Social issues - always top the list when it comes to living in India.
The Indian culture is known for its hospitality, the great heritage, the kings and queens and brave display of non-violence - the list goes on. But in reality, in modern India; when it comes to day to day life the picture is quite different. We may talk endlessly about the humbling scenes from the streets of India, and get carried away by these depictions of life in India. But, when it comes to really living here; things can take some extreme turns and you can end up with very frustrating experiences.
It is a little over a year since we moved to India. In this past year I have observed and witnessed many social disturbances; such as fights among residents in an apartment complex, arguments between a vendor and consumer, power struggle between a schoolbus driver and a parent, insubordination expectations between a maid and her employer, etc etc. These things are bound to affect your life every now and then. Some people chose to ignore and move on, some chose to fight and fix it, some chose to simply join in and contribute to the craziness and some seem to run away and move back to their previous life.
The society here is sort of weird. Very divided in terms of several factors - financial level(Oh, they have 3 cars!) , language(Oh these hindi speaking people, or Oh these madarasi), caste (Vegetarian tenant wanted, sub-caste no bar in matrimony ads), attitude (too much style!), possessions (you don;t have a wii??). The list goes on.
Another big problem or maybe the biggest problem is the "Power struggle" - Who listens to who, and who is the boss here. A classic problem in most arguments. Ego wars are everywhere. Basic human reaction is suppressed by the compulsion to dominate any situation. If I scream, I must be sounding right is the attitude of most poeople. You will come across some of the most hyprocratic people in the world. This may be the case in may societies and countries - but here in India, you will see a lot of first-hand and everyday. People are extremely diverse here. Regulation and conformity is near impossible. Apologies to others are unknown, but apologies at a ganesha temple will be quite apparent - again a selfish thought.
The struggle of living in a developing poor country shows tremendously in the social attitudes of people - even if they have struggled out of poverty. Always expect people to only worry about themselves first.
But, I still Love India! All the stuff mentioned above is not necessary absent in other cultures.. maybe just in a different format. The states has always be a very "me, myself" attitude. Too independent and too self-centered way of life. In India, you are forced to get along and drag along a whole bunch with you when you move forward or backward.
For what its worth, the country is beyond all normal experience, packed with adventure at every turn, fun and frolic, awesome food, great clothes, colors every where, family oriented, and of course the unlimited travel destinations.
Jai Hind! All this country needs is a bit of love from its citizens.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
Pitfalls in the Indian Education system
We often hear that India offers one of the best academic systems. I have heard this time and again and often drawn to conclusion based on the high number of graduates from the country. But , I personally feel there is a "Huge" problem with some of the basics in the system.
Yes, you may see the brilliant engineers, the well adapted call-center communicators, the cross cultural gurus, the successful entrepreneurs - but what we are failing to understand is that this is just a very small percentage of kids that go through the system. I think the education system fails in many areas other than possible the academic area (which is only one portion of education) The Indian schools systems and methods are so focused on academics and so off-track from other fundamental s.
My thoughts and views on the problems in the system. All these are based on my experience with my child going to a school in Bangalore. From what I see, the system is predominantly the same across schools in India. Here are my thoughts on whats wrong in my opinion.
UNDERESTIMATING A CHILD'S CAPABILITY
One of the biggest problems in the Indian school system - the child's potential is never noticed. Almost always the case - the teacher or any superior assumes the child is incapable of doing or comprehending many things. They focus so much on what the child "cannot" do rather than focus on what the child "can" accomplish. The kids are never given the sense of "ownership" for their actions. The trust factor or building trustworthiness in a child is very poor.
DISCIPLINING TECHNIQUES
This is a Huge problem. I have not come across any school that has a pre-defined method of disciplining. Although, I agree to the fact it is the teacher's discretion on picking a technique that works with their classroom. Classroom management is a big problem for a teacher with 35+ kids in class, but the schools are not defining or training teachers in good methods. I have not seen any school use any proven methods like color cards, ticket system or other methods. A lot of schools still use empty threats, screaming, age-old punishments like standing, group punishments - one kids mis-behaves the whole class pays for it (which in my opinion is completely wrong - it doesn't build any virtue in a child and does not make a child feel responsible personally for his/her actions) . Overall, the systems and teachers have a very steep learning curve to climb.
NO GROUP ACTIVITIES
There is a huge lack of team and group activities in the classroom. At least, in the primary level - I do not see any or team activities as part of the curriculum. There is no concept of forming teams within a classroom and coming up with their own act or project. This is a huge problem - lack of such activities is not helping a child learn to interact and co-exist with peers. This also affects social development. The system highly encourages competitiveness - and all in the wrong sense. Very little is done to encourage working in teams. Again, this goes along with point 1. The system thinks young children- 5 to 8yr old kids are not capable of working in groups or thinking on their own and come up with creative stuff.
TOO MUCH FOCUS ON PERFECTION
The system focuses a lot on perfection. It is all about the quantity/perfection and not the quality. For example - a child that can spell the right answer is credited more than the child that has a more creative answer. Simple example - If child is asked to write the name of a fruit - he gets a full score if he spells "apple" right. However, if a child chooses a difficult or unusual fruit - say Raspberry and get the spelling all wrong - he gets a zero score. They never see the fact that the child actually came up with something outside the lesson information. All they care about is the spelling. I think the system should accommodate a good balance between the two.
MISSING FOCUS ON READING SKILLS
Reading is not prioritized in the schools. Most schools do not have a good library, nor do they arrange reading activities. The country as such does not have good libraries. Schools should do something more to encourage reading and develop the love for the language. They do not have quality story time, reading for the mere passion of reading, inculcating the love to read etc. Reading is considered more of a "required skill" and "Memory based". You learn the spellings and read - phonetics is barely used. You will be amazed at how many kids can blurt out a whole science or English lesson from memory, but no comprehension of what they blurted out.
NO QUALITY HOMEWORK
Another big problem - Schools have had this long history of overworking the children and giving "too much homework". After years of protest from the parents the schools have practically removed homework. This has become a very bad move. Parents to blame as well - most parents think its good that the kids do not get homework. The parent community blindly fought the homework issue and got it down to almost nothing. But, lack of "quality homework" is a big problem . Children are not given an opportunity to apply what they. I do not see schools giving practical, interesting creative homework to kids. There is SO much a kid can learn with proper homework when designed to reinstate their lessons at school and apply them practically. There is SO many resources available through online education networks - but its under-utilized in Indian schools. Kids are also losing out on opportunities to understand "ownership" and "responsibility" through doing homework.
