India and ....
Its been quite sometime since I blogged anything ... the excuse on my end ? 'I am in India' and I am trying to be away from my US-robot-friend 'computer' (hum use pyaar se 'comp' kehete hai :) ) as much as possible ... also the blogspot is more than just 'slow' from my place here in Dombivli ! so anyway, all in all, I havent blogged for more than a month now ... so what was I doing ?
I am in India since Jan 3rd .. and apart from enjoying the 'king-like' stay here, I am watching / following the life here in India ... trying to see whats changed since august 2002 (thats when I left India for US) and no matter how many times I have visited India in last 4+ years, the image thats recorded in my mind is still that of the year 2002... so everytime I visit India, I find it different .. to say the least :) !
The post title 'India and ...' does not mean to add to my excuse list of not being able to blog ... instead I was planning on reviewing a few major things I have seen in the last 20 odd (btw, why do they call 'xx odd' always 'even' if the figure xx is 'even' ? ) days ..there is more to it than whats mentioned below ... before I start, a disclaimer : The following observations are based on parts of India I have visited this time in the timeframe of 25 days ...
1. India and 'FM' : I remember the only thing you could listen to in a car, bus etc in 2002, was songs using personal cd / casette players ... In 2002, 'radio mirchi' was an experiement in its 'infant' stages ... in fact many youngsters (including me) had considered 'radio' as the old-man's only entertainment device .. my parents used to tell me stories of 'binaca geet mala' and all ... but I never came close to listening to radio when I was in India ... but these days, 'radio' is everywhere ... radio mirchi, radio city, red fm etc etc and the list is unending .. and the whole of the young generation listens to it with complete concentration ... girls do 'aaye haye' along with 'anirudh' on radio city or sometimes boys have a 'muskaan' to make them smile ...
2. India and Mobiles : I never had a mobile in India .. it was only after a year's stay in US, I was introduced to the world of mobiles. However, nowadays starting from a high class businessman to a roadside bhajiwali - everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) carries a mobile phone and not just any mobile phone- one with a camera, mms, radio, mp3 player, bluetooth / IR and what not ...
3. India and Traffic : The world-infamous indian driving and indian traffic has been getting worse and worse day by day ... More and more imported cars are getting introduced here with honda, toyora, ford, chevrolet already in Indian markets and as of today, 'nissan' also making its way in ... the traffic is not only because of the cars, but also due to the increasing two-wheelers. Have you been to 'Pune' recently ? just try driving around 10 - 10.30 am there ... its a hell .. as my 'mama' says, 'if you take your hand out to indicate a turn signal, there is every possibility that someone will take that hand along' ! jokes apart but the traffic is just horrible these days ! The traffic was bad then but current state is becoming worse with the increasing vehicles and absence of rules/regulations ...
4. India and Internet : The Internet always meant 'dial-up' and most people didnt even know of any other method of going online. Things have improved drastically. Dial up has been pretty much wiped out and 'broadband' or at least 'high speed' such as cable internet has taken its place. Many things such as bank accounts, reservations, shares etc are available online these days (though with a extra nominal fee). Things are improving and India is getting connected to the whole world in a whole new way.
5. India and Lifestyle : The Indian lifestyle overall has changed quite a bit with the offshoring of US based industries .. also the youth these days does not believe in 'savings' .. its becoming more of a 'spending' economy like the US... youngsters earn enough money these days to live a luxury life including the daily travel via AC buses, spending 1000s rupees on lunch and dinner and discos ... its changing and changing very very fast ... More and more people are interested in show-off work than the actual earnings .. All have mobiles and ipods and what not ... The phrase 'can I afford this ' meant could you buy that thing and have some money left as savings ? and now all it means is whether you can buy it ... and moreover, can you take some money from somewhere (loan etc) and buy it ? feel the change ?
I am sure there are more things to add here and the list is just unending ... I am stopping here for now ... if you feel anything else needs to come in these first five things that changed, do let me know !
