CULTURAL QA 05-2022-28 BEING A COMPILATIONTHERE MAY BE ERRORS
All the above QA are from Quora website on 27-05- 2022. Q1 In terms of lifestyle, culture,purchasing power, and general happiness, what are some things that you can doin India but not in the US? A1 Balaji Viswanathan Lived in US since2004.Updated 8y My note- Lengthy but very informative answer This answer iscomplementary to my answer here: What are some of the things that you can do inthe US but not in India? 1. I can go to a doctor with no insurance, nopaperwork, get treated, buy medicines and come back in an hour with a totalexpenditure of just $1-$2. (This is a private practitioner who was educatedalmost for free by the government. Typically, a GP sees 50-100 patients everydayand makes $200/day.) And some of these doctors are the best in the business.This is one of the things where India knocks most countries hands down[1]. Itis not just cheap, it is also as uncomplicated as going to a grocery store. In fact, our doctors become goodfamily friends and act as everything from a notary to a life consultant ;-) 2. I can go and buy healthy stuff cheaper thanunhealthy stuff. A kilo of fresh mango costs about Rs. 120 ($2) during seasonwhile a 1 liter bottle of Coke costs Rs. 40 ($0.70). Same with idli vs. pizzaor roti vs. Big Mac. In India, you have to pay big bucks to eat unhealthy. Inthe US, it is the other way around. 3. Weddings, festivals and family events. Indiaagain wins hands down. Try spending Holi in Delhi, Ganpathy Pooja in Bombay,Durga pooja in Calcutta and Pongal near Madurai and you will see what isincredible about India. In US, except for July 4 and to some extent Christmas,most festivals are low key. I'm surprised that most people don't even come outto the streets to celebrate Christmas or New Year in most US cities. 4. Drop in randomly to relatives/friends homes.Although in some Indian metros, people are acting "Western" andrequiring appointments to go to their home, in most normal Indian homes you candrop in without an appointment. My wife and I always go to our in-laws placewithout notice to surprise them. This element of chance & surprise adds tofurther excitement. In the US, I find things too formal. 5. Get stuff repaired instead of throwing to landfill.Indians are very efficient in repairing/reusing stuff. In the US, people throwout their gadgets and appliances as soon as they reach the first failure. InIndia, you can go to a mechanic/electrician and get stuff repaired. The amountof waste generated per person is extremely low. 6. Low cost education. We can spend weeks onfinding what is at fault with our education system, but the fact of the matteris that we are very efficient at what we are doing. Most of us went to privateschools where it costs less than $500/year (although, this is changing as moreparents want trophy schools now). Our colleges are only a little more expensivethan that. This is despite the government spending almost nothing on oureducation. Moststudents in the US are overburdened with debt just after their college.It is not just cheap, it is also safe. Whether it is rapes, murders orshootings, our colleges do far better in managing crimes than do US campuses.Even during major riots, you will never see a major campus of IIT/IIM/NITaffected in any way. 7. Public Transportation. In almost all Indian citiesthere is viable public transportation. If there is no bus or train, there willalways be a ubiquitous auto-rickshaw costing about $0.2/km. In the US, I hadterrible problems going from one city to another before I bought my car. 8. Affordable entertainment and communication. InIndia, almost anybody (even a slum dweller) can afford cable TV. A full cableservice cost about $2-$8/month. Same for mobile phones where incoming calls aremostly free and one can have an usuable phone plan for about $5/month. However,in the US even many upper middle class families have to think twice beforegoing for full cable service. 9. Walkable cities and towns. India has not yetmoved to a US style suburban sprawl. That means in most towns & cities wecan walk/bike to most essential amenities - grocery shops (h/t Niranjan UmaShankar), medical clinics, restaurants. 10. Political system. We sure have got plenty oftroubles in our democratic setup, but ours is the only democratic setup where aminority can rise up to the top with no background. When Abdul Kalam became thethird Muslim President in 32 years, India's right wingers didn't howl. This isin sharp contrast to how US right wingers reacted to Obama's little bit ofblack lineage. The President was born to a white mother, raised in whiteneighborhoods, went to Ivy leagues, but still was trashed by the right wing.President Kalam had no political background, no strong network and no money,just lots of brains to get him up there. Although our population is 85% Hindu,we have had Sikh Prime Ministers and Presidents, Muslim Presidents, Zorastrianbusiness leaders... Can a Hindu/Muslim immigrant realistically become a premierin Italy or Germany or Australia? We are not perfectly secular, but this is oneaspect where we beat every other nation in the world. 