the.world.is.flat-第41部分

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〃Liberalization's　Children〃　and　defined　a　zippie　as　a　〃young　city　or　suburban　resident；　
between　15　and　25　years　of　age；　with　a　zip　in　the　stride。　Belongs　to　Generation　Z。　
Can　be　male　or　female；　studying　or　working。　Oozes　attitude；　ambition　and　aspiration。　
Cool；　confident　and　creative。　Seeks　challenges；　loves　risks　and　shuns　fear。〃　Indian　
zippies　feel　no　guilt　about　making　money　or　spending　it。　They　are；　says　one　Indian　
analyst　quoted　by　Outlook；　〃destination　driven；　not　destiny　driven；　outward　looking；　
not　inward；　upwardly　mobile；　not　stuck…in…my…station…in…life。〃　With　54　percent　of　
India　under　the　age　of　twenty…five…that's　555　million　people…six　out　of　ten　Indian　
households　have　at　least　one　potential　zippie。　And　the　zippies　don't　just　have　a　
pent…up　demand　for　good　jobs；　they　want　the　good　life。　
It　all　happened　so　fast。　P。　V。　Kannan；　the　CEO　and　cofounder　of　the　Indian　call…center　
company　24/7　Customer；　told　me　that　in　the　last　decade；　he　went　from　sweating　out　
whether　he　would　ever　get　a　chance　to　work　in　America　to　becoming　one　of　the　leading　
figures　in　the　outsourcing　of　services　from　America　to　the　rest　of　the　world。　
〃I　will　never　forget　when　I　applied　for　a　visa　to　come　to　the　United　States；〃　Kannan　
recalled。　〃It　was　March　1991。1　had　gotten　a　B。A。　in　chartered　accountancy　from　the　
＇Indian＇　Institute　of　Chartered　Accountants。　I　was　twenty…three；　and　my　girlfriend　
was　twenty…five。　She　was　also　a　chartered　accountant。　I　had　graduated　at　age　twenty　
and　had　been　working　for　the　Tata　Consultancy　group。　So　was　my　girlfriend。　And　we　
both　got　job　offers　through　a　body　shop　＇a　recruiting　firm　specializing　in　importing　
Indian　talent　for　companies　in　America＇　to　work　as　programmers　for　IBM。　So　we　went　
to　the　U。S。　consulate　in　Bombay。　The　recruiting　service　was　based　in　Bombay。　In　those　
days；　there　was　always　a　very　long　line　to　get　visas　to　the　United　States；　and　there　
were　people　who　would　
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actually　sleep　in　the　line　and　hold　places　and　you　could　go　buy　their　place　for　20　
rupees。　But　we　went　by　ourselves　and　stood　in　line　and　we　finally　got　in　to　see　the　


man　who　did　the　interview。　He　was　an　American　＇consular　official＇。　His　job　was　to　
ask　questions　and　try　to　figure　out　whether　we　were　going　to　do　the　work　and　then　
come　back　to　India　or　try　to　stay　in　America。　They　judge　by　some　secret　formula。　We　
used　to　call　it　'the　lottery'…you　went　and　stood　in　line　and　it　was　a　life　lottery；　
because　everything　was　dependent　on　it。〃　
There　were　actually　books　and　seminars　in　India　devoted　entirely　to　the　subject　of　
how　to　prepare　for　a　work　visa　interview　at　the　U。S。　embassy。　It　was　the　only　way　
for　skilled　Indian　engineers　really　to　exploit　their　talent。　〃I　remember　one　tip　was　
to　always　go　professionally　dressed；〃　said　Kannan；　〃so　＇my　girlfriend　and　I＇　were　
both　in　our　best　clothes。　After　the　interview　is　over；　the　man　doesn't　tell　you　
anything。　You　had　to　wait　until　the　evening　to　know　the　results。　But　meanwhile；　the　
whole　day　was　hell。　To　distract　our　minds；　we　just　walked　the　streets　of　Bombay　and　
went　shopping。　We　would　go　back　and　forth；　'What　if　I　get　in　and　you　don't？　What　if　
you　get　in　and　I　don't？'　I　can't　tell　you　how　anxious　we　were；　because　so　much　was　
riding　on　it。　It　was　torture。　So　in　the　evening　we　go　back　and　both　of　us　got　visas；　
but　I　got　a　five…year　multiple　entry　and　my　girlfriend　got　a　six…month　visa。　She　was　
crying。　She　did　not　understand　what　it　meant。　'I　can　only　stay　for　six　months？'　I　
tried　to　explain　to　her　that　you　just　need　to　get　in　and　then　everything　can　be　worked　
out。〃　
While　many　Indians　still　want　to　come　to　America　to　work　and　study；　thanks　to　the　
triple　convergence　many　of　them　can　now　compete　at　the　highest　levels；　and　be　decently　
paid；　by　staying　at　home。　In　a　flat　world；　you　can　innovate　without　having　to　emigrate。　
Said　Kannan；　〃My　daughter　will　never　have　to　sweat　that　out。〃　In　a　flat　world；　he　
explained；　〃there　is　no　one　visa　officer　who　can　keep　you　out　of　the　system　。　。　。　
It's　a　plug…and…play　world。〃　
One　of　the　most　dynamic　pluggers　and　players　I　met　in　India　was　Rajesh　Rao；　founder　
and　CEO　of　Dhruva　Interactive；　a　small　Indian　game　company　based　in　Bangalore。　If　
I　could　offer　you　one　person　who　embodies　the　triple　convergence；　it　is　Rajesh。　He　
and　his　firm　show　us　what　happens　when　an　Indian　zippie　plugs　into　the　ten　flatteners。　

