Raj - The Marathi Manus

Here's an amazing exchange of emails I had after provoking a concerned marathi manus (or manasi to be grammatically correct). It all started with the previous post for supporting Raj Thackeray for all he is doing.

I love Gmail for the amazing conversation style emails.



MissMarathi:
We I feel is, the solution is to create enough employment and good education and facilities in every state in the country.
Mumbai is said to be the land of opportunity, Pune the home of education...
Every one wants to come here.. they use their own skills and earn.. they come to work in good company or film industry or whtever...
ppl from other states are ready to work on cheap labor.. thts because they come to this new state and accept any work at the cost which is offered to them..

ME:
Any thoughts on Chennai, Bangalore (except for the film industry). Looking at IT, which by far is the single most influential factor in the development of India, I think the hub is Bangalore. Come On, accept it - there is NO Infosys in Mumbai. I agree that people come to Mumbai to work, but isn't it same for Delhi or Chennai or Calcutta? I mean why this local approach? On the other hand, don't Mumbai-manus go to distant lands to earn a living?

MissMarathi:
Thts wht the irony is.. when i see freshers from pune engg college being sent to banglore office and students from karnatake state being posted at pune office at IBM..
forget that..
If u are talking abt banglore and chennia.. there is general reluctance of northindians to go down south.. first language problem.. they just understand local lang... Maharashta has embraced all.. all ppl who go there are Engg.. and we know eng and have to communicate mostly with english speaking ppl. .. Radhika gave narrated us some really nasty expierences with her maid..
So common ppl going there for labour work is ruled out!!..
The not so smart marathi manus i was refering to is common man.. not engg.. well qualified ppl.. but ppl who earned a small living on selling milk.. hathgaadi.. etc.. (Hence forth.. pls remember.. i dont show mercy on educated ppl.. infact i never think for them as they have all the means and opportunity to make a good living.. once they are engs.. docs... and graduates.. )

ME:
So whats the big deal about going places? I see it as a learning curve and another opportunity to hone my skills and experience and enjoy the diversity of the country. Why are the haathgaadiwalas ruled out? First of all I think more educated people means more business for the non-educated junta. Look at the dabbawallahs - the major factor behind their success is the immigrants in the city who work day n night and cannot cook (or may not prefer to cook) for themselves. The common man - the barber, cobbler, taxiwala or sabziwala is making more since there are so many to cater to! I dont see a reason why they don't make more money?


MissMarathi:
now where wld a normal Maharashtrian who already has a settled home and has to earn atleast minimum pay to support his existing family and the home he owns go??He is left without a job..


ME:
We live in an era of core competency, its the survival of the fittest. What I could read from the above lines was more on the lines of smarter non-mumbai junta comes here and takes over the jobs of the not-so-smart marathis. What you fail to see is that people from other states or countries also come to Mumbai to offer jobs. The motive is plain capitalistic, nothing personal here.


MissMarathi:
not so smart marathis -- i think i answered tht..Capitalist venture only where they see profit and potential to grow.. maharashtra is one.. bec of good education.. skilled ppl... well connected infrastructure.. i know roads in pune suck.. but pune i wld still say is accessible.. all these factors are reason for ppl from other states to offer jobs.. it not a favour.. its their personal motive..
We can put the same arguement for Karwar.. with new project started by govt of india.. there are so many immigrants ..and my grandmom who earlier felt safe in the city.. where ppl cld leave their house doors open.. doesnt feel the same any more..
well u mite argue.. the new generation isnt tht honest as the older generation was.. but lets not discuss karwar..

ME:
Good Education? I don't see why you're overhyped with the Good Education in MH and still ran all the way across the globe for the graduate program - and you know better what great acad accomplishments you've made here! Govt projects that involve bringing in people from other states are miniscule in numbers - look at what they pay!


MissMarathi:
I wont say the north Indian person or anyone else is responsible for this.. its is just tht, if we create ample opportunity everywhere this will stop..Good universities everywhere in country will stop the students from elsewhere coming from places far away to Maharashtra.. this will stop industries just having their companies set up in and around Maharashtra. and every state of country will prosper.. and not just Maharashtra..I often see Marathi ppl who simply have no jobs.. no good seats in univ bec of Out of state reservation category.. (now i dont remeber the exact category.. but i guess its OTS) . so unwillingly they have to take admission in a some low grade college in Maharashtra..Many times it hppens the scale of grading in state is different.. and in Maharashtra it is stricter than others.. so any other state candidate scores more than us but the weighted grade can be less.. and gets a better seat...


