The Land of the Wimp

Shifting Gears...

2010-07-25T07:44:00.000-07:00

I've moved. You can now read me here.

A pluck in time saves nine ! ( Or why I think beauticians should earn more than doctors)

2010-05-07T07:21:00.000-07:00

As the mists cleared one fine Monday, I was faced with an existential question from Ms.Youknowwho."Do you think I should do my eyebrows?" she asked. "Do what?", I exclaimed quite unsure of what "do" meant.

The subject matter in question managed to conjure a ravishing arc and knit pattern as K turned a mild ruby.

"I meant should I pluck them?" she explained. Having never undergone this particular variant of torture myself, I proceeded nevertheless to deliver a short homily on why "beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder". That speech delivered, I was off to work. Tuesday spun around merrily and the matter had a decent burial.

Or so I thought.

Wednesday saw the first dark clouds of pensiveness. She worried about me returning late, her sister's board exam marks, cooking etc. Suffice that it required all of my charm (?!)to rein in this wild horse, and by bedtime I was positively blue myself.Thursday saw her burst into rashes and the revisit of that old nemesis -"what do you think of my eyebrows?". "Pretty?"- I ventured weakly. The baleful look I got in return suggested I was losing touch.

Friday thanks to the onset of the weekend saw a cessation of hostilities. Saturday was D-Day. She felt sick, had a headache, low appetite, the works. Under such blistering assault, I even cancelled plans for a trip to the holiest of holy shrines, the National Library.

Suddenly,light dawned and she declared - "I need to go to the saloon".

By now I was too concerned to remark on the logic (blasphemy !) of the act. So off we went.The salons here are interesting due to the fact that a part of them at least is in full view of the passing crowds. This does not bother the women patrons any bit. It is as though a silent contract exists: a bond of non-interference in the lives of another whether deliberate or accidental.

I noted the sparkle in her eyes began to return as she waited her turn. That turned into a bright glimmer as she sank into her chair and beamed at the salon owner who beamed back.As she sank into bliss, I passed time watching the movies playing at the DVD rental next door."Your eyes are shining!" I exclaimed when she was done, more fact than flattery."Yes, did you see the women complimenting me?" she asked. "Er, well yes..." I murmured.

With a "I'm fine now !" proclamation, we grinned and walked back home together.

Thank God for beauticians.

A fool and his money are soon parted...NOT !

2010-03-22T07:46:00.000-07:00

Singapore has in the past few months formed several impressions on me - candid, meticulous,law-abiding and forward-looking to quote some of them. Today, I add brutal honesty.

Mom can attest to my absent-mindedness. But today, in attempting to pay some money for a glass of sugarcane juice at the centre Kopitiam stall @ the Lau Pa Sat food market, I managed to successfully leave my purse at the counter. Following was the stuff in it :

a. Employment pass (1)
b. PAN card (1)
c. Credit card (1)
d. Debit card (2)
e. and horror of horrors, my pride and joy- the National Library card!(Not R's photo)

Having left this and reached home after dinner, a good 45 mins later I figured out my error and rushed back. The mental arithmetic was on funds transfers without documents, getting a replacement EP; the works.

So you can imagine my relief at walking back and seeing the elderly Chinese gentleman at the counter and my purse placed carefully behind him. Of course, I did not get away lightly, with him giving me a 5 minute lesson in the hows and whys of keeping the purse inside my pocket rather than on his table, in full view of his giggling daughter and harrumphing wife. I complemented this with profuse sorries and thank yous in English and my broken Chinese. Point made.

Thank you Mr. Chinese uncle.

M !

2009-11-18T06:38:00.000-08:00

M. Yes, M. No, not that M. This M.

Yes folks. At long last, yours truly has decided enough is enough and its best to tie the knot and pester a woman apart from my M.

Ergo, Ladies and Gentlemen allow me to introduce the lady. R.

And to quote a very dear (albeit dormant) friend – “So help me God”.D-Day is Nov 27.

So all my friends of the blog world – Cyn, Mr. Shenoy, Sharell,Ms. Vodka, Rohini, Mettakau, Priya and the One, Ms. L - the warmest of welcome and the hottest of J are awaiting you !

My personal Anthem !

2009-11-08T03:00:00.000-08:00

Main Zindagi Ka Saath Nibhata Chala Gaya,
Har Fikar Ko Dhuen Mein Udata Chala Gaya.
Barbadiyon Ka Shok Manana Fizul Tha,
Barbadiyon Ka Shok Manana Fizul Tha,
Barbadiyon Ka Jashan Manata Chala Gaya.
Har Fikar Ko Dhuen Mein Uda...

Jo Mil Gaya Usi Ko Muqaddar Samajh Liya,
Jo Mil Gaya Usi Ko Muqaddar Samajh Liya,
Jo Kho Gaya Maein Usko Bhulata Chala Gaya.
Har Fikar Ko Dhuen Mein Uda...

Gham Aur Khushi Mein Farq Na Mehsoos Ho Jahan,
Gham Aur Khushi Mein Farq Na Mehsoos Ho Jahan,
Main Dil Ko Us Muqaam Pe Laata Chala Gaya !
Har Fikar Ko Dhuen Mein Uda...

The Outsider

2009-08-19T09:47:00.000-07:00

The time has come,
and not a moment too soon.
Onward I march,
straight into the inky unknown.
Friends,hopes and failures,
in full measure I found.
A new mask,a different ocean,
is where I now belong.

So save your farewells,
for on me they sit lightly.
The light has shone,the torch has passed;
Irreverent or Irrelevant,the outsider has moved on.

Bow to conquer …

2009-07-19T12:05:00.000-07:00

In today’s fast paced world, can old-time values survive? This is what I learnt, from the most unlikely of teachers.

Sometime back, I took a trip to Blore for S’s housewarming. A day off from work spent sauntering across Blore with nothing in hand, soaking in S’s wonderful hospitality and a promise of yummy Bengali food was too irresistible to miss. Thus I found myself staring at an ornate door some 600 km away from home, at the royal hour of 5:51 AM on a Wednesday.

Fast forward to the actual housewarming. The beauty of India is her culture (a dumb cliché, but its 1AM and I’ve been working all day. I’m so drained, I’m writing two sentences here rather than use the DELETE key…) My only experience of Bengali culture have been the rosogolla (K.C Das) and a Durga puja I attended in Chennai. But I digress. The fact is that the average Indian, and that includes the Bengalis too are so wonderfully charming in their rites and rituals. The invocation to the gods by a rotund pujari, known/unknown aunties and uncles swapping notes, and the combined “youth” looking out of the balcony waiting for the food to arrive sums up the typical ritual experience. But I gott brave enough, and wandered into the proceeding and sat in the puja; and it was quite wonderful. This gave rise to a related problem. What do you say to an aunty next to you some 4 decades your senior, unknown by face and speaking an unfamiliar language? You smile broadly perhaps, teeth and all. And that’s what I did –to all and sundry, including the pujari.

As an aside, I found that the invocation in a Bengali ceremony including the continuous chanting of the sacred Gayatri mantra. Down south, I have not come across open chants – instead my upanayanam had me inside a silk shawl of sorts with my Dad, who initiated me to the mantra in a whisper. Most interesting.

Sometime along this time, N entered the proceedings. A flashback here, courtesy inputs from the host – N is the good chum of S from college. Along with V, whom I’m yet to have the pleasure of meeting, they formed the Unholy Trinity and tormented all of Bangalore’s collegiate population in the last millennium. But fear not - they have reformed and lead respectable lives and careers.

Thankfully for me, I soon managed to hit upon the stars of the day – S’s niece S and N’s son V. Rather, they “hit” upon me. Somehow, both kids got it into their minds that I was perhaps a good high-five coach/ punching bag. Soon enough, both of them were putting their calories to good use and beating me to pulp. And I loved it. And that was just one of the many activities they undertook – running around the house, crying for food (yes, coming in the next para), asking forthright questions etc. etc. At which point of time, one lonely black “DRA-GUN” with bloodshot eyes was discovered with typical entreaties to the kids to keep silent lest he gobbled us all up. In short, this was the typical Indian ritual.

If somebody told me that the Bengalis were the sweetest people on earth, I would second the thought. The food was lip-smacking and sweet. Quite an effort in the first helping, but one gives in by the second, and is raving from the third onwards. That perhaps was the number of raids that S (S’s friend from the bank, a guy) and I participated in. And each raid brought yummy booty. From puri with mango, sweetened dal with rice and subzi and the most delectable sweets they had us begging for more.

Post lunch and general gupshup ensued. The wonderful home, stock market crash, Bengal updates, rains in Bangalore (and the absence thereof in Chennai) were all animatedly discussed. The kids got all fidgety and the DRA-GUN was fast losing his bite. At which point of time, the rains broke and a walk to the play area followed. Post this, it was tea time and soon folks had to depart for home. It had been wonderful till then, but the best was yet to unfold. As N turned to leave, little V reached out to me sitting on the floor and bade me to get up. Thinking he wanted an escort to the door, I gladly complied. At which point of time the young feller in a flash quickly bent and touched my feet.

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t choked. It has never been this way- but perhaps in a long, long time I was touched by a simple gesture of a little child that I’d just met. N explained that V was taking leave of me with a “Namaste”. I did not know what to say – perhaps a little longer and a tear or two would have made an entry. I don’t know why – perhaps sometimes people just make you happy and you express it by crying. But I didn’t and that’s the way it is.

The day wound up with S’s dad taking care I got onto the correct bus back home. There is so much I’ve left out in this account- Uncle’s old world charm, Aunty’s excellent house management skills and their hospitality and all the other things that go to make a great day. But then its simple gestures like those of V that really speak a lot. As a “consulting detective” put it:

"My dear Watson, you as a medical man are continually gaining light as to the tendencies of a child by the study of the parents. Don't you see that the converse is equally valid. I have frequently gained my first real insight into the character of parents by studying their children. - "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches"

N and V must be proud of their son and justifiably so. And so for the first time, I deviate from my “no-names” policy on this blog. Ladies and gentlemen – please put your hands together for Vinay A Kamath.

Hamam mein sab…

2009-06-30T00:39:00.000-07:00

The global economic crisis has claimed many victims, but perhaps the greatest blow of them all has been to the aura of invincibility of the developed world. Indeed, from the “Asian crisis” in 1997 where the IMF and United States played a key role in advising, cajoling and sometimes demanding prudent free-market economic solutions, to a scenario where an open discussion on the future of the US Dollar as the world’s reserve currency is no longer seen as the talk of fringe communists, the world has indeed come a long way. (And that was a long sentence too!)

So are the days of laissez-faire over? Hardly, in my opinion. On the contrary, this economic crisis perfectly mirrors the fallibility of man – one part optimism, two parts euphoria, a violent dash of lunacy and a tinge of stoicism- not necessarily in that sequence and definitely not in proportion.

The only people who have been laughing their way to the bank have been men like him, him and him. These were the pessimists who decried the “go-go” attitude in the financial markets. To be fair to them, the writing has been on the wall (or on the charts) for a really long time, and even when they tried to voice their opinion, all they were met with was a few yawns of incredulity, or some hand-wringing at the most. Who can fault them for taking advantage of what seems foolish in hindsight?

India itself appears to have weathered this storm with relative comfort. But this has not been due to amazing government clairvoyance or the sagacity of the stock-market seers. The reason for this has been the attitude of the ordinary man – the wisdom of the middle class to save for a rainy day, not spend more than they need and provide for the education of the next generation – an investment that has always delivered handsome returns.

Will these attitudes sustain the consumerist culture? As long as common sense prevails, yes. If they do not, the hope is that society will still function as a safety net to restore the fallen to health. Or perhaps the government will get its act together to provide one, just as they have wisely decided in this instance.

Oh-but what of the title? It has been inspired by this article I read recently. While the motivation to create such an index does make for somber reading, perhaps now all shall agree definitively that we are in the same hot-house. After all, Mr. Market told us so!

Born Again !

2009-05-27T00:56:00.000-07:00

From slumber I rose on this day,
Mastering tricky hypotenuses and holding Euclid at bay !
A quick breakfast, and when that was done,
Ready I was for my place under the sun.

We walked together to the polling booth,
Quiet and confident in this single truth,
That while leaders may sneer and stoop to connect,
Today was the day we got to kick their bucket !

I reached the threshold and waited without comment,
All around me, the world moved like a sea in torrent.
What seemed like just another day at office,
Was for me, the evidence of a strong edifice.

There they sat, unsung officials of the Election Commission,
Amongst musty files and heat without remission.
All here because they believed in the same dream,
that ordinary hands and humble voices can maketh a team.

Tattered, rusty and frayed at the edges India might be,
but with determination and a prayer on our lips we strongly believe.
I shed my prejudices and cynical refrain,
The Kingdom of God was before me and I was Born Again !

PS: Inspired by John 3:3-
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

PPS: A most unique day was 5/13.I dreamt of solving geometry problems.Analyze that ?

