The Blank Receipt

This incident took place around 2 years back – on my first trip abroad. I was going to San Jose, California and was obviously very excited. Even though the itinerary was very hectic – I had to change 4 flights in 30 hours – I enjoyed every bit of it, as it was my first trip ever by air! I landed in San Jose around 6’oclock in the evening. I got out of the airport and took a cab to my apartment. The driver was a friendly fellow; he volunteered to put my luggage in the cab rooftop and smilingly asked, “Hey, how are you”? I was taken aback. It’s definitely my first trip to America and it looked highly unlikely that this guy had traveled to India. Then where did we meet before? Anyway I managed a confused smile. Handing the apartment address to him, I asked, “How much time will it take”?
“Half an hour”, he replied casually.

As the driver told, we reached the apartment in another half an hour. I took out my luggage and asked the driver for the cash receipt so that I can reimburse it back in India.
“Oh, Just a sec”.
He handed over two blank receipts to me and again smiled. This time though, the smile was a bit different. I did not understand why he gave me two receipts and that too blank ones. I returned them and asked him to give me only one, with the exact fare and his signature. He did as I told. I assumed that he had given two receipts by mistake, but I still couldn’t decode his smile.

A couple of days later, I told my fellow roommate about the cab driver’s incident. He laughed and replied, “Oh… he might have realized that you are an Indian. Many Indians ask the cab drivers 2-3 blank receipts to submit fake reimbursements”. For a moment I went blank, I couldn’t decide whether I was sad, angry or humiliated or a mixture of these. And yes, that explained his mocking smile and a There-You-Go-Again look in his eyes.

Breaching integrity is never a good idea, especially in a foreign country. Every Indian in a foreign land is a cultural ambassador of India and he/she should behave like one. Having started my career in Mindtree which lays much emphasis on integrity, it was particularly painful to know how foreigners perceive Indians. Though at one end of the spectrum Indians are considered smart and hardworking, at the other end they are looked at as a bunch of people with loose integrity. I sincerely hope the latter is proved wrong in course of time. For this every Indian abroad has to realize that they are not only representing themselves, but the whole country. Their every action will be generalized to 1.1 billion people of India.

I hope next time when I travel abroad , instead of giving blank receipts, the cab driver asks, “Hey, How are you? Are you an Indian? Tell me something about India. I have heard great things about that country.”

Arzz kiya hai....

क्या बताएं तुम्हे हम अपनी दास्ताँ,
अब तो आँसू भी धोखा देने लगे......

I want to be....

The other day I asked my neighbor's son - who is studying in 10th standard - about his future plans. He looked a bit concerned and said "I wanted to be a computer engineer, but now that there is no IT boom, I am thinking of studying M.B.B.S and become a doctor."

Most high school students and surprisingly even their parents know of only two career options, engineering and medicine. Students are not even aware of career opportunities in other fields like economics, journalism, science etc. They choose their career not based on their interest and aptitude, but on parental pressure and herd mentality. This has to stop if India has to fully utilize the potential of its human resources.

To start with, students have to be made aware of the career options in different fields. This can be done by changing the academic curriculum in such a way that it focuses more on the practical applications of the subject. The teachers also have to play an important role in making the students cognizant of the career options in their subjects.

Secondly, it must be mandatory for all schools to have a career counselor, who can work with the student to identify his/her strength and weaknesses and help in making an informed decision about their career choices. Though some schools do have career counselors, a majority of them don’t have one.

Thirdly and perhaps the most important of all; the parents should encourage the child to pursue a career of his own interest. Most parents either realize their dreams through their children or are just ignorant about the career opportunities in their child’s interested field. In the latter case, the counselor has to proactively interact with them to remove their any of their misconceptions.

Human resources are the most important asset any country can have; India is fortunate to have it in abundance, but their utilization leaves a lot to be desired.

Should Capt.Gopinath contest ?

Captain Gopinath is contesting for the Lok sabha seat from the Bangalore south constituency. Opinion is divided as to whether he should contest at all? Even if selected, will he have sufficient clout to effect any policy decisions ?

I for one believe that Gopinath should contest. If he wins, it will be a watershed event in Indian politics. Politics has always been considered a dirty game, especially by the educated elite. It is something which is discussed over a cup of coffee and forgotten even before the cup is over. Gopinath's victory will prove that being an successful businessman doesn't stop you from entering politics, it doesn't alienate you from the common people. The entrepreneur community consists of some of the shrewdest brains in the country; their entry into politics will immensely help India in addressing some important issues before it like poverty, unemployment etc.

Many argue that even if Gopinath is elected, as an independent candidate he will not have the necessary clout to influence any major policy decisions. This may be true, but lets not take such a myopic view. He may not be able to influence any major decisions in the next five years, but as an MP, his point of view will be heard and more importantly it will inspire more and more people to enter politics. Someone has to start somewhere and we should think of it, as just the beginning.

Eminent personalities like Narayan Murthy, chief mentor of Infosys, have openly advocated the candidature of Gopinath. A victory for Gopinath will not be just for him, but for an entire community disillusioned with politics. I sincerely hope that Gopinath wins and pave the way for a new breed to people to enter politics.

Arzz Kiya hai....

जिंदगी की राह पर चल पड़े थे मंजिल की ओर,
हर मंजिल के बाद, मंजिल मंजिल न रही,
हम हम न रहे

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हम तो चले थे बांटने लोगों में प्यार,
लोग हमें प्यार की कीमत पूंछने लगे

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