Prashant Kothari has written to me asking for assistance for Dan Pink for locating an Indian programmer to do a story on. Writes Dan:
I’m looking for the Everyman (or Everywoman) among the Indian programmer set — someone whose is the living, breathing embodiment of this seismic economic trend we were discussing.
I’m not looking for the greatest programmer the subcontinent has ever seen. Nor am I looking for the most ambitious and intensely driven person in this cohort. I’m simply trying to find someone who is both representative and interesting — someone who’s doing fairly high level work (of the sort that might also be done in the U.S.) and who’s making a nice living off his or her efforts.
The ideal person is probably in his or her 30’s or 40s and who thanks to his own efforts, education, talent, etc, is now fairly firmly planted in the middle (or upper middle) class. And ideally, this person has a spouse and children as well.
I’m trying to avoid people who are with the large established IT firms (Infosys, Wipro, etc.) — and instead trying to find someone who works for a smaller operation or for some company that’s flying well beneath the radar.
That’s one reason that I’m focusing my search on Pune, Cochin, and Chennai — and avoiding Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Delhi.
Anyone know Someone?