For sometime now the RTI wallahs and the newspaper wallahs have been hell-bent upon forcing their lordships the High COurt and Supreme Court justices to reveal their assets - much like old directors harangue starlets to reveal their assets on screen.
After months of haranguing and harrassing their Lordships decided to give in. Perhaps not under pressure from the press or the RTI walas but under pressure from their own ilks. Once again it was the relatively new comers to the business, in this case newcomers to the high courts, who started this trend; exactly like in the movie business where the new comers are more eager to reveal their assets. It started with a smaller and newer lord in the karnataka high court folowed by another smaller lord at Chennai high court and then gradually the all their lordships decided to join the bandwagon. It was much like the movie indsutry where a relatively newcomer like Bipasa Basu starts revealing assets and everyone up the value chain right up to the top Madhuri Dixit [the then equivalent of the Chief Justice) has to reveal.
Oh what fun has it been to watch the terriers snap at the heels of their lordships forcing them to relent. But did something come out of it? Unlike in the movies, unfortunately nothing came out of it. As in much else that happens in India, it was like making a molehill out of a mountain... or its more apt hindi version Khoda Pahar Nikli Chuhiya.... Their lordships revealed that they had no assets worth revealing. The richest of them was worth around 40-50 lakhs slightly worse off than a shopkeeper in Sarojini Nagar.
It now transpires that their Lordships did not want to reveal their assets in the first place NOT because they wanted to hide their wealth, but because they wanted to hide their poverty. I think that is a fundamental right of all Indians and we should not deprive Lordships from that right.
Showing posts with label india. Show all posts
Showing posts with label india. Show all posts
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Pubs and Women
With the tragedy of the pub issue in Bangalore quickly turning into a farce with a) presentation of pink chuddy b) case against minister and c) defamation suit against chaddi party, I thought it would be appropriate to share my perspective on pubs and women and make enemies of two things I love most Women and Indian Culture.
But first a clarification: a) Pub here is stricly a pub short for a public house. Not a lounge bar we know why people go there, certainly not to drink; NOR a restaurant which also serve booze; we also know why people go there and certainly not to drink. A public house is a place orginally in UK where the public went to drink [sofas and food were incidental]. These were known as bars in the US [given the wild nature of the locals, bars had to be put at the serving counters, much like what we had in Delhi till recently].
Now the big question" "Should women go to pubs?" [strictly as defined above] and the answer is NO. especially in India. For the following reasons [mainly]
1. Women usually do not drink more than a pint or two
2. Pub is not the best place to have fruit jiuce and blue curacao and various ohter virgin drinks.
3. Even when drunk women do not usually make a fool of themselves by shouting, abusing and quarrelling.
4. They listen and note conversation to be used later rather than particiapte in it. Believe me in real pub there are no listeners only talkers except the barman.
5. They do not puke in the loo, force and abuse others to let them drive after drinking and do not indulge in any other activities that are usually called post pub syndromes.
6. Finally, in male company they never pay [resonably so since they do not drink, or do not drink so much not do they participate except as passive agents]
So what is the point in going to a pub? More relevantly what is the point in taking women to a pub [as defined above]
Disclaimer: This is not an open invitation to persons of either sex to join me at the nearest bar in my next visit.
But first a clarification: a) Pub here is stricly a pub short for a public house. Not a lounge bar we know why people go there, certainly not to drink; NOR a restaurant which also serve booze; we also know why people go there and certainly not to drink. A public house is a place orginally in UK where the public went to drink [sofas and food were incidental]. These were known as bars in the US [given the wild nature of the locals, bars had to be put at the serving counters, much like what we had in Delhi till recently].
Now the big question" "Should women go to pubs?" [strictly as defined above] and the answer is NO. especially in India. For the following reasons [mainly]
1. Women usually do not drink more than a pint or two
2. Pub is not the best place to have fruit jiuce and blue curacao and various ohter virgin drinks.
3. Even when drunk women do not usually make a fool of themselves by shouting, abusing and quarrelling.
4. They listen and note conversation to be used later rather than particiapte in it. Believe me in real pub there are no listeners only talkers except the barman.
5. They do not puke in the loo, force and abuse others to let them drive after drinking and do not indulge in any other activities that are usually called post pub syndromes.
6. Finally, in male company they never pay [resonably so since they do not drink, or do not drink so much not do they participate except as passive agents]
So what is the point in going to a pub? More relevantly what is the point in taking women to a pub [as defined above]
Disclaimer: This is not an open invitation to persons of either sex to join me at the nearest bar in my next visit.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Elections on the Net: Let’s Bring Politics to Internet!
In 1952 India had her first general elections based on universal adult suffrage. Two things at that first election determined the DNA of the election system of India: a) elections were based on universal adult suffrage, an understanding quite uncommon at that time across the world that all adults irrespective of caste, colour, creed, education and wealth, were competent and enlightened enough to choose their representative. It was actually a very bold idea at that time; b) the elections were to be conducted not by a government body but by a constitutional body called the election commission. As we now know, both these concepts had a revolutionary impact in establishing and maintaining India as a democracy for the last 60 years.
The first Chief Election Commissioner of India was a self-effacing bureaucrat Sukumar Sen of the Indian Civil Service. He served between 1950 and 1958 overseeing the first two general elections. Interestingly, he also served as the first election commissioner of Nepal and Sudan! [I got this information from the Wiki]. He was so self-effacing that he has hardly left behind any papers to enable historians assess his remarkable contribution to the election process in India. As the first Election Commissioner, he also determined the DNA of the Election Commission. While the successive Election Commissioners have not necessary followed Sen’s streak of self-effacement, they have unequivocally maintained the election commission as an independent statutory body, over the years making it one of the most efficient, effective, unbiased and progressive bodies not only in India but the world over.
If you were a senior citizen, who has participated in many elections over the years, you would not help wonder at the progress that the election process has made over the years in terms of shortening queues, better booth management, safer voting environment, ease of casting vote and above all else introduction and use of high technology in the election process.
It is quite a pleasant surprise to know how tech-savvy the working of the election commission is. Electronic voting machines are the most visible gadgets on the tech side. But the whole process of listing, weeding and maintaining voters’ lists and issuing voters’ identity cards is an enormous task given the size of the electorate and the constant stream of newly eligible voters in each successive election. Of course, it would be fair to assume that there was perhaps no alternative before the Commission but to embrace technology fully and efficiently given the enormity of the task and the streamlined nature of the commission. In the last 8-10 years, the Commission has therefore by design or default or by a judicious mixture of both, has chosen some of the most IT savvy civil servants to head its IT function who fortunately have been given a free hand to carry out their functions as long as they have produced the desired results: conducting the elections more efficiently.
Given the history and DNA of the election commission and the imperative need to make more and more use of technology — especially since the size of the electorate if growing, there is demand for more fair and efficient elections, there is need to bring more and more new groups into the election process; I think it is time that the Commission takes the next logical step and seriously considers the concept of “internet voting”. This simply means that registered voters should be given the option of casting votes on the internet.
The task prima facie sounds daunting, and it is so. But we can rely on the historical efficiency of the Election Commission to implement the project on one hand; and on the other, the number of benefits it will bring to the country on the whole.
