<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38295486</id><updated>2011-04-22T09:55:35.125+05:30</updated><category term='pressure'/><category term='problems in india'/><category term='Harvard'/><category term='social ladder'/><category term='education'/><category term='education system'/><category term='bad service'/><category term='engineer'/><category term='salaries'/><category term='customer service in india'/><category term='tourist safety delhi'/><category term='status'/><category term='bizarre'/><category term='competition'/><category term='enduring life'/><category term='fast food'/><category term='duped'/><category term='MBA'/><category term='arranged marriage'/><category term='freedom'/><category term='caste system'/><category term='human resources'/><category term='purpose of learning'/><category term='problem solving'/><category term='complaints'/><category term='indian parents'/><category term='class system'/><category term='delhi'/><category term='indian life'/><category term='ivy league'/><category term='rohit'/><category term='kinetic blaze'/><category term='indian conversations'/><category term='boardrooms'/><category term='greed'/><category term='purpose of education'/><category term='challenging work'/><category term='social divide'/><category term='doctor'/><category term='indian education'/><category term='motorcycle'/><category term='complex problems'/><category term='social work'/><category term='conmon'/><category term='IIM'/><category term='verma'/><category term='toothpaste'/><category term='to good to be true'/><category term='enjoying life'/><category term='social class'/><category term='decision-making'/><category term='india'/><category term='occupations'/><category term='hiring'/><category term='an ideas man'/><category term='IIT'/><category term='consultant'/><category term='the corporation'/><category term='suicide'/><category term='healtcare'/><category term='healthcare'/><category term='subway'/><category term='social welfare'/><category term='great minds'/><category term='corruption'/><category term='workforce'/><category term='poverty'/><category term='rohit verma'/><title type='text'>rohit verma - an ideas man</title><subtitle type='html'>life. society. culture. work. women. education. justice. satire. hairstyles</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://anideasman.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/38295486/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://anideasman.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>Rohit Verma</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>11</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38295486.post-9103729005629427534</id><published>2007-06-01T20:59:00.000+05:30</published><updated>2007-06-01T21:38:05.165+05:30</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='verma'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='rohit'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='kinetic blaze'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='rohit verma'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='motorcycle'/><title type='text'>don't you know rohit verma.</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;If you understand Hindi then you'll appreciate this little TV advertisement. And if you don't then ask someone to translate it for you. According to statistics 1 in 6 people in the world are Indian - so you should be able to find someone who knows a bit of Hindi.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If you are having trouble finding an Indian in your workplace (and you are outside of India) - just look for the youngest person with the most degree's! Now, I am very, very  sure some people will be offended by that (especially those with many degrees!) In case you are one of them ... get back to your MBA textbooks!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I'm not one for self-promotion (actually I am) but I'll let you check this ad out for yourself. PS: there are certain scenes in this clip that happen to me everyday!!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;object height="350" width="425"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/IgFX9rGHCWY"&gt;&lt;param name="wmode" value="transparent"&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/IgFX9rGHCWY" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/38295486-9103729005629427534?l=anideasman.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://anideasman.blogspot.com/feeds/9103729005629427534/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=38295486&amp;postID=9103729005629427534&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/38295486/posts/default/9103729005629427534'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/38295486/posts/default/9103729005629427534'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://anideasman.blogspot.com/2007/06/dont-you-know-rohit-verma.html' title='don&apos;t you know rohit verma.'/><author><name>Rohit Verma</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38295486.post-6019106774990869384</id><published>2007-05-18T23:49:00.000+05:30</published><updated>2008-12-12T00:05:57.506+05:30</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='duped'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='greed'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='tourist safety delhi'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='to good to be true'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='conmon'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='delhi'/><title type='text'>duped in delhi.</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/Rk3vLW0TFGI/AAAAAAAAAEo/TgeSboEqr68/s1600-h/widescreen.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/Rk3vLW0TFGI/AAAAAAAAAEo/TgeSboEqr68/s400/widescreen.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065968134244209762" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;                  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"  style="text-align: justify;font-family:verdana;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;I’ve spent a good part of the last six years here in &lt;st1:country-region&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;India&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;, and one thing I am still always reminded is: "be careful when you move about, people will always try and &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;cheat &lt;/span&gt;you.” I usually shrug off such comments and go about my travels.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The other evening I was walking home from Khan Market (where I teach some English classes) at about &lt;st1:time minute="0" hour="19"&gt;7.30pm&lt;/st1:time&gt;. Now this is an &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;upmarket&lt;/span&gt; part of &lt;st1:city&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;Delhi&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:city&gt; so it is relatively safe, as the Police presence in these parts is quite strong.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I was dressed normally in jeans and a t-shirt, however, no matter how much I try to &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;blend &lt;/span&gt;in with the crowd, even with my decent Hindi – I often come across as a tourist. I think it’s the back-pack and &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;hair&lt;/span&gt;, which is somewhat different from the usual styles (for those of you don’t know who know me, I used to have dreams of running a chains of hair &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;salons &lt;/span&gt;… so hair is very important to me!). Anyway, if it’s not the backpack or the hair, it’s the shoes that give me away – my Nike’s are a one of a kind –&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt; got them on eBay for $35!&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;Ok, back to the story … I was looking my touristy best when a motorcycle pulled up beside me with &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;two &lt;/span&gt;guys on it. One of them got off and walked over to me. He was dressed in a cheap bright orange shirt with longish oily hair (could have used my salon services actually!). He looked like a goon, but I make it a point to give people the &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;benefit &lt;/span&gt;of the doubt … but sometimes you need to go with your instincts.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He asked if I wanted to buy a mobile phone, and since I was really in the market for one I said, “yeah, maybe.” He pulled out a brand new Nokia N72 and &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;handed &lt;/span&gt;it to me. I played around with it for a while then gave it back. He asked how much I would pay for it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I told him I didn’t have my wallet and only had 1250 rupees (or $40) on me, which I pulled out of my back pocket and showed him. He said it wasn’t enough and wanted more, however he seemed quite &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;desperate &lt;/span&gt;for cash. I told him I could offer him no more, and started walking away.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He went back to his motorcycle (which was still running), got the charger and came rushing up to me. He then &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;handed &lt;/span&gt;me the phone and charger, said “take it” and grabbed the cash that was still in my hand. He then went off. It all happened so fast.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I was pleased with my &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;great &lt;/span&gt;bargaining skills and new my phone!&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;I stated walking home, cashless but with a 15000 rupee phone. I tried turning it on … but it wouldn’t work. I looked the back of the phone and it had a BIG WHOLE in it filled with &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;CLAY &lt;/span&gt;to increase its weight – he had switched the real phone with a dummy!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Actually, I was the dummy in this case! I started laughing and threw the phone into some bushes – it was also the first time I have ever littered! These guys did well ... I have to &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;commend &lt;/span&gt;them for their solid efforts! It turned out to be a very expensive charger.