GENERIC ISSUES
There are of course a lot of general problems across the board in all schools
1. Very large classroom size (35 kids +)
2. Teacher turn over rates are high
3. Teacher training quality -
4. Schools are too busy and in a time crunch all the time and lose focus on the methodologies, training, vision of the school etc.
5. Parents are too annoying and interfere in silly things like price of the uniforms or size of the books, but do not seem to work with the school constructively.
6. Huge communication gap between schools and parents - especially when it comes to school's policies, vision, conveying school's intentions etc. There are very little orientation and education of the parents - except for an outdated school book/diary.
All of you thinking about Schools India, please do your research and at the same time, keep your minds open and try to contribute to improve the system.
Yes, you may see the brilliant engineers, the well adapted call-center communicators, the cross cultural gurus, the successful entrepreneurs - but what we are failing to understand is that this is just a very small percentage of kids that go through the system. I think the education system fails in many areas other than possible the academic area (which is only one portion of education) The Indian schools systems and methods are so focused on academics and so off-track from other fundamental s.
My thoughts and views on the problems in the system. All these are based on my experience with my child going to a school in Bangalore. From what I see, the system is predominantly the same across schools in India. Here are my thoughts on whats wrong in my opinion.
UNDERESTIMATING A CHILD'S CAPABILITY
One of the biggest problems in the Indian school system - the child's potential is never noticed. Almost always the case - the teacher or any superior assumes the child is incapable of doing or comprehending many things. They focus so much on what the child "cannot" do rather than focus on what the child "can" accomplish. The kids are never given the sense of "ownership" for their actions. The trust factor or building trustworthiness in a child is very poor.
DISCIPLINING TECHNIQUES
This is a Huge problem. I have not come across any school that has a pre-defined method of disciplining. Although, I agree to the fact it is the teacher's discretion on picking a technique that works with their classroom. Classroom management is a big problem for a teacher with 35+ kids in class, but the schools are not defining or training teachers in good methods. I have not seen any school use any proven methods like color cards, ticket system or other methods. A lot of schools still use empty threats, screaming, age-old punishments like standing, group punishments - one kids mis-behaves the whole class pays for it (which in my opinion is completely wrong - it doesn't build any virtue in a child and does not make a child feel responsible personally for his/her actions) . Overall, the systems and teachers have a very steep learning curve to climb.
NO GROUP ACTIVITIES
There is a huge lack of team and group activities in the classroom. At least, in the primary level - I do not see any or team activities as part of the curriculum. There is no concept of forming teams within a classroom and coming up with their own act or project. This is a huge problem - lack of such activities is not helping a child learn to interact and co-exist with peers. This also affects social development. The system highly encourages competitiveness - and all in the wrong sense. Very little is done to encourage working in teams. Again, this goes along with point 1. The system thinks young children- 5 to 8yr old kids are not capable of working in groups or thinking on their own and come up with creative stuff.
TOO MUCH FOCUS ON PERFECTION
The system focuses a lot on perfection. It is all about the quantity/perfection and not the quality. For example - a child that can spell the right answer is credited more than the child that has a more creative answer. Simple example - If child is asked to write the name of a fruit - he gets a full score if he spells "apple" right. However, if a child chooses a difficult or unusual fruit - say Raspberry and get the spelling all wrong - he gets a zero score. They never see the fact that the child actually came up with something outside the lesson information. All they care about is the spelling. I think the system should accommodate a good balance between the two.
MISSING FOCUS ON READING SKILLS
Reading is not prioritized in the schools. Most schools do not have a good library, nor do they arrange reading activities. The country as such does not have good libraries. Schools should do something more to encourage reading and develop the love for the language. They do not have quality story time, reading for the mere passion of reading, inculcating the love to read etc. Reading is considered more of a "required skill" and "Memory based". You learn the spellings and read - phonetics is barely used. You will be amazed at how many kids can blurt out a whole science or English lesson from memory, but no comprehension of what they blurted out.
NO QUALITY HOMEWORK
Another big problem - Schools have had this long history of overworking the children and giving "too much homework". After years of protest from the parents the schools have practically removed homework. This has become a very bad move. Parents to blame as well - most parents think its good that the kids do not get homework. The parent community blindly fought the homework issue and got it down to almost nothing. But, lack of "quality homework" is a big problem . Children are not given an opportunity to apply what they. I do not see schools giving practical, interesting creative homework to kids. There is SO much a kid can learn with proper homework when designed to reinstate their lessons at school and apply them practically. There is SO many resources available through online education networks - but its under-utilized in Indian schools. Kids are also losing out on opportunities to understand "ownership" and "responsibility" through doing homework.
GENERIC ISSUES
There are of course a lot of general problems across the board in all schools
1. Very large classroom size (35 kids +)
2. Teacher turn over rates are high
3. Teacher training quality -
4. Schools are too busy and in a time crunch all the time and lose focus on the methodologies, training, vision of the school etc.
5. Parents are too annoying and interfere in silly things like price of the uniforms or size of the books, but do not seem to work with the school constructively.
6. Huge communication gap between schools and parents - especially when it comes to school's policies, vision, conveying school's intentions etc. There are very little orientation and education of the parents - except for an outdated school book/diary.
All of you thinking about Schools India, please do your research and at the same time, keep your minds open and try to contribute to improve the system.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Moving to India - What to bring? Whats available?
I am sure all of you that are planning to move back to India struggle through the questions - "What should I take with me? ", "Would I need this?", "Will I get this in India?", "Is it worth shipping it?". Of course its all highly personal needs and wants. But I would like to share my thoughts on what are the things that might be useful to bring - in my experience.
Furniture - You may hear that India now offers excellent furniture. In our experience, If you can afford it, bring your furniture with you. Main limitations is the size and price - the furniture here are slightly smaller than the US. The stuff you get here are designed for petite Asians and space saving. A lot of the good stuff is from Europe (Which is extremely expensive) and again space saving. A lot of the models are highly contemporary in style as well. This applies mainly to sofas, recliners, office desks etc.
