We all heaved deep sighs of anguish as our eyes darted against the Sydney Olympics medal chart to see India's name on the TV screens - a solitary bronze medal was all that the big contingent could manage to bring home. Well, 'sports' has never been our forte. Even the great Michael Ferreira has admitted to India lacking a true sporting culture like the USA or Australia.

Our strength has been proved to be "between the ears" - thanks to the IT industry, which has given us global recognition, and respect. The IT revolution started in Namma Bengaluru almost a decade ago with Wipro and Infosys kick starting it and some others entering the fray soon after.

The huge employment potential in the city and never-seen-before "creation of wealth" were the two most enthralling aspects. Scores of IT Companies opened shop (IBM / Compaq / Digital / Novell…) and IT professionals from all parts of the country migrated to the city. IT schools came up at every nook and corner promising to create programming whiz kids and there emerged a new breed of intellectuals - the superheroes of our times. These computer literates had stars in their eyes, as compensation in the IT sector was the best. Wherever they worked, off-shore / on-site; slowly and steadily they made news and in no time the Indians ruled the roost with the hub of all these activities being Bangalore, aptly named as the "Silicon Valley of India".

For these go-getters, the enhanced lifestyle was the obvious fallout of the fat paychecks and the perks that they enjoyed for having exercised their gray cells to the hilt. They got to see various parts of the world on their on-site stints abroad. In the lands of plenty they got the shock of their lives - The wide roads, the speeding cars, the sprawling malls, the perfect services system in the vicinity and the ideal office setup; above all the "dollar-power". It gave a big blow to the little bit of patriotism still thumping somewhere in the IT ticker.

The statute of liberty now held the torch of IT. At the end of the project the highlife came to a full stop - then began the comparisons. They were back home, with their own people and the same life that they were used to earlier but now the charm seemed to have lessened somewhat .The Rupee seemed devalued (in terms of dollar), the queues were disgusting at the telecom and the electricity board offices, the roads and pollution unbearable, the surroundings so unclean and unhealthy, especially the palms of crooked politicians and the list went on and on…

Reality is all that and much more for sure but comparisons don't help .The present CM Mr. S M Krishna has promised us that Bangalore city would reflect a simulated version of Singapore in another couple of years time - big talk? Not so when it emanates from this man of action and the development progress in the last couple of months give ample example of things to come. The ongoing work on the roads and the flyovers will take some time before fruition. The drive to make the city free of pollution of all kinds is a Herculean task considering the number of offenders on the roads. The highfliers, with due respect to their money-power have forgotten that as they raise an accusing finger at the city to which they owe their absolute entity; the rest of the fingers point at self and pose the same question in return.

The city beckons to all its IT populace to look beyond the glass windows of their AC offices and put themselves in the shoes of all those not-so-lucky ones who constitute a larger number in the city. Just because you're wearing a pair of Lee Coopers doesn't give you the right to step on someone else's shoes and you'd better have nimble footwork to avoid getting stepped on. The government is committed to them (IT folks, not your shoes) on a priority basis, as their needs are basic in the pyramid of growth. A note of advice to the IT folks as they speed up to their IT destinations -" Stop at a corner, Stop whining for a moment and think positive. Try to envision the dream that our city sees through you and the rest of the Bangaloreans in the horizon…" An apt measure would be a change in the outlook towards society and its environment; and owning up to the responsibility of making a difference - however small an endeavor it may be. The BTF (Bangalore Task Force) cleanup organized by software companies was a step in the right direction. It's up to the citizens and netizens of Bangalore to get more involved and weed out the "silly cons" in this Silicon Valley. We welcome your views in the Communique.