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I couldn’t care less about the money, because at the end of the day it was my &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;greed &lt;/span&gt;that got me into this situation in the first place. If something is too good to be true it usually is.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But some good has come out of it … it may have cost me $40, &lt;span style=""&gt; &lt;/span&gt;but I have a &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;humourous &lt;/span&gt;story to share with others for many years to come … Priceless!&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/38295486-6019106774990869384?l=anideasman.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://anideasman.blogspot.com/feeds/6019106774990869384/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=38295486&amp;postID=6019106774990869384&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/38295486/posts/default/6019106774990869384'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/38295486/posts/default/6019106774990869384'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://anideasman.blogspot.com/2007/05/conned-brilliantly.html' title='duped in delhi.'/><author><name>Rohit Verma</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/Rk3vLW0TFGI/AAAAAAAAAEo/TgeSboEqr68/s72-c/widescreen.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38295486.post-6400477957559194448</id><published>2007-05-10T15:27:00.000+05:30</published><updated>2008-12-12T00:05:57.701+05:30</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='problems in india'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='social divide'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='education'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='poverty'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='healthcare'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='corruption'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='social work'/><title type='text'>india's greatest challenge</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/RkLtGZIoAuI/AAAAAAAAAEg/FbbPJ-NL0fE/s1600-h/justdoit.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/RkLtGZIoAuI/AAAAAAAAAEg/FbbPJ-NL0fE/s400/justdoit.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062869625199919842" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;    &lt;/div&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal"  style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;font-family:arial;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span style="line-height: 150%;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt; &lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;    &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;p  style="text-align: justify;font-family:verdana;" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;What is the greatest problem facing &lt;/span&gt;&lt;st1:country-region style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;India&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt; today?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Most of you are probably thinking of the following: Population, Healthcare, Education, Poverty, Pollution, Corruption &amp; Infrastructure. Yes, these are all VERY legitimate concerns that need to be addressed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;However, there are two more IMPORTANT areas that are largely overlooked:&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;1.The Social Divide amongst the various Social ‘Classes’&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt; 2.Lack of Social Responsibility and Awareness amongst Everyday Citizens&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After many years of research into the various challenges faced by India, I am utterly convinced that the only way India can move forward (and address the above-mentioned issues more efficiently) is by bridging its social divide.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The divide is between those who have opportunities (like everyone reading this) and those that do not. I am NOT talking about a financial divide here - rather the 'understanding divide.'&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Most of us can intellectually and superficially comprehend the difficulties faced by ordinary Indians; however we cannot truly empathise and understand their struggle. Most of us simply do not have the interest or opportunity to ‘mix’ with those 'different' to us.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If we can establish some level of empathy, understanding and more importantly a dialogue, then we will be more committed to offering solutions to the various challenges faced by the majority of the population.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;But how can this be achieved?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Many of you are probably thinking, "this will never work ... I can't see myself having a meal with a rag-picker, street-worker or drug-addict … we have nothing in common." However, in order for us to truly respond to the problems faced by ordinary Indians – we must develop a relationship with them.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;However, this dialogue should not only exist through social workers and NGO’s - but it should exist with EVERYONE and anyone. That includes you and I.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt; Can YOU Help ..&lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;      &lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify; font-weight: bold; font-family: verdana;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;p  style="text-align: justify;font-family:verdana;" class="MsoNormal"&gt;  &lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;Everyday I meet people who say to me, "I'd love to be involved in some kind of social work.” However, this is as far their desire goes, because people just don’t know where to start.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I believe real social work doesn’t necessarily involve quiting your job, or giving away all your money, or joining an NGO – it involves taking an ACTIVE interest in the lives of those around you.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It also involves having relationships with people from ALL walks of lives. One of the magical things about India is that such diversity exist all around us – we just have to take the time to appreciate the lives of others.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I believe that this ideology must be instilled in young people, since most of our prejudices are formed at an early age. However, this is also an opportunity for adults to set an example for their children.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;The Group&lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I am in the process of forming a group that deals specifically in bridging this gap in Indian society. It will not be an easy challenge, and it will require a lot of time and commitment - but I have to try. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;The goal of this group will be a simple one: to bring out the latent social consciences that exist in us all, and help in bridging the social divide in &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;st1:country-region style="font-family: verdana; font-weight: bold;"&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;India&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;.&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p style="font-family: verdana;"&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;If you are one of those people who likes sending me ‘pseudo-intellectual’ emails full of precedents outlining why this will never work – then please restrain yourself! Send me an email one you have achieved something of real merit. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p style="font-family: verdana;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;However, if you think this is an important enough issue to lend your MIND to and start a new life as a social worker - then I would love to hear your ideas and thoughts!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;Please email me at rsvindia @ gmail.com&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt; ...  TODAY!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/38295486-6400477957559194448?l=anideasman.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/38295486/posts/default/6400477957559194448'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/38295486/posts/default/6400477957559194448'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://anideasman.blogspot.com/2007/05/you-can-help.html' title='india&apos;s greatest challenge'/><author><name>Rohit Verma</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/RkLtGZIoAuI/AAAAAAAAAEg/FbbPJ-NL0fE/s72-c/justdoit.jpg' height='72' width='72'/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38295486.post-863885724908650893</id><published>2007-05-02T12:09:00.001+05:30</published><updated>2008-12-12T00:05:57.879+05:30</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='social ladder'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='social class'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='india'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='caste system'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='class system'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='status'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='indian conversations'/><title type='text'>the BIG question.</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/RjhA3ZIoAsI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/U12r-J-zx_c/s1600-h/pecking.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/RjhA3ZIoAsI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/U12r-J-zx_c/s400/pecking.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5059865501734798018" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;I was at a wedding here in &lt;/span&gt;&lt;st1:city&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;Delhi&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:city&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt; about six years ago being introduced to an  &lt;strong&gt;elderly&lt;/strong&gt; gentleman, after he loosened his grip from my hand he  asked: “what are your &lt;strong&gt;qualifications&lt;/strong&gt;.”&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;I was  shocked, and somewhat &lt;strong&gt;offended&lt;/strong&gt; by this question - what do  qualifications mean anyway? I mumbled something, then went and told my cousin  what had happened.