Traditionally, the Asian Indian (Indian) culture has been very family oriented. It is well documented that Indians will make personal sacrifices to keep the family going.
Lately, I have come across a number of situations where this has not been the case. I used to hear about such cases, but never paid attention to them until this started happening with family and friends. All of these are cases of divorce, some involving little kids. In all these cases, the family has split over what seem to be trivial issues, issues one would find in every household. What is worse is that in pretty much every case, there is an extra-marital affair, with a married person, so that not one but two households are shattered as a result. In some of these cases, one of the spouses has even gone down to the level of hurting the other spouse by threatening them, by lodging false complaints with the police, or by canceling medical insurance etc.
Adopting western values and ideas has always been labeled as progress in India. I must say that I am appalled at this kind of progress. The western world has always been criticized about being too individualistic, and the Indian culture seems to be adopting this value very rapidly. Living in America as a foreigner is hard enough, and for a kid to grow up in this country in a spilt family is going to be far more challenging. People have become too busy and have no time to think, and are making irrational decisions in haste. This is not progress. The only way we can make progress is by thinking more, and knowing fully well the consequences of our actions.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
The Gadget Geeks
Every time a new electronic item is released for sale in the market, the manufacturer naturally creates quite a buzz about it. After all, the objective is to sell as many of the items as possible, and capture a sizable market share. What is interesting though is the fact that there are many people (the gadget geeks) who are so hooked on to these items, that they can't wait for the next version or the next "cool" product to be launched. I have observed that these people spend a lot of time researching what's coming in the market next, and know everything there is to know about the features and functions of the new product. These are the same people who are willing to camp overnight or for days in order to be first in line to buy the new product. These are also the people who are never happy with what they have because once they have spent a few hours with their new gadget, they are already yearning for more.
Apple has been well-known in the last few years as the leader when it comes to innovations in the world of electronics. The iPod has become synonymous with music and video and the product has enjoyed immense popularity with all. We have also seen the immense popularity of gaming consoles like the PlayStation II and others. The iPhone was much hyped about for a long time, and quite a frenzy was built up about its launch including the mystery icon.
The phone was finally launched earlier this year, and as expected, people lined up at the stores to get their new toy. I must admit that it is a beautiful gadget, and I loved the experience when I tried it. The gadget geeks were happy and proud. I did not buy it because the asking price was just too much ($599 for the more loaded version).
Something terrible happened earlier this month. Apple dropped the price of the iPhone by $200. They say that it is because they want to sell 10 million phones by the end of 2008, but I feel really bad for the true fans of the device. I am certain that folks who lined up the shops (or the Internet) and bought the phone at $599 feel royally cheated. The true fan should be rewarded and not cheated by having to pay such a high price. I wonder what the aftermath of this will be, and I am certain that mailboxes of Steve Jobs and others at Apple have been flooded with hate mail.
I can only feel good about the fact that I did not succumb to the charms of this new phone when it was launched because I would have felt really bad about the price drop. In general, I have seen that it simply does not help to pay top dollar for any new technology. It seems that paying for features that will never be used just doesn't make sense. Things become obsolete so fast today that one can never keep up.
All this makes me wonder -- what drives the gadget geeks? As I think about it, I have begun to believe that these are special people, these are the folks who drive innovation. I strongly believe that we need these people. If everyone thought like me, we might still be using the land line as our primary means of communication and TV would be the only household video device. The gadget geeks make personal sacrifices to make innovation possible. Just getting their hands on the latest and greatest is reward enough!
Apple has been well-known in the last few years as the leader when it comes to innovations in the world of electronics. The iPod has become synonymous with music and video and the product has enjoyed immense popularity with all. We have also seen the immense popularity of gaming consoles like the PlayStation II and others. The iPhone was much hyped about for a long time, and quite a frenzy was built up about its launch including the mystery icon.
The phone was finally launched earlier this year, and as expected, people lined up at the stores to get their new toy. I must admit that it is a beautiful gadget, and I loved the experience when I tried it. The gadget geeks were happy and proud. I did not buy it because the asking price was just too much ($599 for the more loaded version).
