How the Internet has changed our lives

Change is inevitable in any field of life. As goes the popular maxim, “You cannot escape death and taxes,” I would add to that and say, “You cannot escape death, taxes, and changes.” Either it can be self-initiated change or a forced change, you can be sure it will happen.

In recent times, the Internet has heralded the most powerful medium of change in our daily lives. Gone are the traditional ways of doing things. The Internet has revolutionized daily tasks like getting the current news, and ordering groceries to monthly errands like paying our bills and transferring money.

Here is a list of areas, which have been positively impacted by the Internet:

• Banking: The Internet has transformed the way we do our banking. Banking has become so convenient, gone are the days when we had to wait to get our passbook updated. In this age of 24-hour Internet banking, it is much simpler to do cash transactions, check account balances, and transfer money, irrespective of where you are located. NEFT transfer facility allows you to transfer money between accounts, so much that the bank cheque book has become almost obsolete. 
• Networking and social media: In our busy lives, it has become a challenge to spend time with our friends and to pay social visits to our relatives. Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter has changed that. You can share what’s happening in your life (and also your thoughts) on your online profile, as well as know what’s happening in your cousin’s life!!
• Entertainment: Remember the times when you had to queue up for advance booking to watch the latest released movie. The more desperate ones could buy the tickets in “black.” Today, you can book a movie ticket on the Internet and select the theatre, the show timings, and even the seats. Streaming video sites like YouTube allows you watch your favorite movies, videos, and cricket matches at your time and convenience.
• Freelancing and virtual working: Today, we find multitudes of freelancers and employees working virtually from home. This has been possible only because of high-speed Internet. With increasing rentals of commercial offices and traffic problems, many companies offer the work-from-home facility to their employees, as it allows them to save operational costs. As a freelancer, it allows professionals to select the work (and company) that they want to work for, rather than being dependent on a single company. The Internet has facilitated companies to outsource their work to freelancers, and pay them only for the work done, rather than a fixed salary.
• Paying bills: The Internet has been a real savior in terms of convenience and saving time. Instead of queuing up to pay your electricity and other utility bills, you can do the same from the convenience of your home and office. You can make online payment for your electricity, telephone, and insurance premiums using online banking or credit cards. You can also book train and flight tickets without having to stand in any reservation queue. In fact, you can plan and book an entire family vacation package without leaving your home.
• Online shopping: With the advent of the telephones, you could call up your local bania or vegetable vendor to order and get it delivered to your home. With the Internet, you can now shop for your groceries and vegetables online and get them delivered to your doorstep. Online shopping sites for retail items like amazon, myntra, and snapdeal, which allow you buy clothes, books, electronics, and a host of other products, is the latest Internet fad in India.

I still believe that the Internet can impact our world in more ways than the ones listed above. So, here is my wish list of what the Internet should allow us to do:

• Education: I do admit that the Internet has impacted the education field through online education and as a source of knowledge and information. But there is still a lot of potential and scope left. With quality education still out of reach for most children, I believe that the Internet is the only medium through which we can educate majority of our children. With laptops and tablets becoming increasingly affordable, we should be able to achieve the dream of providing them to every child.
• Online voting: SMS voting is pretty common when it comes to selecting our favorite movie star or Indian idol. Using the Internet, it should also be possible to vote for our next government or preferred politician.
• Corruption: With online transactions and visibility of major initiatives using the Internet, Corruption can be reduced (if not, eliminated) to a major degree.

 The Internet is today available not just on PCs or Desktops, but also on multiple devices including mobile phones, tablets, and TV. It is truly exciting to see the next phase of the Internet evolution.

Parenting tips

Ask any parent, and the likely response would be it is a tough time to be a parent in today’s times. In this information age and with our kids having access to so many electronic media around, it can be daunting task for any parent to take stock of what’s happening in our child’s daily lives.
In our growing-up years, options of entertainment were fewer and life was much simpler, though not necessarily easier. We had to content ourselves with a much less digitized world, and look for simpler means to amuse ourselves.
So what are the fears that parents have to learn to face? I have tried listing down a few:

• Multiple influences on our child: For kids with working parents, external influences can be a major factor in our child’s development. It is fine if grandparents are there to take care, but if not, then we have to look at external support systems (crèche, play schools, or a home matron), each of which will have their own influences.
• Exposure to Internet: In today’s world, access to Internet is so easily available, what with so devices available including the PC, tablets, and mobile phones. No doubt the Internet is rich library of knowledge, but it is also an equally rich source of information about every possible vice.
• Lack of physical exercise: One look around in any Indian city, and you will not miss an obese child. Due to the digital world and school pressures, we find kids spending fewer time with outdoor activities.

