————————————————————-
This was written on July 2013!!!
————————————————————-

The world was seen in just 2 – India and Foreign! It does seem lame and dumb but this was the belief as a young boy. That was an era of postal letters, telegram, (that died recently in India) and newspapers. No internet, no mobiles, one channel b&w TV that broadcasted a few hours in the day! I do not recall any close family relatives aboard those days, so it was just this two dimension view.

Over time the world view started broadening. The geography in school & the atlas (the biggest among all the school books that stood out in the shelf). Pranab Roy’s “the world this week” on TV. Conversations with dad and mom. Memorizing of country capitals (“by heart”) for a school quiz.

With the advent of internet, Wikipedia, maps, knowing and not knowing is a “switch”. Off- I don’t know. On- Yes, I know it now! (Watch this awesome talk by Sugata Mitra on why “knowing is obsolete”). One has to identify what is not known and then play the “switch” act.

Around the time, a golden goose and healthy “cash” cow called IT outsourcing took birth. Why scramble in dusty mines and noisy factories? Air-conditioned swanky offices, annual increments andddddd “foreign travel”. Somebody pays for the travel and accommodation. International laws governing minimal pay and favorable currency movements means excess cash even after paying the bank interest aka EMIs for the overrated real estate back home. I think a heart rate check survey will probably confirm that the word “onsite” excites majority of Indian IT professionals!

So now “everybody loves travel”. Why not? We can use the opportunity to experience cultures, food, people, lifestyles and nature. We become broad-minded & appreciate the clichés.

– This was written to kill time during a train journey from Rennes to Paris with the wife watching a movie and no opportunity for conversations.