Hello World!

SO I have decided to start blogging again. Actually, that would mean that some point I decided against it, which isn’t the case. Unfortunately, over the past few years blogging, for me, was located at an unpropitious point on the effort-time-returns graph. Consequently, other 'projects' took precedence.

NOW however, I feel the need to get back to documenting the inconsequential banalities of life in a language I am increasingly losing touch with [I literally translated this sentence from: Allerdings, fühle ich mich...]. You get the drift.

SO what is the purpose of this blogspot? At the risk of sounding selfish, writing is mostly therapeutic for me. Saves me a lot on the Freudian psychoanalysis sessions with my shrink. Secondly, I get to express myself in english. Emoting constantly in a foreign language has severely denigrated my standard for complex thought formulation and expression. Thirdly, you my readers get a sneak peek into my ever so happening life .

So strap on your seat belts for the emotional roller coaster of your lifetime. More coming soon!

Disclaimer: This is an article I wrote for the college magzine. I dont intend to disrespect friends or family.

THE GRE (ED) OF INDIANS


If you are in BE it’s that time of the year when you’ll find majority of your friends booking their dates for GRE/IELTS/TOFEL/Dilip Oaks. Taking into account the global economic meltdown and the fact that USA is probably the country worst hit by the global recession, it is more important than ever to make an informed and dispassionate decision about you future in the US.
Yet when you question your friends as to why they chose to pursue higher education in the US, you will get justifications like, “the quality of life is way better over there”, “there is too much red tape, bureaucracy and corruption in India, I can’t work here” or “US is 20 yrs ahead of India, why would I chose to stay here?”.
But these people who blatantly and audaciously give such justifications don’t realize that the situation in India is what it is, partially because like them, the educated and qualified human resource of this country cannot wait to pack their bags and board the next ferry to Ellis Island.

A few years ago the American senate formally acknowledged the contributions made by the graduates of the IITs to the American economy and society. IITans settled abroad celebrated the fact that IIT was the only Indian educational institute to be honored by the US senate.
I personally think it was a sad day in the history of India. How can a sane person be proud of and celebrate the fact the he/she contributed significantly to the American economy (to the tune of billions of dollars), to a country they weren’t born or raised in when your own motherland suffers a despicable literacy rate of 64.2%, a higher rate of malnutrition among children than any country in the world and 42% of population living in abject poverty and destitution. And it’s not just IITans. Many of our own seniors from this institute have gone on to have successful careers in the US without much of a regard for India.
I recently read a report in the newspaper about Infosys Chief mentor and co-founder’s daughter’s wedding. She apparently did her schooling, graduation in Bangalore and went to Stanford for her MBA and is now a successful venture capitalist in California. What is disturbing is that for people like her and several young Indians, India is reduced to nothing more than a ‘Mangal Karyalay’ (wedding hall) and Indian culture is something they turn to, to find a false sense of belonging in an alien country.

I am not against my friends pursuing higher education in the US but it is your binding moral obligation and responsibility to use that knowledge for the socio-economic upliftment of India and her citizens.
I am also not prejudiced towards the NRI community, but if you pay taxes in America, don’t complaint about the bad roads in India.
You may call me an idealist, nationalist or just overtly patriotic. But if none of the points I made, appeal to you then I might just be all of the above.
At this crucial junction of our lives our decision will have a direct bearing on the future of this country, I urge you to make the right decision (which might as well be to study abroad).
Whatever you decide, just imagine where India would be if you and me chose Bangaluru over Bay Area-San Francisco and Samaj Seva over Stanford Alumni Fund.


Prateek Chavan
BE Industrial