On the first issue of the Commission’s capability, needless to say, it is important to get the Commission to think in terms of internet voting. Once the thought is accepted seriously by the commission, I am sure, it will not be too difficult for the Commission to implement it – just as it has so smoothly and efficiently implemented electronic voting machines. Of course, in the case of internet voting there is no global precedence, just as there was not precedence of electronic voting machines on such as large scale. So there is the opportunity to set a global benchmark.
On the second issue of benefits, one can safely state that they are far too numerous and important. I will just mention three top issues that can be resolved: a) Literally, millions of so called middle classes who do not come out to vote since they consider the process to long and boring will come out and vote from the comfort of their homes thus possibily changing the whole demographic challenge that elections in India face; b) It will be much safer for people to vote and not be intimidated and c) finally, due to a drastic cut down on physical arrangements such as setting up booths and deploying security forces, the government will save considerable time and money. If these are not compelling reasons, I wonder what are?
As a postscript and from a narrow personal perspective, I may also add that “internet voting” will give a new thrust to internet use in India and help in higher internet penetration – something that successive governments have failed to achieve, may as well be achieved through the good offices of the election commission. This I would say would be the best “collateral” achievement of the whole exercise.
The first Chief Election Commissioner of India was a self-effacing bureaucrat Sukumar Sen of the Indian Civil Service. He served between 1950 and 1958 overseeing the first two general elections. Interestingly, he also served as the first election commissioner of Nepal and Sudan! [I got this information from the Wiki]. He was so self-effacing that he has hardly left behind any papers to enable historians assess his remarkable contribution to the election process in India. As the first Election Commissioner, he also determined the DNA of the Election Commission. While the successive Election Commissioners have not necessary followed Sen’s streak of self-effacement, they have unequivocally maintained the election commission as an independent statutory body, over the years making it one of the most efficient, effective, unbiased and progressive bodies not only in India but the world over.
If you were a senior citizen, who has participated in many elections over the years, you would not help wonder at the progress that the election process has made over the years in terms of shortening queues, better booth management, safer voting environment, ease of casting vote and above all else introduction and use of high technology in the election process.
It is quite a pleasant surprise to know how tech-savvy the working of the election commission is. Electronic voting machines are the most visible gadgets on the tech side. But the whole process of listing, weeding and maintaining voters’ lists and issuing voters’ identity cards is an enormous task given the size of the electorate and the constant stream of newly eligible voters in each successive election. Of course, it would be fair to assume that there was perhaps no alternative before the Commission but to embrace technology fully and efficiently given the enormity of the task and the streamlined nature of the commission. In the last 8-10 years, the Commission has therefore by design or default or by a judicious mixture of both, has chosen some of the most IT savvy civil servants to head its IT function who fortunately have been given a free hand to carry out their functions as long as they have produced the desired results: conducting the elections more efficiently.
Given the history and DNA of the election commission and the imperative need to make more and more use of technology — especially since the size of the electorate if growing, there is demand for more fair and efficient elections, there is need to bring more and more new groups into the election process; I think it is time that the Commission takes the next logical step and seriously considers the concept of “internet voting”. This simply means that registered voters should be given the option of casting votes on the internet.
The task prima facie sounds daunting, and it is so. But we can rely on the historical efficiency of the Election Commission to implement the project on one hand; and on the other, the number of benefits it will bring to the country on the whole.
On the first issue of the Commission’s capability, needless to say, it is important to get the Commission to think in terms of internet voting. Once the thought is accepted seriously by the commission, I am sure, it will not be too difficult for the Commission to implement it – just as it has so smoothly and efficiently implemented electronic voting machines. Of course, in the case of internet voting there is no global precedence, just as there was not precedence of electronic voting machines on such as large scale. So there is the opportunity to set a global benchmark.
On the second issue of benefits, one can safely state that they are far too numerous and important. I will just mention three top issues that can be resolved: a) Literally, millions of so called middle classes who do not come out to vote since they consider the process to long and boring will come out and vote from the comfort of their homes thus possibily changing the whole demographic challenge that elections in India face; b) It will be much safer for people to vote and not be intimidated and c) finally, due to a drastic cut down on physical arrangements such as setting up booths and deploying security forces, the government will save considerable time and money. If these are not compelling reasons, I wonder what are?
As a postscript and from a narrow personal perspective, I may also add that “internet voting” will give a new thrust to internet use in India and help in higher internet penetration – something that successive governments have failed to achieve, may as well be achieved through the good offices of the election commission. This I would say would be the best “collateral” achievement of the whole exercise.
Monday, December 08, 2008
Hyderabad Blues
.jpg)
For long my acquaintance with Hyderabad was through history books about rich but miserly nawabs and their fabulous wealth and eccentricities especially onthe dining table on one hand and on the other the famous telengana movement in 1946. In more recent times, that view was moulded by high dowry demands [no I never thought of marrying a telegu girl at any point in time, I could have been richer] for nice boys in the marraige market. Fortunaltely though in the last few years I have had first hand experience of the city especially its various hotels, convention centres and other things that make up modern Hyderabad including the latest addition, the new airport. After savouring these modern delights in this medieval city, I am firmly of the opinion that if one has to see India's city one has to move out of Delhi and Mumbai. These two cities are old matrons surviving on borrowed make up. If you erally want to see the real beauties of the future look beyond to Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Surat, and perhaps even Chennai which is suddenly grown into beauty in middle age [some women do that trick on you].
Of course, the old Hyderabad looks as beautiful and as dirty as ever, Charminar is as majestic and Golconda fort as awe inspiring and Hussain Sagar as beautiful. But this time old and new culture had a new meaning for me. I discovered the most beautiful heritage building Chiraan Fort in Secundrabad which had been converted into a fantastic restaurant and bar complex. It was the most beautiful bar that I ever visited [and I have visited many]. Built on the model of what seemed to me the Falaqnuma Palace, this place was just out of the world. And to top it all although it was a club, they allowed non-members like me to enjoy a drink and if u are from Delhi or Mumbai a full bottle of beer at Rs 100 in a heritage builing in mid town is almost as good as free... After so many surprises, the only surprising thing left for me was that I did not get drunk.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Like Father, Like Son!
I am not particularly obsessive about cricket nor am I very fond of Bengali heroes. I therfore am not sure why I am makng this entry on cricket and on a bengali connected with cricket. But there you are.
Once upon a time, many years back a father would take his son to practice sessions. The father, I think was a member of Cricket Association of Bengal. The indulgent father was ridiculed by his friends and acquaintances on his one obsession, to make his son a test cricketer and play for India. Those were the days when the economy and polity had ensured that the otherwise cocky Bengalis had lost their self-confidence. While people made the right noises in front of the father, when his back was turned, they smirked at the overambitious father and the impossible dream that he had. Of course, as they say the rest is history.... If the father was dogged in his determination, the son was the top dog of Indian cricket for many years.... if the father carried the onus of the son's success, the son carried the onerous task of the country's success; if the father wanted to establish his son as a famous Indian, the son wanted to put his country as the world leader in cricket... Both of them carried out their tasks with grit and determination and at the end succeeded. One is still a young man, the other past his prime. His son has given him enough to enjoy for the rest of his life... I think, like Martin Luther, Chandi Ganguly too had a dream, but unlike Luther, he was able to fulfil it in his lifetime and sit back to enjoy the fruits.