As parents, we have to accept that our kids will be attracted to the digital world and no measures of restrictions and parental controls can work in the long term. So how do we, as parents, ensure that our kids grow up into happy and responsible adults and good citizens? Here are a few simple tips, which I think would make a difference:

• Communicate with your child: Kids first learn to communicate with their parents, before interacting with the external world. Keep this communication channel with your kids running even as they are growing. Spend time with them asking about their day, and assure them that you would always be there for them, and that they can share their deepest fears and thoughts with you.
• Avoid confrontation: One of the easiest ways of breaking communication with your child is through confrontation. As parents, we interact with our child (as a kid) mostly through “instructions” (“Come for food,” “Eat properly” or “Talk softly”). As our children enter the “teen” years, instructions can a source of irritation and embarrassment. Try to have talks the way you would have with any other adult. Start treating them as equals once they are in teen years.
• Share simple joys with your kids: It is fine to go for a car ride with your kid or eat at an expensive restaurant. At the same time, go for a leisurely walk or travel by public bus with your kid, or share a bhel or chana-garam with them. This will develop a balanced perspective in them, and they will learn to enjoy the simpler things in life as well.
• Travel with your kids: Ensure that you travel to a new place every year with your kids. This not only ensures family time, but also creates long-time memories to cherish. 
• Think of new activities with your kids: For working parents, spending quality time with your child is more practical than the quantity of time you spend. To ensure quality time, you must think of new activities or experiences that you can have with your child. Travelling to a new place is one way of ensuring quality time, but can be done probably once or twice a year. For other times (for example, in the weekends), thinks of new experiences that you can have as a family. By no ways am I suggesting not visiting your favourite mall and your parents, but need not be done as a weekend ritual. Try avoiding weekend rituals; try different activities like a trip to the old city, a short drive out of the city, or maybe learn and play carrom at home.

Like adults, children like to be loved, respected, and appreciated by their parents. In today’s connected and globalized world, it is inevitable that children are going to be influenced by external factors. Nevertheless, when they need help or are confused about some decision, they should feel free to approach us for advice, or for simply listening them out.
It is up to us, as parents, if we can mould ourselves to fill the emotional void in our children.

Flaws in our education system

The current system of public education in India (or for that matter, in most industrialized economies) is designed to create university professors or to create an educated workforce that can serve in the field of industrialization. Unfortunately, neither of these are lucrative or practical career options for today’s children.

In the next 30 years, more students are expected to graduate from our universities (worldwide) than the current world population. Needless to say, just having a university degree or certification is going to be insufficient for having a lucrative career. Most parents are investing into their children’s education as a career insurance policy, which would guarantee them peace of mind in an uncertain world. The problem is in today’s world, we have no guarantee on what will work in the next 5 years (for examples, in our corporate careers), let alone the much longer spanning school and university terms. So how can we place our trust in a flawed education system to teach our children the skills required for them when they graduate in the next 22 years?

I have tried listing down some of the basic flaws in our current education system:

• Competition: Competition sounds good in an Olympic event or any sporting event, where one individual (or team) has to be better than the other, in order to win the gold medal or the tournament. I am sorry to say that this is an obsolete term in today’s corporates. But educators round the world, have realised that the best universities can only accommodate the best (or top-ranking) students, due to the limited physical space (or seats) available in the classes. Hence, the importance given to grading system, which is the sole benchmark and focus for all under-graduate students. This goes against the basic principal of modern education, which says, “No child left behind.” This has created a sense of discrimination in our classes, where the top-ranking students are the teacher’s favourites, while the bottom-ranking students are made to feel as a misfit.

