India- Changing Perceptions

[grey boy 2]

India - Changing Perceptions

India - Changing Perceptions

Gandhi

Holy Cow!

What images pop into your mind when you say the word India?
Mention India and the images that pop up into the mind in no particular order is probably like this:

The Taj Mahal. Kama Sutra. Yoga. Naked holy men. Snakes and Elephants. Call Centers. Beggars on the streets. Unruly traffic.

Not so long ago, India was perceived to be as the country whose only claim to fame was the Kamasutra. India and exotica were synonymous. The land of snakes and naked holy men. Or else, the country with a billion people, most of them devastatingly poor. The only time that India ever seemed to hit the headlines was when there was a flood, famine or earthquake. When millions of dying Indians needed aid.

Sure to many, that image has not been replaced. Only new images have been superimposed on the old one. And strangely enough, these images have positive and negative connotations. Here's a sample:


•Mahatma Gandhi and Non-Violence: Positive Image: Gandhi who taught the meaning of peace to the whole world. Negative Image:And yet, Indians have selective amnesia when they forget Gandhi's ideals and routinely indulge in orgies of violence.

•The land of call centers. Positive image: talented, young, on-the-go. Negative image: thick accents, software coolies, stealers of Western jobs.

•Multi-millionaire businessmen. Positive image: go-getters, businessmen on the rise. Negative image: rich but insensitive to the needs of their poor countrymen and reveling in conspicuous consumption such as ostentatious weddings for their offspring.

•Economy on the Rise: Positive Image: 9 per cent GDP growth. Negative image: Where does economic growth leave the 400 million destitute?

•The Taj Mahal: Positive Image: One of the wonders of the world. Negative image: ****** surroundings. Corrupt policemen preventing tourists from enjoying one of the most beautiful monuments in the world.

•Nuclear Power: Positive Image: Great new power on the rise. Negative Image: Oh my god, these guys are going to blow up the world! Look at how they keep fighting with Pakistan!

•Yoga: Positive Image: What the West describes as 'new age' but in reality has existed for millenia. Negative Image: Yoga as a 'patentable' system, money-spinning, flavor-of-the-month, here-today-gone-tomorrow fad of the rich and the famous!

•Kama Sutraositive Image: Wow....isn't it amazing? Negative Image: Tch...tch!!! Salacious stuff! And look where all that promiscuity has taken them - a billion-plus population!

•Traffic: Positive Image: Home of one of the most modern Metro system in the world. Negative Image: Road rage, unruly traffic and cows on the streets.
India continues to throw up myriad images. Contrasting, colourful and often depressing.

What's your take on India?

Watch this space for more!

 

[Red Dwarf]

no i don't want to say anything

 

[Bushy]

India - Changing Perceptions

India - Changing Perceptions

Gandhi

Holy Cow!

What images pop into your mind when you say the word India?
Mention India and the images that pop up into the mind in no particular order is probably like this:...

A common man's analysis of the grey boy's image of India:

•Mahatma Gandhi and Non-Violence: Positive Image: Gandhi who taught the meaning of peace to the whole world. Negative Image:And yet, Indians have selective amnesia when they forget Gandhi's ideals and routinely indulge in orgies of violence. -

It shows Indians always follow their own heart and not a blind faith, no matter what a great personality it comes from - Rather a positive than a negative.

•The land of call centers. Positive image: talented, young, on-the-go. Negative image: thick accents, software coolies, stealers of Western jobs.

Thick accent because they never imitate others, for there is no perfect culture/accent. Software coolies - Shows every other Indian who sits in front of a monitor, knows how the programs work. And every 1/10th of them, is extremely good at it. Stealers of Western jobs - Indians take pride in that

•Multi-millionaire businessmen. Positive image: go-getters, businessmen on the rise, (Also are seen as dynamic entrepreneurs). Negative image: rich but insensitive to the needs of their poor countrymen

- Although it is a misperception, I would say they themselves were poor before, and they know the poor are rising too.

and reveling in conspicuous consumption such as ostentatious weddings for their offspring -

Very true, because the state doesn't tax them on wedding expenditure, however, I don't see any negativity in that.