Dhruva　is　located　in　a　converted　house　on　a　quiet　street　in　a　residential　neighborhood　
of　Bangalore。　When　I　stopped　in　for　avisit；　I　found　two　floors　of　Indian　game　designers　
and　artists；　trained　in　computer　graphics；　working　on　PCs；　drawing　various　games　and　
animated　characters　for　American　and　European　clients。　The　artists　and　designers　were　
listening　to　music　on　headphones　as　they　worked。　Occasionally；　they　took　a　break　by　
playing　a　group　computer　game；　in　which　all　the　designers　could　try　to　chase　and　kill　
one　another　at　once　on　their　computer　screens。　Dhruva　has　already　produced　some　very　
innovative　games…　from　a　computer　tennis　game　you　can　play　on　the　screen　of　your　cell　
phone　to　a　computer　pool　game　you　can　play　on　your　PC　or　laptop。　In　2004；　it　bought　
the　rights　to　use　Charlie　Chaplin's　image　for　mobile　computer　games。　That's　right…a　
start…up　Indian　game　company　today　owns　the　Chaplin　image　for　use　in　mobile　computer　
games。　
In　Bangalore　and　in　later　e…mail　conversations；　I　asked　Rajesh；　who　is　in　his　early　
thirties；　to　walk　me　through　how　he　became　a　player　in　the　global　game　business　from　


Bangalore。　
〃The　first　defining　moment　for　me　dates　back　to　the　early　nineties；〃　said　Rajesh；　
a　smallish；　mustachioed　figure　with　the　ambition　of　a　heavyweight　boxer。　〃Having　lived　
and　worked　in　Europe；　as　a　student；　I　was　clear　in　my　choice　that　I　would　not　leave　
India。　I　wanted　to　do　my　thing　from　India；　do　something　that　would　be　globally　
respected　and　something　that　would　make　a　difference　in　India。　I　started　my　company　
in　Bangalore　as　a　one…man　operation　on　March　15；　1995。　My　father　gave　me　the　seed　
money　for　the　bank　loan　that　bought　me　a　computer　and　a　14。4　kbp　modem。　I　set　out　
to　do　multimedia　applications　aimed　at　the　education　and　industry　sectors。　By　1997；　
we　were　a　five…man　team。　We　had　done　some　pathbreaking　work　in　our　chosen　field；　but　
we　realized　that　this　was　not　challenging　us　enough。　End　of　Dhruva　1。0。　
〃In　March　1997；　we　partnered　with　Intel　and　began　the　process　of　reinventing　ourselves　
into　a　gaming　company。　By　mid…1998；　we　were　showing　global　players　what　we　were　capable　
of　by　way　of　both　designing　games　and　developing　the　outsourced　portions　of　games　
designed　by　others。　On　November　26；　1998；　we　signed　our　first　major　game　development　
project　with　Infogrames　Entertainment；　a　French　gaming　