The Pakistanis are coming…home?

2009-04-25T10:36:00.000-07:00

I have for long wished to travel across North India. For the quintessential “thair sadam” (curd rice) type that I am, the North comes across as robust as the amazing paranthas that I’ve savored in my hostels. The friends I’ve made from these parts amaze me with their irrepressible spirit and their zest for life. And the love to live it large perhaps cuts across states -be it the fierce warriors of Rajputana, the earthy UP/Bihari/Jat bhaiyyas or the Punjabis with their ready smile (I’m thinking of dear D and her spouse here!)

Then why did Partition happen?

Was it the hunger for fertile land that drove the madness? Or of men coveting the warm bosoms that were not theirs to embrace? A natural cycle of bloodshed to fertilize the land of the five rivers? Or was History shuffling the cards of social structure –for a fresh game of gin-rummy?

These thoughts rise in my mind in the light of the disturbing incidents that have occurred recently in the NWFP of Pakistan. An immensely strategic region, the use of religion to address perceived and real inequalities and the transition of the old order to the new; all of them together these make a deadly combination. Add to this a powerful foreign power, much maligned after eight years of war-weariness – and you have conditions eerily similar to the pre-Partition era.

The responses to this situation are far from being different. While all concerned parties acknowledge the severity of the problem, far too little is being done to contain it. A concession to the democratic elements in this jigsaw –it is far too unlikely that they have the strength to overcome these forces, weakened as they are by the systematic abuse over the years.

So why should India be concerned? Or involved? Is it not “their” problem? Did “they” not choose Pakistan over India? Or wage war through all means overt and covert through the years? Khalistan, Kashmir and God knows where else – are these not “their” bogeys?

While such extremist thought is admittedly a minority, from most Indians there is little response but tut-tutting. One hopes the Indian administration does not believe in a similar response. The need of the hour is to be fully integrated in a meaningful response – in poker terms we need to go “all in”.

Such a response is justified on several fronts. First, history has shown us that a restive North-West has been the bugbear of stability in the sub-continent. Alexander, Ghazni, Mughals, Mongols, Huns and the list goes on when we discuss the groups who have invaded India through this region. These and other invasions have no doubt created a composite culture, but what has been the tremendous cost to stability?

On an immediate basis, the Af-Pak has turned into a hub of terror; a fact not lost on any world power. As long as this is allowed to thrive any hope of peace and economic goodwill for the countries is a fleeting illusion at best. There is tremendous potential for sustained commercial opportunities here and for this peace has to reign.

Lastly, and importantly, Pakistan has perhaps never been our enemy. Pakistan represents the futility of believing that in the long run, politics can successfully deviate from the will of the people. The cry for freedom was full-throated- from the maulvi and the pandit alike. Partition was a horrific mistake, a tremendous miscalculation and a disastrous compromise. Far from been resolved, trouble has re-emerged with a vengeance and impacted the world irreparably, igniting a “clash of civilizations”. Today Pakistan is in danger of disintegrating into pieces, triggering a second movement of refugees, a reverse Partition of sorts. Does India have a policy and the resources to provide them with solace? And importantly, will India find the reservoir of goodwill to treat Pakistanis for who they really are – brothers estranged for the last 60 years?

The time has come to recognize Partition for what it essentially was – an illusion. For India has to emerge intact, she has to embrace Pakistan in full – body and soul.

Janus

2009-03-05T06:04:00.000-08:00

Once in the realm of sleepy thought,
I wandered, and was soon accosted by the God Janus.
A question rose, and an answer I sought,
"What shall be of the lands named after the Indus ?"
"Fear not",spake He "for your past has been glorious
And your future like the sun shines bright.
But your present shall continue to be labourious,
as long as your people sleep in broad daylight."

Why don't I enter politics ?

2009-02-13T00:09:00.000-08:00

I love Def Leppard,JBJ,Floyd,Dire Straits and ColdPlay- to sweep the urban yuppie vote

I believe in opening a door for a lady, saying(and meaning) please and thank you- hopefully the women vote

I earned my spurs making money for people(and me)- thats for the business vote

I hail from a modest background,love the land and am proud of it- the rural vote

I've been in fist fights and smashed teeth successfully- the doodh-badam aur lathi vote

You wont believe the previous line if you meet me- the military vote

I'm a veggie, no booze or ciggies - the brahmin/buddhist/jain/vegan vote

I don't have a problem if you eat meat, smoke and drink - the rest of us vote

I'm bald - that will get me the 40+ vote

What am I waiting for?

The last of the Bushisms ?

2009-01-21T09:16:00.000-08:00

"And like that he was gone. Underground. No one has ever seen him again." - Kevin Spacey, "The Usual Suspects" (1994)

On this day, when the whole world turned out for the Obama inaugural party, I tried to imagine what President Bush was thinking. Was it his legacy that worried him ? Or clearing brush at crawford from tomorrow ? Unease about the nameless enemies who shall stalk him ?

Or was he just glad it was all over ?

I looked up Bush's inaugural speech today and compared it to that of President Obama(remember the suffix!).Both speeches were from the BBC's website. Strangely, I thought I discovered a lot of similarities.The same reference to the American way of life,freedom,democracy,removal of racial injustice,leading the world,reference to American history among others. Of course, they did have significant differences. Bush spoke of weapons of mass destruction, war and had more biblical references. Obama spoke about the crisis, reaching out, global warming, non-believers and promised radical action.

And all that I agonize over is this - Will Obama influence history or shall he be swayed by it? Bush signed the No Child left behind Act,called Darfur "genocide", and led an ill-fated attempt to tackle the illegal immigration issue square on its face. But perhaps his most unsung hurrah is the huge aid that he oversaw for AIDS relief in Africa,not to mention the loan waivers for the struggling countries there.And for those who crow about the financial mess that Bush caused, one might want to read this statement from the 2007 report of the US treasury on hedge funds - "As we noted in 1999, "[i]n our market-based economy, market discipline of risk-taking is the rule and government regulation is the exception.We look forward to further progress as these principles continue to inform our actions and strengthen our vibrant capital markets."

Yet,think of Bush and the most defining moments shall seem 9/11,Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib and the Katrina disaster.

Hopefully, Pres.Obama will fare better, and history will take a less jaundiced view of Bush's years at the White House. In his inaugural speech, Bush spoke of "the American story - a story of flawed and fallible people, united across the generations by grand and enduring ideals."

He may have well been describing himself. Au revoir, Dubya.

Why do the honest cops die early ?

2008-11-28T06:00:00.000-08:00

When the shit hits the fan,
some guys run...
and some guys stay.
Here's Charlie facin' the fire,
and there's George...
hidin' in big daddy's pocket.
And what are you doin' ?
You're gonna
reward George...
and destroy Charlie.- Scent of a Woman (1992)

When the dust has settled, and Mumbai is crammed back into those tin sardines that snake through its soul,the world will move onto obsessing over its next madness.

Nearly all will believe that you died in vain.Most shall forget your unspoken sacrifices. Some shall color your motives.

I shall not.

On this path-breaking election day...

2008-11-05T09:17:00.000-08:00

None of my comments can match the timeless beauty of this classic. Besides, it sums up my feelings very aptly. Congratulations, President Obama.

Times they are a-changin' - Bob Dylan

Come gather round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
Youll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin
Then you better start swimmin
Or youll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin.

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance wont come again
And dont speak too soon
For the wheels still in spin
And theres no tellin who
That its namin.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin.

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Dont stand in the doorway
Dont block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
Theres a battle outside
And it is ragin.
Itll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin.

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And dont criticize
What you cant understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin.
Please get out of the new one
If you cant lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin.

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin.

And the winner is…

2008-11-02T06:17:00.000-08:00

Going by the aggressive campaigning, polls and “internal polls”, Nov 4 might end up spawning a lawyer’s utopia. Then again, it might well end 8 years of GOP rule with a deluge. Either way, until the race is finally over both candidates can have the satisfaction of being President-in-waiting.

However, this election has seen some big losers and winners already. Some of these are quite apparent, while in the case of others the sands have shifted more slowly. Also, there are strong parallels between these winners and similar ones back home in India. It is pertinent to study these shifts and draw inferences for the way our lives will change in the future. This study excludes potential winners, no matter how high their chances. Thus for instance, Sen. Biden who will become to be the master key in navigating Washington for Sen. Obama is not discussed.

And the undisputed winners of Nov 4 are…

1.The fourth estate
Almost like the Jedi, the fourth estate after wilting under the sustained onslaught of the last 8 years has struck back with a vengeance. Preferences have perhaps never come out this sharp, with channels vying to press home the advantage to the max. And the result- an OD of polls on almost every possible angle of attack, with nothing left to chance. The result of this polarization has serious consequences for the polity. How will the new President (whoever he is) manage the media? If he comes from a particular party, he would owe his success in no small measure to the media, and would almost end up having an additional advisor on his team, a voluble one at that. If the other man gets in, he would face the attacks of a media, which has lost its coveted prize. Either way, expect more muck your way.

2.The Late Rev. Martin Luther King
My first introduction to Rev. King was ironically through the last speech he had made –“I've been to the mountain top”. In the land of the Wild West, guns and Harleys I must confess to have been pleasantly surprised to learn of the non-violent ways that his movement employed to achieve real change. In many ways, the suffering of Dr. King and his people were similar to the suffering of my forefathers as they sought freedom from the British. Rev. King actively studied Gandhi and applied his principles. The Powells and Obamas of today owe their success to the spark lit by this noble soul. In doing this, they are now the light for all minorities across the USA that the country can get its divisive past behind it. India, the land that gave the world Dr. Ambedkar and Gandhi still waits for the emergence of an inspirational leader who can straddle caste, religion and class with elan.

3.Sarah Palin
Gov. Palin is perhaps the biggest winner of Nov 4. In 2 short months, she has moved from Sarah-who to Hockey-mom in chief. I don’t go by the polls that trash her, nor am I interested in the value of her wardrobe. Indian politicians routinely dress like the Maharajas& Maharanis of yore, even if their entire constituency is the most woe-begone part of India. She has established her credentials excellently within her party base, and will no doubt use this opportunity to improve her acceptance levels with the electorate. Of the 4 people involved in the race, it is her future which has a richest “Plan B” to fall back on. Perhaps the day might emerge where both the lead candidates are women! The Guilianis and Pawlentys might well sit up and take note of that day, if they have not already. And Mr. Baldwin, you too please.

4.The anti-Clintonites
The fall of the Clinton machine has been perhaps the least analyzed part of this marvelous election. The Clintons gave 8 of the most prosperous years in recent US history. In Sen. Clinton they offered a feisty lady who rallied her troops magnificently when the chips were down, and knew her constituents like the back of her hand –witness her superb re-election effort. With the background that was grass roots, a legacy of service, and a command of policy that her opponents could not match, her candidature should have been a shoo-in. Instead she was undone by the emergence of a rival power bloc which seized every opportunity to out-gun and ambush her march. Any fault, perceived or real was used to bring down a transformational figure. The result is the loss of political capital that the Clintons had truckloads of. The Democrats have no doubt benefited from the emergence of Sen Obama, perhaps the most charismatic candidate to reach out to the masses since Pres. Clinton. But they should also introspect on the loss of a candidate who could have given so much back to the country. Instead, they have the prospect of a President who may be beholden to a group which commands power behind the lines, and who might form rival camps to trip him from within.

But who knows where 4 years might bring ? Sen. Obama would do well to watch out for her.

5.GOP
The most subtle winner ? This is the party of Lincoln and Reagan that has re-defined American history since the time that men got together to sign the Declaration of Independence. 8 years are a speck of dust (an irritating speck at that) in the eye of this party. Who knows what would have been Pres. Bush’s legacy if 9/11 had not come visiting? But then, 9/11 and beyond did happen and the electorate has the right to respond to it. If anything else, this would be the perfect time to introspect and wait. The new league of Republican leaders will find this time perfect to grow and present viable alternatives to the Democrats. The US polity would only be richer for it.

Battle Royale - Debate No.2

2008-10-08T00:09:00.000-07:00

Inspired by Megan McArdle’s post on the first debate, I thought a live blogging session on the McCain –Obama debate would be a different idea.

I’m blogging just as the debate goes live. This debate will be the defining moment to judge both candidates, coming as it does after the bailout package and the continuing market meltdown. America is going to ask some tough questions, and I hope for a spirited debate.

I spent the first half hour wolfing down some Upma for breakfast (my cooking today!) and some piping hot Assam tea. So I’m just going to jot down my impressions on the candidates for the first half, and then move on to specific questions.Its

Personalities:

Obama:

He’s appearing extremely professorial in his replies and quite childish if I might say so in his repartees. He does not thank the questioner, and actually walks away from them to talk to the rest of the crowd. Way too much statistics than is required. I guess he believes that Mc Cain will fight back harshly and is quite charged up to hit Mc Cain where it hurts. It’s embarrassing to see him ask Brokaw whether he can reply to Mc Cain’s barbs – almost like primary school.