ME:
Jobs: I wouldn't repeat, read my defense above. Talking of Universities, I assume that most of the well-to-do colleges that offer admissions to students from other states have a common entrance test - the basis is merit. Moreover, most of the colleges (I know of University of Mumbai - Engineering & Medical faculties) offer seats on the basis of the +2 percentage and is primarily limited to the inhibitants of the state. OTS - or whatever for that matter, don't Maharashtrians enjoy a similar quota in other colleges across the country? Do I need to tell you about the likes of Stephen's, Xavier's & Presidency? Scale of grading is probably one of the easiest in MH. I can say this with utmost confidence backed by results. Moreover, doesn't the mix of people from all over India enrich the environment of the college?


MissMarathi:
Yes i agree with tht and ur ponit is not wrong.. but wht i am saying is.. tht we we have good university and educational institutions established everywhere.. we wldnt have to leave our own city and come this far.. probly my dad wldnt have to struggle so much to come to Pune and settle here with little money and a small place instead he wld have stayed in karwar.. in a big house .. acres of land we own.. and still his children wld have had a good opportunity to compete with the best..

ME:
I get your point - but then isn't that being way too dreamy? Lets face the world we live in and be the change we want. The typical indian mindset is all set to do all that it takes to add that extra something to the monthly pay. So your dad moved to Pune coz there was no opportunity in Karwad. But then all those who didn't move out still survived. On the contrary, those who moved to some developed country prolly made millions more than your dad - the point is that if you really want to compete, why be afraid to move out and do what it takes to be the king!


MissMarathi:
So I dont support what Raj Thackeray has to do in this regards.. its against democracy and its against the notion of One Nation..but there is a certain truth in the issue he is addressing..Interestingly , I heard the first public address of Obama in chicago after him winning the elections..I Was amazed by the fact tht ppl are here are so proud of their country.. He kept on calling all of them as Americans..Everytime he said tht.. I felt a feeling and spirit of oneness in the nation..


ME:
You should really be thankful that we don't have an American version of Raj Thackeray. Imagine what would happen of all those money-minting NRIs in the US. God forbid, but what if Obama rules out all the non-americans to take up jobs in the US. What about your ROI, ha?


MissMarathi:
the point which i am trying to stress is "We I feel is, the solution is to create enough employment and good education and facilities in every state in the country." This was the very first sentence of my view.. and the most imp and unfortunately the most forgotten tooo..
what i wld tell Obama is.. we just need to make sure.. that we have the same level, good quality of education, good nice opportunites(like good research work here instead of just service oriented work being offshored to india).. and then probably no Indian wld come to ur land..
Who creates this all?? the money donated by and initiative taken by money-minting NRIs, the indian politics.. responsible educated indians.. and good citizens..

ME:
I hate this - why should the NRIs donate their money? I mean why are they always looked upon? Just coz they underwent lot of pains while trying to pave their way in a completely different setup? Just because they prolly lived the life of a Poor Indian Graduate Student (or PIGS in short :P) while feeding themselves on half-burnt, sometimes-not-so-well-cooked food? When would we learn to settle for what we have and be happy about it? Why expect research work to be outsourced to India by the MNCs ? Why not develop our own likes of NSF, NASA or DARPA? Did you, as a researcher, ever consider working for IISc, BARC, TIFR or more of the same? Your statement was not forgotten - it was merely a far reached goal for the present times - too optimistic and idealistic - away from the REAL WORLD!


MissMarathi:
We got to learn that from America.. It arises in us when in need.. when in crisis.. but we need to keep tht going and be ONE..


ME:
America is the same on both peace and peril. It's just that you happened to look around and take a deeper prospect of things at this age.


MissMarathi:
uh!! not with u dear.. i thot u were the person who wld appreciate good things here.. I had a tough time convincing one of my friends on this.. I know things here are not perfect.. but wht i want to make sure is.. if there something good for me.. i am taking it home for sure...

