Impressions

The standard question that I am asked is How do you find USA?. Well, I tried to give various explanations but to an extent, I do understand that it would not really be the correct opinion. It was too less a time for me out there, to form any kind of impression, whatsoever. Chances are high that whatever impression I form could well be just off the mark, either it's magnified and exaggerated or irrelevant. Nevertheless let me give it a try.

In my opinion everything out there is in Excess. The Good, Bad and the Ugly everything is bit more than what I am used to. It has enormous amount of resources at it's disposal. The mountains are massive, the rivers are big, the landscape is huge, the environment is harsh, the roads are wide, people are big, the problems they face are huge and the solutions to the problem are grand. A case in point is the the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay Bridge of San Francisco. (The next two paragraphs have some facts and information about the Golden Gate bridge taken, from the Internet. Also check the two web-links for more information)

"The bridge is nothing short of a powerful force meant to combat nature. The often mighty winds from the Pacific Ocean are sustained by a mid span swing of 27 feet. The two towers of the bridge rise an impressive 746 feet, which is 191 feet taller than the Washington Monument. The pier of the bridge is only 1,215 feet from the shore, the distance between the two towers that support the cables, which in turn, support the floor of the bridge is 4,200 feet. These two cables are the largest bridge cables ever made at a little over 361 feet in diameter.

Even today, the massive spans of the bridge are often shrouded in fog. The bridge sways 27 feet to withstand winds of up to 100 miles per hour. International Orange was the color chosen for the bridge because it blended well with the bridge's natural surroundings. The two great cables extending from the bridge contain 80,000 miles of steel wire, which is enough to circle the equator three times. The concrete poured to cement the bridge into the stormy waters below could have also been used to pave a five-foot sidewalk from New York to San Francisco."


The other question that crops up is How does it fare vis a vis India?. Actually, I feel any attempt to compare is an exercise in futility. India and US are starkly different - in size, in culture and in the way of life. It's human nature to compare, even I do unknowingly at times, but it's largely unrequired. US is five times the size of India, with one-fifth the population of India.

India is old - tottering, self-critical, self-pitying, chaotic but wiser has history behind it and is experienced. US is new - dynamic, rich, out-going, aggressive and rough with remarkably evolved institutions and systems. Both has it's pluses and minuses, strengths and limitations.