And lastly, he seems so focused with his answering that he’s upsetting the moderator with his line of talking. And the moderator is giving it back by making him wait, and giving McCain the upper hand. Obama seems to believe he can win absolutely, and he’s quite cocky with his answers. There is a lot of talk, but are there any specifics?

McCain:

Shrewd fighter turned Mr. Congeniality on this show. Of course there are a lot of selective quotations that he makes to attack Obama. And Obama is quick to point it out as in the case of nuclear energy track record, where he contrasts MC’s support for nuclear energy with the record that shows he did not vote for alternative energy. But Mc smartly gives barbs, by bringing the point to his angle by slipping in his position to an earlier question. So he does not sound like he’s robbing time – which he is.

He’s smart enough to know that the economy has left him very weak, but strangely he’s holding his own on economic issues. This should have been his Waterloo. It’s beginning to look like Stalingrad.

Q: Ability of the USA to act as peace maker, when the economy is down.

MC thanks the questioner by agreeing that strong military needs strong economy. He believes that American dream is still alive. Good linkage to his vast experience in foreign policy and military matter. Goes back to the record – Bosnia, Gulf War, Russia, surge. This seems to be a recurring theme – Go back to my record! (Corollary – Obama does not have one to talk about!). He highlights the short experience of O and talks about no time for on-the-job.

O does not thank the questioner. He moves into negative territory immediately with Iraq. I think he’s being quite grave in his responses – is he trying to show he’s one with the American mood, and refute the criticism during the bailout discussion that he was too detached? Quickly, he highlights with the strain on the budget. He’s blunt – no economic power, no military adventurism.

Follow up: What will your doctrine be?

O doctrine – We will respond for non- natl security issue. He goes back to the holocaust, Rwanda about the moral obligation question. Says we’ll consider acting. Waxes philosophical, in saying we cannot be everywhere, cruelty is everywhere. Highlights Darfur. His view: Provide logistical issues - @ little cost.

MC – says O will bring them back in defeat, I will with honor. Says we must prevent genocide. But favors interaction based on the ability to be a beneficial influence, says it requires a cool hand. Highlights Somalia – Black hawn down ( for the uninitiated) . He differentiates between peacekeeping and peace making in Somalia. Says he’s been in these issues all my life. Securing the life of my men will be top priority.

Q: Should we respect Pakistani sovereignty.

O thanks questioner. The diff situation in Pakistan is because of hitting Iraq and the distraction. Bin laden escaped and now they are hitting us. P is the central front on terror. Urges end to Iraq move to Afghanistan and put pressure. No more cuddling with the dictator. Encourage democracy. Expand non-mil aid, insist they go after them. If OBL is in sight, and Pak is not able to pull the trigger we will.

MC thanks questioner. Quotes Ted rosevolt – talk softly but carry a bit stick. Quotes O –“ I’ll attack Pakistan”. Questions the naiveté of talking aloud, and insists that it has resulted in public opinion moving away from USA in Pak. Conveniently ignores the fact that Bush signed the decree in July (O lets it go !) Talks about the afghan war- slips us – “We pushed back the Russians” – is it the first declaration of US support to the mujahid by an American politician?

Urges to get the support of the people and help them turn against the Taliban.

O talks about a follow-up, cutting into the schedule. This is becoming quite a pain actually. Mc is able to act the higher ground, and wins second follow-up once O talks. The result is that MC has the last word on everything! O tries to talk about similar rhetoric about NK. (But NK has never been a US ally, unlike Pakistan!)

(Aside – Tom Brokaw tries to restore order – O’s reply – “You are doing a good job Tom!” – quite condescending, reminds me of his “You are likable, Hillary” comment which led him to lose a primary (Was it Ohio or Penn State?))

MC’s response – “I am not going to telegraph my punches”! Good knockout attacks on O.

O talks about the afghan situation. Says will tell Karzai, you have to do better. He wants to have to have a democracy in Afghanistan. I don’t think he understands the Loya Jirga politics of the Afghans.

MC talks of his hero Petraeus in Afghanistan. Praises the surge and hits at Obama for still does not admitting to it. O lets it pass.

Q: Pressure on Russia:

MC: We are not having a cold war. But its behavior is outside of norms due of petro dollar. Hits out at Putin – talks about the KGB in his eyes and Russian stance in Georgia. “Watch Ukraine” – he says. Advocate their membership in NATO. He says again that negative behavior should attract penalties. Hopes this will modify behavior.

O: Russian resurgence is central issue. Will provide financial and “concrete” assistance – military? Mum on NATO membership. Says we should see around the corner – it comes back to MC’s experience! Talks about his note on South Ossetia. He makes the point that we have been reactive over 8 yrs, goes back to Iraq. He links Russia to oil spending.

Is Russia the evil empire ?

O: I think they engaged in evil behvr, have nationalist ideas.
MC: He makes a better, nuanced answer, and says it depends on our behvr. Yes- and it signals cold war. No – ignore behvr. (I think that’s a more realistic answer.)

Q:Israel – if Iran attacks Israel what will u do – War veteran

MC – Thanks the man for his service. Shakes his hand. He is emphatic in being unilateral in this scenario. Says R and Ch will be obstructive, goes to the pre-condition point of O and lambasts it. Says he will go with legal democracies. We can never allow a second holocaust.

O: Thanks the man for his service. We cannot allow them to get nuclear weapons as they will threaten the world. We will never take the war option off the table. Not give the UN veto option. Work diplomatically. Prevent them from importing gasoline – cost benefit analysis!

Final thoughts:

Obama is clearly somber here with contrasts his opportunities along with the current scenario today. Says we need change and he can provide it.

MC is a lot more optimistic in his views I feel here. Holds out the fact that the US can be innovative, and can go back to its earlier highs. Spoke of his bad-mortgage plan and says we can put the worst behind us. Ends with – “Times are tough, we need steady handed-ness.” (Look at my record and experience !)

First impressions:

I think both candidates gave it a great performance. Obama sounded more somber note, and wasted no time to go to the jugular MC was strangely chirpier, and went out of his way to be congenial. I reckon that must have got O to back off a little bit. It helped MC to get away from his economy Waterloo. The economy is clearly going to be an issue; MC said he would buy bad home mortgages in an effort to provide some kind of a new plan.
I found it interesting that Obama was unable to dislodge MC despite being on the higher ground today. Perhaps Obama believes the economy is going to do it for him?

On personality terms, MC sounds more likable while Obama appeared out of touch and was confident tending to condescending. On economic facts, O is superior primarily because MC was down. Foreign policy might not bring in the votes, given the US is focused on its own troubles.

Final Analysis:

In the short term MC will get a bump for sure, because he sounded a lot more confident. But if the economic problem drags on, people will forget MC’s optimism and elect Obama to power.

Bessie !

2008-09-06T22:32:00.000-07:00

This morning saw me emerge from my kalaripayattu classes alongside Besant Nagar beach. Kalari has this magical effect of making me feel like a freshly squeezed lemon(the rind i.e)just after it’s over, but full of vim later on. Anyways at that time I wobbled lemon-like over to my bike.

So far, so ho-hum. But today was different. I beheld perhaps why Bessie is so famous with all us sambar-slurpers. A most beautiful spectacle unfolded in front of me. Huge rain clouds were heading towards the sea, sending the sundry walkers scurrying to avoid the incoming downpour. A gang of school kids were kicking away at a football taking care to avoid the few drunks sleeping off last night’s booze party. All this in an atmosphere of utmost peace, with no stud boys on noisy SUVs. I was hooked. I strode up to the promenade and got a seat.

The world may have done six merry-go-rounds of the sun since I last lashed out on the field, but it appears that football talk remains the same. I named the teams Da and Oatha(sorry,honest reporting here…) dividing the group based on who said more of which word. Cries like “Man on you!!!” (We are all boys when we say that, and never play the game when we become men…) along with “Oatha, pass the ball da” (which team dude?) got me super excited. Soon, with a few quick goals along the way both exhausted teams had the good sense to stop at 5-5. A group of fisherwomen strode briskly past me, with those huge loads on their heads screaming their heads off at their kids telling them to get home now. Just then behind me, I spied a chappie with a Tantra T-shirt and smart gym clothes. It looked like he was chucking change from both pockets before it hit me that this was his idea of a workout. Out of nowhere trundled a tramp with his pet monkey asking for some money. Kanjoos me loosened the purse strings. Must have been the weather.

In all this the above mentioned rain clouds revved up the motor and let loose thunder and a couple of sparks. Bessie quickly got the message and started to wind down. I turned to retreat and found that Tantra-man was doing something that looked like Sridevi’s dance moves from “Nagina”. Perhaps he was stretching his triceps. Suppressing a chortle I gunned the motor and sped away leaving these folks behind. As I passed one of the chic cafés lined up on the beachfront, I spied a couple at a table, with the guy cooing in the PYT’s ear as she tried to navigate the menu.

Bessie’s morning shift had just begun :)

Arise !

2008-07-25T10:16:00.000-07:00

Another day,another attack on our way of life. What will tomorrow bring ? Hope or nonchalance ? Will we forget -again ?

I Am The People, The Mob
-A Poem by Carl Sandburg

I am the people--the mob--the crowd--the mass.
Do you know that all the great work of the world is done through me?
I am the workingman, the inventor,
the maker of the world's food and clothes.
I am the audience that witnesses history. The Napoleons come from me
and the Lincolns. They die.
And then I send forth more Napoleons and Lincolns.
I am the seed ground. I am a prairie that will stand for much plowing.
Terrible storms pass over me. I forget. The best of me is sucked out
and wasted. I forget. Everything but Death comes to me and makes
me work and give up what I have. And I forget.
Sometimes I growl, shake myself and spatter a few red drops for history
to remember. Then--I forget.
When I, the People, learn to remember, when I, the People, use the
lessons of yesterday and no longer forget who robbed me last year,
who played me for a fool--then there will be no speaker in all the
world say the name: "The People," with any fleck of a sneer in his
voice or any far-off smile of derision.

The mob--the crowd--the mass--will arrive then.

The Emancipation of Eve

2008-06-19T06:57:00.000-07:00

Men might tend to agree to the statement that women have it easy in life. Not only is it believed that expectations are lower here (the “paraya dhan”funda) but the widespread belief is that if a woman made it to the top, she either schemed, slept around, or somehow discarded her “duties” to her family.

Is this true? Well, from my personal life and work experience I’ve come across women from both ends of the spectrum, whether as peers or clients. I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with some of the most commonsensical and erudite people at work, and mostly such kind of people were women. But I also know of quite a few who have allegedly left no stone unturned in their quest for a “successful career/life”. So it’s pretty much a neutral stance. Ditto for men.

So why this Venus-Mars thing ? Actually, I think the reason why men label women such is quite simple. As Iago warned, it’s the “the green eyed monster that doth mock the meat it feeds on”. Jealousy.

If a bastion like management which for long has been a males-only club is stormed by the opposite sex, it’s perhaps only natural for the existing members to feel insecure. Add to it the fact that the average woman is believed to represent qualities that make her more sensitive and inclusive than the average guy. Plus she’s more likely to be sharper as she’s had to face a lot many nay-sayers in her life. Stir all of this together and you have a perfect recipe for a clash of the sexes.

The fault lies less with men than with the system that we have become slaves to. A corporate is measured by what it did last quarter and the CEO by share price growth alone. An inclusive corporate culture, is it? Does it spruce up the cash flows? The pecking order is dictated by whether you are wearing a Hermes tie or not, which special edition car you drive, the whiskies, the Cohibas you smoke etc. etc.

Society is the brain that runs this system. I am no great social reformer nor have any grudges about working towards monthly sales targets. But sometimes we should introspect about how we live our lives rather than just whether we lived them well. Petty jealousies get magnified into ego clashes in personal life. The obvious impact is on the productivity and motivation of an individual to perform on the job, notwithstanding office politics. There are no majority/minority partners here. Men and women should be treated at par in business and in personal life. Is it not true that when we play right that we play well too?

In my last term in B-school, I took a course called Gender and Leadership. Faff, scoffed my friends. Some wondered where a finance buff was headed. The increasing influx of women into corporates and the law of probability indicated that in my career I would definitely work alongside, lead or report to women. If I never learnt how to cast my prejudices aside and figure out what women really want (super-cliché here), I might perhaps fall into confrontation too. On a more personal front, given the grand scheme of things (I’m just yearning for the right post on this one ….) I might as well reconcile to the idea of a significant other (Mom, what’s cooking behind my back?). Hopefully, a more “enlightened” me will learn to keep my ego in check.

Equality, like charity, begins at home.

Rudra

2008-06-13T20:23:00.000-07:00

I should confess to loving my blog. Or rather, the act of writing it. Over a year and half I’ve been able to pour out my thoughts on a variety of issues that I think about and wished that most of my urban counterparts did too. It’s very interesting when somebody reads your blog for the first time. Akin to an expectant father waiting outside the OR, Hindi film style, (perhaps the connection is too dramatic, but you get the idea) you hope that they have a comment or idea which can take your thoughts forward.

