World Class
I don’t know about you but I am sick and tired to hearing people say we are building “world class” this or the other and that we will take over the world shortly. If you have heard about the sorry state of affair at the Gurgaon Tollway, then you can understand why I have started hating the words “world class.” How can we lead the world if we can’t organize a simple toll operation. And its not that we have discovered or invented something new. All we have to do is to just copy what others are successfully doing all over the world. I grew up listening to the Ludhiana joke which implied that we can copy anything but it seems that we are even lousy at that.
Last month, I visited Oman to conduct a training program. The ride from Airport to the hotel got me depressed. That small country seemed so organized that I was amazed. I was there for 3 days and I didn’t see a cop. The lanscaping all along the highway was what we see at a 5-star hotel. I was depressed because I felt that we are so far behind and also because I didn’t see any light at the end of the tunnel.
I know some of you will say that Oman is a oil rich country and as such it can afford to be organized. Well, my question to you is what money do we need to run a toll way in an organized manner?
Sandeep, a freind of mine, was at least till he visited China recently a real optimist. He felt that we will overcome all these constraints and lead the world. But he recently visited China and he changed his tune. He was amazed at the infrastructure he found there. He told me that he visited a factory at the China Russia border and found that the whole factory was heated. They do not have any power problems there. Now he has become depressed.
Once somebody had passed on the speech of President Kalam to me in which he asked a very pertinent question. He said that when we are in Singapore, we don’t litter. When we are in US, we obey all the traffic signals. But the million dollar question he asked was “What happens when we land at Delhi airport?”
So if you find anything “world class,” do let me know? Also, if you still think we can lead the world, I would certainly like to hear about it.
Avinash Narula
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I found your site on google blog search and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. Just added your RSS feed to my feed reader. Look forward to reading more from you.
- Sue.
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