdens students with exams and most recently pushing couple of kids to suicide. This is the same system that continues to shame sensible people, reward mugging up and vomiting it all at the exams. Do we see a part of machinery that is dangerously near its end of life? Do we have something that no longer serves the purpose satisfactorily? I believe we do.

I read somewhere that American education system is more practical oriented, the British one is more theory oriented. The Indian one, is however, a precarious mixture of both. Or at least was that way. There seems to be no problems with the primary education system which pretty much takes care of all round development in the most proper way. The unnecessary focus on exams start from high school onwards. It reaches a feverish pitch when the student reaches Class 10 – Class 12. The focus is ONLY on mugging up from the textbook and then somehow tackling the exams. What is the point in burdening such kids with the kind of pressure anyway? I guess that can be reserved for another course called the MBA!

The next step is even more dangerous! The student is required to clear certain ‘highly competitive exams’ which are supposed to completely test the knowledge of the student. Given the way our society thinks, the student has only two choices- either become an engineer or a doctor. This is more so prevalent in South India where it’s largely considered as THE ONLY way to succeed. Often, the college education is a complete joke. I really don’t have to go into the grisly details of this as I think watching 3 Idiots would more than suffice. The mugging up part is so pronounced that often students lose their inherent cognitive intelligence as it doesn’t find any use. The only aim the students have is to get SOME job and settle in life as soon as possible. As with the case with most products of our society, these young chaps are also fooled into believing that anything that pays well is the best way forward.

The sharks at the other end waiting are the IT outsourcing companies which have an image of ‘recruiting the finest and paying them well’. Nothing could be further from the truth. The selection process at most such companies is a joke and has absolutely got nothing to do with intellect. The result? Truckloads of them make it past the selection process and are trained in a fancy campus. The clients are shown in high regard as though working for them from some remote back office was as good as working in their own offices being employed under them. Low level IT work that seldom requires education higher than that of a 10th standard pass out is glorified. Wherever there’s couple of dollars to be made these companies are always there. Most often than not, such jobs are no better than that of a security guard.

Of course most people might as well choose to disagree with me when I say we’re being foolish. IT solves just one problem- that of employment! People with minimum qualifications are no longer finding it difficult to get a job. But in the long run is that going to be any good? Are we adding any real value to the nation’s progress? I doubt! We spend countless hours nurturing the Americans for a few Dollars at the cost of our own people who might need us more. Jobs like these are completely devoid of any intellectual involvement and cost us some real damage when our long-term goals are considered. Our education system costs us lives, intellect and lost manpower. I don’t see any possibility of us making it beyond being a global back office if the trend continues. I think we can ‘outsource’ everything.

The result? We have an education system that burdens young minds with useless info, shuts doors to what they might truly want to do, encourages bookish knowledge and helps create armies of retarded software engineers who are incapable of thinking for themselves! It is said that our education system is the primary culprit why we have so few entrepreneurs despite having such an educated (or so-called) population. Our education system is very capable of producing great employees but not employers. It does a splendid job of creating a large english speaking subservient population that can do nothing more than keep this country as a global back office ( and be very happy with it). I can now truly proclaim that I was born intelligent, education ruined me!

It is basic human nature to seek approval. Babies do thing to impress and get approval from the parents. As we grow up, we seek the approval of various people, institutions and groups to get recognized. We feel appreciated, worthy and fulfilled with such recognitions and approvals. Although approvals and awards go a long way in boosting one’s self-confidence, the lack of these can shatter. The question, therefore, is how much should one rely on such approvals and certifications to get an idea about one’s worth?

I’ve had the honor of working with some great people who have taught me that no matter where you go, if you’re truly good, you WILL be recognized. Taking cues from that, I believe that approvals only do a little to re-affirm the faith you have for yourself. I’ve known that if you’re working among fools, approvals mean little. Unless you know what you’re really capable of doing, you would find yourself always dependent on others for your self-confidence! Imagine being dependent on someone for your own self-confidence! You are effectively placing yourself at the mercy of someone else and if you don’t really mind doing that, see to it that the person isn’t manipulative.

We’re not socially isolated or independent so its natural for everyone to look to someone to receive feedback and improve. Taking feedback and important performance evaluation is necessary and cannot be bypassed as such. But the way this is done can be controlled and manipulation can be checked at every juncture. For example, it is very common in most workplaces to have performance evaluation periodically. A rating would be issued to every employee depending on the performance limits they were gauged on. Depending on a variety of factors, your rating can go up or down. Does a lower rating necessarily mean that the employee is a underperformer?

The key here would be to do a realistic self-evaluation. If you’ve done your job sincerely and well and still get a bad score, maybe you’re not aligned with their goals or vice versa (if you’re senior management). That does, in no way, mean that you did not do well. And it’s precisely this realization that would give you the confidence to do something better, useful and something that you might enjoy doing. It is truly a sign that you’ve to move on. In fact, the incident should do nothing more than motivate you towards your new goal.