Last evening, I found myself chatting with my dear friend R. R professes never to have had anything even remote to do with politics or read my blog, but stumbled on it through another dear friend (Bless you too, Z). R had however not made any comments but had quite a few thoughts to share.

R liked my blog of course but felt that it was too angry, too angsty. Well, considering that all around me I see basic values being jettisoned like New Year resolutions, I guess I can be pretty irritated about urban India’s steadfast refusal to have anything to with the problems of real India. We talked about this and that and said our byes.

But the thought still existed. Should not your emotions transition from despair to hope? The world has enough madmen as it is, does it need another angry blog? Cut to the point, what should I be doing from here?

I think R has a point. Let me move from shrilly pointing out problems to holding out ideas. From hand-wringing in general to cautious hand shaking. Talk less, work more. So from now on, I’ll perhaps really walk the talk.

Lest the reader start missing the fire and brimstone speeches, don’t count on me not slipping a fast punch!

Here’s to a new and (hopefully) improved me.

Vignettes from Wimpistan

2008-05-24T23:17:00.000-07:00

Wimpistan is firmly amongst us. As I write this I’m watching the Big Fight that’s discussing the latest media pet “story” – the horrific double murder of Aarushi Talwar and Hemraj. To be specific, random individuals like you and me, “experts” summoned to this grand studio where pet theories and counter arguments freely handed out.

Let me show some respect to the dead and not stain my blog with my views. To be specific, I have none. I shall only go back to my initial posts here. I had spoken of 4 pillars of respect. Those I want to talk about today are:
1. Respect for the rights of the individual
2. Respect for rule of law
3. Respect for women

A measure of society is gauged by its response to its worst fears. We then see how low it is willing to stoop, how lofty are its pronouncements and how calibrated its response to an issue. More importantly, we see the metrics by which it measures success, critiques failings and gauges its progress.

When, in the case of the Aarushi case we let our faculties adrift and instead chose the easy wrong over the more difficult right not only do we do injustice to the memory of a child who is no longer able to defend her good name, we also create an unholy precedent for the future.

Shall every incident now be judged by the media? Will every investigation be so shoddy and vindictive? What came of the respect for the due process of law and of the individual? Are they subservient to 30 seconds of TV fame? And what of things more important for this nation?

In all this media attention, we’ve quietly ignored issues like the dismal state of Indian agriculture. In a country which boasts of super-smart IITians and MBAs, it is inconceivable that farmers consider suicide an honorable option. Unfortunately, agriculture does not sound sexier than an extra-marital affair, and so we languish.

These days what with time on my hands, I’ve been reading quite a bit. Most pertinent here is the source of Kamala Subramaniam’s book. Sage Vysaga, the author of the Mahabharata sees the incoming downfall of man in the Kali Yuga. Sage Narada visits him at this time and suggests that the only way for man to attain liberation from the horrors that will visit him in his life is to read the stories of the Lord’s incarnation.

This is the genesis of the Srimad Bhagavatam. Given the state of affairs, I think I’ll read faster. Till then, sileo in pacis,Aarushi and Hemraj.

What the F!

2008-05-01T22:57:00.000-07:00

This brief break amidst an education and a job has had quite an effect on me. Apart from the mundane activities which characterize the existence of every individual on this planet (and hence not being repeated here) I have been up to no better good. The only salutary impact has been that I have flipped a few more pages than usual and I’ve been seeing a lot of shows of George Carlin.

Now who’s this? George is in my humble (and irrelevant) opinion an amazing artiste who uses comedy to harangue the petty minds and activities which somehow surround us and take much of our time, effort and worst of all money. His expletive-rich shows have had me laughing my guts out at his irreverence and sincerity.

So, today I’ll be noting my top 4 (why 5 always?) pet peeves, at this point of time. If you like to read on, do. Else, close this window.

4. Gazettes and beyond
What is it about official procedure which makes sense and yet does not make sense? Why for instance should the Connemara Library in Chennai require your membership application to be signed by a Gazetted officer? This presumes that every applicant knows one such officer who can vouchsafe for him/her. One can understand a vetting procedure in issuing passports, but a government library? What’s the intention? Prevent theft? So why not have a better system to prevent it? Isn’t this just a waste of my time?

3. C*#p about “Youngistan”
What the F! This is perhaps one of the most bull-s*&%%y marketing ploys I’ve ever encountered. The idea that there is a world for youth, into which you have entry only if you happen to drink a particular brand of cola and watch an insane program on a gone-to-the-dogs music channel( more on this channel coming up) is pure bull. I think it’s an insult to the youth of today by STPing (MBA lingo- figure it out) and making consumer zombies of them.
To add insult to injury, I am subject to an irritating advertisement with a storyline weaker than the government of today. It features an as-yet to provide a hit male Johnny with a one-hit wonder diva and a bunch of extras doubling up as college students. Do me a favor and pull the plug on this, Marketing Honcho!

2. IPL
Oh come on! It’s not like we were facing a shortage of insane regionalism, sensationalism, crass consumerism and superstars to gawk at that we need these torture session.
I don’t quite understand why anybody with at least a pea-brain watches this. The players are the same prima donnas, it’s the same depressing game and there is more action off the field than on it as usual. The attraction for the advertisers is the probability that they can pander to our consumerist tastes through a new channel now. For the owners, who strut around in their Pradas and Tag Huers it’s yet another way to satisfy their overweight egos and (hopefully) milk Mother cricket. The players of course got bid for over-hyped capabilities than anything else. Proof of this is in some of the high fliers having much reduced egos these days. Perhaps Mumbai should restrict itself to the Salsa…

1. Pseudo-reality shows
If there was every an award for the most warped, most f*&^%d up, most hedonistic act ever on the telly, this would be it. What kind of a depraved executive producer would ever associate with this rubbish? These claim to create some kind of heroes amongst teens. But the reality show is just a cover-up for perpetuating a “winner-takes-all” culture amongst the youth who are miserable enough to watch this crap regularly. And this is audition is managed by jerks that are supposedly qualified, or are ageing DJs in front of the camera.
I happened to view an audition for this. The dope had his self-respect rubbished at almost every stage of the way. And what was his answer for the why-you question? “Because I will do whatever it takes, I play mind games very well and am a failure in whatever I’ve done, this is a springboard for me” Or another show, where a girl asks people who are voting on her future to rise above the “Delhi-Bombay” fight. With a DJ who couldn’t speak proper Hindi even if you put a .45 to her head.
This brings me to the end of this special George-Carlin wannabe show. Let me end by expressing my deepest sympathies to those who have had the misfortune of watching Tashan! (Not me, I wouldn’t go near a movie that has the lead actors donning blonde wigs and doing insane dance steps with a hundred extras!)

PS: Yea, I should probably stop watching TV but without it this blog would not exist!

Flowers of the Gulmohar

2008-03-27T22:40:00.000-07:00

Flowers of the gulmohar,
are shed at long last.
Blood red, still so beautiful,
now etched into the past.

For one year they danced and sang
and brought merriness all around.
Now they lie yonder,
and adorn the holy ground.

The wind shall lift them now,
and hurl them into the sky.
Come hither! Go thither!
pleasing to the eye.

Spring will soon blossom,
and new buds will burst.
They will be beautiful too,
and that you can trust.

Ambassador Mulford comes calling...

2008-03-09T08:40:00.000-07:00

Amongst the best experiences at the ISB ("takeaways" - in MBAspeak)is this unique ability to interact with thought leaders. And I really mean leaders. In this last year, I've met Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, shook hands with Mr. Digvijay Singh and lunched with the Home Minister. What would be the probability that I would have similar opportunities if I was working as before ? Zilch.

These experiences were capped by an unique opportunity to interact with His Excellency Mr. David C Mulford, the US Ambassador to India. It was wonderful and exciting to be in the same room with the Ambassador of the most powerful country on earth today. And true to form, it was a very interesting insight into the thoughts of some of the most influential people of the day.

I shall endeavor to put into this post some of the views expressed by the Ambassador as also cover the interactive discussion which followed it. I've faithfully recorded on paper much of his speech, but any errors or ommissions are all on me.But I do clean my ears regularly, so I dont think this should be much of an issue ! Also, I would not be expressing specific comments on this post. I leave it to the reader to form his/her own perceptions.

The Ambassador, in his opening remarks referred to the increasing depth of the Indo-US relationship. He spoke of it being broad-based in its reach, and counted as many as 22 different agencies which work with the Indian government today. He noted that there is a move from govt-to-govt interaction into the private sphere and hoped that this would increase. He believed that there was genuine reform going on, albeit slowly and surely, although privatization of national assets was yet to happen.

On commercial agreements, he focussed on the Open Skies policy and noted the expansion in trade due to this legislation. However, he hoped that there would be aggressive liberalization of financial services and expressed frustration with a lack of reforms and the subsidies.

He believed that as future business leaders we need to focus on Energy,Infrastructure and the Restructuring of the Indian rural economy. He mentioned that the civilian nuclear deal was the energy thrust and that enough has been mentioned on Infrastructure. Commenting on the last issues, he spoke of the tendency for coalitions, and that much of the rural economy was locked in a political vise, with no appetite for land reform. He spoke of rental and contract farming as possible options here. He believed that invigorating the rural economy was a surefire way to ensure that incumbent governments can get "30 years in office". As the Government was unequipped to the task, he opined that private participation in the rural sector would be useful. He drew paralells with the Maoist experience in Nepal and the Naxalite movement, and mentioned that reviving the rural economy was paramount to prevent a similar slide in India.

On US issues, he indicated declining economic activity in the US and spoke of emerging nations such as China and India which would have an increasingly important role to play in global economic affairs. He spoke of how the world at large would have to incorporate these realities and bring these countries to the negotiating table as equals. He was concerned that the US in general has perhaps still not understood the nature of the new world, and was concerned with some of the US-China rhetoric. Thus he believed that there needed to be a new order, and not just the G-7,and spoke of fundamental policy changes over time to reflect these realities.

At this point, he concluded his remarks and threw the floor open to questions. P began with a well reasoned question as to why the Kyoto protocol has not been signed upon by the US ? He replied by stating that first, not all signatories have adhered to the the Protocol. Secondly, he said if global warming was taking place, the US would definitely take the lead. Lastly, he was critical of the capping requirement and believed it to be a form of punishment, which was why the US did not sign.

Prof. R spoke of the rural economy views and asked whether fresh investment into the rural economy would not spur inflation, which was a key lookout for the govt.? The Ambassador quickly responded by pointing out that he was speaking in general terms and not in the current context. He mentioned that there was no project financing culture, and believed that the capital/bond markets can be developed atleast for domestic participation. That way, the wealth of India can be harnessed for the rural good. Here,he commented on the World Bank which he characterized as slow, inefficient and bureacratic.

ATP asked for his comments on the low level of Indo-US trade versus Sino-US trade. He rightly highlighted on the time gap in both trade relations and highlighted the differences in both countries, especially mentioning the presence of a confident Indian private sector, a different kind of production base, and different policies on currency.

H queried as to the negative comments on outsourcing heard in US politics of late. The Ambassador was confident that such comments, heard earlier in Senator Kerry's campaign would definitely die down, but mentioned that if the next President was "beholden" to a state like Ohio, which blames NAFTA, he was not so sure.

Yours truly popped the final question for the day.I began by aggreeing with him on his views on the new world order, but pointed out as to why this view was not seen in context of India's efforts to win a Security Council seat ? I also asked his view on our chances for the seat in future.

He went "Ummm..." and began by saying that these ties have a long way to go. He drew in the historical context of Indo-USSR ties, and mentioned that while there are common values, there are different interests. While he believed we are now friends, and are signing up deals, in his view India could serve a better role with economic power rather than just political power. He spoke of a "dichotomy" and expressed a view that our foreign service at the UN did not provide co-operation to the US at the UN. Pulling out statistics, he mentioned that India has supported the US only 22%of the time, and only 11% on important issues. In such a scenario, he mentioned that any US president supporting us on the seat had some explaining to do to the American public. He struck an optimistic note and ended the discussion.

I'd just like to say that I came away impressed by the forceful ability of the Ambassador to put forth his views. And not to mention, the obvious high from getting one of the most powerful individuals in India to go "Ummm..." to my questioning !

Howzzat !

Carry On, Mr Buffett !

2008-03-08T00:22:00.000-08:00

I'm back !

Yes, after weeks of being busy doing nothing in general, i've succummed to the lure of my blog. Interestingly my life seems to resemble the world of Sherlock Holmes - weeks of languor, followed by brief spells of frenetic activity !

Fruity opening over, lets cut to the chase, shall we ? There was this most amusing article I read a few days back at the Mess Hall. It appeared in the ET (Page 11, 6th March, '08)with the title- "Sage of Omaha losing followers among Indian Fund Managers".