company。　In　hindsight；　I　think　the　deal　we　landed　was　due　to　the　pragmatism　of　one　
man　in　Infogrames　more　than　anything　else。　We　did　a　great　job　on　the　game；　but　it　
was　never　published。　It　was　a　big　blow　for　us；　but　the　quality　of　our　work　spoke　for　
itself；　so　we　survived。　The　most　important　lesson　we　learned：　We　could　do　it；　but　
we　had　to　get　smart。　Going　for　all　or　nothing…that　is；　signing　up　to　make　only　a　full　
game　or　nothing　at　all…was　not　sustainable。　We　had　to　look　at　positioning　ourselves　
differently。　End　of　Dhruva　2。0。〃　
This　led　to　the　start　of　Dhruva's　3。0　era…positioning　Dhruva　as　a　provider　of　game　
development　services。　The　computer　game　business　is　already　enormous；　every　year　
grossing　more　revenue　than　Hollywood；　andit　already　had　some　tradition　of　outsourcing　
game　characters　to　countries　like　Canada　and　Australia。　〃In　March　2001；　we　sent　out　
our　new　game　demo；　Saloon；　to　the　world；〃　said　Rajesh。　〃The　theme　was　the　American　
Wild　Wild　West；　and　the　setting　was　a　saloon　in　a　small　town　after　business　hours；　
with　the　barman　cleaning　up　。。。　None　of　us　had　ever　seen　a　real　saloon　before；　but　
we　researched　the　look　and　feel　＇of　a　saloon＇　using　the　Internet　and　Google。　The　choice　
of　the　theme　was　deliberate。　We　wanted　potential　clients　in　the　U。S。A。　and　Europe　
to　be　convinced　that　Indians　can　'get　it。'　The　demo　was　a　hit；　it　landed　us　a　bunch　
of　outsourced　business；　and　we　have　been　a　successful　company　ever　since。〃　
Could　he　have　done　this　a　decade　earlier；　before　the　world　got　so　flat？　
〃Never；〃　said　Rajesh。Several　things　had　to　come　together。　The　first　was　to　have　enough　
installed　bandwidth　so　he　could　e…mail　game　content　and　instructions　back　and　forth　
between　his　own　company　and　his　American　clients。　The　second　factor；　said　Rajesh；　
was　the　spread　of　PCs　for　use　in　both　business　and　at　home；　with　people　getting　very　
comfortable　using　them　in　a　variety　of　tasks。　〃PCs　are　everywhere；〃　he　said。　〃The　
penetration　is　relatively　decent　even　in　India　today。〃　
The　third　factor；　though；　was　the　emergence　of　the　work　flow　software　and　Internet　
applications　that　made　it　possible　for　a　Dhruva　to　go　into　business　as　a　


minimultinational　from　day　one：　Word；　Outlook；　NetMeeting；　3D　Studio　MAX。　But　Google　
is　the　key。　〃It's　fantastic；〃　said　Rajesh。　〃One　of　the　things　that's　always　an　issue　
for　our　clients　from　the　West　is；　'Will　
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you　Indians　be　able　to　understand　the　subtle　nuances　of　Western　content？'　Now；　to　
a　large　extent；　it　was　a　very　valid　question。　But　the　Internet　has　helped　us　to　be　
able　to　aggregate　different　kinds　of　content　at　the　touch　of　a　button；　and　today　if　
someone　asks　you　to　make　something　that　looks　like　Tom　and　Jerry；　you　just　say　'Google　
Tom　&　Jerry'　and　you've　got　tons　and　tons　of　pictures　and　information　and　reviews　
and　write…ups　about　Tom　and　Jerry；　which　you　can　read　and　simulate。〃　
While　people　were　focusing　on　the　boom　and　bust　of　the　dot…coms；　Rajesh　explained；　
the　real　revolution　was　taking　place　more　quietly。　It　was　the　fact　that　all　over　the　
world；　people；　en　masse；　were　starting　to　get　comfortable　with　the　new　global　
infrastructure。　〃We　are　just　at　the　beginning　of　being　efficient　in　using　it；〃　he　
said。　〃There　is　a　lot　more　we　can　do　with　this　infrastructure；　as　more　and　more　people　
shift　to　becoming　paperless　in　their　offices　and　realize　that　distances　really　＇do＇　
not　matter　。。。　It　will　supe