If you think Saurav Ganguly was great as a cricketer, captain and a leader, please do remember to give some credit to Chandi Ganguly.
As they say in Hindi
Baap Ka Beta/ Sipahi Ka Ghora... Kuch nahi to Thora Thora!
Once upon a time, many years back a father would take his son to practice sessions. The father, I think was a member of Cricket Association of Bengal. The indulgent father was ridiculed by his friends and acquaintances on his one obsession, to make his son a test cricketer and play for India. Those were the days when the economy and polity had ensured that the otherwise cocky Bengalis had lost their self-confidence. While people made the right noises in front of the father, when his back was turned, they smirked at the overambitious father and the impossible dream that he had. Of course, as they say the rest is history.... If the father was dogged in his determination, the son was the top dog of Indian cricket for many years.... if the father carried the onus of the son's success, the son carried the onerous task of the country's success; if the father wanted to establish his son as a famous Indian, the son wanted to put his country as the world leader in cricket... Both of them carried out their tasks with grit and determination and at the end succeeded. One is still a young man, the other past his prime. His son has given him enough to enjoy for the rest of his life... I think, like Martin Luther, Chandi Ganguly too had a dream, but unlike Luther, he was able to fulfil it in his lifetime and sit back to enjoy the fruits.
If you think Saurav Ganguly was great as a cricketer, captain and a leader, please do remember to give some credit to Chandi Ganguly.
As they say in Hindi
Baap Ka Beta/ Sipahi Ka Ghora... Kuch nahi to Thora Thora!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Need Based and Want Based Consumption
Staunch believers in market forces like Dr Monmohan Singh, Montek Singh Ahluwalia and P Chidambaram have suddenly changed track and are actively colluding with non-believers in market forces to control the bogey of inflation and why not. No one minds cutting ideological corners in an election year and no one blames them for doing so. of course they would argue, as all market wallahs to this has nothing to do with market mechanisms, if it was a free market then inflation would not have happened, this is a market failure blah blah blah. No wonder we have some of the best ecomomists of the world in India engaged in the worst ecomonic policies since the days of Paul Baran [he was I think the PM's economic adviser for a short period in 1950s]
I think it is best to leave inflation a free hand rather than tinker with it. In the past tinkering with the eocnomic foces have had disastrous result and this time around we have no reason to assume otherwise.
Till a generation back we had a middle class polulation that decided to buy something only when it was a necessity. Nothing that was not desperately needed was ever bought however rich you were. And the need ot lack of it was justified in various ways..... if you are leaving in a small town why do you need to buy a car, travelling is much faster by rickshaw.... Why do u need ACs for three months in a year? just bear it out... Fridge is not a good thing the quality of food is not preserved! Cauliflowers in summer are not tasty stick to bhindi.....
They knew the value of everything
That was then, things have been different since alomost a generation.... u like it u buy it, what use u are going to put it to or if it has any use at all or not will be decided later..... best example is that of Gurgaon where the gentry have on an average 3 ACs per flat in town where there is hardly any electricity for three hours in a day. Or on Mumbai where everyone seem to have a big car, never mind if there is just one road for all of them.
We know the price of everything and value of nothing.
I find it laughable that the same set of people who taught us the principles of free market liberalisation etc 17 years back are now asking us to exercise restraint..... when we have forgotten what restraint means.
For us we have been there done that and been here doing this it's a great fun to watch all these.
If I were serious about checking inflation I would recall Kaushik basu back from Cornell and give him a freehand: )
The picture is that of Kaushik Basu taken from the internet
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Blue Line and Red Eyes
Deli newspapers are ever ready to show red eyes to the Blue line bus services in Delhi and not without reason. The blue line bus services in Delhi which comprises all of public transport buses are almost like "Devil in the Blue Dress".... Between January and November this year the number of deaths caused by these buses is 106... 106 families have been shattered by these buses in less than a year. The government apparently has tried every trick to discipline these rogues... from insisting that the drivers wear uniforms, to speed monitors to automatic doors to lane driving. In fact this time I noticed that every major bus stop had a Marshall who was directing the blue line buses to stop at the right spot and not overtake... But these measures have not stopped fatal accidents as the records kept by newspapers in Delhi would show.
I am no fan of blue line buses and really do not care if they are there or not in as much as I do not care about Delhi autos, taxis call centre cabs and such likes which make Delhi roads like the jungles of sunderbans where the only operating principle is "might is right".
But I am amazed that a trasport which would end up killing 200 people in Delhi is being so horribly badmouthed by the media to the extent that every week teh delhi high court regularly enquires of the Delhi government as to when these services are going to be withdrawn.
Do not get me wrong, I am not heartless, but at 200 a year they do not even deserve mention in the annals of road accidents in Delhi where if I am not far off the mark over 1000 people die in road accidents every year... It would seem that bluelines are getting 100 per cent flak for 10 per cent of crime.. I would like to ask our friends in the media what is being done to save the lives o other 900 people who are not victims of blueline buses? Here are some other culprits:
1. Call centre drivers [you can ask anyone who drives to Gurgaon eveyday what they are scared of most, all of they would say call centre cars... Their record at killing and maiming is much much better than blue lines
2. Drunken and Rash driving... Culprits and victims are mostly young people with rich parents and big cars... what is being done to punish the parents of such youngsters?
3. MCD and NDMC: pathetic road signs, signals covered with trees, no signage at construction sites, no cleaning up after construction... and so many others.... cows on roads
4. Bikers, Cyclists and Jaywalkers: First category should know that Delhi roads are not for stunt practicces, the second should know that the inside lane is for fast vehicles not for cycles, and the third category should know that in cities roads are mainly meant for vechicles not for walking and crossing whereever you wish to
Till such time as we distribute the onus equally among other "stakeholders" let us at least be fair to blue lines and whenever you publish their score card please mention it as a part of total road deaths so that we can understand their responsibility in the right perspective. Thus: January to November 2007 Total Roaddeaths in Delhi 1000, total killed by Bluelines 106..... This will help up look at roaddeaths as well as blueline from a fresh perspective.
Disclaimer: I or any of my relatives to not own, operate or use any blueline services.
I am no fan of blue line buses and really do not care if they are there or not in as much as I do not care about Delhi autos, taxis call centre cabs and such likes which make Delhi roads like the jungles of sunderbans where the only operating principle is "might is right".
But I am amazed that a trasport which would end up killing 200 people in Delhi is being so horribly badmouthed by the media to the extent that every week teh delhi high court regularly enquires of the Delhi government as to when these services are going to be withdrawn.
Do not get me wrong, I am not heartless, but at 200 a year they do not even deserve mention in the annals of road accidents in Delhi where if I am not far off the mark over 1000 people die in road accidents every year... It would seem that bluelines are getting 100 per cent flak for 10 per cent of crime.. I would like to ask our friends in the media what is being done to save the lives o other 900 people who are not victims of blueline buses? Here are some other culprits:
1. Call centre drivers [you can ask anyone who drives to Gurgaon eveyday what they are scared of most, all of they would say call centre cars... Their record at killing and maiming is much much better than blue lines
2. Drunken and Rash driving... Culprits and victims are mostly young people with rich parents and big cars... what is being done to punish the parents of such youngsters?