Solid wood furniture is great here. Especially if you can find a good carpenter, you can create your own furniture. There are a lot of furniture makers and various materials available. But all of these work well for wooden, Mdf, painted, lacquered type stuff. Cushion based systems are not that great. You get a few lazy boy type stuff, but very expensive. Also, most of the custom ones which are cheaper also have a cheap look. Nobody understand "good finish" here.
Electronics - Everything you can get that works with 220V is good to bring - but the also have to deal with conversion issues for videos like region codes, ntsc-pal type stuff - its best to buy players India. But, beware - Tvs, players, speakers etc extremely expensive. Read my previous post on TV, HD etc.
One thing we did end up getting from the US is a blu-ray player - its 4 times more expensive n India. Especially if you own a lot of the blu-ray discs of region code A or 1 - you will need a US player to play them anyways. The TV you buy here will play everything - so the player is the problem not the TV.
Car stereo is also a good thing to bring. They work here (no power issue) and they are lot more expensive in India. Most cars don;t come with a stereo in its base model or they are ridiculously expensive.
Computer products - again pricier in India. Its best to get a small 110V - 220V transformer here in India and power up your printers, scanner etc. If you have a desktop - simply buy the power pack for Rs200 or so and replace it. Its really easy to setup computers and the peripherals and make it work here. The flat screen monitors are 220v compatible most of the time, so no issue with that either.
Books - Bring your books! If you are crazy about books especially children books of US or European authors - get them. You do get Everything and all the books here - novels and fiction is very cheap and locally published - but foreign author kid's books are expensive. And, the printing and paper quality differs when locally printed.
Kitchen stuff
Bring all your good kitchen stuff. The quality is way off. I can name a few must bring stuff for quality and pricing reasons
1. Cutlery, utensils, silverware, knives, all sorts of tools - scrapper, slicers, wine openers, bar tools etc. Bring your Calphalones and even the OXO tools are way better than what you get here. You don't get the newer silicon covered spatulas or ladles. If you are used to using silicon spatulas for cooking - bring them. You only get the cheap plastic. Same thing with the newer ceramic blade based stuff - knives, peelers etc.
2. Stainless steel stuff - Although SS is very popular here in India, some of the good German make ones you find for decent pricing in the US is unbeatable. A lot of the stuff here are not heavy bottomed. A full set of SS cookware is worth bringing - something like a Cuisinart or the likes. Same deal with hard-anodized stuff. There is only one company that makes it and its not half as good as the Calphalone ones there.
3. Get organizers, storage cans. Airtight plastic jars are better there. SS ones are okay here and slowly seeing wider choices, but I personally think the quality is better there. Some of them tend to rust as well at the joints.
4. Fabric based stuff - if you are into cotton - you get a lot of choices here. Napkins, runners etc are great here and can get a lot of custom made stuff.
5. Bar ware - bring your all your wine glasses, shot glasses etc etc. Pricey here and quality is poor. Bar tools, wine gadgets and bar gizmo are a bit hard to find here. Finding good liquor is hard enough - so don't struggle with finding good bar ware.
6. Serve ware - again bring them. Fine china is not that popular here. Most of them are ceramic, stainless steel or Corelle. You also get a lot of stone ware and bone china. If you are the Mikasa type person - bring it!
7. Tupperware is widely available here - you can skip bringing those.
8. You can get scrubbers, gloves, fancy kitchen towels, mitts , Ziploc, foils, parchment paper, baking sheets etc. Bring you silicon baking sheets and trays - they are not here yet.
Office Products
You get most of what you need. But, bringing the basics with you helps with transition. Good quality paper and stuff you take for granted may not be easily available here. Good writing paper, kids' drawing sheets etc are available for a premium price.
Kids stuff
All branded toys are here - fisher price etc. They are the same price as there. So if you see a closeout sale in the US, grab all that you can. If you find crayola, board games, art materials on a discount there - bring them Worth every penny. Art and craft stuff is terrible here. Bring your art supplies. You may get them here - but have to go to cumbersome process to locate a dealer and buy them. There is NOTHING like Hobby Lobby or Michael's. Just bring your art supplies for lasting a year or so before you get around finding the right places in Bangalore.
Tools
Bring your screwdriver sets, wrenches, hammers etc. Nothing can beat the variety of tools you get in the US. Its really hard to get the right tools for the right jobs here. Of course, you will find handyman type people for most things, but the reliability of these people is pretty bad. Even if you find one and manage to make him come on time, his tools will be pathetic and so will be his work. Here people try and manage with what have. Don't be surprised if your handyman tries to tighten a screw with a pliers..if that is what he has, then that is what he will use! This attitude doesn't work well when it comes to DIY stuff. If you have plenty screws and nails at home, just bring them. They come in very handy. Same goes with gardening tools (if you plan on gardening here). Remember, there is no Home Depot for rescue. If you need something, you have to find a local hardware store and hope that the store owner understands what you are talking about. You have no good self-service tools store to find what you want.
Cosmetics, bath and hygiene products
A good improvement in the brand options for all sorts of cosmetics and bath/hygiene products in India. You get most of the drugstore brands - Vaseline, Garnier, Olay, and the high-end brands at the big malls as well. The top brands come with a big price tag - if you wish to stock up on some- its good a idea. You do get lot of herbal natural products. Himalaya seems to be a big player in this market. Don't expect to get the latest and greatest of cosmetics and body care products in regular stores - but I think what you get here is more than suffice for the most part. For women, all personal hygiene products are available in a wide range - but tampons are practically unheard of. There is just one brand that makes a very basic option.
Sports Materials
Good idea to bring Bikes, road bikes/mountain bikes, Skates, Shoes, good sports wear clothes (like soccer shorts etc). Everything is available but quite expensive. All foreign brand sports materials are very expensive. E.g. a decent tennis racket starts at Rs 4K and a Wilson will start at 8-9K . If you are already serious into any sport - bring what you need. If you are planning to learn then bring the starter brands. Sometimes you don't get cheap stuff for beginners here. Its a good idea to bring kid's in-line skates, helmets, knee pads and even swim suits. These are all very expensive. E.g - decent pair of in-line skates starts at - Rs3500.
Clothes
Kids clothes - good idea to bring a whole bunch. Grown ups - you can bring some - depending on weather factors. Good wind cutters, sweats etc are good idea to bring. Rain jackets, Ponchos are also a good thing to bring. Jeans - if you are used to a certain style/brand - bring a couple. Its takes a bit of time to find a good replacement. Brands like Levis make slightly different patterns here. They always only come in Regular lengths - so for shorter people - need to get it altered - but good thing is. all stores will do that for you for free within an hour or two!