•Economy on the Rise: Positive Image: 9 per cent GDP growth. Negative image: Where does economic growth leave the 400 million destitute?

Since the number of the destitute has already come down from 800 million to 400 million, it is on its way further downwards. Number is big, so takes time. Not really a negative.


•The Taj Mahal: Positive Image: One of the wonders of the world. Negative image: ****** surroundings. Corrupt policemen preventing tourists from enjoying one of the most beautiful monuments in the world.

It is the other way round. The corrupt policemen are more of a nuisance to Indians, I myself experienced that. A big negative for sure! Why do you think no single tourist coming to India leaves without seeing the Taj Mahal.

•Nuclear Power: Positive Image: Great new power on the rise. Negative Image: Oh my god, these guys are going to blow up the world! Look at how they keep fighting with Pakistan!

Very wrong. It is exactly the other way round. That perception/misperception remains for Pakistan, courtesy, Islamic terrorists. Really a great positive that helped India gain praise and recognition by the NSG members.

•Yoga: Positive Image: What the West describes as 'new age' but in reality has existed for millenia. Negative Image: Yoga as a 'patentable' system, money-spinning, flavor-of-the-month, here-today-gone-tomorrow fad of the rich and the famous!

That may be a perception, but yoga is part of lifestyle of the rich and the poor alike. Whether it's gone, whether it's not, Yoga has been in India for millenia, and will stay there for many others to come - Neither a positive, nor a negative, but good if people are benefiting from it.

•Kama Sutraositive Image: Wow....isn't it amazing? Negative Image: Tch...tch!!! Salacious stuff! And look where all that promiscuity has taken them - a billion-plus population!

Not a negative at all, the world thinks Indians are being spiritual even while having sex Big pupolation = large army, great workforce. My American friends think Indians are invading.


•Traffic: Positive Image: Home of one of the most modern Metro system in the world. Negative Image: Road rage, unruly traffic and cows on the streets.

All true, except for Metro. I doubt a lot of people even know about the Metro part, so Traffic management in India certainly brings out a highly negative image to the mind of outsiders. A big negative there!

India continues to throw up myriad images. Contrasting, colourful and often depressing.

Now that you see it is such an interesting country, I invite you for a visit as a guest to help you with your perceptions.

 

[Chanakyaa]

•Mahatma Gandhi and Non-Violence: Positive Image: Gandhi who taught the meaning of peace to the whole world. Negative Image:And yet, Indians have selective amnesia when they forget Gandhi's ideals and routinely indulge in orgies of violence.

• Leave Gandhi Ji. Every Mother Tells His Son some Rights and Wrongs Does ANY Human on This Planet follows It?
• Gan one Really Stand With "Non violance" infront of Terrorist's AK 47 ?
• Gandhi Ji Also said - Not Raising Voice Agaisnt Wrong is Also Violance
• Besides, Rape, Murder, etc etc is , Like Gandhi Ji is NOT critised by Great Men of ANY Country but Still Which country is Free From These ?
• Till You dont have all Robots This will Continue.

•The land of call centers. Positive image: talented, young, on-the-go. Negative image: thick accents, software coolies, stealers of Western jobs.

This is True that BPO Sector has a Great Boom in India, But Its Absurd to say that IT means only BPO.
$50 Billion Exports cant be Call Centres... Dont u think So ?

IT Industry :
Year 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06*
IT software and service exports 9.2 12.0 15.2
ITE-BPO exports 3.6 5.2 7.3
Domestic market 3.9 4.8 6.0
Total 16.7 22.0 28.5
*Estimated

The country's software industry is growing at a rate of 35% per year. A study conducted by India's National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) with consultancy firm McKinsey & Co. projects the Indian software industry to gross US$50 billion in exports by 2008.

Please Have a better Info Here

•Multi-millionaire businessmen. Positive image: go-getters, businessmen on the rise. Negative image: rich but insensitive to the needs of their poor countrymen and reveling in conspicuous consumption such as ostentatious weddings for their offspring.