The education system cannot be run as an Olympic selection committee, where only the best are selected and the rest discarded and left to their destinies. The best in every student must be nurtured and encouraged.

•  Curriculum approach: A common complaint among many parents today are that their children are burdened with too many subjects. I agree with that, and the reason for that is an ever-expanding school curriculum, which is now bursting at its seams and cannot be further expanded without cutting down on student vacation time. I do believe that you will agree with me, that all curriculum content (basic and even advanced) are what I call, the “google stuff.” I think the curriculum approach is based on a false notion that only schools can impart knowledge and learning to kids. Kids (even as toddlers) learn from every available source of knowledge, including their parents and their daily environment. As Sugata Mitra points out in his “Can kids teach themselves?” video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRb7_ffl2D0), young kids can teach themselves, especially when they work in groups. Personally, I have loved book libraries with a huge collection of books on every available topic, where one could spend hours (or even the entire day) browsing through books of your own choice. Today, we have the Internet, which is the largest library of information and knowledge, and can teach us all the “google stuff.” Why should we then burden teachers and student to teach and learn with a curriculum-based education methodology?
•  Lack of soft skills and education in values: The over emphasis on curriculum has robbed our education system from imparting life skills or soft skills (as it is described today in corporate culture). I strongly believe that children are not intellectually dependent upon us, but they do depend on adults for life values such as happiness, integrity, and ethics. In the previous Gurukul system of Indian education, the guru (or teacher) not only imparted knowledge to students, but also life values, which enable you to live your life with the maximum potential.

Regarding soft skills in today’s workplace, there is a stronger requirement for employees to have confidence and collaboration skills to succeed in the workplace. Hence the education system must encourage collaboration (or team building) and develop confidence (through personality development and class presentations) in their students. Unfortunately, development of these soft skills are mostly not encouraged at all in our education system.

A combination of the above flaws is putting a lot of pressure and creating stress among our children. This is evident from the increasing drop-out percentage of students from schools. Even if they manage the pressure, students (especially in their early teens) appear stressed and the joy and spark that you notice in toddlers appears to be fading away with increasing years.

For a keen learner, learning can be a life-long experience. As adults, we pride ourselves in learning new skills, which could be a new technology, a work-related skill, or even something as trivial as learning to do touch typing. Learning something new is always motivating and increases our confidence. Similarly for children, education and learning can be an enriching experience, provided the pressures associated with our education system can be eliminated. Let me finish with the wise words of Kahlil Gibran with regards to learning:

“The teacher who walks in the shadow of the temple, among his followers, gives not of his wisdom but rather of his faith and his lovingness. If he is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind.”

Election fever

As the election fever reaches a crescendo, it is difficult for the non-interested to also remain unaffected. It has been a high on hype and voltage, and brings happy tidings for the Narendra Modi-backed BJP, who (on the basis of the popular sentiment and exit polls) are expected to form the new government.

Personally, I believe that it is the middle-income (or middle-class) people who have been the catalyst for change in this country. However, I welcome the idea of a Modi-led government, as it has created an air of enthusiasm and optimism among Indian citizens, irrespective of their economic and social background. After the last 3 years of despair and confusion due to non-governance, it is good to see political hope in the people, as this itself can drive self-initiative and positive thinking, which can lead to strong growth at least in the near future.

The stock market rallying to cross 24K mark, is an indicator of this new-found optimism. 

Thought about happiness

Just a thought that came across me this morning... We, humans, spend so much time thinking of what will make me happy. It could be a lucrative career, a promotion, birth of a child, or perhaps something as simple as a bright sunny day after days of gloomy weather or seeing a pretty face. My theory is instead of thinking of WHAT will make me happy, think of HOW i can be happy? Confused, let me explain the difference. Think of the ways in which you can display your happiness if you were to experience something NOW that would make you happy. You may smile or laugh, throw  a party if you can afford one, or maybe just start dancing....The ways are innumerable. The problem most people have is they do not know how to celebrate their happiness...What's the point of being happy inside without showing it outside? Just think about it. My logic is just think of the HOW, the WHAT will follow invariably.

Trip to the City of Lakes

A tour of Rajasthan is never complete without visiting its crown jewel, the “City of Lakes” or Udaipur, thus named after its founder, Maharana Uday Singh of Mewad, when he decide to move his kingdom capital from Chittorgarh to Udaipur. 