Misc Items that might be helpful to bring
Laundry baskets
Camping materials
Good backpacks - outdoor living stuff - Keen shoes type stuff
Handy solar lamps / led stuff
Surge protectors
Camel packs - this is extremely useful to carry water around here as you cannot get good drinking water in most places.
Photography equipment
VOIP options - magicjack type stuff
Phones - Most of the good ones here are imported and expensive.
That is all I can think of for now - Will add to this post when I come across anything that might be worth bringing.
Furniture - You may hear that India now offers excellent furniture. In our experience, If you can afford it, bring your furniture with you. Main limitations is the size and price - the furniture here are slightly smaller than the US. The stuff you get here are designed for petite Asians and space saving. A lot of the good stuff is from Europe (Which is extremely expensive) and again space saving. A lot of the models are highly contemporary in style as well. This applies mainly to sofas, recliners, office desks etc.
Solid wood furniture is great here. Especially if you can find a good carpenter, you can create your own furniture. There are a lot of furniture makers and various materials available. But all of these work well for wooden, Mdf, painted, lacquered type stuff. Cushion based systems are not that great. You get a few lazy boy type stuff, but very expensive. Also, most of the custom ones which are cheaper also have a cheap look. Nobody understand "good finish" here.
Electronics - Everything you can get that works with 220V is good to bring - but the also have to deal with conversion issues for videos like region codes, ntsc-pal type stuff - its best to buy players India. But, beware - Tvs, players, speakers etc extremely expensive. Read my previous post on TV, HD etc.
One thing we did end up getting from the US is a blu-ray player - its 4 times more expensive n India. Especially if you own a lot of the blu-ray discs of region code A or 1 - you will need a US player to play them anyways. The TV you buy here will play everything - so the player is the problem not the TV.
Car stereo is also a good thing to bring. They work here (no power issue) and they are lot more expensive in India. Most cars don;t come with a stereo in its base model or they are ridiculously expensive.
Computer products - again pricier in India. Its best to get a small 110V - 220V transformer here in India and power up your printers, scanner etc. If you have a desktop - simply buy the power pack for Rs200 or so and replace it. Its really easy to setup computers and the peripherals and make it work here. The flat screen monitors are 220v compatible most of the time, so no issue with that either.
Books - Bring your books! If you are crazy about books especially children books of US or European authors - get them. You do get Everything and all the books here - novels and fiction is very cheap and locally published - but foreign author kid's books are expensive. And, the printing and paper quality differs when locally printed.
Kitchen stuff
Bring all your good kitchen stuff. The quality is way off. I can name a few must bring stuff for quality and pricing reasons
1. Cutlery, utensils, silverware, knives, all sorts of tools - scrapper, slicers, wine openers, bar tools etc. Bring your Calphalones and even the OXO tools are way better than what you get here. You don't get the newer silicon covered spatulas or ladles. If you are used to using silicon spatulas for cooking - bring them. You only get the cheap plastic. Same thing with the newer ceramic blade based stuff - knives, peelers etc.
2. Stainless steel stuff - Although SS is very popular here in India, some of the good German make ones you find for decent pricing in the US is unbeatable. A lot of the stuff here are not heavy bottomed. A full set of SS cookware is worth bringing - something like a Cuisinart or the likes. Same deal with hard-anodized stuff. There is only one company that makes it and its not half as good as the Calphalone ones there.
3. Get organizers, storage cans. Airtight plastic jars are better there. SS ones are okay here and slowly seeing wider choices, but I personally think the quality is better there. Some of them tend to rust as well at the joints.
4. Fabric based stuff - if you are into cotton - you get a lot of choices here. Napkins, runners etc are great here and can get a lot of custom made stuff.
5. Bar ware - bring your all your wine glasses, shot glasses etc etc. Pricey here and quality is poor. Bar tools, wine gadgets and bar gizmo are a bit hard to find here. Finding good liquor is hard enough - so don't struggle with finding good bar ware.
6. Serve ware - again bring them. Fine china is not that popular here. Most of them are ceramic, stainless steel or Corelle. You also get a lot of stone ware and bone china. If you are the Mikasa type person - bring it!
7. Tupperware is widely available here - you can skip bringing those.
8. You can get scrubbers, gloves, fancy kitchen towels, mitts , Ziploc, foils, parchment paper, baking sheets etc. Bring you silicon baking sheets and trays - they are not here yet.
Office Products
You get most of what you need. But, bringing the basics with you helps with transition. Good quality paper and stuff you take for granted may not be easily available here. Good writing paper, kids' drawing sheets etc are available for a premium price.
Kids stuff
All branded toys are here - fisher price etc. They are the same price as there. So if you see a closeout sale in the US, grab all that you can. If you find crayola, board games, art materials on a discount there - bring them Worth every penny. Art and craft stuff is terrible here. Bring your art supplies. You may get them here - but have to go to cumbersome process to locate a dealer and buy them. There is NOTHING like Hobby Lobby or Michael's. Just bring your art supplies for lasting a year or so before you get around finding the right places in Bangalore.
Tools
Bring your screwdriver sets, wrenches, hammers etc. Nothing can beat the variety of tools you get in the US. Its really hard to get the right tools for the right jobs here. Of course, you will find handyman type people for most things, but the reliability of these people is pretty bad. Even if you find one and manage to make him come on time, his tools will be pathetic and so will be his work. Here people try and manage with what have. Don't be surprised if your handyman tries to tighten a screw with a pliers..if that is what he has, then that is what he will use! This attitude doesn't work well when it comes to DIY stuff. If you have plenty screws and nails at home, just bring them. They come in very handy. Same goes with gardening tools (if you plan on gardening here). Remember, there is no Home Depot for rescue. If you need something, you have to find a local hardware store and hope that the store owner understands what you are talking about. You have no good self-service tools store to find what you want.
Cosmetics, bath and hygiene products
A good improvement in the brand options for all sorts of cosmetics and bath/hygiene products in India. You get most of the drugstore brands - Vaseline, Garnier, Olay, and the high-end brands at the big malls as well. The top brands come with a big price tag - if you wish to stock up on some- its good a idea. You do get lot of herbal natural products. Himalaya seems to be a big player in this market. Don't expect to get the latest and greatest of cosmetics and body care products in regular stores - but I think what you get here is more than suffice for the most part. For women, all personal hygiene products are available in a wide range - but tampons are practically unheard of. There is just one brand that makes a very basic option.
