My previous post

A lot of people found my last post annoying or offensive. The reason was that I had compared Bangalore and Chennai giving some brownie points to Bangalore and a lot of people reportedly from Chennai did not like that.

I understand there is a lot of competition between Bangalore and Chennai. But actually none of the comments relate to the spirit of the post at all. They are more of an emotional response on the likes of "How dare you say Bangalore is better than Chennai".

Some of the comments are outright rude or offensive. The rudeness infact adds strength to my post. I almost decided to remove the post and had done that for two days too, but finally brought it back. Incidentally most of these comments are from people from Chennai who could never have faced language problem in the city.

Anyway, I don't want to defend myself further on the post, because most of the comments do not relate to the post, are offensive or point out things which i never wrote.

Economics of Brain Drain

For a long time the word "brain drain" was used in India over the people leaving to other countries for better opportunities. The phenomenon was described with an emotional sentiment, suggesting non-payment of dues, that those who are born in this country have a duty to lead a sub-standard life here as opposed to a better life in some other countries. No one bothered to think why people were moving to other countries.

US has been the most popular destination for smart people all over the world to move to. People found it a refreshing change to the repressionist regimes in their own countries.

Another local brain drain has happened in the recent past which, it seems, people have failed to notice. This brain drain is towards Bangalore. People from all over the country are migrating to Bangalore for better opportunities.

So what was common to US and Bangalore apart from job opportunities. The common factor was that people are welcoming towards immigrants, towards people of different race, color, language.

A stark contrast to Bangalore is Chennai, where even if people know your language, they would not speak it, and would rather see you have a hard time communicating. The result is that no one wants to migrate to Chennai, and many of the talented people from Chennai have moved to Bangalore.

Also, thanks for Bangalore, many of the people who migrated to other countries earlier and now returning back to the country, with a lot of money to invest in Indian business.

A similar example in the international scene is Germany. Germans are in general hostile towards foreign people. As a result they are facing a slow down in the economy.

About giving advice

Person A says "I like apples. I'm not able to locate an apple shop, can you tell me where to find one ?"

B: "Why don't you eat mangoes. They taste good and keep you fit."

A: "But I want apples. I don't like mangoes."

B: "Try to like mangoes, once you start having them, you'll start liking them."

A: "But whats the point. I already like apples, and they also give nutrition. Why don't you tell me where to find an apple shop."

B: "No believe me, no point eating apples. They don't taste good anyway. If you like them, you are probably mistaken or have some problem, why don't you get yourself checked, I know a good doctor. I can take you there..........and regarding the mango shop, its down the street on the first left."

A starts beating his head.


Good rules to observe when giving advice:

a. Unsolicited advice should be rare. Anyone who tells you he has a shoulder pain is not asking for your mother's recipe of homemade pain killer. Nor is he asking you when you last had a pain in your stomach and how the remedy for your stomach pain should cure his shoulder.

b. Advice should aim at solving the problem of the person, and not what you perceive of the situation. Try not to get your personal hatred of apples, refrain you from telling him the way to apple shop.

c. Giving advice is a responsibility. If you are not sure, say you are not sure. Don't portray your hunch as a home truth.

d. You are giving an advice, not an order. If the person decides not to follow your advice, respect his decision, even if it is wrong. Everyone has the right to be wrong. There is no reason to take offense about someone not heeding to your advice.