Attitude for Change

How often we hear from people who have visited the US , that how good or better the country is than India.They talk about so many good things that US has and compare how bad our own country is!!!!! I am sure there are going to be people on both side of the wall... few who agree and few who do not disagree but would defend the country by putting up arguments that are in favour of India.I have come across such debates and also have been part of a few.As i see it everyone atleast most of them are not talking about the cultural or traditional beauty of the country compared to our's but more about the system's ,facilities and infrastructure.I couldnt agree more than now since i have had a feel for it in person...first hand.I completely agree to people who say that US is better and good in terms of FACILITIES and INFRASTRUCTURE.

I would like to stress again that i only accept the fact that US is better in terms of facility and infrastructure ...issues that are public and common to the nation to be precise.

I would never try to compare the cultures and weigh one against the other.That according to me is not sensible.Culture and the way of living are very much affected by so many different things and more importantly the environment that one grows up.I am sure if you travel through the different parts of our own country India , it might not be surprising to find people with so many different cultures, traditions and beliefs .Every community has its own perception of whats right or wrong and this differentiating factor is at times so visible and precipitates to the smallest component of a community , INDIVIDUAL.There are so many differences b/w the individuals living in one same community.When within such a small geographical area ,there is so much of difference it is very obvious that it makes no sense in trying to compare two cultures that are so far apart ..almost each flourishing in its own world.I believe each culture has its own values , pros /cons and beliefs which should be respected as they are.

Coming to the other aspects of comparison.YES!!!!! US is far better than India in terms of the infrastructure and facilities.Its just that!!!!..black and white and i am sure however patriotic a person,if he/she has visited the US they will agree to this fact.Where do i start.... everything is just so systematic and it is all already in place.Its been only 3 weeks since i am here but i can see it clearly.I am not saying that US does not have its share of problems in these areas but for the large part they have it all covered.The roads are free of potholes , the surroundings are so clean.It is evident that there has been so much planning when these developments were underway.And the most important thing of all, People here FOLLOW IT!!!!!!!!!!! Any system/law is worth its salt only if it is enforced and followed otherwise it is just another set of words put together to form those tough looking phrases...thats pretty much it is.When I say this I would stress and put the onus on citizens like me rather than blame the enforcers only.Yes it is a failure of realizing and fulfilling responsibility from our side.But I am not going to restrain myself from putting a fairly equal if not more ,blame on the enforcers.These are people who are given the authority and responsibility to uphold the law but fail to do that.Do I sound too idealistic??? Is everyone upright to the brim in the US????No not all....I am sure that US has its own share of corruption issues to face but its not so prevalent here that everything in a days work will be hindered by corruption.It is in a relative sense that one has to look.We are living in a age where idealistic values and virtues are the last thing that one will be thinking about.

Well one can go on and on in this way but what is it that really needs to change in a country like India for the better of the country and all its people.The first and the most important thing that I believe is ATTITUDE.I always believe that attitude has an important role to play in one's life.What we become in our life is so much more dependent on attitude that it could make or break a life.Attitude for me is the thought process ...of how one percieves the things that he/she comes across in life.This seems to be the defining and the differentiating factor between the two nations.It is nice to see that for the large part almost everyone respects the law and is so conscious of his/her surroundings .The way they perceive the rules that are laid out makes them believe that it is for the common good and thats why they follow these.There is more to how to they look at various things in life.Now this does not mean that they are idealistic do gooders and so on ....

Hmm... It has been a few days since i started writing this blog but never got to complete this. It was an interesting break which has actually given me an experience which I would like to highlight since this is exactly what I refer to when I say ATTITUDE.It just happened that three of us got into a discussion of various things and so we stumbled upon the very topic that I am writing this blog on.I suggested that its all about doing the little things correctly by everyone that could help us to improve our country.As a case in point,I stated the example where we can come across so many educated people working in top firms crossing the roads by jumping over he medians and all other stunts that are not supposed to be done thereby putting the not only their life at risk but also creating problems for others.This is a classic example where even the educated in our country fail to follow or respect the rules and flout them openly.Now these are the small things that I am talking about .If we can correct ourselves and do such simple things the way we are supposed to it , that will do a world of good for our country.But it was not to be, my good friend who was also part of the discussion was not willing to look at it this way.What frustrated me the most about the discussion with my good friend was that he kept telling me reasons as to why some people do it.This is what I call ATTITUDE and simply reflects the mentality of the large part of our country. We keep tellling that people in another country are so good , they follow the rules and so on and so forth.But when we start discussing about our country we come up with reasons as to why one does it... but never why one should not do it.The most pathetic thing was that this other person felt that it was the persons talent to jump median and reach safely so what was wrong!!!!!!! What do i say???? Reasoning as to change ...we have to look as to why one should do it the right way and not reason and justify why some so it the wrong way. Just wishing will not work .Everyone has to realize that it is going to take determination and desire to improve things in our country.This has got to change for us and our country to see the light of the day.... and I wish , hope that this does become a reality.