Sports Materials
Good idea to bring Bikes, road bikes/mountain bikes, Skates, Shoes, good sports wear clothes (like soccer shorts etc). Everything is available but quite expensive. All foreign brand sports materials are very expensive. E.g. a decent tennis racket starts at Rs 4K and a Wilson will start at 8-9K . If you are already serious into any sport - bring what you need. If you are planning to learn then bring the starter brands. Sometimes you don't get cheap stuff for beginners here. Its a good idea to bring kid's in-line skates, helmets, knee pads and even swim suits. These are all very expensive. E.g - decent pair of in-line skates starts at - Rs3500.
Clothes
Kids clothes - good idea to bring a whole bunch. Grown ups - you can bring some - depending on weather factors. Good wind cutters, sweats etc are good idea to bring. Rain jackets, Ponchos are also a good thing to bring. Jeans - if you are used to a certain style/brand - bring a couple. Its takes a bit of time to find a good replacement. Brands like Levis make slightly different patterns here. They always only come in Regular lengths - so for shorter people - need to get it altered - but good thing is. all stores will do that for you for free within an hour or two!
Misc Items that might be helpful to bring
Laundry baskets
Camping materials
Good backpacks - outdoor living stuff - Keen shoes type stuff
Handy solar lamps / led stuff
Surge protectors
Camel packs - this is extremely useful to carry water around here as you cannot get good drinking water in most places.
Photography equipment
VOIP options - magicjack type stuff
Phones - Most of the good ones here are imported and expensive.
That is all I can think of for now - Will add to this post when I come across anything that might be worth bringing.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
TV, Cable, DVD, HD, Media - Bangalore yet to get there!
There is a reason why I am writing about TV, Media etc. Its been almost 8 months and it took us that long to figure it all out. Well, not all of it, but most of it. We were in denial and took several futile attempts to finally admit that you can only do so much with that you get here.
If you are a total movie freak and like to be glued to your home theater, then prepare yourself well before you R2I. There are lot of little annoyances and a lot of money to be spent to get the basic home video viewing experience to be well established here. I think most of this applies is all of India, could be worse in smaller cities.
For a decent home theater setup in Bangalore - you will need the following.
TV
AV Receiver
Speakers
DVD player
Cable Box
If you are planning to R2I from 110V countries, don't bother to bring a TV. Unless, you can figure out the complications of voltage, system, regions etc etc etc. There are too many factors including customs to take care of. Although the TVs are considerably more expensive in India and you might think of spending the difference in doing the patch work, trust me, Its a lot easier to buy is all here and I will tell you why. If you are into the flat screens - you get LCD and LEDs everywhere. There are more TV stores / dealers that you will need. Everything is Negotiable! So remember to bargain and ask them to throw in deals/DTH/cable etc.
If you are looking for a HD experience with your flat screen, these are the issues with it.
1. No cable or dish provider has HD. There are not HD broadcast channels in India. There are just Nat.Geo provided by SUN HD services and they have a few regional channels. Please note, most of the regional programming is just upscaled. So do not expect high quality HD consistently.
2. HD quality is limited to DVDs and that too only Blueray. Most movies are available in India as they are realeased in Region C or All regions. Make sure your DVD player plays Region C, otherwise, you are in for more frustation. This is another reason to buy your equipment in India. If you buy your own Bluray collection, then its worth investing in teh whole nine yards to get the true HD experience.
3. Upscaling to 1080p is often called as HD quality here. Alhtough they are not the same at all. None of the upscaled videos come any where near HD quality. A lof the DVD players claim to have upscaling. Also, all the upscaling devices do nothing to analog signals from cable. Barely any difference. The regular DVDs look a bit better on the upscaled versions, assuming its an original DVD :-) Which again is uncommon to find at DVD rental stores.
4. If your primary source for movies are local DVD rentals - don't bother to get anything HD or FullHD or 1080p or any of the cool stuff. The local DVD gusy never ever have the real thing. All you get in crappy copies!
5. Online HD media - We are used to watching all US prime time stuff online on the respective websites. None of these work in India! All the online US Channel websites, Netflix online, etc etc are all blocked. Unless you have a super fast web connection (which is not possible) and good enough to go through a proxy or vpn - online HD viewing is impossible. Of course there is bit torrent and illegal downloading etc... but again the bandwidth use, will make you pay much more for your internet bills. There is no unlimited internet plans in the affordable range. So, don't rely on the internet of rich media.
Now for the Receivers, Speakers, etc. You get everything here. Except for the price. Everything is super expensive. A decent receiver with all the basics and HD stuff starts at 30K. Speakers are good to bring - watch out for powered sub woofers. That will post a conversion problem. Receiver brands commonly in India in order of pricing - Yamaha, Denon & Marantz.
DVD players are alright. The basic DVD players are easy to find and cheap. Bluray is expensive - minimum of 13-15K! But again for region issues etc, its best to buy local. Philips, Sony, Samsung etc. Blurray players are again not commonly found. Most stores carry one or 2 models on the floor. Best is to nail down the model, call and order it from a dealer. Getting a PS3 is another option to play your Bluray. Again,. get it locally - region issue.
One thing to keep in mind, you can ofcourse not worry about the region issue - if you are ready to wait long enough to get the all-region Blurays. They take time and some of them never get published in all-regions.
Well, thats my 2 cents on home theatre experience in India. Good luck with your quest to make the most out of your home theatre!
Side note: There is a booming business for home theatre set-up companies. They design, automate and set-up equiment etc. They literally build your home theatre in your apartment or home. Their packages start at 3 lakhs and up. You get a lot of cool stuff, automated/intelligent lighting, customised furniture, etc. You name it! So, if you do not want to figure it all out, there are professionals who do this for a living!
If you are a total movie freak and like to be glued to your home theater, then prepare yourself well before you R2I. There are lot of little annoyances and a lot of money to be spent to get the basic home video viewing experience to be well established here. I think most of this applies is all of India, could be worse in smaller cities.
For a decent home theater setup in Bangalore - you will need the following.