The article talks of how some of the pithy Buffett comments which are enjoyed by millions don't cut much ice with our desi managers. Particulary his quote on competitive advantage -" A truly great business must have an enduring moat that protects excellent returns on invested capital" was lampooned as " stating the obvious".

The managers qouted spoke of how one needs to be "completely flexible, like an amoeba" and that "investment philosophy can't be written on a piece of paper". It also talks of HUL as an ideal example that has failed to measure up to return expectations despite meeting Buffett's "obvious" comments.

Well, arguing Buffett's case is simple.During the 32 years of Berkshire Hathaway, an investment in 1965 has grown at a compound growth of 21.1% versus 10.8 % at the S&P500. Berkshire is now a behemoth straddling different industries, combining scale and gargantuan size. On the PetroChina sale, Berkshire paid the IRS a tax of $1.2Bn-enough to fund all expenses of the US government for 4 hours.. And finally, he has not been fully quoted on this one. He talks of an enduring moat. But he follows it up with the hope that the moat expands, has some sharks swimming in it (read entry barriers)and a Duke (read CEO) who managers the fort well.

All this talk has not been at the cost of ethical flirting. Mr. Buffett is well known for his principles and the freedom that he gives to his managers to run the business. Simply put, a man who know what he is best at and gives it his all.

At $62Bn in networth, Mr. Buffett stands as the richest individual on earth, and holds a track record that has withstood the incurable emotional problems of the global markets. Most fund managers in India have simply benefited from the high tides of the last 5 years. Now that the tide is ebbing, we shall soon know who has been swimming naked.

Carry on, Mr. Buffett !

A haiku for The Week to come ...

2008-02-07T10:29:00.000-08:00

Seven times- the sun rises
Hope enters hearts,
there will be light.

-Satish

Veni, Vidi, Vici - This is the ISB !

2008-01-28T08:38:00.000-08:00

You guessed it right- I'm finally opening my account for this year and its about the ISB ! Excited-yes.Thrilled-definitely.Humbled-surely.Determined-to succeed!

The two pics above say it all. Photo 1 shows the tridev - academia (Prof Jagmohan Raju!),Industry (current Treasury Secretary Mr. Hank Paulson, then heading Goldman Sachs)and a visionary(Mr Rajat Gupta)as they contemplated the future over a model of a fledging ISB. Cut to Photo 2 our very own Associate Dean Mr. Rangnekar breaking the good news to the ISB community at the Atrium!

I heard the news at 6 30AM,when M braked his car an inch from my kneecap while I was sweating it out on a jog(ok,I was sauntering...). Logging on campus mail brought a whole new meaning to the word thrilled ! Its a great feeling to know that the FT, one of the finest financial dailies has declared us at Rank 20 amongst the global B-Schools!

Kudos must go definitely to the group of visionaries who dared to dream and then delivered flawlessly to create the institution that is the ISB! It is the culmination of the dreams of academia,industry and the AP government of the day which displayed tremendous foresight in bagging the institute. Kudos to you too Mr. Naidu !

The FT rankings have been drawn out of a set of considered factors,including the originality of research ideas. It is heartening to see the contributions by committed faculty being recognized on a global platform. But more importantly, its the alums who have kept the flag flying high and done much to spread the good word around. Whether its for "strategic advice" on placements, the fears of bidding to general campus gossip our folks have been around always. Thanks guys !

Lest I let this post to sound like a rambling advertisement, let me just paraphrase what Associate Dean Mr. Ajit Rangnekar had to say -" Accept it with dignity,humility,sensitivity".Guess that sums up the general feeling.

Oh and we've been promised a big party !!! N i'm sure is working out the details.Knowing her well, I'm sure this one is going to be talked about for a long time !

Here's the link !!! http://rankings.ft.com/global-mba-rankings.

Cheerio !

Warrior Politics

2007-12-24T22:24:00.000-08:00

Thought provoking.

It’s not very often that one comes across a book which delves into subjects that you particularly like. This book blends two of my favorite subjects-history and politics in an insightful analysis of how ancients lived and ruled in societies. More importantly, what one can learn from them.

Quite a lot as it turns out. The book is based on the firm view that all that is going on in our lives, has parallels in history. Thus by learning how people tackled issues not quite different from our own, we can govern ourselves better. From time immemorial, history has been faithfully recorded by preceptors, who in turn through their rigorous analysis have influenced it.

The most diverse set of luminaries are chosen in this book. It commences with Winston Churchill's experiences in the late 19th century in Sudan, fighting the Mahdi. It was here that he gained his initial military experience, and a sense of the importance of history and people. These insights stood him good stead in fighting Nazism and co-opting the Americans in WWII. He is praised for his foresight in aligning with Stalin despite his abhorrence of communism, only to repel the advance of Hitler. No book on policy can be bereft of Sun-Tzu and Machiavelli. The author vividly portrays these philosophers as well as the historical context within which they lived. Thucydides who wrote the opus, "The Pelopponesian War" is also profiled. Set in the background of the war between Athens and Sparta, it remains a fascinating read combining the military might and political battles in these city states.

Increasingly states might collapse due to the non-availability of resources and massive unemployment of the youth. It has also to do with the unwillingness of people who live in city-states to consider themselves as part of a larger nation. Here Kaplan studies Malthus, whose essays on economic demand and scarcity of resources proved crucial for thinkers of his era.

Finally Kaplan delves into studying political structures in the ancient civilizations of Sumer, India and China. He finds that multiplicity of cultures did not deter successful empires from being formed. Rather, commerce and some astute political maneuvering led to formation of dynasties which survived the ravages of time...until more powerful ones toppled them. He studies Tiberius, who ushered in a long reign of peace and prosperity in the Roman Empire. Thus, while Tiberius did not expand his suzerain, he certainly managed to govern it better.

The impression one gets from reading this book is of fast paced change, shrewd political masters and the primacy of political opportunism. We live in similar political scenarios, where war and the fight for dominance will increasingly become asymmetrical. The astute politician is he who knows how to navigate this.

Next stop : Plain Speaking by N. Chandrababu Naidu

Games Indians play...

2007-12-15T21:46:00.000-08:00

During one of my regular hunts at the LRC, I chanced upon a book with this title.For someone who is fascinated by India and her meandering millions, this book seemed just the right tonic.Add to the fact that it was quite lightweight and written by an academic of IIMB, and I felt this book would pack quite a punch.I picked it up.

The book attempts to answer some basic questions about Indians with a game theoretic approach. Some of the key questions were :

1. Why are we individually so brilliant, yet collectively dumb ?
2. Are Indians the world's greatest free-riders ?
3. Can we learn any lesson from the concepts of game theory ?

The author has made a good attempt at doing justice to the title. He starts with why Indians behave in such a bizzare fashion, something which he seeks to explain with our focus on short-term results versus long-term goals.

Also, he attacks our collective sense of fatalism and the cavalier approach we extends to issues which do not concern us individually.He bemoans the fact that Indians have never work collectively, and when they are put into teams each comes with the impression that work is a zero-sum game. Small wonder why the author compares us to crabs in the bucket,each trying to outdo the other! He concludes with an interesting reference to the Gita, and analyzes how the verses of the Gita actually enjoin us to incorporate a C-C (collaborate-collaborate) outlook to life.

My key "takeaway" from this book was his reference to Axelrod's experiment, which sought to define which game theory strategy works the best irrespective of circumstance. To his astonishment, a strategy with only three words in its program survived every other plan. It was............Tit for tat.

The book somewhere meanders into discussing various game theories and focussess incessantly on potraying the negative aspects of Indian society. Regrettably, it does little justice to ordinary people we meet who despite their fears are warm, friendly and a tad too forgiving at times. Also it fails to even tread on India's greatest glue - religion. India is a tremendously religious country, and much of our lives centre around our beliefs. Logic would suggest that religion should also guide our interaction with others, but this aspect is not covered by the book at all. I wish the author had applied his thoughts on this issue. Finally,he also makes a passing reference to politicians but does not do much of game theory analysis here as well.

All in all, an absorbing book, perfect for those few minutes of welcome nothingness that thankfully creep into our everyday lives !

Coming up next - Warrior Politics !

Count your blessings !

2007-11-25T05:23:00.000-08:00

We live in a dirty country. It is corrupt. People trash their garbage at will. There is no civic sense in most of us. Besides castigating a bunch of politicians, and worshipping a dozen FMCG super-salesmen in white, there is little which unites us. We pollute the rivers which we are supposed to worship. We mercilessly cut the trees on one hand, and earn carbon credits on the other. Our neighbors, depending on which direction you start from, consider us over-bearing, sloven, extra-smart, dirty and loud-mouthed. World over we have a reputation for being the only country which is yet to win a Gold medal at the Olympics, despite the legions of sportspersons we send. We are mercilessly blown into bits in trains, temples, mosques, chat shops, laser shows, but have neither the balls nor the brains to hunt these scum and drop them at death’s door, all expenses paid. In short, a country high on hype and short on mojo.

Yet, it is this country that our neighbours look up to in envy. Why they say, you can actually vote out somebody you don’t like! Emergencies to you mean a trip to the hospital! You are champions in maths and science, and wrote the code which runs the world of today! You have the power of the creator, the tenacity of the preserver and the purity of the destroyer!

Riddle me this- Then why in the blue blazes don’t we realize this? And more alarming, what will it take the people of the country to actually wake up? How many rivers of blood shall spring before we understand that we actually have a greater responsibility to the land that nourishes us?

Two instances actually make me write this rant. First, an open letter from the people of a neighbouring nation who have seen glimpses of democracy only to be denied their rights, time and again. Yet, the people there soldier on. Despite the threats of bodily harm and even death, they charge. That is because the worst form of existence is that which has no freedom. And on the other, an all too familiar proof that Wimpistan exists. Yet another series of well coordinated blasts. Only 13 dead this time. For now, that is. Tomorrow, breakfast will see a bunch of all-knowing “Porter analysis” trained heads, clucking their heads in disapproval, cursing the all too familiar politician. And soon, next week will see the presence of yet another term, more PPTs and group meeting and preps. In short, back to work.

Which leads me to the sad conclusion that the people of this country don’t count their blessings. They see not the beautiful country which I can see, not far into the future. If only each and every one stood up, without waiting to see if anybody else is already standing, or moaning that nobody will stand. They count not their blessings, but curse others for their failings.

Freedom was won sixty years back when the people knew that they had lost their all and had nothing to lose. Today’s youth criticize, but prefer their Dominoes,KFCs and cafe lattes. So be it. If only they knew the pride in standing up to their beliefs, if they had any, that is.

Not enough time !

2007-11-13T07:58:00.000-08:00

Not enough time for all that I want for you,
Not enough time for every kiss,
And every touch and all the nights,
I wanna be inside you...
- INXS " Not enough time "

This post should never exist. I just dont have the time for this. In between maddening assignments, group meetings which lead to nowhere,resume prep sessions,arbit CP in class, admiring admirable people(hey i'm being honest!),eating,you tubing,playing snooker,reading an amazing book by Robert Rubin,where do i have the time ?

Which brings me to this entire hoo-hah about managing time.Interestingly, i've noticed i spend more time griping about this than doing something relevant about it. Why ? Maybe i'm super smart, so i can do it all at the last minute, and do well at that. or perhaps, i'm just plain lazy. Or perhaps, comforted that i am from the pulls and pressures of real life where i do a much better job, I'm just well...whining.

Some time back I faced a similar problem at office. It got so acute, I seemed to be slipping away. Thankfully, Dad came across this article in the ET which made lots of sense. The first thing to do in the day, it said, was to swallow the frog. In essence, hit at the toughest job of the day and the work will soon move on.

Problem is,there are too many frogs here...sigh !

Badrinath bats for India !

2007-10-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

Finally !

I have waited to write this post for years !

I have ELP to review, PAEV to work on, term 5 and placements work all of which is easily measured by the ton. But I put all that aside to write about my friend who today has taught me what perseverance is all about.

They said only one boy from TN can make it into the squad. You need influence, and not just skill to get in, they said.When he was a youngster, he was too young. As he matured in stature, we feared whether they would say -"He's too old". Scrawny and thin, would he match the sledging of the Aussie, the build of the South African,the wiles of the English,the pace of the West Indian, the passion of the Pakistani ?

I remember him on the playfields of PSBB, as the batsman who never got out.The guy who sat in the last bench of my class and was always easy with his laugh. The boy who gave his all for the game, and finally, finally has been rewarded in turn.

Now,as he dons the baggy blue and shares a locker with Sachin,Dravid,Dhoni et al. my prayers go to him for his success. May he do well.

Finally, I've always shunned the game taking it to be a waste of time. I've always bet against India, because I still believe they are an all-star cast first and a team later. But now Badri, I'll cheer for India, and watch every ball when you step on the field. This is my tribute to your triumph.We'll all be watching out for you.

