This photograph just blew me away.
Think about it. How often do we acknowledge the folks who clean our homes, offices, cities or those who do other ‘menial’ jobs.
Was browsing Quora today when I came across this question, “How do Indians feel when they go back to live in India after living in US for 5+ years?“. Below is my answer reproduced …Take it with a pinch of sugar:)
Rreading a book on the pavements of New York on a warm summer day – Just one of the things that you can’t really do in India.
From my answer to a question on Quora.
Here is a word of advice for all NRI’s who are looking to move back to India.
“If you are looking to move to India because you are bored of your job in the US or feel there are more opportunities here, then DON’T move back”
I moved to Gurgaon 6 months back and its been a mix of pleasure and pain 
Its dusty, dirty, noisy, crowded, humid with crappy roads, even more crappier condos etc etc..you get the drift.
If you want to live in a condo like you lived in the US, it will cost you atleast a lakh per month
Most service providers and handymen will not be on time and will even be very blase about it.
Shopping for good quality veggies and fruits is a pain.
The fine line between a weekday and the weekend usually blurs.
Maids and cooks are supposed to be a convenience but they are usually a pain in the neck because you gotta supervise them and keep an eye on them.
Options for weekend breaks are very limited.
If Google Maps says you will reach a place in 6 hours, it will take anywhere between 10-16hours.
Sports facilities are pretty limited and the ones that are available are pretty expensive.
The gyms here are crappy and are usually in the basement of some house nearby. There are good ones but usually very far from where you live and the commute is just not worth it.
5kms of travel is like 25 miles of travel here.
If you have been out of India for more than 3+ years, and have not been here in the last 3 years, you will get THE STICKER SHOCK of your life when you get back.
Stuff has become frightfully expensive…some examples include petrol, wine, fine dining, movie tickets etc etc.
Basically, everything is available here but at a price. You can almost duplicate your US lifestyle but the cost will be directly similar to what it was in the US. The only difference will be a drop in your salary (And this is if you were living in NYC or SFO. If you are living in Dallas or somewhere in the midwest in a $800/2BR apartment, the fun will be even more)
Well, that’s the bad part.
Now to the good parts even though they may seem a bit vague
Its home and I feel more ‘alive’ here.
The food somehow tastes better.
There is a notional sense of freedom (like zipping on the expressway at midnight without worrying about a cop car on your back)
I know this is out of the blue but GreenCover needs your vote and support
We are one of the ‘spark’s at the Mahindra Rise competition and a large number of public votes will give us a shot at winning a grant, which in turn will help us make GreenCover a reality.
What is GreenCover. Its basically an org which aims at increasing the amount of trees and green cover in our cities via gifting of trees. More about the concept at www.greencover.in
So how do you vote. It takes less than a minute and here is the process:
1.) Visit this site: http://www.sparktherise.com/projectdetail.php?pid=3398
2.) Login with your Facebook id (Its easier than creating a manual profile)
3.)Click on the green ‘Vote’ button at the top right hand of the page.
Thats it. Just 3 simple easy steps.
And while you are at it and feel like ‘Liking’ our Facebook page, here is the link ( https://www.facebook.com/CoverInGreen ) to that too
Thanks again for your support.
A few weeks ago, I had gone to the office of a pretty prominent politician in New Delhi with a friend. He was there to discuss some work with them and I had tagged along just for the heck of it.
While we were waiting, another regular looking gentleman in a plain white shirt and black trousers entered the room. He was introduced to us briefly but I didnt quite catch his name and designation.
Soon after, we went out for a smoke break while my friend hung around to talk to him.
10 minutes later, my friend comes back beaming. It seems he had succeeded in getting electricity to a remote village in one of the larger states in India.
Turns out, the non descript gentleman was a Member of Parliament and the village in question fell under his constituency. My friend had visited this village sometime back on some work and had been very warmly welcomed by the local residents. On finding out that the village did not have any electricity, he had it in the back of his head that he would do something, someday to ensure that the village got electricity.