TV
AV Receiver
Speakers
DVD player
Cable Box
If you are planning to R2I from 110V countries, don't bother to bring a TV. Unless, you can figure out the complications of voltage, system, regions etc etc etc. There are too many factors including customs to take care of. Although the TVs are considerably more expensive in India and you might think of spending the difference in doing the patch work, trust me, Its a lot easier to buy is all here and I will tell you why. If you are into the flat screens - you get LCD and LEDs everywhere. There are more TV stores / dealers that you will need. Everything is Negotiable! So remember to bargain and ask them to throw in deals/DTH/cable etc.
If you are looking for a HD experience with your flat screen, these are the issues with it.
1. No cable or dish provider has HD. There are not HD broadcast channels in India. There are just Nat.Geo provided by SUN HD services and they have a few regional channels. Please note, most of the regional programming is just upscaled. So do not expect high quality HD consistently.
2. HD quality is limited to DVDs and that too only Blueray. Most movies are available in India as they are realeased in Region C or All regions. Make sure your DVD player plays Region C, otherwise, you are in for more frustation. This is another reason to buy your equipment in India. If you buy your own Bluray collection, then its worth investing in teh whole nine yards to get the true HD experience.
3. Upscaling to 1080p is often called as HD quality here. Alhtough they are not the same at all. None of the upscaled videos come any where near HD quality. A lof the DVD players claim to have upscaling. Also, all the upscaling devices do nothing to analog signals from cable. Barely any difference. The regular DVDs look a bit better on the upscaled versions, assuming its an original DVD :-) Which again is uncommon to find at DVD rental stores.
4. If your primary source for movies are local DVD rentals - don't bother to get anything HD or FullHD or 1080p or any of the cool stuff. The local DVD gusy never ever have the real thing. All you get in crappy copies!
5. Online HD media - We are used to watching all US prime time stuff online on the respective websites. None of these work in India! All the online US Channel websites, Netflix online, etc etc are all blocked. Unless you have a super fast web connection (which is not possible) and good enough to go through a proxy or vpn - online HD viewing is impossible. Of course there is bit torrent and illegal downloading etc... but again the bandwidth use, will make you pay much more for your internet bills. There is no unlimited internet plans in the affordable range. So, don't rely on the internet of rich media.
Now for the Receivers, Speakers, etc. You get everything here. Except for the price. Everything is super expensive. A decent receiver with all the basics and HD stuff starts at 30K. Speakers are good to bring - watch out for powered sub woofers. That will post a conversion problem. Receiver brands commonly in India in order of pricing - Yamaha, Denon & Marantz.
DVD players are alright. The basic DVD players are easy to find and cheap. Bluray is expensive - minimum of 13-15K! But again for region issues etc, its best to buy local. Philips, Sony, Samsung etc. Blurray players are again not commonly found. Most stores carry one or 2 models on the floor. Best is to nail down the model, call and order it from a dealer. Getting a PS3 is another option to play your Bluray. Again,. get it locally - region issue.
One thing to keep in mind, you can ofcourse not worry about the region issue - if you are ready to wait long enough to get the all-region Blurays. They take time and some of them never get published in all-regions.
Well, thats my 2 cents on home theatre experience in India. Good luck with your quest to make the most out of your home theatre!
Side note: There is a booming business for home theatre set-up companies. They design, automate and set-up equiment etc. They literally build your home theatre in your apartment or home. Their packages start at 3 lakhs and up. You get a lot of cool stuff, automated/intelligent lighting, customised furniture, etc. You name it! So, if you do not want to figure it all out, there are professionals who do this for a living!
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Travel, Paperwork, Permits, foreign citizen registration etc
I have been meaning to write about the various paperwork that you might need as part of moving and living in India.
Foreign citizen registration process in India
If you are not an Indian Citizen or if your Kids are not Indian citizens, then you will need to get a residential permit stamped on your foreign passports. This is process is done at your city's Police commissioner's office. In Bangalore its at the FRO office (No1 Infantry road). The process of obtaining is permit is a bit time consuming and sometimes quite painful.
Every foreign citizen residing in India over 180 days MUST get the stamp. Regardless of age. There is some misconception about this rule for kids. But that is not true. They give you a tough time if you are beyond the 6- months limit and might make the process even more painful. Its best to simply got get this process done within the first 2-3 months of arrival. Sooner the better.
Disclaimer: This is based on our experience in Bangalore. Not sure how the other cities work.
1. Collect all the documents necessary. This list can change slightly, list on the website was fairly accurate. Take more copies than you think you will ever need! Take extra pictures, all original passports, PIO cards etc. I have notes on the paperwork necessary at the bottom of this post.
2. Your visit will start with standing in line to enter the building. This line can be long at time. The officers will take a quick picture of you and give you a visit pass. This process of getting a visit pass is not totally enforced. The second and third time we went there, we skipped this part and went straight into the concerned offices.
3. Day 1:Get into the at Single Window department. An officer will go through your paperwork to make sure you have everything place. 99% of time, you will be missing something. If its just extra copies, you can make photocopies across the street from the main gate and get back to single window. You will see a lot of people cutting the line to talk to the officer there. Knowing the local language really helps! If you run out to make copies, you can try to talk to the officer without getting back in line. The experience is quite nice, you will see people from all over the world, getting yelled at by this guy :-)
4. Next step, after all the papers are in place, you will asked to get a sign off from the Assistant commissioner. This process was simple for us. Just walk into his office, he quickly looks at your paperwork and signs it off. we did not have to wait in line.
5. Day 2: You will then be asked to take the paperwork to the assigned officer. He will take your paperwork and ask to you to come the next day. Although, we just said yes and went back the next day, there maybe chances you can get this guy to move it to the next step the same day. We assumed it will all be ready the next day, only to find out that all he did was put the papers in a file and the next day asked us to submit the passport and come back the next day.
6. Day 3: Go back to the officer and he will ask you to submit your original passport at a specific counter and take a receipt. They will give you a specified time to come back the next day to pick up the passport. In and out in 15mins.
7. Day 4: Go back to the counter with you receipt. They will make you talk to the assigned officer and one other guy and then the passport will be ready for pick up at the counter. The process only took about 15-20 mins. Make sure the passport is stamped with multiple entry and for the period the passport is valid. Now, you are free to travel and out of India and reside in India without any restrictions.
