"How do you guys survive here?" my friend asked me when I met him couple of days back. He was back in Bangalore after a stint of three years in the US. He is here for a month or so, to get his visa renewed and also to visit his folks. The traffic is horrible, so hot the weather, so much of pollution - he had so many things to complain about. "ya, we manage just like that" I brushed aside his concerns.
Make no mistake about that, he is fully stressed out here. He had been living in Bangalore for many many years before leaving for the US, but three years of continuous exposure to only good things made him less tolerant to these extreme conditions. He can go to better place. He can praise on better things there. But can't he become a little better by not telling me these not so good things around me? As such I am tired of these things, by hearing as well as by suffering !
I had worked with a customer, the outsourcing manager. Kush Mondal ( both first name and surname changed for anonymity !). He had studied in India, moved to US and settled there. Nice gentleman, every time he used to visit us to review the projects, I used to wait with bated breath. Not sure what right questions he would ask about our wrong things. If you have an "Indian" as a manager on the other side, problems get much complex, as he would know every inch of what all we do rather what all we will not do !
During one of those visits, I had taken Kush for dinner, at Oberoi. Of course after I went through all motions in those review meetings, sincerely ! As we were discussing, the power suddenly went off. "What you guys do when there is no electricity?" I can understand a person who does not know about India asking that question. Kush had lived in a village till his schooling, completed graduation living in an "Indian" metro city. He keeps visiting India to review we people and to view his folks. And he had to ask this question to me ! I simply said "we use candles".
But then, Kush can wear his Indian hat too. Quite unusual that time. He never asked for any review meeting. He just told me that he was camping in Taj Residency hotel, not Oberoi, his usual adda. And he would like to meet me over a cup of tea. Who would say no to tea, that too from Taj - I also wanted to say "wah Taj boliye" . But I had been pondering as why he chose a different hotel this time.
It was after meeting Kush only that the penny finally dropped ! He was on a personal trip, and he wanted to conceal from the hotel that he was a US citizen, else he had to pay $250 perday, as an Indian he needed to shell out only 4500 rupees per day ( If I remember right the conversion rate was around 50 ). He doubted whether being a frequent "foreign" visitor to Oberoi on company paid accommodation, the staff there would recognize that fact and charge him with rate for a foreign national ! ( This system is some thing very hard for me to digest. If I go to Bannergatta national park to see those half dead lions, I need to pay only 50 rupees, but if a foreign national goes to see the same old, half-dead lions he has to pay 500 rupees, why this discrimination so transparent and obvious with no backing of any sound logic ! )
One can find that somebody is wounded - no harm. He can feel good that he himself is not wounded - no harm. He can sympathize with the wounded - no harm. He can explain in what all ways a wound can be avoided - no harm at all. But can't he avoid rubbing salt in the current wound and continue to be harmless ? Especially when he himself had been wounded in a similar way earlier ?
Make no mistake about that, he is fully stressed out here. He had been living in Bangalore for many many years before leaving for the US, but three years of continuous exposure to only good things made him less tolerant to these extreme conditions. He can go to better place. He can praise on better things there. But can't he become a little better by not telling me these not so good things around me? As such I am tired of these things, by hearing as well as by suffering !
I had worked with a customer, the outsourcing manager. Kush Mondal ( both first name and surname changed for anonymity !). He had studied in India, moved to US and settled there. Nice gentleman, every time he used to visit us to review the projects, I used to wait with bated breath. Not sure what right questions he would ask about our wrong things. If you have an "Indian" as a manager on the other side, problems get much complex, as he would know every inch of what all we do rather what all we will not do !
During one of those visits, I had taken Kush for dinner, at Oberoi. Of course after I went through all motions in those review meetings, sincerely ! As we were discussing, the power suddenly went off. "What you guys do when there is no electricity?" I can understand a person who does not know about India asking that question. Kush had lived in a village till his schooling, completed graduation living in an "Indian" metro city. He keeps visiting India to review we people and to view his folks. And he had to ask this question to me ! I simply said "we use candles".
But then, Kush can wear his Indian hat too. Quite unusual that time. He never asked for any review meeting. He just told me that he was camping in Taj Residency hotel, not Oberoi, his usual adda. And he would like to meet me over a cup of tea. Who would say no to tea, that too from Taj - I also wanted to say "wah Taj boliye" . But I had been pondering as why he chose a different hotel this time.
It was after meeting Kush only that the penny finally dropped ! He was on a personal trip, and he wanted to conceal from the hotel that he was a US citizen, else he had to pay $250 perday, as an Indian he needed to shell out only 4500 rupees per day ( If I remember right the conversion rate was around 50 ). He doubted whether being a frequent "foreign" visitor to Oberoi on company paid accommodation, the staff there would recognize that fact and charge him with rate for a foreign national ! ( This system is some thing very hard for me to digest. If I go to Bannergatta national park to see those half dead lions, I need to pay only 50 rupees, but if a foreign national goes to see the same old, half-dead lions he has to pay 500 rupees, why this discrimination so transparent and obvious with no backing of any sound logic ! )
One can find that somebody is wounded - no harm. He can feel good that he himself is not wounded - no harm. He can sympathize with the wounded - no harm. He can explain in what all ways a wound can be avoided - no harm at all. But can't he avoid rubbing salt in the current wound and continue to be harmless ? Especially when he himself had been wounded in a similar way earlier ?
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