This is again NOT completely True.
Yes Richer are getting Richer, But How do they get Get Richer ?
They Employ people. This Gives Jobs to Indians.
Reliance, TATA all these are lifeline of Indian Jobs.

•Economy on the Rise: Positive Image: 9 per cent GDP growth. Negative image: Where does economic growth leave the 400 million destitute?

Its True Indians are poor. But The Improvements seen are due to economy fast growing.
Had the economy NOT been so smooth we would have a much worse situation.
Will is be worth questioning when the need is if 100$ but your get only 50... what harm when you had $0 in ur pocket the previous day.?? Something is better than Nothing.
Can you name any country where Poor Dont exist ?

•The Taj Mahal: Positive Image: One of the wonders of the world. Negative image: ****** surroundings. Corrupt policemen preventing tourists from enjoying one of the most beautiful monuments in the world.

Its a Moon with A Spot... But Note there is ONLY N ONLY ONE MOON !

•Nuclear Power: Positive Image: Great new power on the rise. Negative Image: Oh my god, these guys are going to blow up the world! Look at how they keep fighting with Pakistan!

Really People Think So?
Any SINGLE Text Supporting This?

The Reality is JUST Opposite. Not ONLY India but The world is Fearing Pakistan and AQ Khan. Do i Need to Prove It?

•Yoga: Positive Image: What the West describes as 'new age' but in reality has existed for millenia. Negative Image: Yoga as a 'patentable' system, money-spinning, flavor-of-the-month, here-today-gone-tomorrow fad of the rich and the famous!

Its weird when some one would talk of Patanet and Yoga !
Yoga is From India to The World.
Its a Mid and Body soothing Process and Any one can do it...
Baba Ram Dev is even Teaching Yoga in US and UK !!!

•Kama Sutraositive Image: Wow....isn't it amazing? Negative Image: Tch...tch!!! Salacious stuff! And look where all that promiscuity has taken them - a billion-plus population!

The Reality is Those who know Kamasutra dont really contribute to population.
Like Yoga Kamasutra is From India to the World .. To Make the Sex experiance even better.
The Population of India is due to Illetracy.. and ignorance towars contrception
Majority or Indian Villagers dont even know the word "kamasutra" !

•Traffic: Positive Image: Home of one of the most modern Metro system in the world. Negative Image: Road rage, unruly traffic and cows on the streets.

Very True.
But better than Others in SA.
Btw India had very Nice and Superb cities like Chandigarh and Pune.

What's your take on India?

Check My Next Post.

 

[Chanakyaa]

My Take on India : http://www.education.kerala.gov.in/englishmedium/historyeng/chapter7.pdf

 

[Nemesis]

I like to think that the kamasutra is our greatest accomplishment as a people.

 

[Iggy]

I have to agree with the road rage ..I myself is a victim of it

 

[Hulk]

[
In the interest of space I removed your content.

I have no dislike for China, but negative commentary of Chinese forced me to show them mirror.

For people who think, Indian IT industry are call centers. I being part of it will try to clarify, it is up to to you how you want to take it.
IT Industry in India started around 1990 I might be a little off here but major growth was at that time. The IT industries success brought business of call centers BPO Industry in early 2002 and got momentum after that.

So basically IT Industry came first and after a decade or so BPO Industry came. IT industry is at least 3 times larger then BPO Industry.

I still consider call center employee better then factory workers. In comparison China has almost all the factory of the world. The factories, their machine and design everything was setup by western countries and it is the cheap factory labor and land that got China the business. It producess PC and Laptop but almost all the machinery is designed by west USA mostly. So what is done is producing in mass.

The IT industry of China is mostly hardware related. Mass production. If any other country can provide cheap labor and land you will come
to know.

You are basically laor driven economy.

I am still waiting for some chintel processor to beat intel fully developed my Chine at home.

About accent, need I say anything about Chinese they are barely understandable.