" BE THE CHANGE THAT YOU WISH TO SEE"... ... This has got to start from me and hope it does!!!!!!!!

--SrK

JoURneY aCrOSS the GLobE!!!!!

Welll it has been some time since i decided to blog but as it happens everytime when i decide to do something...... It never really happened until now.Why it happened or rather why it didnt happen ?? Lack of interest...of ideas to blog...... I dont really have a answer for that.So why am i doing it today? Well the very fact of what my life is today.A completely new experience in the land of dreams ..... which has so many people dreaming of making it to its shores one day and here I am in the very shores of the same land ,blogging.It is hard to believe that it is going to be the third weekend that i am spending in this country.Things have gone by so fast that i still feel that it was just yesterday that i was back home and hanging out with my friends. I guess atlast i realize that the reality is that we are running so ahead with our lives that at times we ourselves fail to realize what is happening around us and what we are going through.I guess i was waiting for some special day to start the blog and so here i am starting on Christmas..... Here's WisHing EvEryOne a MeRRRy CHrisTmas....hows that to start on a good note!!!!

It all started of with a great send off back home ...not an emotional one i should add(I guess they were just HappY that i was getting lost alas....:)).Its at these times in life that one realizes the importance of something that was right under one's nose all time but one which one never really bothered about.Thats what distance does to everyone more often than not.But then the ubiquitious TechNology is always there by your side which makes these distance a matter of insignificance ....atleast to a large extent.And so started the lonely journey from chennai to the city of san antonio ,texas.Allowed to figure out for myself and alone I did manage of to make the journey a pleasant one and more importantly reached the destination at the end of it. The journey was nothing to enjoy about.Alone and travelling abroad for the first time i was more worried about reaching the final destination in one piece than bother about the quality of my journey.

BA0036 that was the flight from chennai to london where i had to switch flights to get to US.I am surprised how i managed to sleep off for the large part of the first leg of my journey and in no time i was reaching london.As luck would favour me, the flight infact reached london one hour earlier.Now tell me how many times have we heard of that in any part of the world...thats sure some luck i had say.I had done online check in.... checked out the seat and thought the seat next to the emergency exit would be my vantage point ...as i fly i would catch the glimpse of the cities and enjoy the skies...but i was damned.Guess what there was no window :(.But i was ofcourse happy that i atleast got the leg room that i wanted.Being a little tall,the leg space is very important for such long journeys than the window , atleast thats how i consoled myself.As i said i did manage it off with the marathon sleeping that i undertook.

As i emerged of the plane onto the stairs to catch the first glimpse of a country outside india, the capital of United Kingdom i was mightily impressed with the view.It was a pleasant welcome for us by the nature gods.A pleasant chill and a nice drizzle with overcast conditions.Those few minutes that i waited for the bus to pick us up to reach the terminal was the luxury i had ... i had another flight to catch in another hour or so and things to figure out so that i could reach the place.What was it feeling to be seeting foot on london?Lets not bother about that since i was hardly trying to experience and take in where i was.My goal was to catch the next flight which I did do.I had to keep walking figure out the way....let me say one thing for people who havent been outside india before.Mark my words, these airports are so huge that once you see these you shall say that what we have back home are not at all airports...Well let me reserve the comparsion of the countries for another day.And so i set off almost running in the direction of the check in counter..security and finally the gate of my next flight.Thats were i finally came to a RunnIng halt...oh yes i was physically stationary but my breathing and my thought were still running.It took me some time...but yes i did come to a halt completely.As i waited there for my next journey to begin i took in the view of the airport and the people around me and hoped that it would be pleasant one.

