'The Amish' and 'The English'

Ok, the article might sound silly to those of you who already know about the Amish people, but I recently visited Topeka in North-East Indiana and was amazed at these people! We were going to Topeka to visit a manufactured houses factory and before starting were warned by our Professor not to take pictures of Amish people as they don't like it.. I said "whatever".

The journey was amazing, the rising sun through the beautiful countryside reminded me of India ! We reached the factory and Mr. Shawn Way received us there, showed around the place etc. I saw the Amish people working there, distinguished by there beard and no mustache and clothes almost as if they were all in uniforms. As reminded I did not click any pictures and moved on. The energy of these guys and the speed at which they were working was amazing. We then left the factory for lunch. On our way I saw a horse cart, i could not believe my eyes, "I am in America or what?" And then I saw another one.. Upon asking Shawn said, "Amish people don't use technology in any form.." And we all were like. "What are you talking about?"

Rest of the evening was more like a questionnaire to Mr. Shawn about these amazing people... From what he told us:

Amish people are highly conservative Christians. They came from Germany in early 1700 and settled in USA. They don't use technology, that means they don't use cars, instead they travel in horse carts. The wheels of these carts have a iron lining and no rubber tyres as rubber again is an artificially created material. But they are allowed to travel in vehicles if they are not driving it. They don't use electricity in their houses, no heating and lighting through electricity. In a place like North-Eastern Indiana where the winters are so harsh, these guys heat their houses by burning wood. They have oil lamps in their houses for lighting. Anyways they get up early, work only till 2 pm and go to bed early, so they don't have to expend much on lighting their house interiors. They have no televisions or radios in their houses, and bare minimum of furniture. Roads are simply of compacted soil, like the one in the photo on the left. They wear very decent clothes and looks almost like they are all in uniforms. Women were gowns and a small hat. As far as the food habit are concerned they don't have restrictions, I saw them in Subway where we were having our lunch.

They don not accept any grants or aid from the government. They don't take any kind of insurance for health, property etc. They do farming and also work in factories around the place which is permitted according to their church. On asking what do they do of the money they earn, Shawn said, they just buy more and more land... They gift these lands in marriages etc.

Everything that is not Amish, is 'English' according to them. So they will call me or Youjung from Korea or Mr. Shawn a local.. all as 'English'. With no radio or TV or newspapers they hardly know about the world beyond theirs, that USA is on war and where India is on the map. I guess they speak Dutch and they have their own schools. Now, every Amish boy and girl is allowed to go check out the 'English' world sometime in their teens. They can live the American way, wear whatever clothes, do whatever they want to. Then they are given the choice of being in the Amish clan or becoming an English. Usually that will mean that individual is an outcast.

There is also a branch of Amish called the New Amish which simply means they allow use of technology to some extent. So, they have a small telephone booth setup outside the house commonly shared by few houses for contacting in emergency. Or even using rubber tyres for their carts. I am shocked and amazed how they are still living and maintaining their life style and sustained after so many years, that too in America. Now there are surely many more people at least many in India that are forced to live life like that, but its unexplainable why someone will not use technology even when one has the choice. And they are genuinely peace loving people and happy the way they are!!

The picture above is a nice irony, the increasing rates of gas in USA on one hand and the unaffected carefree Amish cart on the other; both co-existing in the most prosperous country in the world! One thing is certain, if happiness is the pursuit of mankind, technology may not be the answer.

(Disclaimer: The information I have published here may not be completely correct. But it is seen and discussed first hand with a local person. Also, respecting their culture, I have not clicked any photos of Amish people and so can not have them on this blog)

We are not Migrating.... We are Nomads!

Although it's a little late to react to the "Outsides" thing started by Raj Thackrey, this issue will always be fresh as long as human beings exist on earth!

After reading what was happening, I kind of felt good at first. I was always a boiling blood patriot and a die-hard fan of Shivaji Maharaj! Then followed the "Mazi Bhumika, Maza Ladha". I probably would have joined the movement had I been in Pune. But lot had changed in the last two years.

After my BE, I was posted in L&T, Baroda. I fell in love with Gujarati food, the festivals there and made many new friends. I even started learning Gujarati. Baroda, is like second Pune for me now. It has many Marathi people, as it was under the rule of the Gayakwads. Then I was posted to Panipat, Haryana on a construction site. So I was in North India working with North Indians. I should admit, they are really sweet people. The kind of hospitality you will get in the North is amazing! I learnt to scold, praise and think in Hindi. And then I came to US for my education. The journey was essentially of identities: Punekar to Maharashtrian to Indian! And the though struck me, at any point of time, you are still an "Outsider". How do you define the word "paraprantiya".