ME:
Then stop talking about your state like all other marathi's. Mumbai in its entirity is nowhere close to NYC in terms of offering opprotunities - and till date, I NEVER saw someone from NY State talking as if their state was invaded by people from other states (or gujjus encroaching Manhattan for that matter!).

Support Raj Thackeray

Off-late I realized, we all should support Raj Thackeray and take his initiative ahead by doing more of this:


1. We should teach our kids that if he is second in class, don't study harder. Just beat up the student coming first and throw him out of the school .

2. Parliament should have only Delhiites as it is located in Delhi .

3. Prime-minister, president and all other leaders should only be from Delhi .

4. No Hindi movie should be made in Bombay. Only Marathi.

5. At every state border, buses, trains, flights should be stopped and changed to local bus, train or plane. Consequently, the staff must be changed to local staff.

6. All Maharashtrians working abroad or in other states should be sent back to their homes as they are SNATCHING employment from locals of that country.

7. Lord Shiv, Ganesha and Parvati should not be worshiped in Maharashtra as they belong to north India (Himalayas).

8. Visits to Taj Mahal should be restricted to people from UP only.

9. Relief for farmers in Maharashtra should not come from central govt. because that is the money collected as Tax from whole of India, so why should it be given to some one in Maharashtra?

10. Let's support Kashmiri Militants because they are right to killing and injuring innocent people for benefit of their state and community.

11. Let's throw all non-Maharashtra companies out of Maharashtra, why should they earn from us? We will open our own Maharashtra Microsoft, MH-Pepsi and MH-Maruti.

12. Let's stop using cell phones, emails, TV, foreign Movies and dramas. James Bond should speak Marathi. Either convert Bollywood to Marathi or deport the artists elsewhere.

13. We should be ready to die hungry or buy food at 10 times higher price but should not accept imports from other states.

14. We should not allow any industry to be set-up in Maharashtra because all machinery comes from outside.

15. We should STOP using local trains. Trains are not manufactured by Marathi manoos and Railway Minister is a Bihari.

16. Ensure that all our children are born, grow, live and die without ever stepping out of Maharashtra, then only they will become true Marathis.

JAI MAHARASHTRA!

This is a wonderful mail circulating in favor of Raj Thackeray. Please spread the word to support the wonderful cause.

GET WELL SOON MAAMU :-)

Knowingly or Unknowingly

Have you been a sexist lately? For those with an orthodox approach to the language, refer to the definition here.

-A

PS: This is more of a reader's-view post. 

PPS: Comment generously & honestly. :-)

Online Deals in India

Recently, I came across an email from an Indian bank (credit card division) advertising about the deals offered on Sify Mall. It had some decent offers, claiming a minimum discount of 25%. I got lured into Microwave Ovens and a few clicks away, I ended up with this LG Microwave Oven listed up there, LG MG555FS. Next obvious step was google, which gave me astonishing results! I never expected just 5 results for LG Microwave Oven model, none of them from the manufacturer, nor from any review website - all of them from just 2 Indian retailers.

Digging deeper, I found that the same was true for many other products which are available on Indian online stores (Rediff/Indiatimes etc) but the manufacturers don't list them on their website. This is quite possible only in the following circumstances:

• The product is way too old and there have been significant changes in this range of product offered by the same manufacturer. So they feel they should advertise the newer, better product on the shelf. This translates in the business paradigm that the manufacturing of this product has been stopped. The company doesn't make this product anymore. Though, this product might be still found in the markets, at stores which failed to sell them in the past few/many years. However, in lure of a deal, the online stores keep you ignorant of these facts. I do not contend the fact that the manufacture might offer repair service/warranty for the same. So far so good, still the customer MUST keep an eye open on other websites that list this product, read reviews on OTHER websites too and NOT rely on the only one that offers you the deal.
  

• The other case has a complete dark side to it. If you are left with single digit search results on the product, it is quite possible that the product has been intentionally cloaked under the name-tag of a leading brand. Odds are high that it might not be a genuine one. Probe the manufacturer, websites/phone-calls might prove worthy.
  

In my case, I ended up calling LG Electronics - both at their US & India contact centers to inquire if they ever made this product or offered support on the same. At this point, their answer didn't surprise me. Sify is making up the deal to boost sales. People, who're deceived of the original costs, give away their moolah for something completely unauthentic.

