By covering oneself with the skin of a Tiger, one can't be a Tiger...!
Nor one can be capable by wearing what capable ones wear!
Yesterday, I met Vedprakash (Yes, the one from the blog, How to be a "Successful" Software Programmer?).
After reading my blog, My India's "Great"!!!, he was too inspired by how successful the westerners are and wanted to be one like them...!
Following is my discussion with him...!
"Manoj, I really loved your blog, My India's "Great"!!!, and have decided to be as successful and great, as the westerners are...!", Vedprakash shared, excitedly!
"How?", I inquired.
"I do have a plan...! Don't forget, I'm a Project-Manager, by profession...!
"Let me tell you, all the aspects of the plan, one by one. Please feel free to ask queries, if you have any!"
"Sure!"
"First of all, I am going to start wearing Suits (With Jacket and all...!)...!"
"But, isn't India too hot to wear Suits?"
"Yes, it is..., but then, I'll ensure I'll visit only those places which are Air-Conditioned, so that I don't get baked in my Suit!
"Anyways, I do have an AC Car and an AC office, to start with...!"
"But why NOT use what suits us more?"
"You are forgetting that I'm trying to be as great as Westerners are...!"
"Hmmm...., sorry!"
"I'm going to use English as the only language of communication...!
"I'm also going to put my kids in English School of a kind, where they would be fined to speak any other language, especially the mother-tongue!"
"But why English, why not Hindi, or I'd say, your mother-tongue?
"It has been proven multiple times that education in mother-tongue is most effective for the lifetime!
"I, myself, have got educated in my mother-tongue!
"I don't think Dhirubhai Ambani could speak good English...! I strongly doubt, Dr. Abdul Kalam, our one of the greatest scientists and former president of India might have got educated in English! (Education until Class-10)
"I guess, very few, the first-generation successful people in India were educated in English or non-mother-tongue! And of course, in Indian Culture, the second and next generations, don't need to be educated at all..., anyways, they are going to inherit the reigns of their father's company, so getting educated is more a fad if not the formality, to keep high-profile employees under tab!"
"Are you forgetting that I'm trying to be as great as Westerners are?", he was clearly annoyed!
"But they too don't use English as their preferred language of communication or education...!"
"Are you crazy?", he lost his patience, "If not English, then which language do they use? Hebrew?"
"Hey, Vedprakash, calm down!", I tried to calm him down!
"Don't get so excited...! They do NOT use English as their preferred language of communication &/or education because, it's 'English'!
"They use their 'Mother-Tongue' to communicate and educate, and NOT merely, 'English', because, it's 'English'!
"And for that matter, only English-Speaking nations like US and England don't constitute the complete, 'West', you are trying to imitate..., there are so many communities/nations, which constitutes the 'West'...!
"And I guess, rather than West, you are more concerned about 'Developed' countries..., which are NOT limited only to the West, anyways...! Let me give you a few examples of most advanced and developed countries, which use their mother-tongue as the preferred language of communication &/or education...,
"Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Japan, China, Russia..., are just a few examples...!
"For that matter, a considerable community in US too speaks Spanish and Canada too has two primary languages of communication, French and English!"
"May be, but because of English only we are doing all the business in IT, aren't we...?", he stated with the winning attitude!
"Yes, very much!...
"But, then, if you depend so much on others for your economy, then you have no choice...; dependants never have a choice...!"
"Anyways, I'm going to ask my wife and daughter too to wear the western outfits, flaunting their bodies and curves as much as, legally, they can...!", he changed the topic!
("Trying to dare men to rape, or at least molest?" was my natural response..., but then I knew, the women-organizations all over the world will kill me, if I say so, so with God's grace, I could change my response to a more moderate one...)
"But, it's not our culture, Vedprakash, is it?", I tried to push!
He chose to put me down just by the gesture, to the effect of, "Where have you come from...? (ये येड़ा कहाँ से आया रे?)
"You can't show that you earn more unless your wife wears less!"
I was simply amused by this newly faced philosophy!
"So, you'll be visiting the malls in the Suit?", now it was my turn to change the topic!
"No!"
