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India - News
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News Updates - February 2005
In India, the will to succeed
is strong - Fortune magazine
In
India, the
will to succeed is strong
Now we’re realizing that in India, workers have an impressive willingness to strive to get ahead. In Mumbai, the energy of the people on the street reminded me of Manhattan. The urge of Indians to better their condition, both individually and collectively, was obvious. I would walk into an office filled with fresh-faced young people and be so struck by their energy and enthusiasm that I had to believe India’s infrastructure problems could somehow be overcome.
Approximately 45% of U.S. executives surveyed by consulting firm A.T. Kearney, said their business competition would come from India. 9 out of 10 executives polled said the competitive threat posed by Chinese and Indian companies would likely intensify in the next 2 years and the Asian countries may soon surpass American rivals in technological innovation. People from abroad are starting to travel to high-quality Indian hospitals for complex medical procedures like joint surgery, because the prices are so much lower than in the U.S. and Europe.
I found India so enthralling that I could imagine living there someday. Of course, it helps that most everyone in the country's commercial world speaks English. That makes it easier to get around in India than in places like China or Mexico. It’s possible to live an extremely comfortable life in India. I could imagine retiring here. It’s a comforting thought, at least, when I’m worrying about whether I’ve saved enough for retirement. As the Internet continues to knit India and the U.S. closer together, we could be headed toward an entirely new kind of transnational lifestyle.
Trekking India's high road - Sikkim "Undulating terrain" are the words my trekking guide uses to prepare us for what lies ahead in the Indian Himalaya. I picture the low rolling hills of Ireland, or the gradual ascents of the Marin Headlands. The rooftop of Sikkim stands more than 28,000 feet tall and is named Kangchenjunga, translated as "Five Treasures of the Snow," for its five summits. Also dubbed the Everest of India, Kangchenjunga is the third-highest mountain in the world. It's one reason why tour groups are promoting Sikkim as the new adventure gateway to the Himalaya.
As we rise into the Himalayan foothills, it feels as if we have left India behind. In the villages, empty streets are lined with Tibetan Buddhist prayer flags, while the crisp air and calm serenity reminds me more of Nepal. About 80 percent of the people living here are actually Nepalese, while the rest are the Bhutias, of Tibetan origin, and Lepchas, the original inhabitants of Sikkim.
In the 17th century, three holy men consecrated the first Chogyal king at Yuksam, and it became the first capital of Sikkim. Now that Yuksam no longer holds that title, it is touting itself as a tourism capital, with road signs beaming in bold letters, "Welcome to Yuksam, where adventure begins."
At the village of Tsoska, we get our first views of the magnificent peak known as Pandim, jutting proudly above its peers. We make it an even earlier night than usual. Long before dawn, my bladder gets the best of me, and I crawl out of my tent under yet another planetarium- like sky. In the morning, we wake to tents caked with frost and the ground completely frozen over. The rising sun shines on one side of Pandim and begins to warm us enough to embark on our final ascent. It is only an hour and a half to the Dzongri lookout. As I round a bend, the scene plays out before me -- Kangchenjunga and all its satellite peaks, a sky so blue it looks like a fake backdrop, and in the foreground, a marker full of multicolored prayer flags. We are a frenzy of clicking cameras, attempting to capture a scene and a beauty much larger than our lenses. Nearly two hours later, we start our descent, wishing for at least one more day to explore the peaks before us.
KERALA - Backwaters still charm visitors
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