Harish Palaniappan's

India is a country that many developed countries are keeping a watch on, to see how fast we are growing, and how they can participate in reaping the goodies.. I am not saying this because I am Indian.

Yes, there are lot of problems in the country with growth and attitude in some sectors, that is at the very early stages of change.. call center services for example, agriculture for example. But, comparing what we have today with how we were 10 years back in a few industry sectors, it is quite a *Show* off growth.

And the growth has been a strong curve in Chennai.

The banking sector revamping from zero ATMs to countless ATMs of every bank in every street corner, the technology space out-growing expectations & growth targets year-on-year, the talent market being flooded with more and more skilled and attitudinal people, the quality of movies, TV programmes, the salary packet sizes these days, the retail market boom, everything just multiplying every other day.

You just sit idle doing nothing for a day in Chennai, you feel little strange and slightly left out, the very next day. I do. Though I don't sit idle for a whole day, I do feel a growing urge day by day seeing things changing around me, right from roads to buildings to new successful companies cropping up everywhere.

If you want to feel the same way, there's an easier way, rather than sitting idle at home... If you are in chennai, all you have to do is visit sathyam theatre complex every weekend, and you will see something about the theatre's infrastructure changed. They keep modifying things regularly. Rather than the theatre management being responsible for the changes, it is demand that makes them alter to people's needs and business's values.

It is this quick change and related process that is so interesting to note, happening in places where a decade ago change was not a managed process.

We all know that all our Indian TV channels, for popularity's sake, copy blockbuster Television program formats from the west, like "Who wants to be a millionaire", "Dancing with the stars", etc.,
But the interesting part is.. the tamil versions of the programmes have brought about a change in the way Chennaiites see society, their inhibitions towards protecting culture, their spending patterns, interests in dance / music, opening up to the outside world and accepting the goods of an open society... everything is changing slowly. Though we Chennaiites are accepting all these changes, we don't seem to be in a hurry and we are carefully and selectively working up the change.

Also, Chennaiite parents are known to pester children on studies and giving zero or less importance to co-curricular activities, sports etc., With figures of successful Indian sportsmen increasing by the day, and the way these television programmes make the other activities and careers rewarding as well, a sudden spurt in interest towards co-curricular activities and sports is seen, and children are learning people skills and life skills because of the open society. The already rich talent market is going to be super-rich in another 5 years in Chennai...because Chennai has always been a conservative society.

All these changes around me are so attractive to notice, that I am losing a lot of free time trying to.. understand.. admire.. how and why the changes are happening and what triggers it to happen quick.

A few months back I read in a blog (I forgot which one) that the United States government has changed its definition of India from a "Developing country" to "Transforming country". That acknowledges India's growth internationally.