Attachment to a Job

 Read a post by someone on LinkedIn on how Indians in India are emotionally attached to their job, partly because we don't have other interests outside work. Largely true. Oracle's 12,000 layoffs brought this out yesterday, with some employees lamenting their layoff.

What is a job? It's a contract, that can be terminated as per conditions stated in it. That's it. The group you work with is not exactly family, though friendships or relationships can develop during your work life. But the corporate (or family owned) entity has limited uses for any employee-CEO included. One must bear that in mind.

The best way to deal with the downside is to be prepared for a job change at short notice. Update your skills, your CV and network. Don't be under an illusion that your job is forever. Stash some savings to help during a transition. Don't overcommit on expensive stuff, especially long term, unless you have an assurance that you can meet the EMIs. 

Pronouncing Funny

 Funny stories about pronunciation abound in India. One of the funny ones concerns a foreign prof. who was being introduced to the audience in a gathering. His name was Roger something, and the guy introducing him kept pronouncing the g as a hard g instead of a soft g, causing mirth all around-not in Roger, maybe.

The B for V is common in Bengal, and Crazy pronunciation of many words is very common in Mallu-land. But iskool for school is also common in some parts of the North, and s instead of sh (try Social) also, likewise.

Telugus pronounce the d in bridge, and a lot besides. Marathi people tend to prolong the pain while saying pen.. peeen is how they will say it. Gujjus say shake when they mean shack, and snake when they mean snack.

The Globalising Indian

During my growing up years, mostly Indians were going to the U.S. for higher studies, and then, many settled down there. Hardly any other destinations.

Now I find my friends/students or relatives in multiple places. Canada and Australia seem to be the popular ones, though there are a few in New Zealand, Dubai, Finland or Germany as well. This is a sign of globalisation.

I think it is also a sign that a few more countries have realised two things- that you need immigrants to bring in some new ideas, at least in some sectors. And that Indians have what it takes, in those sectors.

If immigration laws did not exist (I suspect they did not, long ago when India used to be one of the richest economies in the world, even if under monarchies), people (labour in the words of economists) would probably be better able to redistribute themselves according to need and joblessness may reduce - hypothetically at least. The alternative, globalised production according to the cheapest location that can produce anything, seems mired in tariff wars across geographies.

Anyway, interesting to see where all the nationalist, anti-immigration rhetoric in various countries leads us..and what happens to the oil-rich economies when oil runs out.

Like, I mean..

Here's the latest on Americans' vocabulary- English vocabulary, from someone who just returned from a trip there. Sample these half-sentences-they have been cut short to prevent too much mirth,..bad for health.

Like, if you are like looking for like shoes, ...

Like, I'm gonna like absolutely go to like the North-east for my vacation

Can I, like, tell you, like, why I like the Disney characters?

Ok, like it or not, the word like is all-pervasive (not just on facebook), and is a substitute for other words, or just over-used in like, places where it's not needed..

But we can't let the Americans win so easily right? Matlab, it wouldn't be right. So we have matlab, used and matlab, over-used, in parts of our own dharti (land). Matlab, if you can't get this, you are a person from matlab, Mars or something.

Indianising English

We have made English our own; so much that we can barely recognise it. The English would be puzzled at some of the things we do (like we are puzzled by many things they do-mess around in Iraq, for instance).

Like 'prepone' things instead of advance them.

Using "Could able to" where it has no business being used.

I did not knew - did you?

The cost was very less- oh, was it?

Did you discuss about the important news?

And, not to differentiate, "Ï'm Loving It"is also grammatically wrong.  In case you are going to a McD to improve your kid's English, please rethink.

Pronouncing the Stuff

Renunciation is different from pronunciation. And it's tough to get both right.

We in India take pride in the fact that we are about speaking English the way we like it, and particularly take pride in our regional English. From a long time ago, jokes about regional accents have proliferated, and before I forget, I want to recount some of them.

Like in school, we would ask a Bengali to say, "Venkatramana, Venkatramana, why are you walking in the verandah," with results that were hilarious to the rest.

Or the famous one about a Gujju who went to the to a toy shop and instructed the attendant to "rape the doll" -all he meant was "wrap" or pack the doll.

The Andhravaadus generally pronounce the 'd' in bridge very hard, and it's hard to make them bu'd'ge from their stance.

Easterners like Odiyas confuse Boss with Bus and Bose (the name), so you never know whether the boss took a bus or missed it. Or if Bose did, if he wasn't the boss.

It's always a player to speak with a Punju, for that's how they like to pronounce 'pleasure'.

And with a Tam, it's usually 'money' above all, only you say it like Mani.

More 'eggzamples' can be found everywhere you look (ghati ending).