Although, its natural for everyone to seek support and approval from people we know and interact with or do business with, its extremely important to decouple the concept of your own performance and approvals. You might fail an entrance exam but could still be the next Einstein in the making. One more approval or the lack of it should ideally have no impact on your ego or capabilities. It just has to be treated as another feedback. So next time, seek approval with care!

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year. May the year bring you nothing but success, joy and prosperity! I’ve been on vacation myself and so was not particularly inclined to churn out something new for the whole week. Anyway, here’s one. As usual, please do use the comments section- it’s provided for YOU (and for me to disagree).

A recent article in Amit’s Blog prompted one of the readers, Varun to comment on how the population problem in India was being taken care of by itself in a very limited way in a few societies. Below is his comment:

I completely agree with the fact that 1 billion is a huge asset and if not dealt with properly can become a bigger liability.. but just by cursing the system and the politicians will not work… there are more solutions possible at the level of the masses itself…
this 1 billion population we speak of are in majority made up of large families.. i.e they are not nuclear families.. if these large families work together then magic can happen.. to cite a few cases… when u go to SP road.. u’ll see every shop is dominated by marwaris.. and most of the the people working in the shop are relatives of the owner.. called in from their villages… what u have in the end is a large family working together to create employment for each other with the advantage that every member is dedicated as its all in the family.. similarly the family of dabbawalas in mumbai.. at any level of economic status.. jobs can be created if people decided to work together.. all that is required is to realize that people around you are as important resource as money probably is.. i am not saying this is the ultimate solution.. all i am saying is we need to think of such solutions which can be initiated by the common man without having to depend on the system or the politicians.!!!!

Do I really see true independence or is it indifference (in other societies)? I’m not really sure. This is how I see:

Right from childhood, an individual is pressed to do anything and everything to become independent. While there’s nothing wrong in teaching someone in being self-sufficient and independent, it should be noted that beyond a particular stage, independence becomes ineffective for the person. One such area is employment. The subject of employment is one that is held in high esteem in our society. And naturally anyone requiring some kind of assistance is categorized as incapable and someone who does not, is regarded otherwise. A classic example of this would be the case of engineering graduates and campus placements. Of course, we don’t have to look any deeper as if they’re placed in ’some highly reputed Indian blue chip MNC’, they’re capable, right? If you would have seen my workplace from my own eyes, I’m pretty sure you’ll doubt that too.

We like to frown upon such people who cannot help themselves and do absolutely nothing to help them out. There are very few people who go out of their way to help out someone like this. So based on  Varun’s comments, I think we have lots to learn from such societies that have their own support and employment structures. Apart from what Varun had mentioned, I find this feature very pronounced in certain Malayali Christian families. Often, they have large swathes of land, plantations and what not. Most of the people who manage the business are from family. This quality of helping out one another to achieve a larger goal can be very rewarding. After all, what use is independence if it’s really not helping out?

~ Independence? That’s middle class blasphemy. We are all dependent on one another, every soul of us on earth.~

I’m very convinced that there’s nothing really called true independence. Besides, why SHOULD you be completely independent? There’s nothing wrong in taking help from someone to reach your goal. Do whatever works for you and remember, ALWAYS do what is RIGHT and not what is good (if they’re not the same). I do concede that a certain amount of survival training goes a long way in helping you disagree to something you really aren’t comfortable with but a complete independence is perhaps not desired. And if you still find yourself chasing independence, ask yourself if you belong to the herd which leaves no stone unturned in the quest to achieve independence but still look for claps from the society. If so, you’re a loser! But don’t take my word for it, you’ll find that out yourself pretty soon. Happy INDEPENDENCE!

What a year it was! Of course, not much was achieved as such but then, got to experience quite a few things! But it seems not much has changed. Here I am still flying the Maharaja’s airline. No surprises here- the flight’s delayed by two and a half long hours, the ground staff has no idea about the delay and the customer care frantically calls me up and updates me with a stoned expression about my flight’s delay. How thrilled I am to wake up to such a Christmas!

My new experiences this year:

• Twitter: Yes. This was a big one. I was very reluctant to join this. But it turns out that it forms an integral part of my everyday life. I’ve gone so far as to bond with certain people over a system that is so impersonal that people are referred to by their handles or their usernames. Most notable ‘tweeple’ would include: @hautesaiff (Saif Diwan), @shamz911 (Shamrez Zack), @HNatarajan (Hariharan Natarajan), @TinaDaja (Valentina Erath), @kp1200 (Kanishka Poddar), @softykid (Nabeel), @aditipatel04 (Aditi Patel), @teatattler (Anubha), @amit803 (Amit), @baavriviti (Vitasta) – to name just a few. A special mention goes to @instockmarkets (Rajneesh) (R.I.P Dec 19th, 2009) with whom I shared a good rapport. This was one person who never failed to wish me a Good Morning. It sure came as a shock.
• Photography: I was bitten by the photography bug ONLY when I bought my new camera.
• Social Service: Found out that the most remarkable thing isn’t to keep the rich and famous well fed, but it is to keep the poorest of the poor alive and healthy.
• A Few Hard Lessons Learnt: Click Here.
• Started off my blog!