3. MCD and NDMC: pathetic road signs, signals covered with trees, no signage at construction sites, no cleaning up after construction... and so many others.... cows on roads
4. Bikers, Cyclists and Jaywalkers: First category should know that Delhi roads are not for stunt practicces, the second should know that the inside lane is for fast vehicles not for cycles, and the third category should know that in cities roads are mainly meant for vechicles not for walking and crossing whereever you wish to
Till such time as we distribute the onus equally among other "stakeholders" let us at least be fair to blue lines and whenever you publish their score card please mention it as a part of total road deaths so that we can understand their responsibility in the right perspective. Thus: January to November 2007 Total Roaddeaths in Delhi 1000, total killed by Bluelines 106..... This will help up look at roaddeaths as well as blueline from a fresh perspective.
Disclaimer: I or any of my relatives to not own, operate or use any blueline services.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Crowded Skies and Timeless Travel
Air India's international flights were delayed by 24 hours and there was violence at the Delhi airport last weekend... that was the big news.. The bigger news of course is how the concept of crowded airports, low cost flights and overcrowded skies are combining to change the concept of time altogether in India. Take this example below
When I started flying before the start of so called railway passengers taking to wings, a flight to Mumbai from Delhi actually took 1:30 mins but the declared time was 1:55 mins... the exra twenty five minutes was time to taxi etc.... After two hours if a flight was late by 15 mins, you could see some of the older passengers getting uneasy and some younger people complaining about the sorry state of Indian Airlines [Indian Airlines and Jet take 5 minutes to travel Delhi Mumbai route even today 1:55 mins as oppsed to 2 hrs by all other airlines... I do not know why]........
But as I said, the concept of time itself has changed.... My much younger colleague who flying started post crowded skies, low cost airlines etc.... has a different concept of time altogether... The other day he was on a flight to Calicut from Delhi with a change and stopover to 1:40 mins in Mumbai. When he reached Calicut I enquired after his flight... He was all in praise for Jet Airways and told me in the passing that the Delhi Mumbai flight was only an hour late..... A two hour flight taking three hours is so normal that no one complains nowadays... I could not figure out why this change in us.
Is it because our inherent believe in fatalism, karma or some other tangential cultual experience? Probably not. It's probably those used to train travels have a differnt concept of late/delayed and when they take to flights they retain at least in the initial years of flying the same concept..... It is not surprising therefore that so few people in India complain about late flights and there are so few scuffles at airports... From my colleague's point of view one hour is no big deal since travelling to Calicut from Delhi by train would have taken him a week.....
Has this got to do something with the theory of relativity?
When I started flying before the start of so called railway passengers taking to wings, a flight to Mumbai from Delhi actually took 1:30 mins but the declared time was 1:55 mins... the exra twenty five minutes was time to taxi etc.... After two hours if a flight was late by 15 mins, you could see some of the older passengers getting uneasy and some younger people complaining about the sorry state of Indian Airlines [Indian Airlines and Jet take 5 minutes to travel Delhi Mumbai route even today 1:55 mins as oppsed to 2 hrs by all other airlines... I do not know why]........
But as I said, the concept of time itself has changed.... My much younger colleague who flying started post crowded skies, low cost airlines etc.... has a different concept of time altogether... The other day he was on a flight to Calicut from Delhi with a change and stopover to 1:40 mins in Mumbai. When he reached Calicut I enquired after his flight... He was all in praise for Jet Airways and told me in the passing that the Delhi Mumbai flight was only an hour late..... A two hour flight taking three hours is so normal that no one complains nowadays... I could not figure out why this change in us.
Is it because our inherent believe in fatalism, karma or some other tangential cultual experience? Probably not. It's probably those used to train travels have a differnt concept of late/delayed and when they take to flights they retain at least in the initial years of flying the same concept..... It is not surprising therefore that so few people in India complain about late flights and there are so few scuffles at airports... From my colleague's point of view one hour is no big deal since travelling to Calicut from Delhi by train would have taken him a week.....
Has this got to do something with the theory of relativity?
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Getting Worse Before it Gets Better?
Those of you who thought Delhi has a better infrastructure than Mumbai or any other city in India, and I was one of them, are having to change their opinion rather rapidly. The whole city now seems to be "under construction" pretty much as it was before the Asiad in, I think, 1982. There is the metro whose digging seems to be happening everywhere fron Nehru Place to NOIDA, then there is this rather funny thing called High Speed Bus Corridor. For the life of me I can not fathom out why they need a high speed bus corridor when the problem with buses in Delhi always as been that they either move at very high speed or do not move at all waiting to be filled. Then of course there are civil works such as redoing the pavements, relaying the verges, recarpeting the roads, and construction of buildings which almost invariably spills over onto the roads. Add to that the half done flyovers at critical junctions like entry to NOIDA and Gurgaon which held up the early morning and late evening exit and entry from the dorm suburbs. Finally, of course there is the menace of monsoons which have left most of the roads in tatters.
Amid all these, there is dengue, malaria, viral fever and hepatitis.
If you think I am exaggerating, here is a personal example. Siince I have moved to this new locality in the heart of South Delhi I have had two flyovers, one under pass, one high volume underground water supply pipeline and now the High Speed Bus Corridor and metro have arrived. Not to mention minor iritants like trenches for electricity and phone lines which seem to be in a perpetual state of repair. That you would say is a mark of progress. But for me none of them are useful, they are useful for people who pass through my area to various dorms in the city. For me it means more crowd, more dust and more disease. Little wonder that the small campus that I live in has seen four cases of dengue in the last two years not to mention small things like malaria and viral fever.
At the end of this hectic building activity, I have realised that this is the best time to work in the cement industry. And I am hoping that the civil work in my neighbourhood would come to an end before I kick the bucket so that I can enjoy the fruits of my pain.
Amid all these, there is dengue, malaria, viral fever and hepatitis.
If you think I am exaggerating, here is a personal example. Siince I have moved to this new locality in the heart of South Delhi I have had two flyovers, one under pass, one high volume underground water supply pipeline and now the High Speed Bus Corridor and metro have arrived. Not to mention minor iritants like trenches for electricity and phone lines which seem to be in a perpetual state of repair. That you would say is a mark of progress. But for me none of them are useful, they are useful for people who pass through my area to various dorms in the city. For me it means more crowd, more dust and more disease. Little wonder that the small campus that I live in has seen four cases of dengue in the last two years not to mention small things like malaria and viral fever.
At the end of this hectic building activity, I have realised that this is the best time to work in the cement industry. And I am hoping that the civil work in my neighbourhood would come to an end before I kick the bucket so that I can enjoy the fruits of my pain.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
A Woman President
Unlike most civilisations, we have really complicated kinship terms. For example we do not have simple uncles but complicated mamas, chachas, mausas and buas [all by the way first uncles from mother's and fatehr's side. Likewise for aunts we have mami, chachi, mausi and so on. Kinship terms run so deep in our society that we still sometimes follow the ancient system and call all our father's male siblings "father" in order that they were born relative to the biological father. Thus "bade Papa", "Majhley Papa" and "Chote Papa", Papa and Chacha. if you do not belong to this cultural milieu you would get perplexed trying to figure out who the biological father is, but not so a discerning Indias.
In fact, kinship terms are the first things we teach our chidren after they have learnt to say papa and mamma. It is long process of training and takes upto 10 years for the child to understand and then correctly apply these terms. After all it would be darn insensitive to get this wrong - in fact to address your mami as mausi would make the entire family incestuous.