The Americans- Book Review

Chitra Viraraghavan is new to me, as far as Indian writers go. But it is a good read about something that I know something about- America. The best thing about it is that it treads ground that is not trodden by many Indians writing about the U.S. of A. Usually, the warts remain hidden from view. Not here, not those of the Indians for whom it is a Mecca, nor of the "great American dreamers".

The only complaint I had as an oldish reader was that the characters are many, and it gets tough to remember who is who. But that's more to do with me, than the book. The many angles used, particularly about other immigrants- blacks, Mexicans, and an Israeli, are dimensions I have not seen in Indian writing before. We are too obsessed with our so-called 'brains' and academic success, I assume. The easy-going nature of Americans comes across in the encounters that the old Indian Maths teacher has with them, during his long stay with his daughter. One lady offers to show him around Chicago (and does), which the daughter never finds time for.

America is shown as a normal place with normal people- criminals (yes, of Indian origin), adulterers (ditto), ungrateful kids who leave their parents in limbo but use them when they can, parents who are quite happy not to be living in the land of dreams (not theirs anyway), American born kids of Indians who just want to fit in. The academic systems of American universities show up as heartless and rule-bound, though one could argue it is much worse here in India.

Utterly believable, and very readable, though it might take a bit longer, if you are my age. Guess my age?

American Desi Names

Most people in the US can't (or think they can't) pronounce Indian names. Anyway, whether that's true or not, names of Indians in the US get modified (no, this is not a political statement, even if it contains the word 'Modi' hidden somewhere).

So the names of people change, usually to a short and easier-on-the-tongue version. I used to teach at the Clemson University as a grad student, and my name Rajendra was shortened to Raj, which was similar to Rog (for Roger) and therefore easy to say. A friend in California, Kiran, shortened his to Ken, which proved useful to him in business- he was into real estate broking. He also converted his last name from Kenjale to Jolly, which I think is a stroke of genius.

In academics, we now have several Indians at US universities, who have adopted a different strategy. They use a name twice, one in a shortened form and another in the original. So you have a Nat Natarajan, or a Das Narayan Das (who is a friend, incidentally, a prof at Harvard), or Rajan Varadarajan (not sure if his is of this form, because Rajan could be a name too). I think this is an interesting way to do it, from a marketing point of view. Remember, there is an adage in advertising that the more you repeat your (product) name, the better it is for people to remember. So it is with people's names.

So I henceforth will rename myself as Kar Nargundkar. By the way, that does not rhyme with Car.

Common Errors in English

Not claiming that I am Superman or anything, but there are some common errors we make while using the Language- the Queen would be jumping up and down on her barge on the Thames. Some I can remember are-

Saying 'I could not able to finish the job.'

Using 'loose' instead of 'lose'- this is an epidemic of sorts-all-pervasive.

'Myself Rajendra Nargundkar' as an intro to yourself. Wish more people were inspired by the famous line- My name is Bond. James Bond.

I will revert back to you. Contains a redundant word.

Why you are doing this? Correct words in the wrong sequence.

Reminds me of a joke related to this.
 A government official was explaining the rules for admission into a security area-  "If you have ID, ENTRY. Otherwise, DYSENTRY."

The Indians by Sudhir and Katharina Kakar

This is a book I am reading, and contains a fascinating portrait of us Indians. Some of the authors' observations are insightful, and ring true from experience. Particularly if you have had a close look at other cultures or people, you may get more out of this.

Their take on leadership and team work are relevant for all students of management. Sample this-

"Among the subordinates, there is a tendency to idealise the leader and look upon him as a repository of all virtues, an almost superhuman figure ...."

"Since Indian institutions are markedly hierarchical, collaborative teamwork across levels of status and power proves to be difficult. Decisions tend to be pushed upward.."

"The absence of a democratic mode of functioning in Indian institutions is not resented as long as leaders develop a close relationship with the led."

They also talk of the family being the cornerstone of an Indian way of life, and not the man-woman couple as in many Western societies. The saas bahu (mother-in-law vs. daughter-in-law) struggle is essentially a means of subjugating the romantic relationship and upholding the primacy of 'the family' and the saas is only an agent of the family in achieving this goal.

Indians are corrupt because corruption, nepotism etc. are secondary when compared to the importance of fulfilling obligations to one's kith and kin or "extended family", according to the authors.

They also have interesting explanations for the Indians' fascination for the fair skin colour and the abhorrence of "lower castes" that pervades even non-Hindus in India in some form, in spite of Mahatma Gandhi.

Fascinating, must read for every Indian. Even if you can't change, it will at least make you aware of what we are.

Two gems from the book, to close with.

Indians are the most undemocratic people living in the biggest democracy.

We are the cleanest people living in a filthy country (refers to public spaces).