Indiyeah!

“Games Indians play – Why are we the way we are” is a new book which has hit the stands recently. The author V. Raghunathan has used game theory and behavioral economics to explain the Indianness of Indians. In this book Mr. Raghunathan explains and rationales as to why we Indians are individually smart but collectively dumb… Though the book is a little intellectually heavy, it makes a good reading as the author tries to put forward the game theory and behavioral economics in layman’s terms.

Why I am writing about this book is especially because, this book justifies my earlier discussion on “altruism”. The author says that even an altruist is selfish, as, in a way when he/she does an unselfish act it eventually is for his/her own happiness in return. This made me feel really happy that my discussion on altruism is not just a trivial thought but is a topic amongst some of the greatest minds.

J I cannot be more modest can I ;-) Well, well, well.

Just when I had completed reading this book, an interesting incident happened at my work place which went on to justify Mr. Raghunathan’s views that we Indians have weak self regulation and weaker regulations, weak enforcements and weaker punishments.

Now, see the following situation… How many of us apply for a leave and do not return on the day when we are supposed to be back? I guess all of us have done this at some point of time. Given the great manager I consider myself, I follow a unique principle which is to grant leave to anybody at any point of time without asking questions/clarification. In return I agreed with my team that if they commit to return on a day they better keep it up.

One of my team members does not turn up and violates the mutual agreement. In this case though he has earned himself an additional day’s leave, and some satisfaction points, he has lost the credibility and reward points from me in the long run. I was stupefied at the analysis of game theorists on human behavior, especially Mr. Raghunathan’s analysis of Indians. Because, the situation described above is not a common one abroad. Think this through my friends, why will not rest of the world glaringly looked down at us in spite of all the brilliance we have? We need to start working towards improving our behavior soon, as, when the world truly becomes a global village, we could soon become outcasts.

The callousness with which we have behaved in the recent incidents relating to beating up of a petty thief in Bihar, an unattended bleeding naked woman in CST terminus in the busy Mumbai suburban rail compartment, the inconsiderate sting operations for the sake of money, broadcasting gory images of Hyderabad bomb blasts are few other examples of Indianness which further vindicate Mr. Raghunathan’s views/claims.

On the other hand, recently, there are quite a few programs being aired in Discovery channel that discuss/portray India in a good light. This is a paradigm shift from the days when the world media made documentaries only about our plight around poverty situation, illiteracy, AIDS and health care issues. Especially program about Delhi Metro was heartening. Programs about young Indian business tycoons on the breakfast show on CNN IBN show how well we as a nation are progressing in terms of entrepreneurship.

All said and done, we need to think if we should take pride in the phrases, “It happens only in India” and “We are like that only”!

- Ciao

Parenting!

"A hundred years from now it will not matter what your bank account was, or the kind of car you drove...but the world may be different because you were important in the life of a child." Kathy Davis.

Probably it was not that difficult for our parents to bring us up. In the Indian setup, right from Vedas to the social setup there is a proven, time tested framework. Formulae = “I will bring up the child the way my mom did” (there are exceptions to this but we are not talking about exceptions here) and as mentioned in Chanakya niti – First 5 years bring up your child as a darling, for the next 5 scold them, as they turn 16, be their friend!

These days, parenting is portrayed as an art form. Just like we have been pushed to outsourcing our own finances, there is a bigger plot to get the same done for parenting! It might not be too late before we have a degree for parenting. What have you done? B.A in Parenting!

How you treat your children? How you manage their expectations, their questions? What opportunities you provide them? …Every thing, just about everything has changed.

I can vouch that 25 years ago, children grew up more organically. They got to play in the mud, walk through the woods, play in the parks, rode the bicycle on roads and especially got to know the right stuff at the right age…! Technical, economic and socio limitations also helped parents a great deal in bringing up the children easily. With much less questions to answer life was definitely peaceful for them.

With changing times, technical advancements and commercialization we are in the age of “Glucon dads and Moov moms”... Less number of parks and playing area has meant that the child is glued to the TV set… They meet their friends on Orkut! Social networking happens in the virtual world and reality TV shows are the favorite.

Every technical innovation has changed our societal set up… Shaving was an activity reserved for a specific caste. But Gillette changed it all. So did this huge country and its society.

What are the triggers, what should you look out for? – “Spare the rod spoil the child” approach is obsolete…Can our time tested formula withstand the onslaught of technological advances and commercialization? Is the Indian parenting technique sound enough and have the wherewithal to go the distance in this Orkut age?

Do we have to unlearn and re-learn? T.H.I.N.K…

-Ciao