11. Finally, good food. I live in a nation where aSamosa costs Rs 10 ($ 0.2). In Mumbai, we used to have a great dinner atroadside shops for $1 (for 2 of us). Whether it is Idli, Papdi chat or Samosa,it is a luxury in the US. I miss the chats of Delhi & Mumbai, SaravanaBhavan of Chennai and Rosgollas of Calcutta. My note- Now most Saravanabhavaan are closed. In it’s placeAdyar Anandabhavan have appeared including Chennai Central. [1] Our medical system is so direct & simple, if you are notdirt poor. One of my close friends had a mild bout of fever as soon as he cameto the US. In India, this is a pretty simple thing. Here, the doctors made himtake so many stupid tests that the bill finally ran to $800. Good that hisinsurance coverage started the previous day. Still, he had to run aroundfilling up papers for a whole week. ----------------- Endnote: I can also name 11 or more things whereyou can do in the US but not in India. So, it is not about jingoism or onenation better than the other. It is just a discussion aboutrelative merits of one nation vs. the other. Every nation is great in its ownway, and there are some stuff that one nation beats the other, while in otherstuff gets beaten. Q2 Why is India unable to producelaptops and its components? A2 Kanthaswamy BalasubramaniamLawyer 10mo Jugaad-The poison that consumes Indian manufacturing. As a Banker, wegive 125 Crore loan to a Manufacturer who becomes NPA in 3 years. So we do thepost mortem. Why didn’t the Product sell? You predicted 50,000 unitsper year in sales but you sold only 7200? Answer : The Product was inferior. Nobody wanted to buycompared to the Chinese alternates or Japanese alternates. Why was itinferior? Answer: Because theOriginal design called for Grade IV filters, we used Grade II to save costs. The Original designcalled for machine fitting and sealing but we used manual fitting and sealing The original designrequired a Six Stage separator, we invested in a four stage separator to save costs The Split Opticsneeded 5 Phases of testing for 84 days but we did only 3 phases of testing for 50 daysto save costs So what was yourunit cost?? China withall the original design parameters makes at Rs. 46800/- per unit?Surely you saved so much cost by compromising design Answer : Unit cost was Rs. 53,000/- Whaat???? How?? Answer: Sir, we hadto pay 10 Crore to this guy, 5 Crore to that guy, 15 Crore to this Minster We had to buy transducers at 1.5 times the marketprice because the MLAs brother was the supplier We had to import so and so stuff at 72% tariff We were threatened that if we didn’t engage or pay 700labourers we would face consequences, so we pay 700 workers for nothing We loaned you 125Crore. How much of it was spent on manufcture and inventory? Answer: Sir weanticipated Rs. 110 Crore to develop based on original design and Rs. 15 Crorefor contingencies. Reality is We spend only Rs. 55 Crore on all this. Therest went for bribes, delay related salaries, higher costs of raw materialsetc. Okay so how do you pay for your loan now? Answer: Sir, ispoke to local MLA who promised me he will agitate and cause a Ban on Chineseproducts and then we can sell our products. Of course he wants 5 Crore so canyou increase our OD facility?????? See how the Chineseare eating into our business??? Bad China.This iswhy India fails This is the Storyof every single SME business in India Indians are prettydecent when it comes to design but rarely is anything manufactured to designall the way. Deficient Standards, Delay in Export Orders, BogusEscalation of Costs - always the same story no matter who is in power - FromIndira to Modi Always some Jugaad will be done. Due tomiscellaneous costs , design standards will never be met and most products willalways be inferior. Nobody has changedthis. The only way would be to drag the people who obstruct progress and do aTianamen style job which is impossible in a democracy where everyone wets hisbeak. Q3 Is it wrong to live by your self andleave your single mother alone? A3 Bhuvana Rameshwar married for threedecades Thu No, unless she is not able to live alone like she is illor slightly disabled as in health issues. If she is doingwell physically and mentally and chooses to live alone let her continue. Youcan visit her often and take care of her financially if needed. I have seen many motherscarry on living alone after the death of their husbands. They do not move in with theiradult sons or daughters. They just continue living in the same housefor “comfort “ sake. There is a strange comfort livingin your own house and sleeping in your bed. Single mothers are moreindependent and it is no surprise if they want to continue staying alone. Similarly men too continue living alone after theirwife's death, peacefully in the same house. Theysomehow manage cooking or eat outside food. They get used to the neighbourhoodand find it difficult to move to new places for family and company sake. They may visit their childrenfor a few weeks