Month: January 2012

The overseas dream:myth or reality

I have been an expat most of my life and have come across many from the sub-continent over the years who come to a phoren country to work or study with dreams in their eyes and hope in their breath. Many of them take student loans, mortgage property and valuables and then come overseas in the hope of a better future. Firstly, many anticipate a land of milk and honey which turn into the despair and misery for millions. Dreams crushed to rubble. Most are scared to go back as they will have to confront failure, condemnation and social shame. Students are economic migrants too but they come to a foreign country early in life to study and to make their career. They are focused on creating value for oneself and their family. Not all succeed in reaching the peak and create success stories to be recited in local village schools but at-least are able to garner a better life financially.

People become immigrants because they do not find the right platform, jobs or opportunities to shine in their own backyard. No one migrates out of pleasure as changes and struggles are enormous. States in India such as Punjab and Kerala specialize in migrant workforces, although many a time social bullying plays a substantial role in triggering the desire to go overseas. The ‘catching up with the jones’es’ is a major driver. In short its greed and desperation that are the catalysts. migrant labor are the underbelly of globalization and the veins of global capitalism. From Chinese traders in Guyana to Nigerian folks in Guangzhou, world has indeed come full circle.  Illegal human trafficking is the dark side of  this pathetic human story. Overseas workers are underpaid and exploited everyday in sweatshops and construction sites across the globe.  For one success story there are countless many, who did not make it….

It is indeed time that we re-assess the need of migrating overseas vis-a-vis staying at home to crave a future, sometimes there is sadly none to fall back upon…..

Epistemological conundrums of an academic global nomad

I am an engineer, an environmental engineer and more than half the time i have the dubious honor what is exactly the domain as an electrical or mechanical engineering is more mainstream. It is usually confused with environmental or life sciences and its identity is usually muddled up with chemical and civil engineering. In lay man’s terminology it is related to pollution control and conserving nature via tech solutioneering. Recently a colleague, mentioned that it is not a high paying job, yes its operational jobs are paid as low as senior technicians and most of the day it is with government agencies, and consulting offers saves the day for many of my fraternity financially. Environmental researchers are saving the world metaphorically, but the job opportunities are few and far in between. Prior to Environmental Engineering and NUS, I majored in Industrial Biotechnology in my undergrad in Oman, a hotpotch semi science, semi engineering degree that is a good for nothing degree apart from being a good launch pad for a  research career in the life sciences as it had a broad based curriculum ranging from chemical engineering to cell biology.  I wrote all my undergrad research papers and publications in technology policy and business as my wandering mind was never satiated with science.  I am an accidental engineer at best, as a good Indian boy I was fulfilling my mother’s desire to have an engineer son!

In retrospect, I was’nt a miserable engineer as I knew my stuff. I undermined my technical abilities considerably. I loved bioprocess engineering and molecular biology during my undergrad, and air pollution control and risk assessment during my masters. My passion for public policy made apply for my second masters in sociology and here at NTU i work on the social elements of an exciting infrastructure project.  Politics, History, Society have been hobbies which i plan to convert to a career via writing, teaching and consulting. Academic transitions have been emotionally brutal and my present endevour in sociology is a labor of love, as I do not have the academic skills of a sociology major but I can definitely see the applications of the theoretical grounding in real life incidents, having had a diverse academic canvas.

I share the sentiment of Prof. Tommy Koh, the Ambassador at Large of the Singaporean Foreign Ministry and senior academic that right opportunities opened up at the right time even if I am not a straight A student, which certainly I am not. I am only an intellectual explorer, (not an academic fanatic), in search of new frontiers to create synergistic value, and trying to be of some good to the community around me rather than going away with warming the pews of the Church of life, which would be quite sad. I do not know which direction i am heading next professionally but I do expect a fascinating journey ahead. The end might not be as productive as the journey, but is productivity everything in life?   naah ….

The Essence of Time

Wishing all readers a very Blessed 2012! I had my year end annual vacation with a trip back home to Muscat, Oman recently where I have lived for a significant part of my life. Muscat, is serene, beautiful Arab City with the laid-back charm ideal for a family life. Gross National Happiness indicators for Oman must be really high!  Meeting old friends, teachers and Church folks along with going to my favorite places in Muscat, having the best of food, at home and at restaurants was the best stress buster i needed from academics. The Old Muscat Shiva Temple, Marina Bandar, Shatti Beach, the buzzing Ruwi area never fail to rock my socks! I realized one important lesson from this trip, time is precious and we spend too much of time planning on the future rather than relishing and savoring the moment that we live in today.  The Bollywood film Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara exemplifies it, and i completely agree that in order to achieve our goals for the future we abdicate the present. Hrithik  Roshan’s character in the film is a financial broker who has had a tough childhood and he prizes money more than anything else, even to the extent of losing his girlfriend. There is certainly a grave importance for future planning but fanatical zeal for reaching the top and losing everything else is not worth it simply. You do not take your bank balance to the grave, we remember the fulfilling moment when we die or are sick. The character of Gopal in Chetan Bhagat’s Revolution 2020, is a boy who failed to be an engineer but went on to be a engineering college owner, just to prove to his object of affection, that he is ‘Big’ in front of her IITan idealistic Boyfriend. But he ultimately loses her as succumbs to temporary lusts.

In the pursuance of the Rat Race called Life, we lose our sanity, health and basic peace. Most of the time we are catching up with the IIT-IIM passout neighborhood school topper, who is horrible looking but is dating the prettiest girl . This rat race burns us out. Its about priorities ultimately. Competition is good, predatory competition is cruel. Its time that we be ourself, listen to our hearts instead of the ‘aunties’ yapping about their child’s 20 lac annual package or their swanky new car. Its the time now to live a meaningful life for us and the community at large, and start with a ‘me’.