Who knew that a chance encounter could trigger such a change and it really opened my eyes to the power of politics and the potential it has to change our world. (Of course I still need to wait to see if the said gentleman keeps his promise)
I also realized that ‘politics’ is not all that bad. While there maybe a few rotten apples from the old guard, there is a fresh new breed of politicians on the ground who are working to bring about incremental change. They are young, smart, well educated and are slowly but surely changing the face of politics while doing good work.
Now if only they did a better job of communicating their achievements to a wider audience, it might encourage more people to join politics along with promising hope for a better future for India.
I sure am excited to be back
Its been almost 10 day since i moved back to India and a majority of that time has been spent house hunting. Its been harder than i thought it would be and the end doesnt seem to be near either.
Its been interesting however and here are some observations over the last 10 days:
1.) The heat is not as bad as i thought it would be. I guess if you come with an expectation of stepping into a burning oven but are greeted by stray showers and a pleasant breeze, 105 F doesnt feel that bad.
2.) Traffic is still a bitch and everyone is in a mad rush to get somewhere. While there is chaos in Gurgaon, its an absolute pleasure to drive in Delhi (thanks to the infrastructure buildup on account of the CWG games)
3.) The larger the car, the larger the chance that its driver will violate traffic rules (read, drive on the other side of the road, cut you off, no blinkers, and attempt to get into any space they can find to get ahead. )
4.) Most SUV’s seem to be owned by politicians or their ilk
5.) Stuff has become incredibly expensive. (e.g. a coconut on the roadside costs Rs 25, a plate of momos at Galleria market – Rs 70, etc etc)
6.) Craigslist does not work here for finding an apartment. There are 3 major real estate portals and almost all have the same format and listings by the same agents…almost none of the owners post on their own and nobody posts any pictures of the apartments. You have to go through a bevy of agents to find an apartment.
7.) The definition of a ‘good’ apartment varies from agent to agent and the decent ones are ridiculously priced( e.g Rs 35,000 for a 2 BHK in Richmond Park)
8.) The ‘good’ apartment complexes have ‘clubs’ – where there is a pool but it is usually non functional and a gym which is a small room with a few treadmills and some exercise equipment – And this is for a complex which has a couple of hundred apartments.
9.) 3G speeds on my phone remind me of the dial up era ( and i thought ATT was slow in NYC )
10.) The malls are a circus on the weekends and all the eateries seem to be doing brisk business
11.) Its easy to get used to a morning routine of chai and newspapers (the physical kind. Yes, newspapers are still alive and kicking and doing really well unlike the NYTimes)
12.) The amount of dust is unbelievable on account of the constant construction going on everywhere.
13.) FM radio stations are dime a dozen and they all seem to go on a commercial break at the same time (which can be quite irritating)
14.) The food somehow tastes better…e.g. the papayas are amazing here
15.) There are a large number of BMW’s and Audi’s on the road…and mercs seem to have become common place.
Now that i think about it, living in America can really spoil you.
Despite all this, i seem to be strangely at peace with myself. While it can get frustrating at times, it definitely does feel more alive here to be out and about. Lets hope this optimism continues
P.S: Regarding the title of this post, its because that genuinely seems to be the case. The ‘rich’ have the power to influence and improve the overall external conditions but they seem to be perfectly content living inside their gated colonies and air conditioned cars while the roads crumble, trash lies everywhere and the common man carries on.
I usually don’t buy soda but i couldn’t help pick up this six pack for Coke classic in glass bottles.
I think they look beautiful and they reminded me of the childhood days of having ‘cold drinks’ from glass bottles as a treat
My first job lasted 5 months. The second one lasted 3 months. After that, I decided not to get a job and instead start out on my own(Had started a design/ad agency). That lasted for 2 months and I was back to a third job at Cognizant. I promised myself that I would stick to it for at least 2 years.
Today, that promise has come true 2.5 times . Today is the day I complete 5 years at Cognizant.
It was on the 17th of April 2006 that I joined Cognizant at Bangalore…and its been a fun ride to the US so far…the pace of work and growth has been so rapid that five years seem to have gone by in the proverbial blink of an eye.