Coming back on Mumbai, I really don't think it belongs to the Marathi People. Mumbai wasn't even there, the Britishers created it! Britishers created the US too... It will be extremely difficult if you ask me to develop Pune. It's all saturated, no room for new works to come up. And changing existing systems seems an impossible task! Its easier to see why these new lands, Mumbai, or US develop so fast attracting dreamers and hardworking people from all over the land till these cities reach their saturation point eventually! So Mumbai also belongs to all the Gujarati's, Parsis, Marwadis, North and South Indians rich and poor who built it! These guys poured in money, poured in their spirit to create Bombay. I don't know how much Mumbai would be itself had it been only the Marathi people... just that the name changing thing wouldn't have happened. :) So there is no "Outsider" in Mumbai because all are outsiders. In US you can differentiate based on green card, but even if I get a green card in another year or two, I believe I am still an "Outsider".

Then comes the issue of bhayyas spoiling Mumbai. Doing "dadagiri", having chhat-puja to show their might, celebrating UP-din in Maharashtra. Well, I think I am not the right person to comment on this, Mumbaikars know better. But I have travelled through Mumbai and visited places and haven't come across rude bhayyas. In fact my impression about north Indians is that they are sweet, welcoming, 'dildaar' people!
About chhat-puja and UP-din, I don't know why it is wrong? We celebrated Republic day and hoisted the Indian National flag and sang the national anthem in Purdue University. There were few Americans too present for that function! It went great, everybody enjoyed. As long as they don't say anything bad about Maharashtra, it should be OK. And why should Maharashtrians get offended by their saying that UP is great? I am not convinced what wrong they did in Mumbai. They create slums, filthy footpaths etc is bullshit. Show me one metropolitan that does not have slums. There are so many Marathi people in slums too.

Ok, you have a problem, you have the right to raise your voice. We are a democracy. But you have no right to beat and kill people because they came searching for jobs and food to eat! Write articles, conduct speeches, demonstrations but don't start riots. Raj says he tried all this but now the bhayyas have crossed their limits. What limits had they crossed? What did they do so grave that we have to beat them? As far as Marathi people loosing their jobs to north Indians is concerned, this will happen if you are not competitive. If a person is ready to work more for a lesser pay I will employ him, that's it. Look at the net losers and gainers in terms of human resource:





Some lands require people, some land has too many people... Water will flow from high pressure to low pressure, and there is nothing we can do about it, its a law of nature. We, Indians, the greatest exporters of people in the entire world! Bees will go where the honey is. But yes, while in Rome you should do as Romans do, and bhayyas have been stupid enough to shout out loud: "We are outsiders".

But yes, it is our fault that we cannot create jobs in our own land. All the ministers, Arjun Singh, Sonia and what not making stupid statement about the issue; its a slap on their face that they cannot create jobs in some of the richest states in India in terms of natural resources. And what do Maharashtrains have besides Mumbai, Pune and Nasik? Rest of it is just like UP or Bihar. And its also a slap on Marathi peoples faces that they cannot stand the competition. For example, US depends on its immigrants for most of its intellectual wealth. I have 4 Indians, 3 Koreans, 1 Irani, 1 Lebanese and just 1 American in my class. Average Americans won't undertake graduate studies. America is unable to change their thinking and improve their standard of living and obviously people from outside are going to take away all the top jobs!

Anyways, so whats the solution to the problem? Do we want to have a visa for Mumbai? Do we want to divide India into so many princely states like it was before? Are we only going to encourage our politicians to divide us on regional basis too now?

I am afraid there is no immediate solution to the problem. We need sustainable development in UP-Bihar to create jobs. I read on wikipedia that for US to have sustainable development, its population should be reduced by at least 1/3 of what it is now. I don't know of any such research on Indian economy, but I am sure the condition is much worse. We have to balance the available resources and no of people consuming it. I know these are just talks and not really solutions but this regional discrimination will take us nowhere. Why can't we adopt the 'May the best man Win' policy? History has it, Mankind has always been migrating from place to place... and after years of civilisations, we still remain Nomads!