Tag: Indian

D-I-Y- A four letter word

So what’s this DIY again? Seems as mythical to me as the Unicorn, Santa Claus or tax cuts. Did you grow up in India? Well, if you didn’t you probably have no clue what I am talking about do you?

I actually grew up in a quaint little town called Bhopal; Bhopal known world over for all the wrong reasons- The 1984 Union Carbide gas leak accident that left thousands dead. It used to be an erstwhile Kingdom and it was actually one of the most fun places to be in. I lived in a huge converted palace with god knows how many relatives. So big that it gave me plenty of secret alleys to hide in and it took me 6 months to realize who my brother was. That’s the thing about joint families, no one bothers and you basically get away with anything.

And then of course , being India, everything was done by someone else. D-I-Y? Well the only DIY we did was to pick up the phone ourselves and ask for someone to come over to fix a broken piece of furniture or wash the vehicles. And before anyone gets any ideas, we eventually moved out of that gigantic joint family and spent the rest of my formative years in a 200 sq feet tenement. So of course the only vehicles we saw were the ones driven by others and owned by the others. And how about laying floors, fixing a broken fence or assemble a bed? Now that is really pushing it because as simple as it sounds to you, its still rocket science to me. It just simply does not happen in India. We never got to do do anything ourselves. Someone else was always called upon!

So imagine the shock of it all when I started living in America. So the guy at IKEA hands me a compact box and says that’s my bed. If jumping out of one’s skin is possible, it actually happened to me then. So I am supposed to put this together? I am supposed to look at that sketch of that Apollo 13 and use the screws, nuts and bolts and assemble a bed? Sure enough being hard up for money, I attempted it. And of course after a sweaty, on-the-knees session on the bedroom floor, I thought it was mission accomplished. Then my eyes go and I see 21 screws quietly ensconced in a corner. May be the Swedes were generous and gave me that extra helping of screws? You can run your mind on what the bed looked like? Well it wasn’t exactly a square. If I call it pathetic it would be highly unfair since that is a superlative for the piece of wood that stood on three and half legs!Bad Assembly

And then there was this instance when I had to fix a couple of floor boards which of course involved some rather mule like adamant adhesive. After having smartly spread that adhesive on the floor board, somehow in a fit of extreme enthusiasm I ended up kneeling down promptly on the part where the adhesive was generously spread.So here I am in this position, stuck to the floor and by myself in my kitchen. I managed to slither and reach for my phone while still having my knees stuck to the floor. Voice recognition or Siri doesn’t recognize an Indian accent if you knew that. So 911 and here comes the guy a few minutes later and guess what he does? He laughs until he cries! He couldn’t stop and for him it was the most ludicrous thing he’s ever seen. And being at the receiving end, it was very unfunny to me. I am sure he must have thought- What’s Apu doing on the floor? Isn’t he supposed to be running the cash register at  7-11?

Since then I have vowed not to get too adventurous with DIY.  I will skip a meal a day, I will walk to work, I’ll try to live off one kidney so I can afford to pay those handymen that have absolutely no compunctions about charging me $50 for a 15 minutes check in. Of course if not for me, their families will die of starvation and I’d be accused of stealing those American jobs!

So much for D-I-Y! It is truly a four letter word!

The Indian professional stereotype

I have seen a huge diaspora of Indian professionals across the globe in various capacities. Sterotypical Indians are not a myth but quite a stark reality.  Having grown up and studied my undergrad school in India, I have allowed myself the liberty of sharing my observations and some subtle tips. When someone like me has grown up in India in the 70’s and 80’s, it is truly eye opening to see several myths busted almost on a daily basis.

For those of you that work with junior level professionals from India (most of you probably do), you possibly think of them in a group rather than individuals. You think these kids tend to stick together protecting themselves from some awkward fears? You think these people assume no identity and go on busting their chops like the proverbial oompa-loompas? You think they get a discount at the local 7-11’s?

The first two are fairly closer to the truth. And a lot of it comes with the “safety in numbers” mentality that comes in intrinsically from just being in a “foreign land”. Takes a while to break them, months, years may be. Some of you probably sound like Hollywood stereotypes too and may come off as too brash. So this is where the inter-cultural compromise comes in. And remember talking to them louder and real s-l-o-w ain’t the solution.

Then the age old Indian myth on superiority of race is ingrained, surprisingly still prevalent in many parts of India outside the metro centers. The erroneous notion that fairer.whiter the person the more intelligent he/she is. Indian have their own brand of racism where stores still sell products that will turn you “fair and lovely” or “fair and handsome” , which is an insinuation of the Indian brand of racism. With this rather naive notion in mind, you may see young Indian professionals intimidated by your approach. Its cool, no one means anything malevolent. Again inter-culture boundaries need breaching to reach across and make them feel belonged.

Trust me, the level of intelligence and diligence seen in several of these entrants (FOB kids) is some kind of a rare commodity. Nurture it well without sense of exploitation or looking down upon them. I have seen the “looking down upon” approach especially to young engineers that just do not dress or appear to be savvy looking.

For you Indian kids, I’ll say this- Work speaks for itself. Do not be intimidated by other people and just because they speak better English does not make them superior. In fact your English is way better than their Hindi, that I can safely say. Assimilate well when you travel overseas and do not be a wildebeest, be a stand out person and performer. Trust me, this will go a long way.