Chak de whatever !

Aparajita !

2007-10-06T04:10:00.000-07:00

It all began at lunch. One president, two directors and an ex-GS employee at the table. A simple question to the president from yours truly.

"Why aren't you dressed in the section colors today ? "

" Thats because I have this women's club meeting you see, so i dont have time to change "

"ok, whats it about ?"

" we are having this person from M who is a HR head, she is coming to talk to us about Negotiation techniques for Women "

" Hey, but why only women.....? "

And so began my curious quest into the thinking of women. Why pray, would u have a club exclusively for women ? Do men have the men's club here? (Ans - Nyet.) Some thoughts behind this made sense, others tickled my thoughts, and got me thinking about the role of women today. When I started this blog, one of the first assertions I made was that if we as a society have to improve, we MUST empower our womenfolk.

Not some condescending talk, but driven by cold blooded experience that :
a. The average female is more aware, intelligent and sensitive than the average male (unfortunately for men)
b. Women think through problems in a multitude of ways, and if we have to shed some of the baggages of the past and move ahead, society needs all the radical thinking we can get.(truly).

And at the heart of all this lay my pet theory, that all women appear alike but are different and the converse is true about men.Think about it. Men for all their differences are primarily concerned with the following:
a. Power
b. Money
c. Sports
d. Women (note, sports came before )
e. Glug, Glug, Glug !

Not necessarily in this order, but I'm sure a vast majority of my tribe would agree. Switch to women. I dare not talk of 5 things which drive women, for each lady has completely different views of the world around her and what shapes her life. Thus while we may argue that women spend too much time on the phone in general, or swap mails about lady drivers, the truth is that each is an enigma unto herself. And thats what makes every girl special.

But, coming back to the point, I think that such inequality exists always, across nationalities, races, cultures and yes even the sexes. Yes, men would not like to cede control, but thats natural to any dominating group. But then, all such differences disappear when people are given opportunities equally for them to flourish in. That’s because insecurities best disappear when you face the fear. That’s when you become Aparajita !

Moral of the lecture: Next time, please ask the men too. We'd love to come, and no, we don’t eat girls for dinner.

Greed is good?

2007-09-21T09:38:00.000-07:00

I must confess to entering the first class of Government, Society and Business with some trepidation. It immediately conjured a vision of endless and inconclusive talk-talk amongst the poor professor and the class participation warriors. Add to this me being strategically located in the last row of class, and I thought I had the perfect combination to catch up on sleep leftover from the last 3 terms.

No such luck. And thank god for that! This subject has clearly been a winner. Not one class has gone without spirited debate, and the manner of teaching has been excellent .Prof M sure knew how to provoke the debater in you, and I’ve seen him skillfully draw out even the most tongue-tied of my friends. Not that the CP warriors needed any motivation…

However, my beef in this class relates to one topic. Bribe taking. While most people would expect a harangue against bribe taking and giving, Prof M did exactly the opposite. He showed graphically how a bribe might represent society’s response to allocate scare resources for specific economic activity.

Without going into the technical mumbo-jumbo, simply put a bribe is described as an economic mechanism designed to ensure that inefficiencies in production and distribution of resources, which could be due to government diktats, are resolved to the satisfaction of the sector that requires it. Take for instance infrastructure vs. housing. If the government mandates that a ceiling price for cement (incidentally that is what is the situation in India right now) and does not back it up with strict implementation, it is a recipe for bribe taking.

Without the proper monitoring in place, all that happens is that the housing sector offers the cement suppliers, a purchase price which is a notch above the ceiling price. Lo and behold! There is insufficient supply to the infrastructure sector, with the cement being diverted to the housing sector and a bribe taker’s paradise on our hands.

The prof’s advice? Look at things in context and you might actually see the relevance of bribes. But I disagree with the rationalization. Slapping one another does not make us friends. How will you explain the economics of bribes to the poor people at the ration shop who have to bribe the officer to get provisions? Or the monies which should be doled out by hapless people for sundry governments certificates?

Do two wrongs make a right?

F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

2007-09-09T12:52:00.000-07:00

As I removed the last part of cake strategically plastered by DJ in my inner ear during my birthday celebration and soaked in a good hot shower my mind went back to the scene on day 1 of ISB, and day 1 of Sec B in particular.

Seemed a lot like first day at pre-school! Lots of new faces from different parts of the planet, and a bunch of super-smart brains to boot. I started out by facing this mythical beast called the core group (we’re still doing fine–touch wood) and this most mysterious aggregation of specimens under one roof – the quad.

Quickly coming to grips with the idiosyncrasies of both, it was time to know the folks of Sec B. I have to thank the Insti for giving me ample opportunity to do that. Sundry games of little consequence but a lot of pride value, singing, debating, you name it Sec B did it all. And the best bonding of all – the time honored ritual of dunking the birthday boy/girl and then slamming luscious cake all over their face (and pate – if you include my fate today).

And why only Sec B? All across the batch, I came across people I found interesting, likable or preferably both. There’s something mysterious about this process of finding and making friends. Complete strangers then, but the first people you want to be sitting down with for coffee now. The person you want to be sharing the latest salacious gossip or scandal. Your crib partner. Your counselor. Your fellow Maggi cook. Your co-dunkee in the pool…

6 months back, U would have passed me by in Mumbai without a glance. Today, she shyly mumbled a “Happy Birthday” in my cake-filled ear. R would have looked up from her comp in her software company, seen me stride into her office and got back to work without missing a beat. Today, she giggled and took a picture of me in all of my cake-splattered glory. V would have brushed past me at the airport, and caught the return flight to his consulting office. Yet, he spent time with me in the pool tonight, shivering to the bone. DJ would have given me a horribly handwritten prescription for my cold. Today he licked the chocolate cake from his fingers and wiped them on my shirt (yuck!)

F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Thanks for being there guys.

The new Jataka Tales: Mice and the Shadows

2007-09-02T07:07:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, in the land of Wimpistan, there lived a great congregation of mice. These mice, like all other mice lived in peace and quiet. For years, despite occasional rumbling, by and large there existed great peace in the mice kingdom. The mice leaders were proud of this and proclaimed “ If we remain meek, others shall treat us with meekness too.” For years this remained the golden rule of engagement in the society of mice, and all was cheese.

Then suddenly, the mice began to die mysteriously. For some time, the vast population ignored this, fearful as they were with the prospects of the national cheese-eating team and the volatility of the chensex (the cheese index)! But the mice continued to die.

They fell while returning from work in their mice trains, or while frolicking in parks, even when they were savouring the spicy cheese delicacies in the neighbourhood shop! The mice leaders, long accustomed to an era of cheese siphoning were clueless. Who was killing the mice?

The leaders then hit upon the answer- it was the shadows! Yes- the shadows! True, said the others – was it always not dark when the mice fell? Surely it must have been the shadows! Blame the shadows! The mice people asked for drums and sticks to face the shadows. But the leaders would not let them, because they knew it was not the shadows! But if they admitted this to the mice people, they would lose their cheese!

The mice people knew the leaders were wrong this time. On the other hand, the leaders were always right! Why bother -Be meek and the shadows would leave us alone! they thought.Not so fast, said some young daring mice. Was it time to be bold? To forget fear? To stand fast? Not remain meek forever and die like flies do?

They decided to be brave. Slowly but surely they told the people to first be alert to danger. Then they asked them to keep their eyes and ears open and not flee at the first sign of a shadow. Finally, they trained a band of mice who would walk into the shadows if need be so.

Slowly the reports trickled in. A survivor of another “shadow” attack reported that he saw whiskers on the shadow. Another swore that the shadow had fur. Yet another said the shadow moved with something swishing behind…

Finally, gathering courage, the mice moved into the shadows in the direction of the latest attack. And lo behold- it was a cat! Thinking quickly they tied a big bell around the cat, while it snored away its latest mice meal. And then they went back and fought with their leaders and won the sticks and drums. And soon enough the cat was powerless! The mice heard the cat coming from far away and were able to stand up to it. Soon, it was the cat that had to flee for its life. The mice people were happy once more. All was well.

Moral: The mice people learnt from their lesson. Can we at least start now?

First among Equals ?

2007-09-02T02:06:00.000-07:00

For the fourth time in my life, I shall announce my presence by a rectangular strip of firm paper. This paper shall be stocked by me on my person and liberally distributed to ease the process of networking- the stuff that corporate life is made of. For the first time however, I shall be representing an educational institution. It’s a feeling of satisfaction to belong to someplace!

So why am I writing about this? Well, we recently concluded the exercise of ensuring the cards are OK before printing. That also involved, as our dear leader D put it, “making sure names and titles are ok”.

Titles? What titles? Oh, those representative posts which some of us enterprising (or cunning –depending on whether your candidate won or lost) individuals got elected to. Well, a quick glance at the sheet made me wonder whether I was sitting at one of the CII conferences at Davos or someplace equally exotic. All around me sat Vice-Presidents, Presidents, Brand Managers, Directors and what have you in full bloom! Looked like being ordinary was well…not ordinary.

But pardon me; didn’t they say only those elected could put up their titles? Were so many of us elected? Democracies don’t lie and democratically elected people, never. If there were 10 folks in a club and each of them voted to make the other Vice-something or Executive- something else, wasn’t that a proper election process? Hell, that’s right!

Tintin fanatic that I am, this reminds me of a scene from Tintin and the Broken Ear. General Alcazar is told about a drunken Tintin, who was saved from the firing squad at the last minute, saying “Long Live General Alahambra (hic)! “ The happy general immediately appoints Tintin as a colonel and his aide-de-camp. To which Colonel Diaz suggests that given there are more colonels that corporals, could not Tintin be appointed corporal? Alcazar re-affirms Tintin’s appointment and promptly demotes Diaz to corporal! Which brings up the moot question- what are all of these people going to do? There is no one left to lead!!!

For the record, the author was elected as Director to a post, but has graciously decided to spare his visiting card the blushes…

Pausa...

2007-08-24T21:48:00.000-07:00

When the term is won,
and our pencils are sheathed,
while the books rest in quiet,
we shall all go home,and sleep at night.

How I won praise, had a blast and lost my (ummm)……….

2007-07-30T12:50:00.000-07:00

W1 of T3 is over. How time flies here! I turn and look over my shoulder. Was it not the other day that I marveled at Prof F’s dedication? Or was bowled over by Prof S’s sheer devil-may-care attitude, and passion for his subject?

Back to the present guys. Here we are, well into W2. And lest anybody forget, the school makes sure that nobody misses out on assignment fun…there are tons of them here!

Week 1 was like the other weeks. Fast, heavy content, tons of pre-reads and the all too familiar CP and assignments! On CP several of my friends have written reams, but it just amuses me that folks who not so long ago were corporate animals, with spit and polish an what-not show considerable agility in coming up with mundane issues to discuss. Some may blame the profs for being indulgent, but the truth is that no question is ever stupid in such fora. Only the questioner is.

The notable addition (or deviation -depending on how you see it) was the LDP programme. I for one, found the current LDP programme quite interesting. It had the mandatory please-introduce-another part to it, objective being of course to shake us up from our public speaking slumber. I discovered that on TV, I have this annoying habit of bouncing around like a jack-in-the-box. Also, I could do with wearing lesser brighter ties (D’s perfectly arched eyebrows rose just that micro-inch when I entered the class, which meant “what in the world has he done?”), besides shedding some pounds. Lest I sound too critical, let me be a narcissist and say I liked myself on TV, warts and all. So there!

Part 2 was the best, as it required me to speak about my “passion”. Well Wimpistan has been my conduit to thoughts and passions which I kept within, and so it was but logical that I talk about this. Well, I knew I had done a decent job when I saw the audience in rapt attention with nobody dozing off. And the response sheets said it all- it looked like some perfect 10s rained down on me! Even our co-coordinator said it was well done. I dunno, it was just me being me-like always. Guess I should get more involved in some public speaking opportunities…

On more casual things, we celebrated DJ’s/Col. Bday and dear D’s engagement. D has a beautiful smile and an attitude to match, so I am pretty fond of her. Well, that meant I had to be there to wish her and the others! And what a party it was. Sec B really rocks! It may be simple- no plunging necklines to oohh over or drunken monks to “manage” back to the SV, just clean,simple music and happy folks having fun! I had to slink away early as I had an official engagement in the morning, but I heard it was great fun. Here’s to more of them!

And finally the scandalous event - loosing my sensitivity…

When you see me next after reading this remember to say to me, “You have a big loud mouth !”

Nothing else can explain the situation that I put myself into; amazing myself at the uncanny ability I have to make an absolute ass out of myself with cheeky comments. Here I was chatting nicely with a good friend, who I find very interesting for some time now. Interesting because said person has absolutely no airs, is very disarming by nature, and is frank in expressing one’s mind. Oh in addition, a maddeningly attractive dimple…

And while we discussed that and this, and came to some sensitive point, I had to go and make a pretty insensitive comment. One that immediately made the whole conversation go into a what-did-you-say from the other side of the border and an uh-uh-uh from this side. Pretty much made an ass of myself. Thankfully, said person was far more forgiving that I thought, but it did not stop me from thinking twice whenever I make these smart comebacks. Hopefully I’ve learnt my lesson. If this person ever comes across this post, let it be known that I was sorry.