What was the flight number???? I really dont remember now... but the journey was not bad.I had a person who was sitting next to me...I am still wondering how she could manage such a sleep.She slept well before the plane even took off from london and did not move until the plane had finally come to an halt at DFW.That sure is one hell of a talent i guess!!!!! As for the food on either flight it was not bad ...I didnt have much so i really had no way of knowing whether it was really good or bad.I was hardly hungry but still i nudged on a few bits of the food that was served.That was pretty much my lunch and dinner.It was in the afternoon 3 that we landed at DFW.The climate here was in contrast to the one at london,sunny and warm.I had over 4 hours before the next flight.This was the first port of entry into US and so i had to pick up my checked in baggage and pass through the customs.Now I have heard of bags going missing...arriving as late as two weeks.You so badly hope that it doesnt happen to you...well guess what thats the first thing that happens to you :).I was only able to find one of my checked in baggage.As i was waiting for the other there was an announcement over PA system requesting me to get in touch with the BA staff.On contacting them i was told that my other bag was missing to add to that they didnt even know where it was at that time.I thought it coudnt get worse than this.Now wondering why so bothered about the other bag.Let me describe the bag..A blue bag trolley type and can hold upto 30 kgs.I didnt have that much stuffed inside .I just had a little over 23 kgs stuffed in that.That 23 kgs of content was what mattered.I had almost 3 months of worth rations stocked up.MY colleagues who had so willingly accepted to let me stay in their room also accepted to come and pick me up at the airport where eagerly hoping for the rations to reach them.And here it was missing :).... What was going to be the reaction and what will be happening to me????????Amongst all this i was happy that the bag with my clothes had reached safely.That was of more higher priority for me :).... I coudnt go arnd in the same clothes for long time and i coudnt go around shopping in that country as soon as i reach there.So HAPPY!!!!As i passed throught the immigration check i was asked about the content of the suitcases and i told that i was carrying spices for cooking.Now this was before i came to know that the suticase had gone missing.As i was going through the customs , i was asked to go another corner of the corridor and was asked to get the baggage scanned.Thats when i relaized that since i had told spices the immigration officer has made a mark of that.Once done with all this, i was hoping to make a few calls to let people know that i was having no problem and that i was going to reach in time.I needed some quarters which i got from one of the money exchangers inside the airport.The next thing was to get to the get to catch the domestic flight.I was awe struck by the kind of infrastructure that has been put up at the DFW...(in case u donno...DFW stands for Dallas Fort-worth international airport).It has got a mini metro system within the airport that ferries passengers b/w the different gates.I got into one of the trains and started towards my gate.That took me around 15 mins to reach , stopping at different gates on the way.It was like being taken on a tour around the airport and boy i was enjoying the sights of such big airports.It was indeed impressive.Finally i reached the gates that my flight was scheduled to leave from and my luck was so good that i found public pay phones as well.Now comes the most embarassing part of the whole journey.I had the coins , i had the phone but i didnt know how to make calls from the payphones.I am sure it did not require rocket science to make a call but the fact is that i didnt know how to do it.I kept loosing the coins but never could connect to one number that i tried :( ...how bad could it get.Finally i decied that i was not going to loose further and asked for help from one of the nearby shopkeepers.Ended up spending one dollar for one call to one of my colleagues who was supposed to pick me up but it was a sure shot call :D... For everyone's benefit I still havent figured out how to make a call from the payphones...not wanting to loose any more coins havent tried since then!!!!:D But i didnot completely run out of luck . I found some free internet terminals and to top it all i found one of my friends online.Requested her to inform my parents that everything waS FINE and i was on my way to the destination.The next thing i know is that i was sound asleep even before the American Airlines flight took off from DFW.Now dont ask me what i did to feel so tired but I did!!!!In no time i was landing at San antonio.My hometown for the next couple of months.

The lights were all glowing as i landed at san antonio.It was late in the night.As i walked out, there they were.The whole team had come to pick me up ...now aint that a reception.But they still hadnt heard the news from me!!!!:)..the missing rations.I did finally tell them ....well they just resigned to the fact as they coudnt do much!!!!:) I was safe.

Well that was almost three weeks back.It seems a long time back.Work !!!! makes anything and everything look ordinary and monotonus however hard you try if you do not have the spirit and the company to change that.I have been partly successfull .life has kind of settled and i would say regular in a way since then.I hope and wish that my stay in this country for whatever time it is ,hopefully pleasant !!!!

There comes to an end ..THE JOURNEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!