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;He said, “oh, don’t worry, people ask that  all the time in &lt;/span&gt;&lt;st1:country-region&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;India&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;, they just want to know what you do.”&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt; I  wasn’t worried, just slightly confused as to why he or anyone would ask this  question only a one &lt;strong&gt;second&lt;/strong&gt; after meeting me. Whatever, happened  to “how was you day, or are you enjoying the wedding or do you know the bride or  the groom!”&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;I didn’t know the ‘hidden &lt;strong&gt;agenda’&lt;/strong&gt;  in asking this question back then – but I do now. And I am not  impressed.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;Socially,  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;st1:country-region&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;India&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt; is a very strange place to accustom yourself to.  People here will ask you very frank (or should that be INTRUSIVE!)  &lt;strong&gt;questions&lt;/strong&gt; even after a few minutes of meeting you. They want to  know your full life story, from what you (and your parents) do for a living, to  how much you earn (YES, it does happen), to why you aren’t married (if you are  over 28 years of age)! Nothing is held back, and for any newcomer to this place,  it can be a tad overwhelming. Thankfully, I have spent much of the last 6 years  in India and NOTHING surprises me anymore - nothing! And, I've realised it is  usually &lt;strong&gt;family &lt;/strong&gt;that ask the most questions! Hence the reason I  live alone!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;Most people in  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;st1:country-region&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;Australia&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt; would only ask someone what they did for living to  make conversation, or out of some real interest – in India this is rarely the  case.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;Here, people generally ask what you do or what are your  qualification are, or family does, for one reason only – to size you up and  place you in &lt;strong&gt;predefined&lt;/strong&gt; ‘class’ of  people.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;For example, professionals such as Doctor, CA’s,  Engineers and IT people are generally one step away from being ordained as one  of &lt;strong&gt;Jesus's&lt;/strong&gt; disciples!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;However, a working class person, a  labourer, electrician, builder, cook or taxi driver is treated with the same  contempt as a &lt;strong&gt;terrorist&lt;/strong&gt;, in social standing that  is!&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;Oddly, being wealthy does not automatically  place you up the &lt;strong&gt;pecking&lt;/strong&gt; order. Here, the accumulation of  degrees which SADLY most see as a sign of intelligence, helps you move up this  imaginary social ladder. And the wealthy fruit-shop owner (that may earn  10-times more than a CA), but lacks these &lt;strong&gt;paper&lt;/strong&gt; credentials is not considered worthy of moving up this ladder.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I do wish to point out one thing that I DO NOT believe in any system of 'classes.' It is an entirely 'man-made' system. And that neither money nor degrees can buy a person REAL CLASS - only the quality of their character can.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;Sometimes it's a very sad, unmeaningful story  observing such pretentious existences here in  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;st1:country-region&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;India&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;.  Although the caste system does not formally exist, the class system certainly  does. People are judged on a very superficial level, and the quality of ones  character means nothing in comparison to ones 'supposed' educational  credentials. Class distinction is far more noticeable here in India than in  Australia, where people from all backgrounds associate with each other. In India  an electrician, labourer or plumber would almost NEVER mix socially with a  doctor or MBA - however, this is not the case in Australia where money or  education rarely play a factor.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;Honestly, I believe that  those who are interested in asking these intrusive questions are grossly  insecure, needing constant validation that their lives have some meaning. In  most cases I am certain they don't!&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;Hey, I’m no psychologist  with a fancy degree though, but I'd sure love to own a fruit  shop!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/38295486-863885724908650893?l=anideasman.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://anideasman.blogspot.com/feeds/863885724908650893/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=38295486&amp;postID=863885724908650893&amp;isPopup=true' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/38295486/posts/default/863885724908650893'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/38295486/posts/default/863885724908650893'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://anideasman.blogspot.com/2007/05/big-question.html' title='the BIG question.'/><author><name>Rohit Verma</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/RjhA3ZIoAsI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/U12r-J-zx_c/s72-c/pecking.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38295486.post-9187664868728610957</id><published>2007-04-23T17:06:00.000+05:30</published><updated>2008-12-12T00:05:58.077+05:30</updated><title type='text'>POOR Excuses - What People Say BUT Really Mean</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/RiyaUupwLKI/AAAAAAAAAEA/LvIee5x-ZeM/s1600-h/safes.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/RiyaUupwLKI/AAAAAAAAAEA/LvIee5x-ZeM/s400/safes.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5056586162541440162" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:Verdana;color:fuchsia;"  &gt;“Poor people are happy.”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If I am able to convince myself that poor people are happy, then I can also justify that they do not need my help. However, if I am to admit they are unhappy, then I may feel obligated to help them. This does not interest me at all.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="color:fuchsia;"&gt;“NGO’s and Charitable organisations are all corrupt.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I am aware that NOT ALL NGO’s are corrupt. However, since I do not have the time to personally audit each one, I will refrain from financially and morally supporting their existence. Believing in this untruth make me feel less bad when such groups ask for my assistance.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="color:fuchsia;"&gt;“I don’t have time to help the poor. I am poor myself!”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I am so self-absorbed in my own existence that the thought of helping others in any capacity is beyond me. I have enough problems in my own life. I work so hard everyday. I have meetings and reports to finish. I am in line for a promotion to Assistant-Regional-Relationship-Manager in four years; I must work long hours. There will always be poor people, but promotions are rare.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="color:fuchsia;"&gt;“The problems in &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;st1:country-region&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:Verdana;color:fuchsia;"  &gt;India&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:Verdana;color:fuchsia;"  &gt; are very deep-rooted. You cannot change the system.”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Since I have no respect for my country and its citizens, I am hereby stepping aside from all my social obligations. I will henceforth be an armchair expert on the social problems in &lt;/span&gt;&lt;st1:country-region&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;India&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;, and will never do anything positive to rectify them. I have a Masters Degree in Criticism.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="color:fuchsia;"&gt;"There is too much corruption in &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;st1:country-region&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:Verdana;color:fuchsia;"  &gt;India&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:Verdana;color:fuchsia;"  &gt;."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I understand that &lt;/span&gt;&lt;st1:country-region&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;India&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt; in full of corruption, however, I am not corrupt. I never take bribes – but I see nothing wrong in giving them. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;st1:country-region&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;India&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt; will never change, nor will my attitude towards helping my corrupt, hopeless country.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="color:fuchsia;"&gt;“People in &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;st1:country-region&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:Verdana;color:fuchsia;"  &gt;India&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:Verdana;color:fuchsia;"  &gt; are VERY wealthy these days."&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My family, friends and I are doing very well these days. We have all the comforts we could ask for. As for the other hundred’s of millions of people in &lt;/span&gt;&lt;st1:country-region&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;India&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;, I cannot speak for them. I hope they have a chance to visit the new Mega-Hyper-Mall or a Call Centre. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;st1:country-region&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;India&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt; is on the move!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="color:fuchsia;"&gt;“I would never give to an NGO, I prefer to give my money directly to poor”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I don’t know any poor people, and since NGO’s cannot be trusted, I am hereby absolved from giving. If I ever meet a poor person, then I will surely give to them – but I don’t associate with that class of people.