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Forget Drucker, Embrace Valmiki And Veda Vyasa

Anuradha Raghunathan

A group of Wall Street analysts, doctors, lawyers and engineers will leave behind their ephemeral worldly worries this weekend and go for lessons on love and leadership -- not from Linda Goodman and Peter Drucker, but from Valmiki and Veda Vyasa.

Fifteen Indian men and women in New York who are members of an organisation that brings together young Indians -- Network of Indian Professionals, New York (NetIP-NY) -- will meet at the Arsha Vidya Retreat Centre in the heart of the Poconos in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania.

They will get in touch with themselves and take a leaf out of the scriptures. Professionals at turning points in their careers and lives will attend sessions on how they can lead others by first understanding how to lead themselves. In the quiet confines of the ashram they will imbibe the deeper meanings of the Ramayan, the Mahabharat, the Vedas and other scriptures, on May 1, 2. A workshop on love will focus on the Hindu philosophy of attachment/detachment.

"There is so much that we can learn from Indian texts,'' says Munish Khaneja, 26, NetIP Networking chair, who has taken the lead in organizing the event. "We always turn to Western management principles. It is time to take a look at what our ancient scriptures can offer.''

This is just one of the multifarious programs organized by NetIP-NY for its 700 members. Though the professionals are all Indians living in New York area, the template of Indian diversity is the same and there is a cornucopia of events to meet the varying needs. The events therefore run the entire gamut from fashion shows to spiritual retreats.

NetIP-NY was founded in 1993 to create a common social ground for the white-collar workforce in the 25 to 40 age group in New York. Since then it has traveled far beyond that mandate The members have networked, partied, talked, walked, danced, mentored, tutored and served the community they live in.

s The New York chapter is affiliated to NetIP-USA, the national organization that has groups all over the United States and Canada. Typically, there is a good mix of professions with doctors, lawyers, computer programmers, investment bankers, financial analysts and journalists. The members range from the most recent immigrants to second generation Indians. Professionals who just enter the country find it easy to plug into the Indian social circuit instantly, make new friends and widen their circle of contacts.

Janaki Nadarajah, 27, a Sri Lankan who has settled down in Canada, is now studying podiatry in New York. "I like being around Indian people," she says. " I joined NetIP because I wanted to get to know professionals from other fields. The atmosphere is really easy and people are approachable. Everybody comes here to talk and get to know other people. There is a lot of informal counseling and professional consultation that goes on. You can talk about anything in these meetings. Even if you have a question about which lawyer to consult for a tax problem, you can find people who can give good suggestions.''

At another level, NetIP helps Indians to thrash out issues of identity. When it comes to questions of marriage, career and family, Indians and non-Indians filter them through different thinking prisms. NetIP provides a healthy space for Indians to analyze these questions with people who share similar cultural backgrounds.

"There are two things that make you really different from non-Indians -- the way you look and your culture," says Vikram Parekh, 26, a computer programmer in New York. "When I am with non-Indian friends there are a whole range of issues that never come up. But when I am with Indian friends these become major topics of discussion.''

There are structured events that raise issues which are unique to the Indian community. This January NetIP-NY organized a seminar, Sangam Interactive developed by a member in Chicago. And sure enough the question -- will a traditional arranged marriage work in this day and age? --- was asked. While there were no obvious answers it led to other culturally relevant queries -- what do Indian Americans expect of themselves? What do they want from a spouse? Do Indian American men relate better to Indian American women? What happens when a man who is brought up in the United States marries an Indian who has never lived here or vice versa? Why do Indian men go to India to get a bride? The members say that the event helped them to flush out a lot of issues in their own heads.

But even as NetIP helps strengthen the Indian identity there is no clannishness because there is a conscious attempt to integrate with mainstream American life. Most events feature leading American professionals alongside Indians. A number of outreach events are geared toward giving back something to the community that the Indians live in.

On the same note, NetIP members are also constantly trying to develop ties with India. Suresh Kumar, 34, NetIP-NY president, "We want the Government of India to recognize us as a group that can contribute to the country through Foreign Direct Investment. We want to work out arrangements for Indians to invest in the Indian stock market.'' Every time an important Indian leader visits the United States, NetIP members ensure that they attend the functions.

The basic fabric of NetIP is, however, professional development. Henna Shah, 29, a lawyer from New Jersey, recently arranged a workshop on how to improve presentation skills. She believes that the organization provides an opportunity for young Indians to meet their dream Indian mentors who discuss their work, career trajectory and how to break through the glass ceiling.

Recently, NetIP-NY doctors rubbed shoulders with Dr Samin Sharma, a leading cardiologist at Mt Sinai Hospital who performs more than 1,000 angioplasty procedures per year.

At an e-commerce workshop last year there were industry leaders in the information technology sector enthusing young professionals. Even as the twenty-somethings benefit from interaction with the more senior professionals they feel the need to do their bit and bring the process one full circle. NetIP members volunteer to become big brothers/sisters to South Asian children, under a mentoring program called Siksha. They provide academic, financial and social support to children who will become the next generation of professionals.

And the networking continues........

Contact:www.netip-ny.org; info@netip-ny.org;. 1-800-215-9907

Anuradha Raghunathan has written for The Indian Express and a number of major publications in India. She is now majoring in journalism at Columbia University.

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