A more sunny post next time- that I promise!

About a Girl…

2007-07-22T05:28:00.000-07:00

Now that I have your undivided attention, let me begin.

Going home after a long and stressful term is bliss. I mean, I can tolerate the awful traffic to the airport, even more repulsive airline food, quite often insincere smiles from pretty airhostesses (this time they were pretty and had genuine smiles –thank god !), and then finally a ride on a perpetually dug-up main road. All for that wolfish grin from mom and bro when I walk into the door. A Lufthansa moment, if there ever was one!

Things have changed. The home now has a spanking new HUGE telly (a surprise for me supposedly), the Bose belts out a Nirvana song that lives up to the group’s name and the movie collection has some more classics, courtesy of my bro’s efforts.

And then the phone rings, and my grandmom is on the line and my mom is hunched over the phone looking at me. And history repeats itself…

Lest somebody reading this think I’m rambling, which I am, let me furnish the basic facts by dipping into my favorite subject, history. Not so long ago, I was loath to let my mom listen to conversations which I entertained with the fairer sex from school. Now, mom shows similar characteristics when I walk into a room when she’s talking to grandmom. It does not take too long to find out some of the key points of that conversation.

Soon enough, while I’m stuffing myself with some awesome food and too hungry to think straight, we discuss so-and-so who decided that this was the right time to walk the aisle. And what about miss that-and-that whose wedding has just been fixed to him-and –him?

I know where this topic is going when I notice a microscopic grin on my bro’s face as he contemplates the complicated drama unfolding in front of him. If you’re 3 years younger, come what may you always have the elder who goes through it first. And its good fun for him to notice how I extricate myself out of this conversation. McDonald’s moments really exist you know, gotta be careful !

I approach the subject with some trepidation. Thankfully nobody’s really putting the squeeze on me but I know what this all leads to. The big M.

M. Potent in meaning, infinite in experience. What does it mean when I sign up for M? Is M a rite of passage? Is it Fun? Even better fun than that which I enjoyed as a child? Can I play games? Break rules? Cry? Laugh? Do both together? Do I choose my playmate? Will I get my playmate? How do I ask her?

On other things, I did some legal homework for doing some work in the field of education, especially for the girl child. It meets the thoughts that I penned in the 4 Pillars of Respect – for the unaware. Mom is thrilled with the idea and will take charge. Need to set up the legal stuff for this. Will talk to SG in my class for some help. Thank god for diversity at ISB!

Enemy at the Gates !!!

2007-06-19T10:29:00.000-07:00

Some opening frames of conversation amongst the populi these days :

“(Expletive) man! We got s#*%^ed in BUFFs ! “

“How’s your SAMA doing? “

“MDS ya Sematic ? What about conjoint?”

You know something’s amiss when the men stop discussing women’s attire (or the lack of it on campus) at the dinner table and talk like this. Welcome to Markstrat ! The word is now synonymous with ISBians, bringing to one’s mind long hours and countless of cups of coffee, ferocious arguments, lost hours of sleep and poring over tons of charts and graphs in search of that elusive manna from heaven – NET CONTRIBUTION!

Markstrat is a lot like speed dating. Lots of planning and preening, a touch here, a touch there, scanning out the other hopefuls, finding out missing parts in your wooing strategy, and when the moment arrives, you’re either onto something or damned to eternal celibacy. Markstrat takes no prisoners. But then, you could get lucky too :-)!

Is it addictive? Yes. Fun? Yes! And brutal? I’d say that too. My group sat up late into the night poring over maps, shooting mails declaring a jihad on competition, and egging each other on to victory. If that isn’t war, what else is?

Well, enough of this dispatch from the frontline. Excuse me while I go back to adjusting the sights on my weapon, and aim hard. Its time for the war council to meet. To lift a line from a war game – “Shoot, communicate, move, A-ha! “

The Revenge of Durga

2007-06-13T02:15:00.000-07:00

Tiger, tiger, burning bright,
In the forest of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

I must confess to a life-long fascination of the tiger. Silent, brooding, awe-inspiring, and majestic, a tiger is poetry in action.But not so i guess, to the vermin who hunt him down.For causes as ridiculous as invigorating tired cojones,to curing every conceivable malady which could have been averted with some regular exercise,the tiger is fair game.

No where is this more relevant as in India,where more than 50 % of the tigers reside.Wimpistan would be a better word to name this country, given the pathetic efforts we seem to be making on this issue.Sanctuaries are left poorly staffed, gaurds are saddled with vintage equipment,and corrupt officials look the other way. And depressing news trickles in of bones and skins being found ,again and again.

But nothing hurts the tiger more than public apathy. Public reaction is non-existent.Those who can raise their voice do so when it comes to debating the next President,corruption in public life and gender issues. What action actually comes out of all that talk ? As one of my favorite professors would remark - "More heat, less light !"

Should we debate the tiger's fate or talk about the next President ? Well, we need to do both. However, if you wanted a rational explanation to the former, a tiger is clearly worth far more alive to the economy than if he is dead. Think of the money that can be earned on safari tours to watch the tiger! Not to mention jobs that are created in setting up infrastructure,and maintenance. Tourism which should be a money spinner in India has not recieved the attention it deserves. The "tiger trail" could change all that. This fact can be hammered home only if the people at the frontline - the villagers, the guards and the officials who oversee this are empowered and motivated by all of us. If the tiger is really the national animal that we proudly proclaim it to be , clearly it deserves a much better treatment. Is it that monkeys and elephants are revered in Indian society only because they can be "domesticated" in a temple and the proud tiger can never be so ? And at a basic level, who has the right to push another species off the brink ?

It should be our responsiblity to come out and support the tiger. What we need is awareness first. And it is upto all of us to understand the magnitude of the problem, put down our caffe lattes and move on. But I tire of asking questions and getting no answers. Will I really make a difference or are we too late in staving off the revenge of Durga ?

PS: If you would like to read William Blake's wonderful poem " The Tiger", here it is : http://www.bartleby.com/101/489.html.

Nash, A Sarod and wet earth …

2007-06-01T10:46:00.000-07:00

Is equal to bliss. Here I am, sitting in my room all alone working on some fundoo stuff on the famous Nash equilibrium late in the night. Giving me company is Ustad Amjad Ali Khan on the sarod with his mellifluous music.

It’s raining outside, and the scent of wet earth wafts in like the perfume of a beautiful woman. A pea hen coos in the background. I’m reminded of a phrase attributed to Jehangir, which he exclaimed in the Mughal gardens of Kashmir :

Agar firdaus bar roe zamminast,
hamminasto hamminasto hamminast !

(If there is paradise on earth, it is here, it is here, it is here!). Thank you my Lord.

Head above water!

2007-05-12T21:48:00.000-07:00

The wee hours of Sunday found me in the pool with my group mate. No, we did not have a bet to see who could get into chilly water and freeze to the bone last. See, there’s this time tested tradition of dunking the birthday boy and his/her groupies into the swimming pool. Last night happened to be my groupie’s celebration, and so to cut a long story short, I found myself in a great bath of chlorine. For the second time in a month. And I have a team of 5!

Confidence Intervals. Marginal Utility. Cash Flow Analysis. Kotler & Keller. Covariance. Correlation. Depreciation. LDP. ISB Radio- Zimbly South. Finance, marketing, commodities clubs. Head above water!

It’s been a month since I left campus. I listen to video clips of news, while I’m working the math. Multi-tasking to save the time on newspapers. A far cry from the time mom would be behind me to drop the paper and head for office. Hyd could have burnt to the ground for all I know of. Chennai and the life I left behind seem to be in the next galaxy. New friends made, old friends without touch. Got a mail from a friend few days back asking why I did not make it to another’s wedding? I miss them all, all of them. Days go by. Life’s like that and all that stuff… Now i know what it feels to set up an outpost, an empire from scratch.

Looks like I left the barn door open when I walked out. The horses are bolting!!!

RollerCoaster !

2007-04-22T13:19:00.000-07:00

If there was one word to describe last week, this would be it. Getting out of Madras with tons of luggage was fun enough. Add to that a new city, a sea of faces whose names you need to remember, a 270 acre campus that stretches into infinity, a plethora of clubs to sign up for, and soon it looked like I had a mini Disneyland trip on my hands.

Not that I am complaining though, I just love my decision to let go and swim into the waters of academia. It’s a pleasure to brood over assignments, figure out the next party and work on the upcoming case discussion and presentation. Who says you can’t worry and have fun doing it?

The last week has also shown that boys with be boys and girls will well… be girls. Yours truly managed to hog minor celebrity status by coming second on an RJ Talent Hunt on Campus. Soon, my silken voice shall soothe my fellow mates on the Campus Radio!

But enough of this talk, my books call out to me. Let me get back to caressing their beautiful spines and drink deep of their ambrosia. Yes, I’m in love again – with mathematics!

Moral: Never leave pen and paper to a guy sitting up at 1: 30 am with a night out on his hands and 5 ppts to absorb.

Reflections!

2007-03-06T02:29:00.000-08:00

Ever seen a German shepherd when he sees a bowl of his favorite dog food? If yes, you can get an inkling of my feelings upon hearing that I’d been invited to Manipal. Manipal! TAPMI! Yes!

Sweeter than the invite was the fact that I, as an alumnus of that blessed institute had been invited to serve on the Admissions Board. For me, having spent 5 years fighting impossible deadlines, even more unreasonable bosses, and a social life tending to zero at times, this selection was a sweet vindication of my worth. Made saccharine by the fact that it was an all expenses jaunt. So before you could say “hallelujah”, bags packed, and face scrubbed to a shine, I was on a plane off to Mlore.

I love flights. If it’s not the thrill of take off, and the feeling of freedom while up in the clouds, then it’s the hours spent observing the good folk at the airport. Smart stewards, sexy airhostesses (why shy away from saying so?) and curious passengers caught up in their own busy world make for amazing watching. Or is it that my co-passengers are too scared to put down their make believe world of Mr. PPT, Mr. Excel and Miss Blackberry & face real life?

Finally, I got to Mlore, rushed over to grandma, got fussed over BIG TIME, grabbed some sleep and hit the road to Manipal! How do I describe the ride? Lush green fields, clean water, quaint little bridges and miles of road, with cheerful little girls selling jasmine flowers, all along the way.

And so I alighted at Eden. Some prelims later, I was all ready for interview time. Hitting the men’s washroom to freshen up, I chanced into the old crooked mirror. Seven years back,at my admission interview, I glanced likewise, mirroring a face with edgy nerves and queasy stomach. Now, here I was, the prodigal son, leaner (poetic license here…), meaner (what do you expect after 60 monthly sales target meetings?) and definitely more richer (courtesy the customers who contributed to my incentives). I seemed to have bartered my innocence for all this though. Did I lose it for my own good or otherwise?

The next two days saw me wading amongst howlers, smart Alecs and smarter people. Given that I was being paid for institutional and perfectly legal ragging, boy did I emerge as a fast learner! And so we discussed college discipline, chewing gum, the farthest way to Goa and simultaneous equations. Pummelled cute girls into jelly. Converted aggressive men into whimpering pageboys . And took the occasional fire from the smart ones. Evenings late into the night went into sampling some delicious street food, tall milk shakes and ice cream. The highlight as always was the experience strolling down the pavement, into armies of college girls from all over town, and being relentlessly assaulted by Miss. Gucci and her pretty sister Miss Nina Ricci. And sometimes their glamorous cousin, Miss Chanel herself! Did someone say Scent of a Woman?

Like all good things, before you could say, “wake up!” I was flying back into dear Chennai and the real world. Still it was nice to feel wanted, so far away from home. Till I go back again, reflections are all there are to keep me company!

PS :

5 Years have gone by since I graduated, the world is a sadder place, governments have come and gone,stock markets defy gravity and sanity, but Manipal remains pretty much the same. The bikes are all there, as are the beautiful girls, slumped scandalously all over their boyfriends, riding into the sunset. The girls as always order from the menu, and the men pick up the bill. Equality – pfah!

Valentine Blues !

2007-02-16T06:28:00.000-08:00

This Valentine’s Day is one I would love to forget in a hurry. Then again, it’s not so easy.

I knew this day would be different, when I accepted a call to drive someone all over town and back for keeping some mundane family politics in shape. Not that I refused to do it. Next, my car got a Valentine card from my Exide battery, complete with a rose, in the center of the city. Followed by picking up folks from the station in the night to take them to a hospital, where a 2-year-old kid had had his eye removed. And watched his family members weep. To top it all I did the drive, and was a mute listener to a one-hour dirge on social, health and gynecological problems.