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="color:fuchsia;"&gt;“I would give more, but I just don’t have the money”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I can afford to spend thousands of rupees on useless junk that adds no meaning or enjoyment to my (or anyone’s) life, but giving that amount to the poor is a waste. They would just spend it on cigarettes or alcohol. Poor people are very uneducated; they do not know how to manage money! The truth is if I can’t give a few dollars today, I will never give it when I have millions – I just don’t have the right attitude towards giving!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="color:fuchsia;"&gt;“I’m not ready to change the world yet”&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Since I have convinced myself that no effort of mine will ever bring about any real change in the world, then it is best that I continue in my merry way. I hereby pardon myself from any thoughts or activities that may require me to listen to my social conscious!&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/38295486-9187664868728610957?l=anideasman.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://anideasman.blogspot.com/feeds/9187664868728610957/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=38295486&amp;postID=9187664868728610957&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/38295486/posts/default/9187664868728610957'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/38295486/posts/default/9187664868728610957'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://anideasman.blogspot.com/2007/04/poor-excuses-what-people-say-but-really_23.html' title='POOR Excuses - What People Say BUT Really Mean'/><author><name>Rohit Verma</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/RiyaUupwLKI/AAAAAAAAAEA/LvIee5x-ZeM/s72-c/safes.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38295486.post-1275749582115542988</id><published>2007-04-12T23:30:00.000+05:30</published><updated>2008-12-12T00:05:58.491+05:30</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='customer service in india'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='enjoying life'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='arranged marriage'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='indian life'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='engineer'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='MBA'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='suicide'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='competition'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='indian parents'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='enduring life'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='doctor'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='pressure'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='freedom'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='indian education'/><title type='text'>i'm marrying a doctor.</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/RhU867KtveI/AAAAAAAAADE/Tr0FrC9voBk/s1600-h/MArry.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/RhU867KtveI/AAAAAAAAADE/Tr0FrC9voBk/s400/MArry.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5050009540178591202" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div  style="text-align: justify;font-family:arial;"&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;The concept that life is meant to be &lt;i&gt;enjoyed&lt;/i&gt; is something most Indians fail to register. Rather, I feel they largely &lt;i&gt;endure&lt;/i&gt; life, and are &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;conditioned&lt;/span&gt; into following predictable, often mundane paths. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For once, I am not speaking of those living below the poverty line; their plight is another &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;challenge &lt;/span&gt;altogether. In&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;stead, I am writing specifically about a more fortunate group of Indians, who have choices and &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;opportunities &lt;/span&gt;– but sadly fail to avail of them.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Indians are largely risk &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;averse&lt;/span&gt;, generally opting for safety and security. This is hardly surprising given extensive poverty seen in &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;st1:country-region&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;India&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;. Unfortunately, this &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;mentality &lt;/span&gt;is not only amongst the poor, but it has passed through all classes of Indian society.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This failure or hesitation to take risks has propelled many Indians into a life of &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;mediocrity&lt;/span&gt;; making them incapable of reaching their true potential and making life more difficult to &lt;i&gt;enjoy&lt;/i&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;I’ve identified the reason why most Indians &lt;i style="font-family: verdana;"&gt;endure&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt; life, choosing conventional &lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p style="font-family: verdana;"&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;paths … &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;b  style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;PRESSURE.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="font-family: verdana; text-align: justify;"&gt;                                                                          &lt;/div&gt;&lt;p  style="text-align: justify;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;br /&gt;Most Indians are under extreme pressure from their infancy, where 3-year-olds are made to sit formal interviews for admission into &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;nursery &lt;/span&gt;schools. This pressure then follows them through another 15 years of schooling – where at every level students are made to ensure stressful competitive examinations and &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;ranked &lt;/span&gt;amongst their peers. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;However, what makes this experience even more insufferable is the &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;unrealistic &lt;/span&gt;performance pressure imposed on children by overbearing parents. Many parents are &lt;span&gt;less &lt;/span&gt;interested in the &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;psychological &lt;/span&gt;welfare of their children, and more in their ability to maintain a high grade-point-average, so their kids stay ‘on &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;top &lt;/span&gt;of the class.’&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A sad &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;testimony &lt;/span&gt;to this is the 1000’s of young people across &lt;st1:country-region&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;India&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt; that commit suicide each year to ease themselves from this strain. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Does this sound like an &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;i style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;enjoyable&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt; childhood?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;o:p style="font-family: verdana;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;Much of this pressure is &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;societal &lt;/span&gt;because of the level of competition seen everywhere in &lt;/span&gt;&lt;st1:country-region style="font-family: verdana;"&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;India&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;. However, most of it comes from the &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;family unit&lt;/span&gt; – who involve themselves in every decision of their children’s lives, from education and choice of careers, to &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;marriage&lt;/span&gt;, and having (and raising!) children.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;The Greek Philosopher Epicurus stated that one of the main tenants of &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;happiness&lt;/span&gt; was &lt;/span&gt;&lt;i style="font-family: verdana;"&gt;freedom&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt; – which in &lt;/span&gt;&lt;st1:country-region style="font-family: verdana;"&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;India&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt; is generally restricted for most. Certain expectations are ‘imposed’ upon young people in &lt;/span&gt;&lt;st1:country-region style="font-family: verdana;"&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;India&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;; often hampering their ability to form a &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;identities &lt;/span&gt;of their own. This follows them &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;throughout &lt;/span&gt;their life.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I see examples of this is every day; &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;adults &lt;/span&gt;that are &lt;span&gt;fearful &lt;/span&gt;of making a career change, starting a business, undertaking some form of social work or even taking time off to travel &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;– all because their families will be &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;critical &lt;/span&gt;of them. This may be the case, however, many adults use their family pressures as an &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;excuse &lt;/span&gt;not to take risks. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/RhkeEbKtviI/AAAAAAAAADk/pgznbJw2gpg/s1600-h/Escape.gif"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/RhkeEbKtviI/AAAAAAAAADk/pgznbJw2gpg/s400/Escape.