With so much of training and such finely tuned kinship terms, I was damned surprised when the entire nation started tearing their hair on the latest issue of what would be a female president of India be called. The Presidents have always been men and we have called him Rashtra-Pati [husband to the nation, literally. Though is slightly more complicated that just husband].
Some suggested the obvious, she be called Rashtra-Patni [wife to the nation]. This would make the plight of the Madam President worse than Draupadi, we are a nation of 1.2 billion half of which is our male population. Others, although realising the need to come up with the correct term, kept quiet since Rashtra-Patni was too embarrassing a term to be attached to the first Woman President.
I think, all of us got it wrong and I think I am the first one to crack this. Hear me out on this one and you will soon realise that I am right.
Rashtrapati is so called not just because he is male, but because our rashtra - bharat - is a female. We call it the motherland. Hence the Head of the Sate is called Rashtrapati - Pati [husband] of the state. Now if the nationstate is a female [mother] then isn't it so easy to find a kinship term for a female president?
I think if you are true to our tradition of kinship names a woman president should be called Rashtra-Sautan [sautan again is much more complicated than the simple anthropological term co-wife], but it is the correct term.
Rashtra-patni should correctly be reserved for a woman president in a country which styles ifself as a fatherland - by that standard the only true Rashtra-Patni is Angela MERKEL of Germany.
I hope you will agree with me.
In fact, kinship terms are the first things we teach our chidren after they have learnt to say papa and mamma. It is long process of training and takes upto 10 years for the child to understand and then correctly apply these terms. After all it would be darn insensitive to get this wrong - in fact to address your mami as mausi would make the entire family incestuous.
With so much of training and such finely tuned kinship terms, I was damned surprised when the entire nation started tearing their hair on the latest issue of what would be a female president of India be called. The Presidents have always been men and we have called him Rashtra-Pati [husband to the nation, literally. Though is slightly more complicated that just husband].
Some suggested the obvious, she be called Rashtra-Patni [wife to the nation]. This would make the plight of the Madam President worse than Draupadi, we are a nation of 1.2 billion half of which is our male population. Others, although realising the need to come up with the correct term, kept quiet since Rashtra-Patni was too embarrassing a term to be attached to the first Woman President.
I think, all of us got it wrong and I think I am the first one to crack this. Hear me out on this one and you will soon realise that I am right.
Rashtrapati is so called not just because he is male, but because our rashtra - bharat - is a female. We call it the motherland. Hence the Head of the Sate is called Rashtrapati - Pati [husband] of the state. Now if the nationstate is a female [mother] then isn't it so easy to find a kinship term for a female president?
I think if you are true to our tradition of kinship names a woman president should be called Rashtra-Sautan [sautan again is much more complicated than the simple anthropological term co-wife], but it is the correct term.
Rashtra-patni should correctly be reserved for a woman president in a country which styles ifself as a fatherland - by that standard the only true Rashtra-Patni is Angela MERKEL of Germany.
I hope you will agree with me.
Friday, June 01, 2007
CEOs Salary and Generational Vision
The Prime Minister in his inimitable style seemed to have set the media on fire. Just one match stick was enough... At the annual general meeting of a large employers' body Dr Singh, among other things, mentioned that CEOs should check their own salaries and generally refrain from conspicuous consumption.
Since then I have read at least three CEOs from three generations all connected directly or indirectly with the employers' association mentioned, come up with typically generational answers: CEO in mid fifties India Chairman of a top consulting firm: 70 per cent agrees with PM 30 per cent disagrees in a national daily. CEO/promoter of a telecom giant just enterning his 50s; 55 per cent disagree and 45 per cent agree with the PM's views again on a national daily. CEO/Promoter of a tech company in his early 40s, competely disagrees with the PM and calls it a demand and supply situation. if there are better schools and colleges training better CEOs and ensuring their steady supply the cost of hiring them will go down, this was in a blog.
All complicated arguments to drive home a simple point to the Prime Minister who is a very 1960s honest man, like many of our fathers. Just to digress a bit and profile such a man. No income outside salary. if you were in government, low salary and low tax, in private sector high salary and 90 per cent tax [if you do not believe me ask any CEO of private sector company in the 1960s]. Only people who made money were doctors and lawyers [but their income too was limited by the poor paying capacity of their clients and a doctor's fee was anything between 2 and 10 Rs and they played the volumes game those days]. What was the mindset of such men. They were brought up in the nehruvian tradition of nation building, sacrifice before consumption. The biggest social achievement then was to show others how much you have sacrificed. Cars were not needed, air conditioners were almost a sin, eating out was waste of money etc.
Great men these were, but at the end of their generation they left behnd a divided and inequitable society and to be fair to them some of them like the Prime Minister himself realised that this model had failed to deliver and consciously chose to move on to another direction that of economic freedom and liberalisation... creating a generation of people like us who now look like frankenstiens eating into the nation's entrails by those who created us.
In this debate neither side is wrong. These are two different ways of looking at things: While the PM looks at the 2000s with his prism of 1960s [not sure how to handle it] the generation of 1980s and 1990s looks at it through their own prism [agains not too sure how to handle it].
To get back to the point. What were the CEOs in their own generational way trying to tell the Prime Minister. I think two things: a) there is a generational gap in thinking and perceiving reality. Please let our generation run the show. You have handed over businesses to us, now handover the politics and economics of the country so that we get a chance to show how it is run in the new regime. b) Economic prosperity is not percolating not because of excessive freedom of privileged classes, but because of lack of freedom of non-privileged classes and non-privileged sectors like agriculture. c) please do not behave like Indian crabs by pulling down those that are going up in life.
I was was in positive awe of my father, his honesty, hardwork for a PSU, commitment, sacrifice, simple lifestyle. But never really bought into his philisophy. Like millions others of my generation. And as I grew older and had a stronger voice did not fail to mention to him at times that a) if he had taken care of himself he would have ensured a much better life for his family [I really do not know how much better since I and my sibling and my mother are doing pretty well in life:)] b) my generation has no human heros: self success is the only hero always looking for a new heroine: money.
Jai Hind
Since then I have read at least three CEOs from three generations all connected directly or indirectly with the employers' association mentioned, come up with typically generational answers: CEO in mid fifties India Chairman of a top consulting firm: 70 per cent agrees with PM 30 per cent disagrees in a national daily. CEO/promoter of a telecom giant just enterning his 50s; 55 per cent disagree and 45 per cent agree with the PM's views again on a national daily. CEO/Promoter of a tech company in his early 40s, competely disagrees with the PM and calls it a demand and supply situation. if there are better schools and colleges training better CEOs and ensuring their steady supply the cost of hiring them will go down, this was in a blog.
All complicated arguments to drive home a simple point to the Prime Minister who is a very 1960s honest man, like many of our fathers. Just to digress a bit and profile such a man. No income outside salary. if you were in government, low salary and low tax, in private sector high salary and 90 per cent tax [if you do not believe me ask any CEO of private sector company in the 1960s]. Only people who made money were doctors and lawyers [but their income too was limited by the poor paying capacity of their clients and a doctor's fee was anything between 2 and 10 Rs and they played the volumes game those days]. What was the mindset of such men. They were brought up in the nehruvian tradition of nation building, sacrifice before consumption. The biggest social achievement then was to show others how much you have sacrificed. Cars were not needed, air conditioners were almost a sin, eating out was waste of money etc.