to months or vice versa otherwise expect children to visitperiodically. Most are happy intheir own countries if adult children are residing abroad. In spite of thebetter life and lifestyle, relocation to a new country is not easy for seniors.They lose their freedom of movement, space and sometimes self respect too. Theyget used to their own place of stay, town etc of many years. Getting out of your comfort zone is easy for youngstersbut not for elders. Similarly for those with adultchildren studying or working out of their native towns and cities but withinthe country . Q4 Why did the Elizabeth Line in Londontake so long to build and cost so much? A4 Nicholas Stone Lives in London(1993–present)Thu The Elizabeth line finally opened in May 2022, nearly 30years after the first government announcement ofthe project. Projects of thesesize require consultation, legislation, funding arrangements, construction,rolling stock manufacture, testing and certification. New technology added several yearsof delays to this project. The Elizabeth line class 345 trains have higher degreesof automation. Advanced signalling systems permithigher frequencies. There are platform edge doors. Multiple computer systemsmanage safety, timetabling, train management and real time fault diagnosis. Allthese systems required testing, with delays to one system compounding delayselsewhere. The Elizabeth line is huge - adding 10% to the entiretyof the London Underground rail. Stations are cavernous.Tunnels are built to a more generous dimension, allowing passenger to beevacuated. Back in February 2022, I took part in evacuation trails. The Elizabeth line class 345 train feature advancedsignalling and automation features - ensuring safer, faster and more frequentservices in the core tunnel section in central London. The line is estimated to cost £17 billion to build -including a fleet of the new class 345 trains. Funding has come from multiplesources. Most of the funding came from a special business rate, majorlandowners, a special tax on property developments and Transport for London.Around 15% of funding came from the UK government. Recall that most of the £17billion was spent gradually during the 13 years of construction. Q5 What is the reason that South Indianweddings aren't as grand as North Indian, especially Punjabi weddings? A5 Balaji Viswanathan follows governmentpolicies closely.3y Funnily, I thoughtthe other way around. Iwas always fascinated how the Punjabi weddings I saw in Delhi were simple— they would put up a Shamiana in the road and then get done away with a nightof revelry, while my wedding lasted for 5 days with horses, chariots andelephants. I was super exhausted for most of the time as a typical lunch ordinner had over 1000 guests. Punjabis are not unique in having garish weddings thatwaste money. We all are guilty of it. Q6 What are the 10 things onlyChennaites will understand? A6 Gaayathri Reddy A Proud Chennaiite!9h You get to taste authentic Masala Ghee roast. Trustme you have not tasted a dosa until you have tasted it in Chennai. Bargaining at Pondy bazaar, Parrys etc. If you don’tfind it at a bargain at these places, then you are not going to find itanywhere. Chennai has twoseasons: summer & extremely hot summer. If you can survive Chennai, you areworld ready. You can survive anywhere on the planet! Vegetarian meals arelight on the wallet but heavy on the stomach. Shopping on asunday evening in T.Nagar will teach you the required survival skills. Not using a car to go to sowcarpet is a true chennaiitething. CSK is the foreverchampion..No matter who the winner is… You can find a house for rent by asking the person withironing vehicle ( no need of a broker) Cinematickets cost you 110–120 rupees but parking charges can go upto 250–300 rupees. Chennai street dogsare scarier than the Conjuring movie itself. Chennai is just acity. But Madras is an emotion❤ Q7 What is the main language spoken inToronto? A7 Steven Haddock Lives in Toronto, ON(1959–present) May 19 Toronto is an overwhelmingly English speaking city.The last time I was in Montreal I found it was far more common for people tospeak non-Canadian languages (i.e. not English or French) in public places butin Toronto it’s exceedingly rare. That being said, over 200 different languages have beenrecorded among the city’s 2.8 million residents, and 45%of the population have a “mother tongue” (first language spoken and remembered)other than English or French. At the last census, only about 87,000 peoplespoke French as a mother tongue compared to about 1.3 million who speak Englishas their mother tongue. Six other languages have more than 50,000 nativespeakers - Cantonese, Mandarin, Italian, Spanish, Tagalog, Tamil andPortuguese. That being said, about 135,000 people in Toronto don’tknow enough English to carry on a conversation inthe language. Quora answers need not be 100% correct answers . Compiled and posted by R. Gopala krishnan on 28-5-2022 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/792803992.3127836.1653708157368%40mail.yahoo.com.