Set among the Aravalli mountain range, this picturesque town is famous for its popular lakes and numerous palaces, including the famous City Palace, which looks at its royal and magnificent best under lights. The palace (because of its height) offers a lovely view of the older side of the town. The Light and Sound show in the City Palace is the best History class that I have attended, as we got a glimpse of the pride and honour of Mewad through their sacrifices and battles. The kingdom of Mewad was the only kingdom, which chose to fight the conquerors, including the Mughals and the British, rather than adopt peaceful methods of surrendering their kingdom.

Among the lakes, the popular ones are Lake Pichola (where we went for a leisurely boat ride) and Lake Fateh Sagar, which was close to our little palace hotel, Palace Ram Pratap. The lake-side open air restaurant was a treat not only for the delicious Junglee maas (a lamb-based rajasthani delicacy) but also for the serene view of Lake Fateh Sagar.

Nehru garden is a treat for flower and bird lovers, and is located on an island in Lake Pichola. This garden can be accessed only through a boat ride in Lake Pichola. Another popular tourist spot is the Saheliyon-ki-bari, which literally means, “Garden of the Maidens.” This garden was built exclusively for the Queen and her maidens, who used to spend their leisure time in this garden, dotted by lotus ponds, green surroundings, and elephant fountains.

A short drive from Udaipur takes you to Sajjangarh palace, which is located on a hill top and overlooks the Fateh Sagar lake. The attraction in this palace is that it is surrounded by a wildlife reserve forest and offers a fantastic aerial view of Udaipur city.

A tour of the Maharana Pratap memorial travels you back to the yester years of courage and valour and houses the vintage arms and swords that were the pride of the Mewad kingdom. Another vintage spot in Udaipur is the Chetak Smarak, dedicated to the loyal and faithful horse of Maharana Pratap. 

After enjoying the good food and proud culture of Udaipur, it was time to say adieu to the most memorable history class of my travels. 

Trip to the USA

July 18^th 2013 was the day we landed in New York, JFK airport, a not-so-impressive looking airport as compared to the other two airports in NY, namely, La Guardia and Newark airports. It was a hot day in NY, more than 95 degrees Fahrenheit, and it remained that way for a couple of days more, before starting to cool down.

An hour’s drive from JFK airport landed us in St. James Hotel in midtown Manhattan, which is a few blocks away from the much-hyped Times Square, which is on 7^th avenue. A tariff of $574 for four nights of stay at this hotel sounds a much better deal than the expensive rents in NY, which can range from the whooping $6000 pm in Manhattan to a modest $1500 in the Bronx area. After a late evening sleep which extended to early next morning, we were ready for a full day of sightseeing. The first day took us through Times Square (which is a non-stop entertainment hub on the streets of Manhattan) and the priceless 86^th floor observatory view of the city from the Empire State building, which incidentally has survived 2 planes crashing into it!!  Downtown Manhattan includes a cruise (available only up to 5 pm) to the Statue of Liberty and the Ground Zero location, which now has 5 World Trade Centre buildings coming up in the same location.

Upper Manhattan represents the northern parts of the New York bay and includes several heritage sites using Art Deco architecture. There are more than 17,000 churches in NY, most of them in this area. The Upper Manhattan tour (on the hop-on, hop-off Grayline buses) included a stop at the Central Park zoo (although not so good as the Singapore zoo) gives you a chance to look at sea lions and penguins. A little walk from the Central Park zoo lands you in the high fashion Madison Avenue street on 5^th avenue.

As the USA is a country of immigrants, you see a lot of these influences in NY. Upper Manhattan has Dutch influence, while downtown Manhattan has a China town and a Little Italy. Interestingly, the first Chinese who landed in this country were cheap laborers brought for building the American railroad. Many Chinese women married American citizens and got a foothold on American soil. The variety of cuisines available is also a reflection of the rich immigrant culture.

Our next stop was the Mile-high city of Denver, which is now a major hub in Colorado. The modern Denver airport with its amenities, air trains connecting terminals, and a host of terminals is a reflection of its increasing importance.