Great men these were, but at the end of their generation they left behnd a divided and inequitable society and to be fair to them some of them like the Prime Minister himself realised that this model had failed to deliver and consciously chose to move on to another direction that of economic freedom and liberalisation... creating a generation of people like us who now look like frankenstiens eating into the nation's entrails by those who created us.
In this debate neither side is wrong. These are two different ways of looking at things: While the PM looks at the 2000s with his prism of 1960s [not sure how to handle it] the generation of 1980s and 1990s looks at it through their own prism [agains not too sure how to handle it].
To get back to the point. What were the CEOs in their own generational way trying to tell the Prime Minister. I think two things: a) there is a generational gap in thinking and perceiving reality. Please let our generation run the show. You have handed over businesses to us, now handover the politics and economics of the country so that we get a chance to show how it is run in the new regime. b) Economic prosperity is not percolating not because of excessive freedom of privileged classes, but because of lack of freedom of non-privileged classes and non-privileged sectors like agriculture. c) please do not behave like Indian crabs by pulling down those that are going up in life.
I was was in positive awe of my father, his honesty, hardwork for a PSU, commitment, sacrifice, simple lifestyle. But never really bought into his philisophy. Like millions others of my generation. And as I grew older and had a stronger voice did not fail to mention to him at times that a) if he had taken care of himself he would have ensured a much better life for his family [I really do not know how much better since I and my sibling and my mother are doing pretty well in life:)] b) my generation has no human heros: self success is the only hero always looking for a new heroine: money.
Jai Hind
Monday, May 07, 2007
Zombie Banks
If you do not know what that term means, you can either call up an economist friend or forget about it, it does not really matter. Simply, put a public sector bank becomes zombie when the government is ready to put just enough money for it to survive and not enough for it to thrive and grow in a liberablised environment. The term was used by Percy Mistry who chaired a committee to prepare a report on how to make Mumbai a financial hub [not clear financial hub of world, india or maharashtra, I guess it must be the world since all of us are thinking global nowadays]
The excerpts of the report that I have read with a layman's perspective has lead me to the conclusion that in order to make mumbai a financial hub the enitre country or at least the entire financial policy and structure have to change. Hah hah!
However, this entry is not about making mumbai hub of high finance, but about a so called zombie bank and my experiences with it. When I enter the bank at 10 am every one seems to be awake and there are actual people in the counters, who talk to you, sort out your problems and very often know you and your last transaction. From opening to a locker to closing an account can be done absolutely fast. You sometimes also get a cup of tea while you are waiting to be served. This does not look zombie to me at all. Most important people in the counters do not change every week and they do not forget the commitments they make to you for the next week.
Compare this with a non-zombie bank which is more in news for floating ADRs and aspiring to become the largest bank in India and aiming to lead the charge if Mumbai ever becomes an international financial hub... It took me two months to convert an account to a joint account since every week the person behind the counter changed and each time I went back the person had no idea about my application form and supporting documents. Nothing is issued from the branch, you would have to wait for everything to come from "mumbai service centre"; cheques are home delivered, except that the couriers have strict indstructions to give it to the person whose name they are in [you are expected to wait at home because the couriers choose to come only in the afternoons or soon after you have left for office]. Even if you have an account with them they will not endorse your address. All these and much more in the name of "your own security". I feel proud that at least in my bank I have Z category security, makes me feel like Jyoti Basu. But does it really make my banking better. Not at all. Of course, a new feature has been added recently to help me serve better, I have to take a queue number even to queue up......
I think I would prefer zombie banks any day. What would you prefer?
The excerpts of the report that I have read with a layman's perspective has lead me to the conclusion that in order to make mumbai a financial hub the enitre country or at least the entire financial policy and structure have to change. Hah hah!
However, this entry is not about making mumbai hub of high finance, but about a so called zombie bank and my experiences with it. When I enter the bank at 10 am every one seems to be awake and there are actual people in the counters, who talk to you, sort out your problems and very often know you and your last transaction. From opening to a locker to closing an account can be done absolutely fast. You sometimes also get a cup of tea while you are waiting to be served. This does not look zombie to me at all. Most important people in the counters do not change every week and they do not forget the commitments they make to you for the next week.
Compare this with a non-zombie bank which is more in news for floating ADRs and aspiring to become the largest bank in India and aiming to lead the charge if Mumbai ever becomes an international financial hub... It took me two months to convert an account to a joint account since every week the person behind the counter changed and each time I went back the person had no idea about my application form and supporting documents. Nothing is issued from the branch, you would have to wait for everything to come from "mumbai service centre"; cheques are home delivered, except that the couriers have strict indstructions to give it to the person whose name they are in [you are expected to wait at home because the couriers choose to come only in the afternoons or soon after you have left for office]. Even if you have an account with them they will not endorse your address. All these and much more in the name of "your own security". I feel proud that at least in my bank I have Z category security, makes me feel like Jyoti Basu. But does it really make my banking better. Not at all. Of course, a new feature has been added recently to help me serve better, I have to take a queue number even to queue up......
I think I would prefer zombie banks any day. What would you prefer?
Friday, March 30, 2007
Emergency Response Team
Have you seen scenes of major train and plane accidents in India on TV. I have for many years and have come to the firm conclusion that no one who matters have seen these gory scenes on TV. Here is why.... the most riveting aspect of these scenes is a few local carrying mangled bodies to no where and a few local state police poking around the debris with lathis. In ultra urban areas like Mumbai, the scene is no different. My first memories of such a scene on coloured television was the clash of two planes over haryana on the wee hours of a foggy winter day. And my lasting memory of the scene of the accident was haryana policemen covered in blankets probing the debris with lathis. These memories were refreshed the other day when I watched the post blast scene in Mumbai on TV. Nothing much seems to have changed.
Haven't we realised in the 60 years of independence that police is not there for accident and emergency response, haven't we realised that there is no point in calling the police to the accident scene they do not know and are not expected to know the abc of emergency response, haven't we realised that security forces are not not gods or not least paramedics..... Clearly we have not. The result is all of us call up a hospital and the police in case of a major accident, terrorost attack, flood, or at best the fire brigade.
Since independence, we have riased so many special forces from teh BSF to the CISF that most people in the Home Ministry has lost count. We have, however, failed to raise on force that would have saved the lives of millions in the last 60 years... India does not have a centralised force of paramedics to response to emergency and trauma... We have spent trillions of dollars on national security but when that security is breached and ordinary citizens fall victim, we have no one to respond.
Dont you think we should have a national emergency response team with paramedics as members. This should be like any of the central security forces the only difference being that they are not fighters but saviours of lives, their jobs? to be the first on the spot, deliver on spot treatment and take them to the nearest hospital... end of work. What would they need? Ambulances, are medical emergency equipement, a few helicopters for large cities, training in paramedicine, driving skills. Where would they be based? In all district headquarters to begin with and their performance would be based on their response time... They would be commondos in a different sense. Where will the money come from? 50 per cent central government and 50 per cent corporates. We have enough money for a good cause, in the last 60 years we have created enough wealth, it is time that we use it for some good causes. This one is on top of my mind. At least, aesthetically, I do not have to see dead bodies being dragged by localvillagers and debris being poked by Police lathis....