It is not unconventional to assume that software/online frauds are pretty common in India and immense work is needed to get some, or shall I say, any litigation support. News agencies might be a good help.We witness an age where India is leading in the IT enabled population of the globe, however, this never reflects anywhere in constructive contribution of an average Indian to lay the foundations of a well-informed, truthful, law-seeking nation. I really appreciate the works of the select few in this direction, however this post is aimed at off-the-shelf e-literate population who are web-savvy to an extent, but zilch in terms of creativity in the information age. It doesn't call for rocket science to post a review/report on a specific product/service that you consume/use. It just takes a resolute effort to do good to the common pool of thoughts. On this note, I must say Mouthshut is a great initiative in this regard. I do endorse this website and recommend it to people who are looking for opinions online.

After all, there is a lot of good to be done to the society and this MEANS something BEYOND the realm of social networking and instant messaging.

-Ankur

Comments?

On a recent blog stroll, I came across this. Give it a sharp eye before you proceed. My comments are based on a limited scope. Hope you add more to it.

Sorry Ashish, for eating up your blogspace :D Seems I'm getting into a habit of posting looong comments. Phew!


For one, I would say "...Fat pay cheques, seductive lifestyle, smart homes, flashy cars, last but not the least, a pretty Indian better-half..." is largely a myth, not a reality. Be there, do that to know more. My logic could be defeated if you're thinking in terms of the exchange factors and settling your grey cells with peace, which is a form of intentional ignorance.

Back home in India, a fat pay-cheque means literally 5-6 figures. While in the US, other than doctors or lawyers, I haven't heard any desi being paid 5 figures of local currency any month. One can own and enjoy as many privileges as one could afford. Get to the basics - the average software guy in India would hardly touch a mop, do the dishes or worse, clean his commode. I guess the underlying factor is the indifference we have towards human labor in the Indian subcontinent. Trust me, we all have it in some form or the other, its in our DNAs. So given the outlook, lifestyle and economy, the pay-cheques are really not that fat.


Seductive Lifestyle: believe me, its the biggest myth :P
The odds of scoring a fairer femme are way too low, given the accent, lifestyle and more importantly - the built. Yes, as a matter of fact, some desi dudes might look but ALL of them are barely athletic. For desi women, there is a good chance of success in a hunk-hunt provided they know what reverse cowgirl style means ;-)

Homes aren't that smart, its just the reflection of the respect for clean-green surroundings and a rock solid commitment of the government to provide services. It's just like any other house in Bangalore or New Delhi, with better surroundings and services.

I partially agree with the fact that one can afford to buy a good car in the US, which might have been a dream carrier for many in India. But as a matter of fact, driving is one big lesson one needs to learn here. I assume you can estimate how 'authentic' a procedure is to get a drivers license in India. Worse, wonder how easy is it to get away with the traffic police? On another note, In the US, getting a car might be easy though, but at times, it is a big pain in the @$$.
NOTHING is at walkable distance, Skyrocketing parking prices, tough-to-find parking spots and top it all, parallel parking on the streets :P

One definite thing that a US Visa guarantees you is a Pretty Indian Better Half. I completely agree with you here. Albeit all odds, speculations and compromises, what rests in store back home is the mindset that the American life is best of all. Families tie up, brides/grooms dress up and finally you can make a move. From an Indian point of view, I would say its a tough choice to come over and settle with new things and a stranger (what else do we refer to unknown brides/grooms who spent less than 500 hours of courtship with you), after completing more than a quarter of your life in COMPLETELY different social and domestic settings. Though with a broad and longsighted mindset, I see everything falling in place in the long run. Give me a count on how many fathers/mothers in a white collar job get home at 6PM? Ain't everyone addicted to working late, I primarily target the male species here. Most of us dont leave for work at 0800, don't get there by 0900 and hence, we're never done by 1700 so we can't get home by 6PM. Your spouse, parents and kins are mature enough to understand that you are busy and most of the times, they might be busy enough to miss you. Guess who is ultimately left wondering when his papa would get back home. In the rat race and procrastinated lifestyle, we often forget the basics.

So before you leap ahead with your pink slip for the big welcoming stamp from Uncle Sam, give a thought on what you lag and what you should learn.