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5051101518433730082" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;One of the most worrying outcomes of confining an individual’s &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;freedom &lt;/span&gt;is their loss of &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" &gt;creativity &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;– which I believe the most &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;unique &lt;/span&gt;gift we have. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;I met some parents last week who have a daughter that just finished her schooling. She is a &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;talented &lt;/span&gt;musician, singer with an interest in theatre. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p style="font-family: verdana;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;When her mother was asked what she was interested in pursuing at university, she declared: &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" &gt;”if my daughter had it her way she’s be studying something media-related, maybe mass communication – however, we are doing &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;our best&lt;/span&gt; to get her into a dentistry course – there is no &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;future &lt;/span&gt;in those fields she is interested in!" &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;The thought of following a path that involves any inherent risk will almost always be &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;discouraged&lt;/span&gt;. I often ask parents this: &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" &gt;“What is the point of sending your kids to the &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;best &lt;/span&gt;schools and universities in the world if you can’t trust them to make their own decisions as to &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;their &lt;/span&gt;future?" &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;Any Indian parent will tell you it is out of love they control their children's lives. I find a great sense of &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;irony &lt;/span&gt;in that claim.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;I certainly believe that parents play a &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;crucial &lt;/span&gt;role in helping their children make decisions regarding their future. However, what I have found in India, is that this involves &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;less &lt;/span&gt;discussion and more direction. Parent's have to appreciate that young people have minds, and dreams of their own. And what they want, may not be what their &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;children &lt;/span&gt;want or &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;enjoy&lt;/span&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;The concept of &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;autonomy &lt;/span&gt;is something most people reading this post in Australia can relate to. Parent's there are comfortable in leaving their children to make decisions as to what they wish to study, what &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;professions &lt;/span&gt;they wish to follow, and whom they wish to marry. They are aware that they  children may make mistakes, but see this as a part of their personal &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;growth&lt;/span&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/RhU9kLKtvfI/AAAAAAAAADM/QypPm-noLDU/s1600-h/Indian+Land.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/RhU9kLKtvfI/AAAAAAAAADM/QypPm-noLDU/s400/Indian+Land.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5050010248848195058" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;It is distressing to see that in this day and age Indian parents cannot see beyond engineering, &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;medicine&lt;/span&gt;, MBA’s and other related fields. Even matrimonial advertisements here are almost always seeking brides and grooms with such qualifications … and marrying a doctor is still regarded as the &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;ultimate &lt;/span&gt;accomplishment!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p style="font-family: verdana;"&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;Parents, to compensate for their own inadequacies, live &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;vicariously &lt;/span&gt;through their children in &lt;/span&gt;&lt;st1:country-region style="font-family: verdana;"&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;India&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;: “My son is now an Ultra &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Super &lt;/span&gt;Senior Manager at Global-Hyper-Tech Corporation; he always got top marks at school and college, he has a beautiful wife, and a &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;huge &lt;/span&gt;salary!” Whether or not he is &lt;/span&gt;&lt;i style="font-family: verdana;"&gt;enjoying&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt; his life is &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;secondary&lt;/span&gt;, and will rarely rate a mention. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p style="font-family: verdana;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;Why are so many people &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;dissatisfied &lt;/span&gt;in the work they do (and this is not just in &lt;/span&gt;&lt;st1:country-region style="font-family: verdana;"&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;India&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;)? Because they find themselves engaged in pursuits that do not reflect their potential and stifle their creativity. Any &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;talents &lt;/span&gt;or dreams they may have possessed in the past, literally diminishes. Sadly in India, this degeneration begins during childhood, when children are &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;openly &lt;/span&gt;discouraged from spending time in activities that are not considered academic. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p style="font-family: verdana;"&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;I understand that due to the level &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;of competition in &lt;st1:country-region&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;India&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;, jobs are &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;scarce &lt;/span&gt;and professional qualifications are important, however some people are just not destined to follow the 'MBA-TYPE' path. If parents don’t &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;encourage &lt;/span&gt;children to take risks and follow their interests, their children may be missing out on &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;enjoying &lt;/span&gt;their LIFE.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;Due to the level of competition, and high unemployment, 60-plus working hours a week is generally the norm in most industries. &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Imagine &lt;/span&gt;spending your professional life, engaged in something you derived no &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;enjoyment &lt;/span&gt;from&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;A &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;passionate &lt;/span&gt;designer will have a more &lt;i&gt;enjoyable&lt;/i&gt; working-life pursuing his or her craft, than being forced into becoming an electrical &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;engineer&lt;/span&gt;. No amount of financial compensation can alter this. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div  style="text-align: justify;font-family:verdana;"&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;There is no simple solution to t&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;his pressure &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;epidemic&lt;/span&gt;, that not only follows&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt; people through their lives, but will also affects future &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;generations&lt;/span&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;As a teacher I have always &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;encouraged &lt;/span&gt;young people to follow paths they are interested in, not simply marketable. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;An &lt;i&gt;enjoyable&lt;/i&gt; professional-life will always have a positive effect on the &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;other &lt;/span&gt;areas of one's life.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;However, since parents are the ‘decision-makers’ in &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;st1:country-region&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;India&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;, I will direct this same advice to them and request that they ask their children this question:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;What do you want to do with YOUR life?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p face="arial" style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;" class="MsoNormal"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/38295486-1275749582115542988?l=anideasman.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/38295486/posts/default/1275749582115542988'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/38295486/posts/default/1275749582115542988'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://anideasman.blogspot.com/2007/04/im-marrying-doctor.html' title='i&apos;m marrying a doctor.'/><author><name>Rohit Verma</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/RhU867KtveI/AAAAAAAAADE/Tr0FrC9voBk/s72-c/MArry.jpg' height='72' width='72'/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38295486.post-42465715527200810</id><published>2007-03-30T13:15:00.000+05:30</published><updated>2008-12-12T00:05:58.689+05:30</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='customer service in india'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='education system'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='challenging work'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='rohit verma'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='delhi'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='bizarre'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='consultant'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='an ideas man'/><title type='text'>life sampler.