Thank You Come Again!

Dear Mr. Stein,

Here is a retort to your article “My Own Private India“
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1999416,00.html


If you believe that your opening statement ,“I am very much in favor of immigration everywhere in the U.S. except Edison, N.J”, will relieve you of your stupidity that is on display in the words that were to follow, I suggest you set better standards for your articles next time around.

There could not have been a fitting name than Edison for that place in NJ considering the fact that Indians are the race that invented number system and geniuses like Edison and Einstein used them for all their inventions. Now that is a hearty tribute!

Why NJ and NY ? Most of the companies out in NJ and NY that are part of the wall street world need employees that have IQ higher than Paris Hilton and yourself. If you know anything about supply and demand from economics, you would realize that demand for such talent is the very reason a huge population of Indians reside there. Oblivious to you, your article might have been edited by an Indian kid for its grammatical mistakes and then published. He might have had a chuckle too.

If I am not wrong, Mr Stein, you are probably proud of your genealogy that is probably 30% german, 20% Irish and the rest from other parts of European Union that gives you the family name “Stein”. Do you think your forefather got yelled at the same way “Go back to Europe”, by the native Americans, when they got off the boats. Illegally ? Now if Immigration is anything like what the brits, french and german did to India or to the aborigines in Australia or for that matter native americans, that should be a matter of concern. As you brilliantly mentioned the fact “so damn poor India”, is a result of those ruthless Europeans that stole all the riches and humiliated the people in my country. You can be in a state of denial by saying “I have a friend who is african american”, but your inert racism is clearly on display. I would be surprised if I am the only one who feels that way.

If anything, you (based on your thinking capabilities) are the minority here. I have come across much better souls that can look beyond skin color and I am glad you don’t represent this country. Kids who are born here, are just as American as you are, no matter how they look in the year book. In this country, they probably bring better value proposition to the table than someone like you.

My word of advice: If you do not end up making it big in California, try setting up a Mac and cheese stand or a tanning Saloon in Edison. However, if you wait for too long, you might want to search for “Naya Jersey” in google for directions to head home.

Brown will never let you down !

What sets you apart ? or should it ?

This memorial day weekend, I met a guy named Shane Wohlken who hiked the Continental Divide trail, A trial that is 3100 miles long spanning from Canada all the way to Mexico via Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. To my eyes, he looked like a super-hero the moment I learnt about his feat. I got very inquisitive about his hike and bombarded him with a bunch of questions about his experiences. His photo journal from the trip had wonderful pictures of the landscapes that he passed through. Any repetition of his experiences in this write up will only be a mockery of his hike. It's something that should be narrated in his own words and while he is at it, the sense of accomplishment that he expressed and the glittery eyes spoke for themselves.

Just when all of this was happening, a few were interested in the "camera" he used for the hike, others were curious about his "job situation" during the hike, and all he cared about was "The Hike". In my opinion, its not the hike that sets you apart from others (which by default it does), its the courage to take up the challenge and being able to detach from all the worldly things for a while is the point of differentiation. My conversation with him was probably the one time I did not check my godforsaken Iphone for over 30 minutes I wasn't sleeping and many can vouch for that.

When I told some of friends about Shane the next day, all they had to say was, "These guys don't have a life man. They are crazy. They just give up their jobs and end up nowhere in life". Others at the table were readily in congruence. To my surprise they had no appreciation for what Shane accomplished. Interestingly, they tried to bolster just their idea of what life should be like.

In my thoughts though, every person deserves to know, have courage to look within and define what they want. Being successful is not about just getting respect for where you are, but rather what you are as a person. Small adventures and travel help you find just that!

Sometimes, all it takes is a rare encounter that reminds you of what you love and dream about ! I for sure walked away with a reignited passion.