Its time now for another change. Leaving Cognizant and moving back to India at the end of this month to start out on my own. Lets hope though, this time around it lasts a bit longer than 2 months.
Incase you are curious, here is what I am thinking of next.
Just realised that a month has already gone by in 2011 and I hadn’t posted anything ‘new’ in the New Year.
A few weeks ago, had gone to Central Park after a snowstorm. Compared to what its like in spring and summer, the transformation was amazing…yet, there were quite a number of folks out and about…jogging, skiing, walking their dogs, sledging with their kids, and yes, there was this one guy who was taking a nap on one of the benches…i guess only in NYC would somebody take a nap in the freezing outdoors even though it was sunny(but still very very cold).
Check out some of the other pics here
On a recent India trip, wanted to use my iPhone 3Gs handset with my local india number. Tried ‘googling’ the usual unlocking methods but somehow could not get the steps right(Later realised that i needed to download the ipsw file). Eventually, I found a kind and helpful soul on Craiglist/Bangalore who sent me a simple step-by-step process to get the job done.
Apparently, there are a lot of hacks out there who charge money to unlock your iPhone. Sumeet Gandhi is not one of them. Infact, his motive is pretty simple. He wants to create an iPhone users community in Bangalore and by helping more people unlock their phones, the reasoning is that the community will increase. Pretty neat.
Outlined below is the process you need to follow if you need to unlock the iPhone 3Gs (basedband 15.04.02). All credits due to Sumeet and the respective sites from where some of the screenshots are taken.
And ofcourse to the Dev Team. They are the original rockstars
Note: Whatever you may do, DONT ever pay any of the sites which come up first on google search for the unlocking software. They will charge you a bunch of money and send you software which has been developed by the Dev Team and is freely available on the net. If you do feel a need to spend money, send it to some charity along with a postcard to the Dev Team as they don’t accept donations.
Hack along.
1. iPhone2,1_4.2.1_8C148a_Restore.ipsw (Download Here). This is ipsw for ios 4.2.1. Size – 410951 KB
2. Itunes version 10.0 or greater.
3. Redsnow redsn0w_win_0.9.6b5 (Download Here). There might be a wait time of few seconds once done then the download link will appear. Size around 10.5 MB
4. Once all is downloaded turn off your iphone. (Push power button for few seconds and then slide the red slider).
5. Set the compatibility mode of Redsnow to windows xo sp3 by right click and properties.
6. Now connect your switched off iphone to your machine. Keep it switched off don’t turn it on.
7. Then click start program within the compatibility mode window.
8. The redsnow window will appear browse to ipsw file.
9. 
10. After Redsn0w identifies the IPSW, click ” Next “.
11. 
12. Now choose the ” Install Cydia ” and ” Install iPad baseband ” options and click ” Next “.
13. 
14. Accept the warning by clicking ” Yes “.
15. Now go into recovery mode by pressing the power and buttons for 10 seconds and then release the power button, but keep holding the home button until the iOS 4.2.1 jailbreak process begins.
16. 
17. Wait till Redsn0w finish the iOS 4.2.1 jailbreak process.
18. Once done follow the below process for unlocking
19. Launch Cydia.
20. Choose the ” Manage ” tab at the bottom.
21. Choose the ” Sources ” option.
22. Tap the ” Edit ” button and then on the ” Add ” button.
23. Then add the source ” http://repo666.ultrasn0w.com “.
24. 
25. After the source is added, search for ” ultrasn0w 1.2 ” in Cydia.
26. 
27. Install the Ultrasn0w 1.2 app to unlock iOS 4.2.1 firmware.
28. Restart your iPhone.
29. That’s it! Now you have an unlocked your iPhone 3G / 3GS running iOS 4.2.1.
The first can be a matter of circumstance and may or may not be up to you.
The second is definitely up to you.
Very few of us are lucky enough to get both My good friend Andre Fanthome seems to be one of them
Image via