What do you think?
Haven't we realised in the 60 years of independence that police is not there for accident and emergency response, haven't we realised that there is no point in calling the police to the accident scene they do not know and are not expected to know the abc of emergency response, haven't we realised that security forces are not not gods or not least paramedics..... Clearly we have not. The result is all of us call up a hospital and the police in case of a major accident, terrorost attack, flood, or at best the fire brigade.
Since independence, we have riased so many special forces from teh BSF to the CISF that most people in the Home Ministry has lost count. We have, however, failed to raise on force that would have saved the lives of millions in the last 60 years... India does not have a centralised force of paramedics to response to emergency and trauma... We have spent trillions of dollars on national security but when that security is breached and ordinary citizens fall victim, we have no one to respond.
Dont you think we should have a national emergency response team with paramedics as members. This should be like any of the central security forces the only difference being that they are not fighters but saviours of lives, their jobs? to be the first on the spot, deliver on spot treatment and take them to the nearest hospital... end of work. What would they need? Ambulances, are medical emergency equipement, a few helicopters for large cities, training in paramedicine, driving skills. Where would they be based? In all district headquarters to begin with and their performance would be based on their response time... They would be commondos in a different sense. Where will the money come from? 50 per cent central government and 50 per cent corporates. We have enough money for a good cause, in the last 60 years we have created enough wealth, it is time that we use it for some good causes. This one is on top of my mind. At least, aesthetically, I do not have to see dead bodies being dragged by localvillagers and debris being poked by Police lathis....
What do you think?
Thursday, March 01, 2007
The Art of Forgetting
The art of forgetting is a well practiced art but quite popular in India and I have had first hand experience since I have studied one subject only form high school to my thesis: History.... When I attended the first History Honours Class in Presidency College in Calcutta, I was told that forget whatever you were taught in class 12: Aurangzeb was not a bigot, he did what was politically prudent, for example.... He was also the most honest and down to earth Mughal emperor.... Feudalism was not about knights and dames but about social processes.... OK so I forgot and moved on.... In my Masters Class in JNU I was told that forget whatever you were taught in your honours class.... history has been interpreted through narrow isms so far but it is really more complicated than that and keep your mind open... OK so I tried to follow the new guidelines and forget the old.... While doing my PhD in London [you will ask why do a PhD in Indian history in London, but that is a totally different subject for me to answer here]... I was told that PhD is the art of knowing more and more about less and less... So I had to forget larger processes that we shaping the history of the subcontinent and focus on my chosen area and time frames...
Now I see that this practice plagues most of the economists as well especially in our country and with disastrous results because economists as a lobby have more power over our lives than historians or political scientists or even physcists will ever have....
Inflation, when we were young, we were told is just a process of transferring money from one group of people to another.... in this case from fixed income groups to flexible income groups.. in our country from you to your shopkeeper.... and there is nothing inherently wrong and no one suffers during inflation if and only if there is a realtime indexed income.... so if the inflation is 7 per cent my salary automatically goes up seven per cent, so does my return on deposits, savings and everything else and the actual raise is over and above it I do not suffer at all..... so if the interest rate is 5 per cent and the inflation is 8 per cent I should get an interest of 13 per cent.... Similary if my annual salary hike is 10 per cent and the inflation is 5 per cent, I should get a salary hike of 15 per cent... But in spite of many sane economists suggesting indexation of income, savings and deposits, we have never sought this way out in our country and most of those economists probably have forgotten about their earlier solution... with the result that fixed income groups are made to suffer through indirect taxes which are passed on to them by the shopkeeper, merchant, industry, and false bank rates like 8 per cent , 7 per cent of which is eaten away by inflation.... Others are making merry and enriching themselves without moving a figer because whenever there is an indirect tax it is passed on to fixed income groups....
So the art of forgetting may be good for historians it certainly is not good for economists... for them the slogan should be back to basics...
Now I see that this practice plagues most of the economists as well especially in our country and with disastrous results because economists as a lobby have more power over our lives than historians or political scientists or even physcists will ever have....
Inflation, when we were young, we were told is just a process of transferring money from one group of people to another.... in this case from fixed income groups to flexible income groups.. in our country from you to your shopkeeper.... and there is nothing inherently wrong and no one suffers during inflation if and only if there is a realtime indexed income.... so if the inflation is 7 per cent my salary automatically goes up seven per cent, so does my return on deposits, savings and everything else and the actual raise is over and above it I do not suffer at all..... so if the interest rate is 5 per cent and the inflation is 8 per cent I should get an interest of 13 per cent.... Similary if my annual salary hike is 10 per cent and the inflation is 5 per cent, I should get a salary hike of 15 per cent... But in spite of many sane economists suggesting indexation of income, savings and deposits, we have never sought this way out in our country and most of those economists probably have forgotten about their earlier solution... with the result that fixed income groups are made to suffer through indirect taxes which are passed on to them by the shopkeeper, merchant, industry, and false bank rates like 8 per cent , 7 per cent of which is eaten away by inflation.... Others are making merry and enriching themselves without moving a figer because whenever there is an indirect tax it is passed on to fixed income groups....
So the art of forgetting may be good for historians it certainly is not good for economists... for them the slogan should be back to basics...
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Left, Right, Left, Right...
Do worry I am not askng the reader to march to the sunset, not as yet. This is a simple entry on a rather complicated observation that I made when I was a younger man in my ancestral place which, no do not stretch your imagination, is not in any remote village in Bihar but just forty six kilometres away from Kolkata connected very well for the last 50 years by suburban trains and much else.... This is not exactly my ancestral place which was in East Bengal really.... but this was the place were my grandparents and father and uncles settled when they migrated after partition....
The name of the place is not important but the background certainly is... it has historically been in the heart of the Bengal Jute belt and since the time of the British has housed a large railway workshop, both of which were the primary employers of this town... Politically, post independence with the influx of refugees and more development it has been a sort of left bastion especially, the "refugee" dominated areas... Socially very advanced like most small towns in Bengal, caste colour and creed having very little importance...at least in Public dealings...
It was in this place one fine autumn evening in a house which is connected to mine by marriage and which is the vanguard of the local left politics I saw a bizarre sight:) The feet of a visiting guru being washed by the old widow of the house... nothing unusual for a 60 year old widow, I guess.... But the next scene was even more captivating.... All the members of the family being offered the feet washed water [a few drops] as Charanamrita.... It was a disgusting sight and I left hurriedly before my turn came... and this was in 1988 and not in the age of Ram Mohun Roy!
Little did I know then that more things change more they remain the same at least in our country... This internal cotradiction between more economic and political liberalism leading to more social conservatism OR publicly professed liberalism with privately practiced obscurantism exisits comfortably side by side in the same person in our country....
I was just thinking about this waiting in the traffic in front of the Sai Mandir on Lodi Road in Delhi the other day... it's an open temple by the side of the road, where on any thursday you will see a great collection of most liberated young men and women in designer jeans, fancy cars and other behaviourial parapharnelia of liberalism jostling to get a Darshan....
You would be tempted to call them hypocrites.... but it is certainly more complicated than that.... To move forward and backward in the same stride is a job which only an Indian can accomplish....
Mera Bharat Mahan...