</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/RguBCGEko7I/AAAAAAAAAB4/qN9qGFdzJj4/s1600-h/Big+Resume.gif"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/RguBCGEko7I/AAAAAAAAAB4/qN9qGFdzJj4/s400/Big+Resume.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5047269680388285362" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;            &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;Since finishing high school some time ago I’ve ‘dabbled’ in a &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;wide &lt;/span&gt;assortment of vocational undertakings. I have seen and experienced much during this period. When I reflect upon this time, I am certain the real reason I have not been able to stay focused in one area is that I am yet to embark on anything that I have found significantly &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;challenging&lt;/span&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;However, now the time has arisen for me to consolidate these life experiences and create something &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;meaningful&lt;/span&gt;. Having such diverse experiences has not only enabled me to determine the kind of endeavors I would like to &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;partake &lt;/span&gt;in the future, but also eliminate those activities I wish to shirk.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Today, I can’t envisage myself ever wearing a suit and tie, dealing with an overbearing superiors, or having to ‘apply’ to someone to take &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;leave&lt;/span&gt;. And, the thought of spending my days &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;suffocating &lt;/span&gt;in a small office developing strategies to increase soap sales in a designated region is hardly motivating.  &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I am yet to identifying the exact area in which I hope to involve myself, however, I can say with some certainty it will be related to the &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;education &lt;/span&gt;system here in India. However, I hope to spend less time in the classroom and more on developing strategic initiatives. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;st1:country-region&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;There will be no &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;shortage &lt;/span&gt;of challenges with the work I am intending to undertake.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Whilst working towards this goal (and living in a place like &lt;/span&gt;&lt;st1:country-region&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;India&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;!) I am sure to have many crazy, entertaining and downright &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;bizarre &lt;/span&gt;experiences … especially when it comes to meeting &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;girls&lt;/span&gt;!&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If you are interested in hearing these, then please visit this blog through my site&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204); font-weight: bold;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://rohitverma.net/"&gt;rohitverma.net&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/span&gt;weekly!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Jobs and courses I have 'sampled' over the years …&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1. Completed High School&lt;br /&gt;2. Started a Law Degree&lt;br /&gt;3. Sales Assistant at a Retail Store&lt;br /&gt;4. Commerce Degree (Majoring in Marketing &amp; HRM)&lt;br /&gt;5. Masters Degree in Business Systems&lt;br /&gt;6. Media Planner at an Advertising Firm&lt;br /&gt;7. Commercial Real Estate Agent&lt;br /&gt;8. Migration Agent's Course&lt;br /&gt;9. Web Designer&lt;br /&gt;10. Human Resources Consultant&lt;br /&gt;11. Mortgage Sales Consultant&lt;br /&gt;12. Commercial Laundry Washer&lt;br /&gt;13. Waiter at an Indian Restaurant&lt;br /&gt;14. Telecommunications Business Development Manager&lt;br /&gt;15. Post-Graduate Degree in Education&lt;br /&gt;16. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;st1:city&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;Sale&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:city&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt; Assistant at a Commercial Furniture Store&lt;br /&gt;17. English Tutor&lt;br /&gt;18. High School Teacher&lt;br /&gt;19. Today: A Certified Practicing Ideas Man (CPIM)&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Arial;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:12;"  &gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:13;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt; &lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;span style="font-size:130%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:arial;"&gt;    &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;p  style="text-align: justify;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/38295486-42465715527200810?l=anideasman.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://anideasman.blogspot.com/feeds/42465715527200810/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=38295486&amp;postID=42465715527200810&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/38295486/posts/default/42465715527200810'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/38295486/posts/default/42465715527200810'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://anideasman.blogspot.com/2007/03/i-do.html' title='life sampler.'/><author><name>Rohit Verma</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/RguBCGEko7I/AAAAAAAAAB4/qN9qGFdzJj4/s72-c/Big+Resume.gif' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38295486.post-1770889992018135194</id><published>2007-03-29T14:30:00.000+05:30</published><updated>2008-12-12T00:05:58.888+05:30</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='complex problems'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='purpose of education'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='decision-making'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='purpose of learning'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='boardrooms'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='problem solving'/><title type='text'>the purpose of education.</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/RhXgHbKtvhI/AAAAAAAAADc/mfzvBFXLzUE/s1600-h/Creative+Kid.gif"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/RhXgHbKtvhI/AAAAAAAAADc/mfzvBFXLzUE/s400/Creative+Kid.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5050188975322283538" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;A few months ago, before arriving in &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;st1:country-region&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;India&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;, I found myself masquerading as an ‘educator’ at a school in &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;st1:city&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;Melbourne&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:city&gt;. At various times (during my &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;many &lt;/span&gt;Socrates-inspired epiphanies) I would bring my classes to a halt and ask my students to come sit around the table (I had the tables in all my classes made to resemble boardrooms). Then, as &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;chairman &lt;/span&gt;I would address my board of directors – sometimes there would be 26 of them!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;I have always believed, contrary to popul&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;ar belief, that young people today are highly insightful and perceptive. And, for this reason I would always be asking my students questions, on a &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;range &lt;/span&gt;of topics &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;– &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;to gain a greater insight into their lives and also to develop in my role as a teacher.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p style="font-family: verdana;"&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;My personal favourite question has always b&lt;/span&gt;een: "what is the &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;purpose &lt;/span&gt;of schooling or education? Unfortunately to this question I usually received the same hackneyed responses: to learn, to be educated, to develop, to learn skills, to get my high-school qualification, I need it for a &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;job &lt;/span&gt;and my favourite – because my parents make me! I found all these responses less than inspiring, however, I would have presented &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;similar &lt;/span&gt;answers if I were in their position.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;I used to list their responses on a whiteboard and discuss the merits and deficiencies of each. Then, I would proceed to give my own definition of education – I prefaced my response as someone who had the experience of being student and a teacher.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;“The purpose of education,” I hesitated, “is to learn how solve problems?"&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;br /&gt;“Whaaat Sir, I don’t get?” was the usual reaction. Let me explain …&lt;br /&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;I believe everything contains a problem and potential learning solution. At school English, Maths and Science help us solve problems relating to communication, numbers and the living world. In fact all &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;subjects &lt;/span&gt;help us solve some problem – yes even History, Art, Dance and Music! &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Each problem, regardless of the subject requires a number of &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;steps &lt;/span&gt;to be &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;methodically &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;followed, and if done correctly can solution, or end product can be reached.