Colonising is not possible anymore. So in order to do trade with unknown foreign cultures, Western countries choose one city in that culture and convert it to look like theirs and eventually helps as an easier access point into the unknown foreign culture. For example, what Britain did to Hongkong of China. I bet Hongkong has more British culture than Chinese. Or what US did to the tiny country, Singapore. You'll know Singapore looks like just another US city than it has anything to do with Malaysia. These changes slowly spread within that foreign country - a slow cultural invasion. I have seen many Bangaloreans with "I love California" T-shirt and they have never even visited that place in their lives. It is easy for the Western countries to do trade through their gateway point (read Bangalore, HongKong). Well, I do not know if this is good or bad just like India did not know if Muslim rule/ British rule was good or bad for centuries and finally decided it was bad and wanted to get rid off it.
If we don't restrict our attention only to the technological advances in our own field and remember that the growth of our Industry must be coordinated with the growth in other fields for the betterment of life and society in general, we will be saved from the lopsided growth leading to the fate of Silicon Valley.
There are only two places in the world to stay - one is California and the other is Bangalore !! And Bangalore is only meant for the elite ex-Californian. Others can also come, but you know, they would anyway be like refugees. Is that what you want to say ? Firstly, Mr. Srinivasan, Bangalore comes nowhere near California/Silicon Valley. I have stayed in each of these places for 3 years separately. And I know that Bangalore is cosmopolitan in very rare areas whereas when you talk of SIlicon Valley, multiculturalism gets defined by it. And please stop giving idiotic examples about how good uppam and stew are in Victoria Hotel .. its the same everywhere in all Udipi restaurants. You seem to have a tendency to tell people that since you do not know about SIlicon Valley, let me tell you about Bangalore instead... they are almost the same !! Incredible, its surprising how the rediff editorial allows such articles. Don't feel bad about what I say, just that you need to know how to communicate with other people. You cannot say anything to anybody ... this IS India, not your "fabled" SIlicon Valley.
RE:Don't say that !!!
by ijaz ahmed on Aug 25, 2003 05:09 PM
'kalpana' dear, it is pretty obvious that you know nothing about either the valley or bangalore. and it's clear you are a guy writing with a girl's name, because women aren't usually so confused. victoria hotel is no udipi restaurant: you're confusing it with MTR. as for your "stay" in the us, i doubt that too, for nobody uses that word in the us: they use "live". "stay" is an indianism. so stop broadcasting your ignorance.
We have the false notion that Indians are superior when it comes to the software industry, which is an absolute misconception. All the work that the BIG companies like Wipro and Infy do is mostly outsourced stuff which breeds no innovation, but rather makes the industry more vulnerable back home. The real work comes when the innovation part is carried out in India and the outsourcing is done elsewhere. If we think .NET is the 'hottest' thing right now, we need to realise the people who make money selling the concept are elsewhere. We have the talent, just the right amount of investment and planning is all that is needed. The question that Indian software companies need to ask themselves is how much of profit that they make is out of real innovation rather than outsourced work?
With about 60,000 autos running with modified silencers and making hell of a noise and traffic dept, RTO's and pollution control board looking elsewhere Bangalore is noisiest city inthe world. Please stay away if you care for children's health
hey rajeev, i've been a great fan of ur writing for a while now.........almost always inspiring and the remaining times insightful......this one is right up there...keep up the good work....when can we have some pinko secular bashing lol.
This was a brilliantly written article, I myself am in the software industry in Boston...which I must say was also a dominant area in the tech sector along with Silicon Valley,Dallas-Fort Worth area, Texas, Research Triangle Park NC etc, And I too see a steady decline in the absolute tech euphoria prevalent a few years back. I hope The US tech sector recovers along with making sure that India too starts firing...with not just outsourcing from american companies but as the author mentioned....Original Software Solutions...We sure as hell have the talent pool to do it.
As someone who lived in Bay Area for several years and returned to Banglore, I find the article quite interesting. However, there are some basic differences between what went on during the Silicon Valley boom and what's currently going on here in Bangalore. True, the realestate prices are shooting up, companies are in a hiring frenzy etc. But, three things stand out: 1. Majority of the population is still leading the older lifestyle and in general, it is possible to scale back one's lifestyle in a bust easier and
2. Even if the US economy returns, companies will not throw away the option of keeping IT jobs in India. So, I wouldn't predict a collapse especially considering the investment they have already made in Bangalore.
3. The SV boom was due to pure speculation while the boom in Bangalore is actually due to real money.
What is uncertain is whether the growth rate is sustainable. Already, companies like Infosys, Wipro, TCS are feeling the pressure on profit margins. There has already been heavy consolidation in the services sector and many wanna-bes have folded up. It is to be seen how Indian IT adapts to this new situation.
