HOW ARE WE BEING VIEWED

Recently I received a mail from an ex colleague of mine who is settled in Europe.  He had attended  a professional   meet soon after the Uttarakand tragedy.  Whoever he met there had lot of sympathy for people who had been caught up in Uttarakand.  Alongside was a question, asked directly or hanging there:  Why cant you, in India, do things properly?

That struck a chord.  I am sure most of you will remember that we had a book called 'Many Voices' for our English Language for our SSLC Examination.  There was an essay by Aldous Huxley on India and Indians.  That essay must have been written in 1930s  or so.  I recall that  Huxley prefaced his essay with a verse from Edward Lear:    

There was an Old Man of Thermopylae
Who never did anything properly.

Huxley went on to write that Indians are like Thermopylaeans, who never did anything properly. That was his impression of Indians. Remember he admired and befriended J. Krishnamurti and later went on to write an introduction to " The Bhagvat Gita: The Song of God" published by the Vedanta Society of Southern California.

Almost a century later, that epithet seems to continue to stick to us.

As viewed by others (foreigners) we have a higher IQ and have an amazing ability to do multitasking.  This is in direct contrast to what you observe in most countries: that their general knowledge is very limited and they just can do only one task at a time, as for example at any counter at the Bank or Shop.

However we are also seen as having a poor work culture.  Not enough dedication or attachment or pride to the work we do.  So we end up doing a sloppy work, incomplete or with inaccuracies or unverified assumptions, etc.  And to top it all, excuses for everything.  

Add to it.  We are no great team players. Generally in a team we tend to relax, in the sure knowledge that someone else in the team will make up for you!!   Remember the famous story of the Maharaja who wanted the citizens each to bring him one jar of milk, only to find the jar full of water!!

Why is this so?  Something for us to ponder.  And to reflect on what we, individually, can do to change this perception.

Please do share your thoughts.


S. Ananthanarayanan.