After a couple of days of rest in Denver, we were south-bound to the Californian city of Los Angeles. An hour’s drive on the rented car landed us in Anaheim city in Orange county. We checked into Hyatt Regency, which is close to Disneyland park in Anaheim. As a single day ticket to Disneyland is $92, we had to make the most of it the next day. Disneyland was not a disappointment, as it provided full value for your money, with the highlights including the Alice in Wonderland, Splash Mountain, the Pirates of the Caribbean, the “It’s a small world” cruise, the “Finding Nemo” Submarine voyage, Mickey’s and Minnie’s houses, Tarzan’s tree house, and (of course) the Disneyland Railroad.

The next day was time to visit the LA beaches notably the Laguna beach and Santa Monica beach. Although it is very sunny in California, the weather is still cold and so is the sea water. This is definitely contrary to us folks in India, who associate sunny weather with warm climate. Laguna beach is very tourist friendly with a great sandy beach. The view from Bubba Gump restraint (known for its excellent seafood) reminded me of the beach-side shack in Goa. The beach-side pier at Santa Monica beach, which was the next stop, is an entertainment center by itself.

A visit to Los Angeles is incomplete without a tour of the Universal Studio attraction. The entire park is located on a mountain at different levels, which are connected through escalators, called Starway. The full-day attractions included the Jurassic Park ride, the House of Horrors (scary intermittently), the short 2-minute Revenge of the Mummies, WaterWorld (which has live stunts performed by stunt actors), Shrek 4D (an amazing treat), the Transformers (an extremely thrilling 3D future ride), and ended with the Universal Studio Tour (including the famous Bates Motel from “Psycho” fame, creation of flash floods, the fictional Wisteria lane houses used in “Desperate Housewives”, and the Shark pool used in “Jaws”).

The road trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco is 382 miles (or around 6 hours of driving). On route, we stopped at the picturesque town of Santa Barbara and had some great Mexican food. We reached San Francisco city by around 9.30 pm, after having some Indian food at a local Indian restaurant, which are more common in this part of the world. San Francisco weather is colder near the water bay and warmer away from it. You see a lot of bridges (other than the much-famed Golden Gate bridge) across the many bays in the city. Driving on the Golden Gate bridge is an awesome feeling, primarily because of its height above sea level. The other attractions in the city include Fisherman’s wharf and the Ghirardelli Square (known as the original chocolate factory in the US). Fisherman’s wharf is considered as the original fisherman’s colony from the older days, and you can view a sea lion colony at one of the piers. You can also take a cruise to the infamous Alcatraz island prison.

The next day, we took a drive to Napa valley, which is famous for its wine-making industry and vineries. The landscape in Napa valley is very similar to any French wine countryside and even includes a castle, which was imported from France. It was the Napa valley, which broke the monopoly of the French wineries and proved that wine can be commercially produced anywhere in the world. Though it is quite a pricy place, Napa valley is very picturesque valley.

The next day, we visited the famous redwood forest area, known for its giant Sequoia trees. These massive trees can live up to 2000-3000 years and can have barks for a car to pass through. Another popular spot in the neighborhood is the Mystery spot, which has featured in “Ripley’s Believe it or not” archives, as the only place on Earth where you cannot stand erect. The exact location of the Mystery Spot is on a hill, where the trees have branches only on one side. The final spot on our California trip (before returning to Denver) was the Capitola beach, a sunny, warm, and peaceful beach. As it is a pretty easy-going beach, you find a lot of surfers around trying to learn or toning their surfing skills.

Our final stop (before flying back to India) was New York, where it all started. As we landed in NY late in the night this time, the view of lighted streets of the New York grid was a memorable one. This time, we stayed near the LaGuardia airport in Queens Borough. The temperature in NY had cooled down by this time. The next day, we had to catch our return flight from Newark airport in New Jersey and are an hour-long drive by cab from Queens. This time, it was a Bangladeshi cab driver, whose errant driving reminded me of some of our own cab drivers in Mumbai. Though he charged us a hefty fare of around $150, we were glad that we reached the airport on time, and that we had not exhausted all our dollars on shopping and all the wonderful experiences of our trip to the land of the immigrants.