I am in India since Jan 3rd .. and apart from enjoying the 'king-like' stay here, I am watching / following the life here in India ... trying to see whats changed since august 2002 (thats when I left India for US) and no matter how many times I have visited India in last 4+ years, the image thats recorded in my mind is still that of the year 2002... so everytime I visit India, I find it different .. to say the least :) !
The post title 'India and ...' does not mean to add to my excuse list of not being able to blog ... instead I was planning on reviewing a few major things I have seen in the last 20 odd (btw, why do they call 'xx odd' always 'even' if the figure xx is 'even' ? ) days ..there is more to it than whats mentioned below ... before I start, a disclaimer : The following observations are based on parts of India I have visited this time in the timeframe of 25 days ...
1. India and 'FM' : I remember the only thing you could listen to in a car, bus etc in 2002, was songs using personal cd / casette players ... In 2002, 'radio mirchi' was an experiement in its 'infant' stages ... in fact many youngsters (including me) had considered 'radio' as the old-man's only entertainment device .. my parents used to tell me stories of 'binaca geet mala' and all ... but I never came close to listening to radio when I was in India ... but these days, 'radio' is everywhere ... radio mirchi, radio city, red fm etc etc and the list is unending .. and the whole of the young generation listens to it with complete concentration ... girls do 'aaye haye' along with 'anirudh' on radio city or sometimes boys have a 'muskaan' to make them smile ...
2. India and Mobiles : I never had a mobile in India .. it was only after a year's stay in US, I was introduced to the world of mobiles. However, nowadays starting from a high class businessman to a roadside bhajiwali - everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) carries a mobile phone and not just any mobile phone- one with a camera, mms, radio, mp3 player, bluetooth / IR and what not ...
3. India and Traffic : The world-infamous indian driving and indian traffic has been getting worse and worse day by day ... More and more imported cars are getting introduced here with honda, toyora, ford, chevrolet already in Indian markets and as of today, 'nissan' also making its way in ... the traffic is not only because of the cars, but also due to the increasing two-wheelers. Have you been to 'Pune' recently ? just try driving around 10 - 10.30 am there ... its a hell .. as my 'mama' says, 'if you take your hand out to indicate a turn signal, there is every possibility that someone will take that hand along' ! jokes apart but the traffic is just horrible these days ! The traffic was bad then but current state is becoming worse with the increasing vehicles and absence of rules/regulations ...
4. India and Internet : The Internet always meant 'dial-up' and most people didnt even know of any other method of going online. Things have improved drastically. Dial up has been pretty much wiped out and 'broadband' or at least 'high speed' such as cable internet has taken its place. Many things such as bank accounts, reservations, shares etc are available online these days (though with a extra nominal fee). Things are improving and India is getting connected to the whole world in a whole new way.
5. India and Lifestyle : The Indian lifestyle overall has changed quite a bit with the offshoring of US based industries .. also the youth these days does not believe in 'savings' .. its becoming more of a 'spending' economy like the US... youngsters earn enough money these days to live a luxury life including the daily travel via AC buses, spending 1000s rupees on lunch and dinner and discos ... its changing and changing very very fast ... More and more people are interested in show-off work than the actual earnings .. All have mobiles and ipods and what not ... The phrase 'can I afford this ' meant could you buy that thing and have some money left as savings ? and now all it means is whether you can buy it ... and moreover, can you take some money from somewhere (loan etc) and buy it ? feel the change ?
I am sure there are more things to add here and the list is just unending ... I am stopping here for now ... if you feel anything else needs to come in these first five things that changed, do let me know !
Labels: Info, Throught Provoking
posted by Aniruddha at 10:10 PM
5 Comments:
really well written or rather well observed..Indians here have adapted and are a part of these changes but I guess it would take an Indian staying outside India to see the marked difference...
yep.. true ! its exactly like meeting someone after a long time you notice the change in him/her .. the people you meet daily dont notice these changes ...
exactly.. for us here, its been a gradual adaptation.. for you its been an abrupt revealation.. I shudder to think what I'll be missing out on if I leave..
well, I dont quite think its something to be sad about .. you might miss on a few things here but then you might experience a few things in US that people here are missing ... its win some and lose some types ..
balance huh??
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