The name of the place is not important but the background certainly is... it has historically been in the heart of the Bengal Jute belt and since the time of the British has housed a large railway workshop, both of which were the primary employers of this town... Politically, post independence with the influx of refugees and more development it has been a sort of left bastion especially, the "refugee" dominated areas... Socially very advanced like most small towns in Bengal, caste colour and creed having very little importance...at least in Public dealings...
It was in this place one fine autumn evening in a house which is connected to mine by marriage and which is the vanguard of the local left politics I saw a bizarre sight:) The feet of a visiting guru being washed by the old widow of the house... nothing unusual for a 60 year old widow, I guess.... But the next scene was even more captivating.... All the members of the family being offered the feet washed water [a few drops] as Charanamrita.... It was a disgusting sight and I left hurriedly before my turn came... and this was in 1988 and not in the age of Ram Mohun Roy!
Little did I know then that more things change more they remain the same at least in our country... This internal cotradiction between more economic and political liberalism leading to more social conservatism OR publicly professed liberalism with privately practiced obscurantism exisits comfortably side by side in the same person in our country....
I was just thinking about this waiting in the traffic in front of the Sai Mandir on Lodi Road in Delhi the other day... it's an open temple by the side of the road, where on any thursday you will see a great collection of most liberated young men and women in designer jeans, fancy cars and other behaviourial parapharnelia of liberalism jostling to get a Darshan....
You would be tempted to call them hypocrites.... but it is certainly more complicated than that.... To move forward and backward in the same stride is a job which only an Indian can accomplish....
Mera Bharat Mahan...
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Whisky? No, Peesky!
This is how one of our primeministers is claimed to have reacted when offered whisky on an overseas trip... It was claimed that he was a teetotaller and the only drink he preferred [apart from tea and milk presumably] was anearly morning cup of his own pee... May sound disgusting, but that kept him going for 96 years... as they say the proof of the pudding lies in eating it...I would also say for that Prime Minister that he knew his drinks, which can not be said about most Indians men or women... I shall take up women first... who prefer bacardi, smirnoff or some delicate french wines.... : Simple suggestions... please do not spend too much money on these brands, they are quite useless.... instead go for old monk [best dark rum in the world and made in India], Romanov [Oldest Vodka in India and one of the best in the world] and Please do not go for french wines, if you do not know about wines you would find the best of them very dry [sour]... Indian wines are good enough and a Chantilli [faux, of course] of Indage for 600 Rs would be a good bait...Now, for men if these are your preferred drinks the same advice applies... [we grow the largest volume and best quality sugarcane, potatoes and grapes so there is not reason why we cant make rum, vodka and wines as good as the others].... But if you are a man and do not like any of the above and prefer Whisky and beer, please listen to my advice.... All Indian whiskies are bad, in fact they are not whiskies at all.... You may instead have Teachers or Black Label... But if anything these are absolutely third rate whiskies and probably worse to the Indian palete than McDowell number 1. I suggest do not waste your money on Black/Red Labels or Teachers.... Of course, if you want to know what whisky really is go for that single malt and to the Indian taste, I guarantee you will take to them like fish to water.... any single malt will do.... but if you have the money go for McAllan.... Lagavulin or Laphroaig.... and please do not mix it with water.... I guarantee you, you will never have a hangover even after consuming half a bottle:) Beer drinkers... the world is your stage... but if you are not that broadminded, I suggest stick to Black label or Kingfisher... Fosters and Castle are third rate beers..... If however you really love good things in life here is a list: Bud, Kronenburg, DAB, Michelob among the lagers, if you want to do better, try bitters/ales from England, they are expensive and you need to cultivate the taste for sometime.... If you are brave try the best of them from Ireland branded as Guiness.... Jameson, the Irish Whiskey is also good.... I have never tried Jack Daniels which I do not believe is a whisky:) In the far east be careful about local brews they are exrtremely potent and after a few shots its every easy to eat that raw fish...Cheers....
Monday, February 26, 2007
TGIF or TGIS
Do not worry about the abbreviations on the title. I am sure most of you have been dealing with more complicated ones like RFID or RGBS and the like... This is really simple...Thank God Its Friday (TGIF) used to excite a lot of people... After a hard day's work one would look forward to the weekend from Friday evenings onwards etc etc...I have realised Friday is the worst day of the week. Its not Monday, it;s actually Friday... At least for people like me. it's the day when bosses dump a lot of work just around 4 PM and extract your promise to deliver by luchtime on Monday... that is tolerable, after all what else can bosses do... More repulsive is the behaviour of your reportees..... they have been promising to deliver a finished product since Monday and failed... come Friday 4 PM when you are tired of following up.... you get an email attaching a half finished work, which has to be completely reworked and the obviously Monday is the deadline... You rush out of your room to catch the bugger and the security guard tells you very helpfully that the guy jist left five minuted back... As a good guy you do not like to bother juniors on the mobile on Friday evenings......I have therefore devised a way of surviving this two two sided pressure: from top as well as from botttom... Whether I am in office on any other day of the week or not, I make sure that I put in at leat four hours every Saturday.. That's is the best time to get some serious work done... That is why I have devised this rather unimaginative term TGIS, thank god it;s saturday....
You may dislike this strategy, but for me it works very well. On Monday morning I am the only one laughing in the office.......
You may dislike this strategy, but for me it works very well. On Monday morning I am the only one laughing in the office.......
Monday, February 05, 2007
Highway Robbery
Have you ever been robbed by law enforcement authorities? I have never been, but I was told as a young boy growing up in Bihar that even when you are paying a bribe, do not ever take out your wallet in front of a police man, else whatever you have inside the wallet will no longer be yours i.e., what you have inside the wallet will determine how much you pay. It works noth ways, many a times I have shown empty wallets and got scott free with of course remarks about my economic and social standing. I do not mind those comments am thick skinned:) But that was not higway robbery. What is highway robbery is to pass an ordinance to get free stuff which has been bought at a cosiderable value by a small company. This is highway robbery and has beencommitted by the government of india or its infamous arm the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.I am sure the government has a sound reason to pass this ordinance, but it is just that it has failed to explain the reasons transparently to the public. If this is to reflect the popular feeling about cricket and how the teeming millions who have no access to cable TV or cannot afford to pay for viewing, it is then a good reason. But then it is the same ministry which has done away with Cable Operators and has started the expensive version of Cable or Satellite TV where viewers in certain areas of the major cities have paid through their noses or not been able to afford it at all [I paid 4000 Rs in Delhi for Tata Sky and 1500 for a CAS in Mumbai my maids and driver in both the places have not been so lucky. And now CAS is going to be extended to all cities].
Secondly, if cricket is so popular and needs to be reached to the masses whenever those matches happen, isnt Ramayana, Mahabharata or Nach baliye, Kyun Ki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu thi equally popular? Does the government have any plans to ask for free feed from TV companies for these popular serials as well? Then all of us can go back to watching good old Doordarshan free of cost:)
Confused? So am I!
Secondly, if cricket is so popular and needs to be reached to the masses whenever those matches happen, isnt Ramayana, Mahabharata or Nach baliye, Kyun Ki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu thi equally popular? Does the government have any plans to ask for free feed from TV companies for these popular serials as well? Then all of us can go back to watching good old Doordarshan free of cost:)
Confused? So am I!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