"Oh, then shirt and trousers, or may be Jeans and a T-shirt?"
"No, in Bermuda and a sleeveless T-Shirt!" (I knew, it was without even shaving armpits..., I had to bear that look many times with many people who forced themselves like this!)
"But they do have AC, I don't think, you'll need to remove your trousers to visit a mall...!", I couldn't resist pinching him!
He looked at me upside down and with apparent struggle to keep the calm, he said, "When you wear wrong dress-code at wrong places, they know that you must be somebody Great!"
Again, it was a new philosophy, for me!
He continued, "I'm also going to have a night-life like they have!"
"How does it relate to becoming 'Great' or 'Successful'?", I asked genuinely!
"You know, they work hard and party hard...! So, I'm going to start with Partying hard...!"
"Hmmm...", I murmured, with no other response coming handy!
"We are also going to have two dogs as pets...!"
"Why?"
"Because, they have!"
"But they have pets, because, they don't get to talk to humans, much, for multiple reasons, apart from sparse population!
"Here we don't have this problem...! For that matter, avoiding crowd is more a problem for us!
"And also, we don't have enough food even for humans to start feeding the pets!"
"Yes, but that's the idea! This is how and why people know that you are rich, because, they know that you spend more on your dogs than your servants!"
I was starting to get irritated by this time!
"How about the commitment and dedication they have towards work?
"How about Innovation?
"Processes and strict adherence to it?
"How about they achieving much more in 8 hours than our daily 12-hours needed to impress the stupid boss, who can count only your hours and not the productivity?
"How about doing social-work? Making it legally mandatory for many purposes to have volunteered at least a few hours, as mandated?
"How about the respect for the fellow human being, just because they are human, without considering their profession, designation or the income?
"How about being law and process abiding citizens?
"How about long-term strategic plans, solutions and their enforcement?
"How about being upfront and straight-forward, rather than resorting to dirty politics?
"..."
He stopped me suddenly, saying, "Sorry, Manoj, I'd need to leave, today's my first date with a new girlfriend...!"
This married man in his forties with teenage kids, had found "This" way of becoming Great and Successful...!
I kept looking at him leaving, first and then the direction of his leaving..., don't know for how long...!
Nor one can be capable by wearing what capable ones wear!
Yesterday, I met Vedprakash (Yes, the one from the blog, How to be a "Successful" Software Programmer?).
After reading my blog, My India's "Great"!!!, he was too inspired by how successful the westerners are and wanted to be one like them...!
Following is my discussion with him...!
"Manoj, I really loved your blog, My India's "Great"!!!, and have decided to be as successful and great, as the westerners are...!", Vedprakash shared, excitedly!
"How?", I inquired.
"I do have a plan...! Don't forget, I'm a Project-Manager, by profession...!
"Let me tell you, all the aspects of the plan, one by one. Please feel free to ask queries, if you have any!"
"Sure!"
"But, isn't India too hot to wear Suits?"
"Yes, it is..., but then, I'll ensure I'll visit only those places which are Air-Conditioned, so that I don't get baked in my Suit!
"Anyways, I do have an AC Car and an AC office, to start with...!"
"But why NOT use what suits us more?"
"You are forgetting that I'm trying to be as great as Westerners are...!"
"Hmmm...., sorry!"
"I'm going to use English as the only language of communication...!
"I'm also going to put my kids in English School of a kind, where they would be fined to speak any other language, especially the mother-tongue!"
"But why English, why not Hindi, or I'd say, your mother-tongue?
"It has been proven multiple times that education in mother-tongue is most effective for the lifetime!
"I, myself, have got educated in my mother-tongue!
"I don't think Dhirubhai Ambani could speak good English...! I strongly doubt, Dr. Abdul Kalam, our one of the greatest scientists and former president of India might have got educated in English! (Education until Class-10)
"I guess, very few, the first-generation successful people in India were educated in English or non-mother-tongue! And of course, in Indian Culture, the second and next generations, don't need to be educated at all..., anyways, they are going to inherit the reigns of their father's company, so getting educated is more a fad if not the formality, to keep high-profile employees under tab!"
