Will the Goddess of learning win?

Like the tale of the elephant and the blind men, India is a big complex giant that foreign journalists have been trying to comprehend for decades. In keeping step with global perceptions, western media coverage of India has changed dramatically over the past decade. Gone are the days when India was perceived as a land of beggars with one beautiful building called the "Taj Mahal". The vegetable vendor on the street is no longer pitied but considered as a man with great entrepreneurial skills. The new marvel is no longer in Agra but in Bangalore where journalists wonder at the marvel that is Infosys.

How did it all happen? According to many in the media, it is because Indians have  a great reverence for learning that they are able to master math and science - skills that makes them successful in the technology enabled universe. While Goddess Saraswathi (Goddess of learning) was worshipped along with "Go - Mata" (Sacred Cow) for over three thousand years, Mata Saraswathi was hidden by "Go-Mata" for many years and only recently spotted by the western media.

In the words of an NPR commentator, India is a good business partner because "while the Chinese want to show you what they can do, Indians want to see what they can learn".

Will  military might take a back seat to education in the new century as nations fight for supremacy? Will Goddess Saraswathi win? The answer, as the Bob Dylan song goes "is blowing in the wind"...stay tuned.....

We encourage you to check out these interesting videos.

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=1679753

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=1674437

Here are some news links

"Next steps in the Indo-US deal"
(http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=89034):

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1435773.cms)

http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=63964

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/06/AR2006030601614.html

Please take the lokvani poll.

Lokvani Poll

What do you think of India US nuclear deal? Good for both India and US Good for India Good for US Not good for either Unsure

The Lokvani Team
- Nirmala Garimella, Anoop Kumar, Anil Saigal and Ranjani Saigal

|