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| Narayana Murthy |
Paragraph Questions
Answer the following in 10-15 lines each:
1. Give a list of the lessons that Narayana Murthy feels we should learn from the West.N.R.Narayana Murthy is a brilliant Industrialist and Writer. In the essay “Learning from the West”, he gives a list of things that the Indians should learn from the west.
Narayana Murthy likes the tendency of community thinking, seen in the West. There is no corruption in the Western society. The Indians want to get bribe at every stage. Problems of the society, are preferred. The people of the West are accountable to the work they do.
Dignity of labour, merit in professionalism, keeping up the vows are the merits of the people in the West. Similarly, we should learn the lessons given by Narayana Murthy.
2. “Our attitude towards family life is not reflected in our attitude towards community behaviour”. Explain this statement keeping in view the points made by Narayana Murthy in the essay “Learning from the West”.
N.R.Narayana Murthy is a brilliant Industrialist and Writer. In the essay “Learning from the West” he gives a list of things that the Indians should learn from the West.
People in the West are different from the Indians. They give preference to the problems of the society. Dignity of labour, professionalism are practised in the West. There is a belief that the Indians take oaths at the time of marriage and keep them up. The people of the West do not have a vow for complete life. The merit of the Indians is in the marriage affair, but they do not keep up the agreements in their private life. There are many cases, pending in the courts. Indians should know this and act accordingly.
3. ‘Indians become intimate even without being friendly’. Illustrate this statement with an example from Narayana Murthy’s speech.
N.R.Narayana Murthy was a great Industrialist and Writer. In the essay “Learning from the West” he gives a number of examples from the life of European countries and asks us to emulate. One of the qualities is that the people of the West become friendly even without being intimate. This statement can be seen in the behaviour of Rudyard Kipling. He said that an easterner tries to become intimate without being friendly. In this example we find how an Indian differs from the Western person in behaviour.
4.What is the point that Narayana Murthy wants to drive home when he quotes Henry Beecher? How did he conclude his speech ?
N.R.Narayana Murthy was a great Industrialist and Writer. In the essay “Learning from the West”, he gives a number of examples from the life of European countries and asks us to emulate. In the beginning he explains that he revers the European way of life, because it suits the present day society. He points out that these values were one day prevalent in India commitment and social awareness are the two important aspects. He quotes Henry Beecher, “Culture is that which helps us to work for the betterment of all”. He stresses the need of commitment to the society. People should think of the society and do good to it. They should pursue that which is beneficial to all. Thus he concludes the essay, suggesting to follow the path of social development.
Annotations
1. It is the protocol for behaviour that enhances the trust, confidence and commitment of members of the community. It goes beyond the domain of legality – it is about decent and desirable behaviour.Context : This passage is taken from the essay “Learning from the West” written by N.R.Narayana Murthy. The writer was a great Industrialist and a Writer. Here he writes about the virtues, one should possess in life.
Explanation : The writer wants to explain the “Value system”. A person is expected to think about the society, he lives in. His behaviour should help the society. In one’s behaviour, trust, confidence and commitment should be strengthened. Everybody should think of collective responsibility. This cannot be achieved by law. Everyone should know this and follow.
General Relevance : Narayana Murthy thinks that values useful for the society are to be adopted by confidence and commitment. Nothing could be developed on compulsion.
2. Unfortunately, our attitude towards family life is not reflected in our attitude towards community behaviour.
Context : This passage is taken from the essay “Learning from the West” written by N.R.Narayana Murthy. The writer was a great Industrialist and a Writer. Here he writes about the virtues, one should possess in life.
Explanation : The writer exposes himself against the limitations in the behaviour of the Indian. An Indian is interested in his family. He wants to develop it in a healthy way. One should be loyal to the community, in addition to the family relations. It is unfortunate that we lack it in India.
Therefore, the writer suggests to think about the behaviour in the West and follow. It is: our responsibility to act, accordingly.
General Relevance : In the beginning of the essay, Narayana Murthy explains as to why he has entitled the essay “Learning from the West”. He thinks that it is obvious to have a broad outlook.
3. Meritocracy by definition means that we cannot let personal prejudices affect our evaluation of an individual’s performance.
Context : This passage is taken from the essay “Learning from the West” written by N.R.Narayana Murthy. The writer was a great Industrialist and a Writer. Here he writes about the virtues, one should possess in life.
Explanation : In the West people evaluate based on merit. No personal prejudices or interests come in the way. In the West right from the young age, they are accustomed to this way of living. So, the Indian, has to give respect to this clean thinking. It enhances our respect in the society. Meritocracy is a great virtue.
General Relevance : Personal interests should not come in the way, one gives respect to the merits. This will add to the character of an individual.
4. People that value its privileges above its principles soon lose both.
Context : This passage is taken from the essay “Learning from the West” written by N.R.Narayana Murthy. The writer was a great Industrialist and a Writer. Here he writes’ about the virtues, one should possess in life.
Explanation : While expanding his views about community behaviour, he suggests that the people of India, should learn something from the West. He takes a number of quotations from eminent men and explained the cause.
Here the words of ‘Dwight Eisenhower’ are given.
There are principles and they carry privileges. Principles are there. They should be respected understand that principles shall disappear along with privileges. The statement is clear that people are greedy to get benefited both ways but both are lost.
General Relevance : To get the principles succeeded, we must leave our privileges. The effort shall be respectful and we get the real benefit.
Learning from the West Summary
N.R.Narayana Murthy is a brilliant Industrialist and Writer. He is called “The Father of the Indian I.T. Sector”. He is honoured with the awards of Padma Vibhushan and Padma Sri. The present essay explains his views on the Indian thinking, comparing it with that of the European countries.The first thing that we have to learn from the West is the tendency of community thinking. They think of the society first and the next preference is to the self. Public good is given importance by the Western people. Unlike the society of India becoming corrupt, the West is free from corruption. The briefing has become easy in India. The officials look forward for bribe at every level.
People in the West give preference to the problems of the society. Indians do not give importance to the problems of the society. They take years together to complete a project. The people of the West are accountable for the work they do. Dignity of labour is a virtue of the Western people. Here we give respect according to the position they occupy.
Professionalism is respected by merit. Even though the colleague, who is incompetent, happens to be a friend, they do not hesitate to chastise him. Merit is respected in the West. Indians keep up their vow of marriage but there are many violations of agreements outside. Gandhi said “There is enough in this world for everyone’s need but not enough for everyone’s greed”. So the writer wishes to have a country which flourishes on commitment and values.