Oh, and what about my Valentine? Don’t get your hopes up on that one…

Days like these better be the stuff of a strictly one-time rant. Hopefully my next Valentine’s Day will treat me kindly.

When friends part ...

2007-02-09T01:48:00.000-08:00

I miss her a lot. Her laugh, her pout, her grin. Evenings with her wolfing down spicy panipuris have come and gone in a flash. Her glaring look if angered, standing at the doorway, arms akimbo…

She descended into my life ,literally. Working in the bowels of a cold building a few summers back, I warmed up to a cheery “ Hi! “. My bum chum at work fell for her instantly. Not me, Mr. Reserved Banker with a stiff upper lip. For some time after this meeting, our conversation bordered on the Hi’s and the how do you do’s. We seem destined to end as casual acquaintances. Fate willed otherwise. Sitting with her at yet another boring office party, celebrating yet another mundane milestone, we got talking. Many stories, scandals, and great laughs later, our pact of friendship was sealed. In her, I had come across that truly rare species; a warm, genuine human being.

Many moons and several plates of panipuri later came the time to part. I drove her to the airport, hoisted her bag and bade her good bye. And did not ask for a hug. And yes, I wanted one.

I’m sure she is well settled and happy back home, no doubt making tons of friends anew. In this age & time, I’ll never be far removed from her either. But when will I get that hug from her? Or see her smile again? Or gulp panipuri together? When friends part …

Decisions, Decisions …

2007-02-02T04:11:00.000-08:00

As a legendary procrastinator (does this word exist? – it must, spell check says ok) and a recent convert to the world of decisive thinking, I’ve always marveled at the ease with which some people take decisions. Take Dad, for instance. While I’m still flummoxed with the intricacies of the broken egg on the spotless floor, and delicately balancing the nuances of the issue on hand, he is on Step 3 of the resolution. Often, the only speed breaker he has had to handle while assisting me in solving my problems has been my own sluggishness.

Decisions fascinate. If it’s not the unknown horrors lurking in the aftermath of the choice, then it’s the fear of failure that inspires dread. My favorite reason however is the feeling of oneness behind every decision. Once a door is opened, contrary to popular myth there is only a particular door (and not multiple ones) that can be opened. Fishbone diagrams look good on fish, not in reviewing alternatives in real life.

A close second is the puzzle of why other people react to a decision. Does not my decision impact me the most? If so, and when I am at peace after deciding, why are you so hurt/ angry / jealous/ envious / aghast with it? Is it because you are forced out of your tortoise shell into making a decision, much against your natural inclination to procrastinate? Or is it because you have nothing better to do, than criticize every bloke who makes a choice ?

Why this rant on decisions? Well, I have taken some pretty significant decisions this year. I’ve identified a path for myself to walk on. More importantly, I’ve willed myself to walk on it successfully. Decided, after much sighing at the moon, to tread carefully in my love for someone. Resolved, to work harder at spreading my message of the Four Pillars of Respect. But, the most important decision I’ve taken this year till date, is to never bottle up my voice. The truth is out, thanks to this blog.

Incognito !

2007-01-27T04:43:00.000-08:00

Fancy an Indian Captain, going unnoticed in a public place, not being mobbed by autograph hunters. Or a team player who will never be hauled up by his sponsors for mixing up the multiple brands he endorses on the field . Or the legions of girls who will never swoon over the triceps/quadriceps/ gluteus maximus of the center forward. A match not accompanied to the din of thousands of crazy cannibals (read sports fans) baying for blood ? Or a media that has no arm chair analysts to dissect performance ?

Bliss did you say ? Welcome to Indian Hockey ! I'm not exactly the neighborhood athlete, but two different experiences beg me to speak for them. The entire office that on any normal day can sit in front of their laptops till 10 pm seriously studying absurd emails is currently transplanted on the month end to the cricket stadium, screaming their throats hoarse leaving me all alone with my beloved pen.

And the second, a conversation at my office that showed me how big an ignoramus I can actually be, even without trying. Sample this:

Intro: Satish, meet Mr. Mohd Riaz, he’s an Arjuna Awardee

S : Wow ! That’s great Mr. Riaz

R: Thanks Satish .

S: But sir, what sport did you get the award for ?

R (stiffening ): Hockey .

S ( turning pink and finding a huge foot in his palate ) : Sorry Sir, my knowledge of hockey is a bit poor …

Upon beating a hasty retreat, a quick wikipedia search showed Mr. R to be the Captain of the Indian hockey team that made it to the 2000 Olympics. A part of me wonders even now, how we can turn our back to almost all of those souls who represent us, while immediately deifying those who constantly deceive our expectations.

The more sober me wonders when we shall learn to respect all of these men and women. But I live with the hope that some day all of us shall get our act together. Until we get our sensibilities straight, Mr. R and co. shall have to live with good-natured humiliation.

Ring for Jeeves !

2007-01-27T03:27:00.000-08:00

Ever been in a fight and seen that knockout punch coming at you, tracing a trajectory to your plexus ? Or when the Indian cricket team lurches from cruising victory to abominable defeat ? And what about picking up that Math paper and all you can figure out from it is the D on the report card ?

Yup, that sinking feeling. On the surface things are sangfroid. Dive deep beneath, and the stomach is in a churn, the intestine in knots ,and the liver is AWOL . Reminds one of Bertie Wooster on his way for the seemingly definite trip to the altar ...

Saturday has left me searching for the restoratives . But how should I tackle it ? Fight or flight ?

No easy answers for this one.

A Tale of two Writers.

2007-01-24T04:41:00.000-08:00

The last week has been a sad one for the Writer’s Republic. Two trees were felled, in different settings and differing circumstances.

Art Buchwald is no more with us. For the average reader, filled to the brim with all of life’s tragedies, Art came across as a breath of fresh air. Millions have hung on every column of his, filled as they were with incisive wit and humour. Art succeeded in converting every possible tragedy (including his slow death) with characteristic humour.

Sample some of his jewels:

A bad liver is to a Frenchman what a nervous breakdown is to an American. Everyone has had one and everyone wants to talk about it.
New York Herald Tribune (January 16, 1958)

Every time you think television has hit its lowest ebb, a new...program comes along to make you wonder where you thought the ebb was.
Have I Ever Lied to You? (1968)

People are broad-minded. They'll accept the fact that a person can be an alcoholic, a dope fiend, a wife beater and even a newspaperman, but if a man doesn't drive, there's something wrong with him.
Have I Ever Lied to You?

Just when you think there's nothing to write about, Nixon says, "I am not a crook." Jimmy Carter says, "I have lusted after women in my heart." President Reagan says, "I have just taken a urinalysis test, and I am not on dope."
Time magazine (September 29, 1986)

If you attack the establishment long enough and hard enough, they will make you a member of it.
International Herald Tribune (May 24, 1989)

People ask what I am really trying to do with humor. The answer is, 'I'm getting even.' ... For me, being funny is the best revenge.
Leaving Home (1995)

Whether it's the best of times or the worst of times, it's the only time we've got.

I'm having a swell time. The best time of my life.
About his dying

In the 90’s I remember eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Sunday Hindu paper to read what he had to say. As an avid fan, I can only say I shall miss him a lot.

Hrant Dink. Dink who? Until last week, I confess this would have been my response to this name. Not any more. Last week, this Turkish writer of Armenian descent was shot in broad daylight as he walked to his newspaper office. His crime? His outspoken attitude, especially on a controversial segment of Turkish past. While I’m no expert on history, this event coming just a week after I wrote about the Four Pillars of Respect, only goes on to buttress my resolve that the India I cherish has to be protected at all costs. Is there anyone listening out there?

I take leave with a few words from the last article of Hrant Dink, written this year before his death.
"For me, 2007 is likely to be a hard year. The trials will continue, new ones will be started. Who knows what other injustices I will be up against." – Hrant Dink.

4 Pillars of Respect

2007-01-18T00:58:00.000-08:00

Come one, come all ye cribbers of India Inc. Take an atlas and a compass. Place the sharp end on the dot that’s Delhi. Now cut a wide swathe such that your circle extends upto the boundaries of the EU. Now step back and look at the circle. How many countries in this “circle of hope” have regular elections? Or a vibrant fourth estate? An independent judiciary? An army that stays put in its barracks? Or all of the above? I pen my thoughts knowing that in some countries in this circle, for writing the last 2 posts, I could land in jail, have my teeth knocked out, or both. Or worse. Thus, to that accent faking johnnies, who cringe and wail about India, doing nothing else, I say - get a plane ticket out of here.

However, incorrigible MBA that I am, let me say “ On the other hand ...“ ( I just love saying that !) . On the other hand, there is very little else to talk home about. My beloved land lies buried deep under lies, politics, sex and greed beyond parallel. Dissent lives in the shadows, while intrigue basks in the warm Indian sun. In short, I’m an Indian in Wimpistan.

How have we come to such a pass? Where’s Gandhi? Asoka ? Swami Vivekanand ? Shivaji ? Ranjit Singh? Akbar? Tipu? The Buddha? Is all history a pack of lies? Did these people really spring from the land I walk today? Where is our way of life? Our culture? Morals? Why the morass despite potential? Where are our heroes?

Looking at all this, I believe what has made Wimpistan possible is a fundamental lack of respect amongst us minnows. Respect that leads to self - awareness, thence to humility and therefrom a desire to grow and achieve. What are desired are four pillars of respect, to build a strong society.

I believe these to be :

Respect for the aspirations of women.
Respect for our environment, our culture.
Respect for the laws of the land and its people.
Respect for the rights of the individual.

This is my litmus test for a true democracy and an Indian. We all have a long way to go to clear this test, but it is good to start today. The future is too precious to continue dithering.

VIP

2007-01-09T21:57:00.000-08:00

Three letters that can mean a lifetime of privilege, power and the ghastly perks that go with it. It’s a divide – between the greaser and the greased palm. The difference between the long wait for passports, PAN, IT refunds and the mother of all mother documents a.k.a ration card and having them delivered to your residence. From gun toting guards, slavish cronies to salaaming bureaucrats and the world at your feet in general. In short, an India represented by a tiny icicle on the proverbial iceberg tip.

I write this trapped in a leafy one way of my beloved Adyar, opposite a V.I.P showroom waiting for the Prez AND the CM to pass us plebians. And pass they did, after 41 and 22 vehicles respectively had zoomed pass my humble car. (Yes, I counted them to kill time). Against the pale full moon, the Ambys’ looked ghostly and were they fast! I wonder if the speed was to put the miles between them and the urban squalor or for kicks. My heart goes out instantly to the great residents of Delhi who have to put up with 534 such holinesses not to mention an army of other such elite.

Where does all this splurging really take us? Do they see the millions at the bus stop with no vehicle to drive? Cant they see the slums, the potholes and the giant hoardings promising manna from heaven? If they only rolled down the windows they could also smell the perfume that wafts from our rivers, or what is left of them. It seems criminal that a nation of overwhelmingly poor people should pay for these excesses.

Why do I write about this? Because deep down I have to stand up to what is ridiculous. Its time to think of a change, and its all of us who need to act. Remember, somebody soon has to pay the bill for this party, and I have a feeling its going to be my generation.

Birth !

2007-01-06T04:50:00.000-08:00

What is the recipe for this blog ? First, take one large generally empty brain. Next, expose it to some wonderful cinema and stuff it with star performances . Then immerse it in the sights and sounds of the lives of ordinary folk, no Movenpick and caffe latte please. Finally, add a generous dollop of advise from a tech-savvy lissome Lass . And voila - you have Wimpistan !

This burst of thought had its seed in an electrifying experience over 2 years back, aptly in a cinema complex. As a tall, dark, handsome (cinematic license this) member of a super aggressive MNC (who else )bank, my team got free tickets, popcorn and skirts to ogle for a must watch movie -Dev from our grovelling distributors. I must confess to have emerged from the hall, a changed man. As one who has grown in the splendid security of the South, and being a sales guy spouting the merits of an " India Shining" beyond compare, I saw a contrarian India . One that plundered and killed its own, for ends that were childish from the start. Logical thought held, one of these India could not exist. Rather, I saw two Indias, one all IT & cappuccino and the other with 10 hour load shedding and women abusers. Must I add, that seeing grown up men cry ( Big B breaks down in this Govind Nihlani movie ) is a powerful catalyst ?

Thoughts that reared their head again when I went on a vacation to interior India, last month and saw some of the gentlest people living in conditions that I thought were the stuff of history books. Girls reading in candlelight at night destined for a life of burden , entire villages with no electricity , the works. Thus was born Wimpistan, the brute India .

Hope came in the form of the Lass who initiated me to the power of the written word. After some initial hiccups, here I am. While I might struggle to find my feet ,and be truthful in word and soul ( I'm in sales, after all ! ) rest assured, this pen will not run dry !

To those who gawk and jeer, I have but this to say :

Blind may be I,
lame I was born with .
Deaf i am destined for,
Dumb I shall never become .