"Are you forgetting that I'm trying to be as great as Westerners are?", he was clearly annoyed!
"But they too don't use English as their preferred language of communication or education...!"
"Are you crazy?", he lost his patience, "If not English, then which language do they use? Hebrew?"
"Hey, Vedprakash, calm down!", I tried to calm him down!
"Don't get so excited...! They do NOT use English as their preferred language of communication &/or education because, it's 'English'!
"They use their 'Mother-Tongue' to communicate and educate, and NOT merely, 'English', because, it's 'English'!
"And for that matter, only English-Speaking nations like US and England don't constitute the complete, 'West', you are trying to imitate..., there are so many communities/nations, which constitutes the 'West'...!
"And I guess, rather than West, you are more concerned about 'Developed' countries..., which are NOT limited only to the West, anyways...! Let me give you a few examples of most advanced and developed countries, which use their mother-tongue as the preferred language of communication &/or education...,
"Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Japan, China, Russia..., are just a few examples...!
"For that matter, a considerable community in US too speaks Spanish and Canada too has two primary languages of communication, French and English!"
"May be, but because of English only we are doing all the business in IT, aren't we...?", he stated with the winning attitude!
"Yes, very much!...
"But, then, if you depend so much on others for your economy, then you have no choice...; dependants never have a choice...!"
("Trying to dare men to rape, or at least molest?" was my natural response..., but then I knew, the women-organizations all over the world will kill me, if I say so, so with God's grace, I could change my response to a more moderate one...)
"But, it's not our culture, Vedprakash, is it?", I tried to push!
He chose to put me down just by the gesture, to the effect of, "Where have you come from...? (ये येड़ा कहाँ से आया रे?)
"You can't show that you earn more unless your wife wears less!"
I was simply amused by this newly faced philosophy!
"So, you'll be visiting the malls in the Suit?", now it was my turn to change the topic!
"No!"
"Oh, then shirt and trousers, or may be Jeans and a T-shirt?"
"No, in Bermuda and a sleeveless T-Shirt!" (I knew, it was without even shaving armpits..., I had to bear that look many times with many people who forced themselves like this!)
"But they do have AC, I don't think, you'll need to remove your trousers to visit a mall...!", I couldn't resist pinching him!
He looked at me upside down and with apparent struggle to keep the calm, he said, "When you wear wrong dress-code at wrong places, they know that you must be somebody Great!"
Again, it was a new philosophy, for me!
He continued, "I'm also going to have a night-life like they have!"
"How does it relate to becoming 'Great' or 'Successful'?", I asked genuinely!
"You know, they work hard and party hard...! So, I'm going to start with Partying hard...!"
"Hmmm...", I murmured, with no other response coming handy!
"We are also going to have two dogs as pets...!"
"Why?"
"Because, they have!"
"But they have pets, because, they don't get to talk to humans, much, for multiple reasons, apart from sparse population!
"Here we don't have this problem...! For that matter, avoiding crowd is more a problem for us!
"And also, we don't have enough food even for humans to start feeding the pets!"
"Yes, but that's the idea! This is how and why people know that you are rich, because, they know that you spend more on your dogs than your servants!"
I was starting to get irritated by this time!
"How about the commitment and dedication they have towards work?
"How about Innovation?
"Processes and strict adherence to it?
"How about they achieving much more in 8 hours than our daily 12-hours needed to impress the stupid boss, who can count only your hours and not the productivity?
"How about doing social-work? Making it legally mandatory for many purposes to have volunteered at least a few hours, as mandated?
"How about the respect for the fellow human being, just because they are human, without considering their profession, designation or the income?
"How about being law and process abiding citizens?
"How about long-term strategic plans, solutions and their enforcement?
"How about being upfront and straight-forward, rather than resorting to dirty politics?
"..."
He stopped me suddenly, saying, "Sorry, Manoj, I'd need to leave, today's my first date with a new girlfriend...!"
This married man in his forties with teenage kids, had found "This" way of becoming Great and Successful...!
I kept looking at him leaving, first and then the direction of his leaving..., don't know for how long...!