So there you go! Allow yourself 4 consecutive working day mornings/afternoons to get this stamping done. The process as such was simple except for the multiple visits. No bribes, no cost for the whole thing. Except for ofcourse get the photocopies and affidavit (about Rs200 for that)
Note on Financial affidavit:
You can download the template from the FRO website. Take to a typist/notary service store , usually found near registrar office of your area. Typically you will find several of these notary people. Some people act like they are doing some sort of free service and give you the runs, don't waste your time with them. Just go to a more professional looking one. This should not cost you more than Rs200. There is also a "Advocate" signature part, this will not be done by the notary. You will have it find a lawyer in your area ( yellowbook) call and get this done. Should cost maybe another Rs200 or so. I had it done through a friend who happened to be a lawyer.
Address proof: Make sure you take copies of electricity bills, bank passbooks, rental agreement, sale deed etc. If you are staying at someone's house, make sure you take a letter stating the same, written and signed by the homeowner (whose name should be on the electricty bill).
Good luck with the process, although time consuming, We did not find this process painful.
Foreign citizen registration process in India
If you are not an Indian Citizen or if your Kids are not Indian citizens, then you will need to get a residential permit stamped on your foreign passports. This is process is done at your city's Police commissioner's office. In Bangalore its at the FRO office (No1 Infantry road). The process of obtaining is permit is a bit time consuming and sometimes quite painful.
Every foreign citizen residing in India over 180 days MUST get the stamp. Regardless of age. There is some misconception about this rule for kids. But that is not true. They give you a tough time if you are beyond the 6- months limit and might make the process even more painful. Its best to simply got get this process done within the first 2-3 months of arrival. Sooner the better.
Disclaimer: This is based on our experience in Bangalore. Not sure how the other cities work.
1. Collect all the documents necessary. This list can change slightly, list on the website was fairly accurate. Take more copies than you think you will ever need! Take extra pictures, all original passports, PIO cards etc. I have notes on the paperwork necessary at the bottom of this post.
2. Your visit will start with standing in line to enter the building. This line can be long at time. The officers will take a quick picture of you and give you a visit pass. This process of getting a visit pass is not totally enforced. The second and third time we went there, we skipped this part and went straight into the concerned offices.
3. Day 1:Get into the at Single Window department. An officer will go through your paperwork to make sure you have everything place. 99% of time, you will be missing something. If its just extra copies, you can make photocopies across the street from the main gate and get back to single window. You will see a lot of people cutting the line to talk to the officer there. Knowing the local language really helps! If you run out to make copies, you can try to talk to the officer without getting back in line. The experience is quite nice, you will see people from all over the world, getting yelled at by this guy :-)
4. Next step, after all the papers are in place, you will asked to get a sign off from the Assistant commissioner. This process was simple for us. Just walk into his office, he quickly looks at your paperwork and signs it off. we did not have to wait in line.
5. Day 2: You will then be asked to take the paperwork to the assigned officer. He will take your paperwork and ask to you to come the next day. Although, we just said yes and went back the next day, there maybe chances you can get this guy to move it to the next step the same day. We assumed it will all be ready the next day, only to find out that all he did was put the papers in a file and the next day asked us to submit the passport and come back the next day.
6. Day 3: Go back to the officer and he will ask you to submit your original passport at a specific counter and take a receipt. They will give you a specified time to come back the next day to pick up the passport. In and out in 15mins.
7. Day 4: Go back to the counter with you receipt. They will make you talk to the assigned officer and one other guy and then the passport will be ready for pick up at the counter. The process only took about 15-20 mins. Make sure the passport is stamped with multiple entry and for the period the passport is valid. Now, you are free to travel and out of India and reside in India without any restrictions.
So there you go! Allow yourself 4 consecutive working day mornings/afternoons to get this stamping done. The process as such was simple except for the multiple visits. No bribes, no cost for the whole thing. Except for ofcourse get the photocopies and affidavit (about Rs200 for that)
Note on Financial affidavit:
You can download the template from the FRO website. Take to a typist/notary service store , usually found near registrar office of your area. Typically you will find several of these notary people. Some people act like they are doing some sort of free service and give you the runs, don't waste your time with them. Just go to a more professional looking one. This should not cost you more than Rs200. There is also a "Advocate" signature part, this will not be done by the notary. You will have it find a lawyer in your area ( yellowbook) call and get this done. Should cost maybe another Rs200 or so. I had it done through a friend who happened to be a lawyer.
Address proof: Make sure you take copies of electricity bills, bank passbooks, rental agreement, sale deed etc. If you are staying at someone's house, make sure you take a letter stating the same, written and signed by the homeowner (whose name should be on the electricty bill).
Good luck with the process, although time consuming, We did not find this process painful.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Cooking American in Bangalore
After living in the US for several years, I got used to the abundance of food products available and easy access to almost all the cuisines in the world. Now, living in Bangalore/India has its impact on the foods we get to eat. Being a cooking enthusiast, I am learning where to find the right stuff in Bangalore to make the foods I am used to.
It took me a few months of visiting several food stores to figure some of the basics. I hope to cover my experiences and hopefully provide a guide to other readers about how and where to find the things you will need for various cuisines.
I will try to break it down by sections as much as possible.
Finding baking products in Bangalore
1. Baking powder - easily available in any small self-service grocery store. Comes in marked boxes. Dry Yeast & gelatin are also easy to find in most big stores.
2. Baking soda - Not too obvious. Although available in most grocery stores - they are in clear plastic packs (very close to salt and sugar) and its usually marked just "soda". Best is to for Soda or cooking Soda, and the grocer will be able to locate it for you.
3. Pam spray and the likes - Spray oil is not quite here in India yet. Best is buy a Misto or other spray devices. Or stick with the good old way of oil and sprinkling flour.
4. Flour - This is a very challenging area and I have not yet figured this one out . Refined flour is called "Maida". Maida is very very easy to find in almost any food store. But, I have not even come close to finding different types of flour. I have not seen any bread flour, self-rising flour, unbleached flour etc. If you are a homemade bread person - then you are in for some level of disappointment. In fact the same holds true for store bought bread. Very few choices and barely any fresh baked rolls. Most of what is available it is sliced bread. I have seen some decent Baguettes and french bread in big fancy stores like SPAR. I have not found any Rye, sourdough, italian bread etc.
5. Chocolate chips - You get the general Hersheys chocolate chips. I have not seen anything other than the basic milk chocolate ones. No unsweetened, no caramel chips, no dark chocolate :-( You get a decent variety of European cooking chocolates and cocoa powder.