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If we move away from ‘subject’ based problems – you will notice that literally everything we do involves us solve problems – some easier than others. For example, what &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;shoes &lt;/span&gt;will I wear today involves a process of deduction, getting to the train station at 9.00 involves time scheduling, organising a &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;party &lt;/span&gt;involving careful planning and execution, dealing with difficult people also involves a strategy. And when it come to trying to understand &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;girls &lt;/span&gt;(a personal favourite of mine) I have always needed flowcharts, diagrams and focus groups to work them out! &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The only problems that cannot be solved are the ones that are ignored, not analysed correctly or are poorly implemented. I strongly believe most problems can be solved given the right approach.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Since coming to &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;st1:country-region&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;India&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;, I have noticed the &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;problems &lt;/span&gt;that exist here are challenging and require a great deal of thinking; they are &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;complex &lt;/span&gt;and layered.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;As a nation, &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;India &lt;/span&gt;faces problems unimaginable in the western world &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;– problems that you would not ordinarily read about.  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;Much of my writing will focus on these problems, and I will offer to suggest a suitable &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;responses &lt;/span&gt;to each. I am not here to save the world; rather I am here to understand the Indian puzzle better, and I am always looking for others willing to help.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Verdana;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:Arial;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"  style="text-align: justify;font-family:arial;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:arial;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;    &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:Tahoma;font-size:10;"  &gt;&lt;o:p&gt; &lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:Tahoma;font-size:10;"  &gt;&lt;o:p&gt; &lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:Tahoma;font-size:10;"  &gt;&lt;o:p&gt; &lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:Tahoma;font-size:10;"  &gt;&lt;o:p&gt; &lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:Tahoma;font-size:10;"  &gt;&lt;o:p&gt; &lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/38295486-1770889992018135194?l=anideasman.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://anideasman.blogspot.com/feeds/1770889992018135194/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=38295486&amp;postID=1770889992018135194&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/38295486/posts/default/1770889992018135194'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/38295486/posts/default/1770889992018135194'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://anideasman.blogspot.com/2007/03/girl-problems.html' title='the purpose of education.'/><author><name>Rohit Verma</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/RhXgHbKtvhI/AAAAAAAAADc/mfzvBFXLzUE/s72-c/Creative+Kid.gif' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38295486.post-8584025147490776531</id><published>2007-03-27T12:25:00.000+05:30</published><updated>2008-12-12T00:05:59.106+05:30</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='occupations'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='workforce'/><title type='text'>you do what.</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/RggTXTqpR5I/AAAAAAAAABM/o5NX9Oo13vo/s1600-h/Consultant+Dog.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/RggTXTqpR5I/AAAAAAAAABM/o5NX9Oo13vo/s400/Consultant+Dog.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5046304673605699474" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:arial;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;The following are professions that you hear about all the time, they sound semi-important – but most of us &lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;'regular people' have &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;no idea&lt;/span&gt; what they do on a day-to-day basis! If you don’t believe me then &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;ask &lt;/span&gt;the person next to you what the following people actually do ...&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;1. Management Consultant&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;2. Electrical Engineer&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;3. Business Analyst&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;4. Chartered Accountant&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;5. Systems Analyst&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;6. Microbiologist&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;7. Economist  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;8. Actuary&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;9. Supply Chain Manager&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:verdana;"&gt;10. Boilermaker&lt;br /&gt;11. Software Engineer&lt;br /&gt;12. Auditor&lt;br /&gt;13. Procurement Manager&lt;br /&gt;14. Logistics Consultant&lt;br /&gt;15. Politician&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/38295486-8584025147490776531?l=anideasman.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://anideasman.blogspot.com/feeds/8584025147490776531/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=38295486&amp;postID=8584025147490776531&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/38295486/posts/default/8584025147490776531'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/38295486/posts/default/8584025147490776531'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://anideasman.blogspot.com/2007/03/you-do-what.html' title='you do what.'/><author><name>Rohit Verma</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/RggTXTqpR5I/AAAAAAAAABM/o5NX9Oo13vo/s72-c/Consultant+Dog.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38295486.post-8299416627386090942</id><published>2007-03-26T12:55:00.000+05:30</published><updated>2008-12-12T00:05:59.528+05:30</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='hiring'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='toothpaste'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='ivy league'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Harvard'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='human resources'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='IIM'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='education'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='healtcare'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='the corporation'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='social welfare'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='salaries'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='IIT'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='great minds'/><title type='text'>toothpaste salesmen.</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/Rg_akWEkpCI/AAAAAAAAAC0/Ksib7KUPfDw/s1600-h/salt.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/Rg_akWEkpCI/AAAAAAAAAC0/Ksib7KUPfDw/s320/salt.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5048494025240519714" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div  style="text-align: justify;font-family:verdana;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;Where will the highest academic achievers find themselves at the end of their schooling? The supposed crème often find themselves at a prestigious &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;educational institution; in &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;st1:country-region&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;India&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt; that may be an IIT or IIM, in the &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;st1:country-region&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;USA&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt; it could be a Harvard or Yale - or &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;any other &lt;/span&gt;of the 100's of leading institution across the world. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;At the conclusion of their college degrees they find themselves being &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;lured &lt;/span&gt;by consulting firms, financial brokerages, IT companies, beverage and consumer goods manufacturers. They only hire the brightest and best. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Over the next few years they are worked long hours and their minds are taken full advantage of. They have little reason to complain, as they are adequately reimbursed for the &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;experiments &lt;/span&gt;conducted on them!&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;No, I am &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;not &lt;/span&gt;radical socialist, nor am I adverse to ‘the corporation,’ rather I wish to point out a startlingly oversight. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There are another group that need these minds to solve problems that are &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt; (dare I say it)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt; more &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;important &lt;/span&gt;than increasing toothpaste sales, selling life insurance and adding 'new tastes' to cola drinks. And it's not just the college-leavers I'm talking about - it's &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;everyone &lt;/span&gt;with a great mind!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;These minds are needed by Government organisations, schools, hospitals, aid and welfare groups and other social service institutions. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;T&lt;/o:p&gt;here is a brilliant show on TV named HOUSE, about a doctor who treats &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;rare &lt;/span&gt;medical conditions.