Immigration

Immigration has been on my mind a lot lately. I'm not an immigrant - am happy & satisfied being a foreigner in the US. Yet I need to jump through some mind-boggling hoops just to live here legally.

The topic of immigration is a source of constant tension and dialogue with my employer - neither of us understand what it means to the other. It affects my vacation trips back home to India a lot lately. I struggle to not roll my eyes at the people who think it's perfectly normal and ask me to give them my exact travel plans 6 months in advance. Frustrated? Blame the lawyers, the politicians, the government...

I listened to an audio book today - "A Century of Immigration" by Christopher Collier & James Lincoln Collier.

It's informative and talks about the motivations for the different immigrant groups of people who moved to America, whether they stayed or returned to their homelands, how and why they interacted with or influenced society and the impact it had on their personal lives.

The authors seem to believe that America is the only democratic country that has seen waves of immigrants who have tried to integrate and create a new multi-cultural, multi-ethnic society. They seem ignorant or have chosen to be blind about India - the world's largest democracy and cultural melting pot. People from all over the world have migrated to India for millennia and formed their own sub-societies while also becoming an integral part of a larger common society. Would be good if they had paused a moment to think about how the 'New World' was discovered in the first place.

It appears that the immigrants never fully assimilated the American culture, choosing to retain several of their own traditions. However, their descendants were more likely to be 'American' due to their schooling. From what I've seen and by my own experience, I believe that's true.

It was interesting to note that many of the current immigration laws seem to have stemmed from ideas & prejudices that go back as long as the 1920's. Every country wants to keep the 'outsiders' out, America behaves no differently.

Coworkers asked me the other day whether I plan to get an American citizenship. They seemed surprized at my 'No'. There are lots of great things about America, but there are also lots of not-so-great things, which make me yearn to go back to India.

I'm content being a law-abiding foreigner in the US and a citizen of India. Never mind the truism 'The US passport is the most coveted document in the world'.

Recycle your money and become a social investor

Crowd funding projects is quite common these days. But this Bangalore based NGO crowd-funds micro-finance projects. Simple idea : Recycle your money and become a social investor.

http://www.rangde.org/how-rang-de-works

"You are hardworking."

"You are hardworking."

How do you interpret this statement? Is it a compliment? A mild insult hinting at the fact that you're not fully qualified to do your job, but make up for the lack of skill with great effort? Or a meaningless observation akin to smalltalk?

If it is a compliment, then it's a consolation prize. If it is an insult, sarcasm is a great way of putting it across. If it is smalltalk, it is no good as feedback. Nonetheless, the speaker chooses to focus entirely on the effort, with complete disregard toward the result.

Today I heard "hardworking" being called a skill. I'm stumped!

The staring contest - Size does not matter (24-Jan-2012)

Symbols

Namaste. ನಮಸ್ಕಾರ. नमस्ते. 

This little ritualistic gesture is a common Indian greeting. Irrespective of the language you speak, it is a respectful gesture symbolizing the thought “I bow to the lord within you”.

Madam Toastmaster, fellow toastmasters and guests,


Today I’d like to share with you some thoughts about the power and meaning of symbols in our lives.

I recently read an interview of a well-traveled, highly educated man of science who filled his house with symbols from various cultures and followed some highly traditional rituals. He explained “Rituals give good anchoring. Never underestimate the power of symbols in your life.”

I think that's true. A symbol is a very concise representation of a set of ideas. A ritual is a sequence of actions which are performed for their symbolic value. These actions are in no way arbitrary.

Our lives are shaped by symbols and simple rituals - be it personal, traditional or religious.

Let's examine some common symbols.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. What does this symbol convey to you?

The Toastmasters emblem.

To me, this represents having fun with you guys here at EMC on Thursday afternoons.

This bumper sticker has left an impression on me.

Notice how it is made up of many religious symbols, each of which have their own unique meanings. Put together in this creative manner, they form the word "COEXIST". I interpret this to be symbolic of "Each religion paves a different path to the same end". Or, as a simple directive to "Live and let live".

Here is an Indian symbol of good luck : the Swastika.

You’ll see this painted on the walls of most shops and enterprises in India. People use this symbol to brand various items to increase their good luck. It is a positive symbol.

A slight variation of this symbol has the exact opposite effect.

The Nazi Swastika evokes strong negative emotions in all of us.

How about this?

The picture screams “pirate”! :)

On a cheery note, let's look at Amazon's smiley logo.

Through its simple logo, Amazon conveys its motto : Do business with Amazon and we'll make you smile with satisfaction.

Symbols need not be only 2-dimensional. 3D symbols are used in most classical forms of dance and in sign language. Other areas where symbols are widely used include traffic signs, alphabets in the script of any language and mathematics.

Symbols are an essential part of technology as well. We use them everyday in our PCs and smart phones as icons.

I don’t think I could live without my iPhone and the 20-odd apps that I use daily. I LIKE this !!

All Facebook users know how frequently this symbol is used. 'LIKE' is used to communicate a whole spectrum of emotions such as "I love it!", "I agree" and "You have my support". I have even noticed people "LIKE'-ing obituary messages.

Rituals use symbols to reinforce ideas. Rituals may be performed on specific occasions or at the discretion of individuals. You may have an exclusive ritualistic way of greeting certain people – a handshake, a hug, a kiss, a verbal greeting or even calling out an insult as a way of greeting someone you’re very close to.

Here are some symbols that I grew up with.

The Rangoli is a traditional art form in India and is part of a daily morning ritual in most South Indian households. People wash their doorsteps and paint these patterns in front of their door as a way to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck.

According to Kundalini yoga, the seven yoga chakras represent the different states of consciousness / energy-levels. Each energy center is activated by performing certain routines (rituals). The goal is to gradually raise your awareness from the lowest chakra to the highest chakra leading to spiritual enlightenment. 

Please take a moment to reflect on the simple rituals that you follow in your life. Every culture has its own set of unique symbols and some of us have developed our own personal ones. I’d love to hear about the symbols and rituals that hold meaning to you. Please share your thoughts with me.