6. Filling - I find a few cans of strawberry filling, may be an occasional peach or mango. Cranberries are almost unheard of. In general - findind berries in any form is a bit tough.
7. Herbs - I have not yet found good variety of fresh herbs. In the fresh category - you can find cilantro, curry leaves, mint and maybe some chives (rarely). Other than this, rest has to be dried herbs. Dried herbs are available in most big stores like Foodworld, Spar etc.
That is all I have for now on the baking needs aisle. Will write more on finding the groceries you need in the City of Bangalore!
It took me a few months of visiting several food stores to figure some of the basics. I hope to cover my experiences and hopefully provide a guide to other readers about how and where to find the things you will need for various cuisines.
I will try to break it down by sections as much as possible.
Finding baking products in Bangalore
1. Baking powder - easily available in any small self-service grocery store. Comes in marked boxes. Dry Yeast & gelatin are also easy to find in most big stores.
2. Baking soda - Not too obvious. Although available in most grocery stores - they are in clear plastic packs (very close to salt and sugar) and its usually marked just "soda". Best is to for Soda or cooking Soda, and the grocer will be able to locate it for you.
3. Pam spray and the likes - Spray oil is not quite here in India yet. Best is buy a Misto or other spray devices. Or stick with the good old way of oil and sprinkling flour.
4. Flour - This is a very challenging area and I have not yet figured this one out . Refined flour is called "Maida". Maida is very very easy to find in almost any food store. But, I have not even come close to finding different types of flour. I have not seen any bread flour, self-rising flour, unbleached flour etc. If you are a homemade bread person - then you are in for some level of disappointment. In fact the same holds true for store bought bread. Very few choices and barely any fresh baked rolls. Most of what is available it is sliced bread. I have seen some decent Baguettes and french bread in big fancy stores like SPAR. I have not found any Rye, sourdough, italian bread etc.
5. Chocolate chips - You get the general Hersheys chocolate chips. I have not seen anything other than the basic milk chocolate ones. No unsweetened, no caramel chips, no dark chocolate :-( You get a decent variety of European cooking chocolates and cocoa powder.
6. Filling - I find a few cans of strawberry filling, may be an occasional peach or mango. Cranberries are almost unheard of. In general - findind berries in any form is a bit tough.
7. Herbs - I have not yet found good variety of fresh herbs. In the fresh category - you can find cilantro, curry leaves, mint and maybe some chives (rarely). Other than this, rest has to be dried herbs. Dried herbs are available in most big stores like Foodworld, Spar etc.
That is all I have for now on the baking needs aisle. Will write more on finding the groceries you need in the City of Bangalore!
Friday, September 18, 2009
Why Indians speak the way they do...
Here are the usual observations of English language mistakes made in India/Bangalore. I am no expert here and used to make many of these mistakes. I have tried change most of them.
1. Sentences seem to always start with a "You know". Eg. " You know - I was walking outside .." And sometimes sentences end with a "you know" as well. Somehow, something doesn't fit right when you listen to it.
2. Sentences always have a lot of "know/No"s in it. Eg. "That is a really nice car - know/No? " - which in plain English translates to " Isn't that a really nice car?". I get thoroughly confused with the "know/no" word being used in the place of proper question word (who, where, when, why, what, how etc) I call it a "know / No" - because.. sometimes its the short of "you know" and sometimes its the word "no" - Because most Indian languages use the "no" word to indicate a question. If you know Tamil - a lot of people say " Nalla irukku - illa? " So the "know/no" is a literal translation problem.
3. Get the "V" and "W" mixed up all the time. Its "WeggieTaybles" and "Wegetarian". And, its "Vife", "Vater","Vhen", "Vhat" and "Vhere"
4. The letter "a" is pronounced like a "y". Yair (for air).
5. This one kills me - Iron - pronounced as I-Run. Classic Bangalore.
6. Dubbell Road - Any road that has a median! (yeah its rare to find a double road)
7. Take a right/left at Dead end - Dead end in Bangalore means a T - junction :-)
8. The words "Only" and "also" being overused and with no relevance to the sentence. Eg: "You came from the store only?". "You are coming to the store also". Also is used in the place of "too" most of the time. The word "Only" doesn't makes sense in the sentences. I am yet to figure the logic behind the use of the word. And the word "only" is pronounced as "Wonlee".
9. The sing song tone of course. Questions are always a super sing-songed sentences with no question word. You have to hear this to understand it. "You going to the store?".
10. Storm is pronounced as "StRom" - this is a super common mistake.
Will add more to this list soon.
1. Sentences seem to always start with a "You know". Eg. " You know - I was walking outside .." And sometimes sentences end with a "you know" as well. Somehow, something doesn't fit right when you listen to it.
2. Sentences always have a lot of "know/No"s in it. Eg. "That is a really nice car - know/No? " - which in plain English translates to " Isn't that a really nice car?". I get thoroughly confused with the "know/no" word being used in the place of proper question word (who, where, when, why, what, how etc) I call it a "know / No" - because.. sometimes its the short of "you know" and sometimes its the word "no" - Because most Indian languages use the "no" word to indicate a question. If you know Tamil - a lot of people say " Nalla irukku - illa? " So the "know/no" is a literal translation problem.
3. Get the "V" and "W" mixed up all the time. Its "WeggieTaybles" and "Wegetarian". And, its "Vife", "Vater","Vhen", "Vhat" and "Vhere"
4. The letter "a" is pronounced like a "y". Yair (for air).
5. This one kills me - Iron - pronounced as I-Run. Classic Bangalore.
6. Dubbell Road - Any road that has a median! (yeah its rare to find a double road)
7. Take a right/left at Dead end - Dead end in Bangalore means a T - junction :-)
8. The words "Only" and "also" being overused and with no relevance to the sentence. Eg: "You came from the store only?". "You are coming to the store also". Also is used in the place of "too" most of the time. The word "Only" doesn't makes sense in the sentences. I am yet to figure the logic behind the use of the word. And the word "only" is pronounced as "Wonlee".
9. The sing song tone of course. Questions are always a super sing-songed sentences with no question word. You have to hear this to understand it. "You going to the store?".
10. Storm is pronounced as "StRom" - this is a super common mistake.
Will add more to this list soon.
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