Before we sign off, let me leave you with some interesting funda:

• HTC is a Taiwanese company that believed the American saying ‘It’s OK to fail’
• South Korea is not very far away from Taiwan and is home to some of the most reputed firms including LG, Samsung and Hyundai
• Samsung and Hyundai started off primarily as ship building companies and later diversified into almost everything else. LG started off as a Chemical manufacturing company.
• Samsung, like Hyundai, had an automobile manufacturing unit which was taken over by Renault.
• People here, in Chennai, wear ear muffs!

With that, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Very Happy and prosperous New Year ahead!

India Today quotes in its article titled ‘Big jump in Indians travelling overseas‘ that despite the recession and the global downturn, the number of Indians travelling abroad crossed the 10-million mark for the first time. For us Indians, that would be great news with more and more Indians finally able to go abroad, taking advantage of the infectious growth. What about others? What do the foreigners think? According to an Expedia Survey, the French make for the worst tourists. Followed by Indians! Yes. That’s us. The complaints against Indians for poor etiquettes and behaviours are unending. But above all, what really prompted me to write this was my observation of my colleagues during an official dinner.

It is a widely understood fact that when you travel abroad, you represent the country, even if not in an official capacity. For a foreigner, an Indian can pass off as someone rude, loud and rigid. What they fail to comprehend is the fact it is perfectly fine to be all this and more in India. I personally do not approve of people being any of those, I just said that its fine in India. But what Indians fail to do the most is ADAPT. It is THAT simple. They fail to take into account, their surroundings and conduct themselves in a way that is appropriate. They behave their way no matter where they really are. I can confidently say that most Indians have absolutely no sense of so-called concept of ‘cultural sensitivity’.

I’m not really sure how many of us have paid enough attention but most tour operators in India would also boast of providing Indian food even if you want to tour Europe. I really wonder if the local cuisine has absolutely ANY place in the itinerary of the Indian traveller. Most people I’ve spoken to cite absolute inflexibility when it comes to food habits. While it could be true that you enjoy a piping hot meal with half a dozen side dishes, it makes me wonder how does that, in any way, make an Italian Lasagna inedible to Indians. Most people bluntly say ‘We have a food problem because we’re vegetarians’. Yeah, as though they’re the only ones around! Vegetarian dishes are popular in any culture and not just India.

I also found the following from an article titled Bangkok Meri Jeb Mein with the apt punchline: A blooming middle class belches forth more ‘phoren’ vacationers. And many of them have toe-curlingly awful manners. Seven Deadly Habits Of Indian Tourists Abroad:

• Loading up on food from free breakfast buffets at hotels, often enough to last them through the day

• Shoplifting; bargaining incessantly in places with fixed prices

• Getting drunk on the plane

• Treating guides, hotel staff like personal servants; refusing to tip them

• Ogling and hitting on foreign women, even when accompanied by their wives

• Demanding Indian food in restaurants in Paris and Zurich

• Jumping queues; late for everything-and then throwing tantrums when they miss an event

I remember that when my dad first went to China, he did stock some MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) when he travelled from India since he was slightly apprehensive about the concept of Chinese non-veg which could include anything that isn’t breathing. He chose to play it safe with his hosts by saying that he’s a vegetarian (as they’re prone to take offence if you start making a fuss about what you eat and what you don’t). To his delight he found Chinese vegetarian fare to be very tasty and healthy. He in fact, lost weight because the food was healthier than what he would otherwise have in India. While returning, he had to dump most of the MREs there. I don’t think he packed any MREs for his subsequent trips. All that he had to do is to experiment. I know that most of us are very reluctant to do this but I see no solid reason here.

I can perfectly understand what the foreigners say or think of us as I’ve experienced them first hand. Fortunately, I was groomed to conduct myself in a way that is fitting to the decorum of the surroundings. That means behaving like a proper passenger if taking the flight or observing proper table manners if attending a dinner or behaving professionally in the office. And I realize this when I see how badly others do in these areas. My flight to Singapore was a memorable one thanks to a lot of passengers behaving like villagers trying to control their cattle. One would be shouting on top of his voice, other would ask the air hostess for a blanket and wrap it around her head and what not! Read more of how our fellow Indians do while flying, here. I was very insulted to see how badly my colleagues did when it came to observing table manners while dining in a five-star hotel where even by our dressing, we were outcasts. One of them would completely fill his plate every time as though there was no next time. He went to the extent of filling his plate with main course and desserts together. Couple of others were running amok as though a treasure hunt was in progress. That would be my last dinner or any outing with them!

It is thoroughly insulting to see Indians- educated Indians failing to adapt. While I wouldn’t want to get into the area of how we Indians tip, it is tough not to take cognizance of the sheer insensitivity they display. I personally couldn’t tolerate people who blatantly ignored the fact that they were misbehaving in a five-star hotel. I can only imagine what people like them are capable of displaying when they go abroad.  Shashi Tharoor did very appropriately coin the term Cattle Class, I’m limited by my vocabulary to beat him there!