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;I often joke with my brother (who finished school with a score of 99.25%, and now spends his days making &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;PowerPoint &lt;/span&gt;presentations toothpaste factory executives) by saying … “Look at this guy House, he’s solving real life changing problems, what are you management consultants doing!”&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;His response is always in typical consulting fashion … “I’m a corporate doctor, I make company executive feel &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;better &lt;/span&gt;about themselves!" &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now, before I am accused of being a hypocrite – let me say I am &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;not &lt;/span&gt;discounting the work corporates do, nor am I judging those who work with them. Rather I am giving &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;credit &lt;/span&gt;to these minds - if they can help turn soda and cigarette companies into efficient multi-billion dollar industries - just &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;imagine &lt;/span&gt;what they could do for health or education systems across the world.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Unfortunately since social organisations cannot compete with corporate in regards to funding talent, the decision has to be &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;intrinsic&lt;/span&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;And I believe that if 10% of the best corporate minds, gave a little of their knowledge and expertise to solving social problems, the changes could be enormous.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt; I will talk further about this issue in future posts. However, &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;if you are reading this and believe you have a brilliant analytical, thinking, decision making minds that isn't being fully &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;utilised &lt;/span&gt;to it's fullest, then maybe you need to think about where it should and could be put to best use ...&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p  style="text-align: justify;font-family:verdana;" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt; &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;p  style="text-align: justify;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:10;"&gt;  &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"  style="font-family:arial;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:10;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt; &lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;o:p&gt; &lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style=""&gt; &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/38295486-8299416627386090942?l=anideasman.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://anideasman.blogspot.com/feeds/8299416627386090942/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=38295486&amp;postID=8299416627386090942&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/38295486/posts/default/8299416627386090942'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/38295486/posts/default/8299416627386090942'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://anideasman.blogspot.com/2007/03/soap-saleman.html' title='toothpaste salesmen.'/><author><name>Rohit Verma</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/Rg_akWEkpCI/AAAAAAAAAC0/Ksib7KUPfDw/s72-c/salt.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38295486.post-6009392360362973743</id><published>2007-03-24T22:15:00.000+05:30</published><updated>2008-12-12T00:05:59.686+05:30</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='customer service in india'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='fast food'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='bad service'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='complaints'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='subway'/><title type='text'>subway eat less.</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/Rg_dJWEkpDI/AAAAAAAAAC8/e9K4GgYg76M/s1600-h/Subway+2.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/Rg_dJWEkpDI/AAAAAAAAAC8/e9K4GgYg76M/s320/Subway+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5048496859918935090" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;Customer service is something I have always taken for granted in the &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;st1:country-region&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;Australia,&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt; and having spent my early working days at a department store, I've learnt a thing or two about it. In Australia, when we don’t get the service &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;expected &lt;/span&gt;we can be sure that a letter of complaint will address our grievances. &lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Usually it is only old people (like my father!) that have the time to pen their objections to  corporate complaint departments – but the point is someone &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;will &lt;/span&gt;listen, and take action.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div  style="text-align: justify;font-family:verdana;"&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;However, the concept of customer service is something that has yet to take off in &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;st1:country-region&gt;&lt;st1:place&gt;India&lt;/st1:place&gt;&lt;/st1:country-region&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt; – and it is usually only those who have been abroad that can notice the disparity. If you have a complaint, then you can rest assured no-one will listen, and if someone does pay you the courtesy to listen &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;–&lt;/span&gt; they will almost &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;never &lt;/span&gt;care enough to act.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;I’ve been here long enough not to have too high expectations. A few years ago I used to get slightly annoyed with service levels; however today, I am starting to find my experience nothing short of &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;comical&lt;/span&gt;!&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:100%;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is what I observed when I walked into the Subway (an International fast food chain) recently.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;"&gt;    &lt;/div&gt;&lt;p  style="text-align: justify;font-family:verdana;" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;1. The store was empty of customers –      but 5 staff were 'on duty’ &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;* Too many staff for a store of that size&lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2. I waited 2-minutes to be acknowledged      by a staff member&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;* He was too busy doing paperwork, which could have waited&lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;3. My order was taken, then I was told      to wait for another staff&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;* He could have made my sandwich himself &lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;4. The new guy then proceeded to serve      me&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;* He took his time getting started (more into the TV that was on)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;5. I was offered me salt and pepper      I said "NO thanks" clearly&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;* 30 second later he forgot and put salt and pepper in!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;6. I assumed he would give me a new roll&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;* He proceeded to scrape off the salt / pepper into a  tissue! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;7. I told him it would be a better option to make a new roll&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;* He proceeded to do so reluctantly&lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;8. I decided to settle the payment for      my order during this time&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;* The 'paperwork guy' complained that he had no change&lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;9. I told him that this was not my      problem&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;* He managed to find the change&lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;10. He handed me a huge wad of notes and      change&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;* I checked my bill and I was charged twice and much&lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;11. I asked for my money back and left      the store&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;* I didn’t feel like eating there after all the commotion&lt;/span&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p  style="text-align: justify;font-family:verdana;" class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;"  &gt;12. I went to Domino’s next door!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal"  style="margin-left: 18pt; text-align: justify;font-family:verdana;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:85%;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt; &lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;"&gt;          &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;"&gt;    &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;"&gt;    &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;"&gt;    &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;"&gt;    &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;"&gt;    &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: justify; font-family: verdana;"&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/38295486-6009392360362973743?l=anideasman.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/38295486/posts/default/6009392360362973743'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/38295486/posts/default/6009392360362973743'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://anideasman.blogspot.com/2007/03/subway-eat-less.html' title='subway eat less.'/><author><name>Rohit Verma</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HujmVk2qKLY/Rg_dJWEkpDI/AAAAAAAAAC8/e9K4GgYg76M/s72-c/Subway+2.jpg' height='72' width='72'/></entry></feed>
