Can we afford this ?

As i sit here in front of my comp, thinking about the next string to start on the blog, i think of the life we are leading. In fact i am deeply grateful to God that he has provided me with a secure life, free of worries. i am fortunate to have food three times a day, can study the subject i want to, have both the physical and material resources to do whatever i want, be it books, computers and internet, money to spend at Pizza Hut or McDonald's and what not. i am also extremely happy to be in a protected campus of my University, able to think about a "promising" future. i am surely gifted with so many things. The only thing that worries me is the sense of complacency i can see in my country.
"Wait, wait! What do you mean with complacency ? Our IT industry is the best in the world, we provide the brain to all the fields in the world. Why go far, even in your own city, Delhi, we are coming up with a full-fledged Metro project, scheduled to be completed by 2007 ! What complacency are you talking about ???"
This is just a peek of the criticism i am bound to hear from people who are very optimistic about India, Inc. i don't doubt even an atom of these words. They are surely some of the things that our country is promising us. But......but.......
i have to fight with auto-rickshaw drivers because they don't use the meter, buses are not stopped where they should be, posh restaurants charge exorbitant money, but show utter lack of concern when it comes to customer satisfaction, shopkeepers treat me as the least important object in that place (although a consumer is supposed to be a king), there is still filth and dirt around many posh Malls.......The list knows no end.
We always get irritated whenever the internet connection fails, or power goes off, or an auto-rickshaw driver thugs us. We try to find an alternative, curse the people around and then settle down thinking that this is what God has in store for us. Are we really destined only to feel helpless in this country which we call "Our India" ? Why are most of our experiences about my own countrymen "not so good" ? Why are we ecstatic when we find an honest auto-rickshaw driver ?
As far as the service industry is concerned, when will our countrymen understand that these services are purchased by the people just because they don't have better alternatives. Why don't they understand that provided there is a better service, nobody would like to get onto the autos or buses, dine at restaurants below standards, and shop at places that don't treat them well. It is just because we don't have an alternative that people are using these services.
Am i too harsh ? Am i too skeptical about India Inc.'s success ?
Well i am just critical. We need to think rationally and try to make this place less stressful. There will be people who might just say, "Indian Culture shows how human beings can't parallel the Almighty. He is perfect, and we all are imperfect. So whatever we do is imperfect. Your demand of a comfortable living is not just. " But i would like to say that Indian Culture wants us to constantly strive towards perfection and that is the reason everything is considered to be imprefect. Why are we complacent ? Can we afford it ? Why don't we want to live a bettter life ?
I hope you all don't misunderstand me, since there are many things that have gone untouched in this post. I hope you all make up for it.
Regards,
P r a s a d

How to start ?

Hi All!
Well, i was thinking about the blog today and thought how do i start ? After all, knowledge is something that can't be gained in one lifetime alone. So what do we do ? How do we start ?
Then it struck me that i can start with whatever i am studying ! Yes ! Japanese Language !
i know you all will say, "Hey Prasad! Japanese is indeed 'Japanese' to us!" But there lies the catch. i think we all need to know something about Japanese language in India. And of course i don't claim that i am the one knowing everything about it. But let me tell you something i know. At least something i can share with you.
So let's first get down to the basics. As far as Japanese language is concerned, it is officially spoken only in Japan, although there are many Chinese, Koreans and other South East Asians who are well-versed with the language. But the fact that next to the US, Japan is the second largest economy of the world (surprised ?), it surely makes up for one reason to learn the language.
Now, where do we learn Japanese Language ?
Unfortunately, we don't have many educational institutions teaching Japanese language in India. In fact Jawaharlal Nehru University is the only institute that offers a full-time, five year integrated M.A. course for Japanese Language. Pune University has a course, but it is part-time. The difference is that of degree and diploma. The weightage differs. There is a part-time course in Delhi University as well, and they have a two-year M.A. course. Then we have Indo-Japanese Association in Pune which has a three-year Diploma course in Japanese language. Shantiniketan in West Bengal, JAPROC, Nihongo Center, MOSAI Institute of Japanese Language Training in New Delhi, Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages (CIEFL) in Hyderabad and other such institutes have Diploma courses as well.
Now what are the job prospects after you learn this language. Well, the first field is translation and interpretation. Then you can even use Japanese language and one more skillset (e.g. webpage development) to secure a job in a company in India or Japan. There are many more possibilities like becoming a Japan specialist, Japanese Language Professor, official translator or interpreter for the Indian Government, Tour Guide, etc. Recently, BPO units coming up in Bangalore are absorbing the most of fresh graduates all over. These companies mainly work in the field of data transcription.
Well, there are many more things that are related to this field. It is just a tip of the iceberg. But i hope this has made the picture about Japanese language slightly clearer. I think i need to work on this more, but with your help and contribution, this won't be much of a problem.
Looking forward to your inputs.
Regards,
P r a s a d

Meri Ekyavan Kavitaen......

No no, please don't misunderstand.
This is the name of the anthology published by ex-Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and has nothing to do with me.
In fact i found out an interesting website where we can actually flip through his poems online.
Do take time and read them. They are nice.
http://www.bjp.org/leader/poems.htm
Of course, this is a Sangh-Parivar website, the Parivar often termed as having Nationalist and Rightist inclinations. But i think art is free of ideologies and merely expresses the sensitivity of the author.
Anyways, this is something new i found out today. Hope you all too have something in store.
Do feel free to post it and also give your comments on the poems.
Regards,
P r a s a d

Hi Everyone....

Hello Friends,
i was introduced to the concept of blogs by a few of my friends, namely Amit Kanaskar and Kshitij Godbole. Thanks to both of them that i was exposed to a whole new world of ideas and sharing.
As you can see from the name of this site itself, this is a space for all of us to share and know more. Know more about everything ! All your comments and querries are welcome. My personal idea about this particular space is that it will provide us all with different questions as there is much to know in this world and knowledge is something that will help us tackle various problems in today's information age. At the same time, i would like all of us to share as much information and as many ideas, opinions and viewpoints as possible. I hope you all are utmost critical about this space and spare your time to contribute as well.
So then, let us try to know more.....
P r a s a d....