Something terrible happened earlier this month. Apple dropped the price of the iPhone by $200. They say that it is because they want to sell 10 million phones by the end of 2008, but I feel really bad for the true fans of the device. I am certain that folks who lined up the shops (or the Internet) and bought the phone at $599 feel royally cheated. The true fan should be rewarded and not cheated by having to pay such a high price. I wonder what the aftermath of this will be, and I am certain that mailboxes of Steve Jobs and others at Apple have been flooded with hate mail.
I can only feel good about the fact that I did not succumb to the charms of this new phone when it was launched because I would have felt really bad about the price drop. In general, I have seen that it simply does not help to pay top dollar for any new technology. It seems that paying for features that will never be used just doesn't make sense. Things become obsolete so fast today that one can never keep up.
All this makes me wonder -- what drives the gadget geeks? As I think about it, I have begun to believe that these are special people, these are the folks who drive innovation. I strongly believe that we need these people. If everyone thought like me, we might still be using the land line as our primary means of communication and TV would be the only household video device. The gadget geeks make personal sacrifices to make innovation possible. Just getting their hands on the latest and greatest is reward enough!
Monday, September 10, 2007
Harsh realities of being a first generation immigrant
Many of us have done this during the last several years; namely, come to the US from India during our twenties either to pursue higher studies or to work. I am a typical representative of that group who crossed the oceans in 1987. I represent a large majority within that group, as most of us have not returned to India. The US offers exciting job opportunities to everyone, a life possibly better than what most of us grew up with (at least financially), and for many, especially women, freedom from traditions and cultural boundaries that they frown upon.
In the twenties and thirties, everything is good. Those are the days of youth, the body is healthy, and the mind is excited to explore and innovate. Everyone around us is happy as well, including parents back home, who are proud of our achievements.
I (and many others like me) have now crossed into the forties, and things have changed. Our parents are now in the late sixties and seventies, our own kids are teenagers or getting there, and our own bodies are not the same they were ten years ago. It has become common to hear about parents having one health problem or another, generally lacking support in India, and finding it difficult to manage their day to day lives. Occasionally, our parents come out here and visit us, but it is very difficult for them to come out and stay for long periods of time, since they lack mobility, don’t have lot of people to interact with on a daily basis, cannot assimilate easily in the culture here, and most importantly cannot get medical insurance. Also, these visits are only possible until they are reasonably healthy.
I have spent several sleepless nights thinking about this issue but have not come up with a solution. I guess this is the price that the first generation of immigrants has to pay. Or perhaps, this is the personal sacrifice we have to make in exchange for a better life. If I am spending sleepless nights here pondering this issue, do I really have a better life?
Of course, I am being very selfish just thinking about my own problems. I had to make a personal sacrifice in search of a better life. What about the sacrifice made by my parents? What have I been able to give them in exchange for the agony they have had to endure? Their child has been away from them for years, and they have had only some interaction with their grandchildren. These are joys that most people take for granted.
I wish I could come up with a solution to this problem that would make everyone happy. For the time bring, I suppose the sleepless nights will continue.
In the twenties and thirties, everything is good. Those are the days of youth, the body is healthy, and the mind is excited to explore and innovate. Everyone around us is happy as well, including parents back home, who are proud of our achievements.
I (and many others like me) have now crossed into the forties, and things have changed. Our parents are now in the late sixties and seventies, our own kids are teenagers or getting there, and our own bodies are not the same they were ten years ago. It has become common to hear about parents having one health problem or another, generally lacking support in India, and finding it difficult to manage their day to day lives. Occasionally, our parents come out here and visit us, but it is very difficult for them to come out and stay for long periods of time, since they lack mobility, don’t have lot of people to interact with on a daily basis, cannot assimilate easily in the culture here, and most importantly cannot get medical insurance. Also, these visits are only possible until they are reasonably healthy.
I have spent several sleepless nights thinking about this issue but have not come up with a solution. I guess this is the price that the first generation of immigrants has to pay. Or perhaps, this is the personal sacrifice we have to make in exchange for a better life. If I am spending sleepless nights here pondering this issue, do I really have a better life?
Of course, I am being very selfish just thinking about my own problems. I had to make a personal sacrifice in search of a better life. What about the sacrifice made by my parents? What have I been able to give them in exchange for the agony they have had to endure? Their child has been away from them for years, and they have had only some interaction with their grandchildren. These are joys that most people take for granted.
I wish I could come up with a solution to this problem that would make everyone happy. For the time bring, I suppose the sleepless nights will continue.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)