Outsourcing

Outsourcing is the buzzword these days. But its origin can be traced to a few hundred years.

In northern Kerala, there were professional fighters called 'Chekavar'. If two parties have a dispute, they will approach these chekavers who will fight on behalf of them for a fat fee. The party who has sponsored the winner of the fight (the chekavar who lost the fight invariably loses his life too) would deem to have won the dispute. Folklore on the bravery of these chekavers are legendary. Musketeers of France were along similar lines as chekavers.

Even breast feeding was outsourced in rich families. 'Wet nurses' who breastfed children of affluent families was very much in demand.

Sometimes I do wonder how innovative we are. Or more appropriately, how smart our ancestors were. They seem to have done most of the things that we practice today without even thinking about it.

Show the door

Another controversy is in our midst.

I am talking about the blatant disregard for political norms, moral values etc etc shown by T R Balu, the Shipping Minister of Government of India in using his ministerial powers to allot gas to the company owned by his sons.

The act itself is bad. But the brazen way in which he has tried to brush it off telling that there is nothing wrong in his action. Hello! Excuse me! But did I hear you wrong. I thought you took an oath in the presence of President of India wherein you mentioned that you will not misuse your office for personal gain?

The farce doesn't end there.

"The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) forwarded as many as eight letters to the Petroleum Ministry for allotment of gas to the firms owned by the two sons of Shipping Minister TR Baalu, but the Congress sees nothing wrong in that!. As the issue continued to rock Parliament, the party defended the PMO and said that forwarding letters is a common practice and did not necessarily mean endorsing the contents. Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi said: "The PMO had forwarded the requests to the Ministry. There is no question of endorsing or agreeing with the contents."

I am within my rights as a citizen of India to ask whether PMO is a post office, whose only job is to forward the requests?. Are they not expected to do some due diligence.

Senior Congress leaders said that the party would not press for Baalu's resignation, as it was an internal matter of DMK and not the Congress.

Misuse of Office by one of the Ministers an internal matter of a constituent party? Someone must have their head really examined.

Dr.Manmohan Singh! There is a thing called Accountability. Would be nice if you can look up the meaning of the word in a Dictionary and whether you understand or not, call TR Balu and give him exactly 30 seconds to either put in his resignation or face dismissal from the Council of Ministers. Show that you have some spine. You are unfortunately the leader of our Country.

On another matter, at long last we have kicked out KPS Gill and his lackey Jothikumaran from the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF). The joke is however on us. They were suspended by Indian Olympic Association (IOA), which is being headed by Suresh Kalmadi for donkey's years and the IOA's track record on 'uplifting' the Indian sports is more dismal (if that is possible) than IHF. And they shall be supervising the IHF. God help Indian Hockey.

Now, now - will someone please show the door to the Suresh Kalmadis, Randhir Singhs, Priyaranjan Das Munshis of this world. Let some fresh air come into our sports arena

Might is Right

“What a strong man says often becomes the only dharma;
A weak man may have dharma on his side but who listens to him ?"

thus spoke Bhishma in Mahabharatha.

This is more true today than then. In modern context might is right. America is dictating terms to other countries in the world despite their economy in shambles. US economy is in a worse state than the Far Easter Countries in late 1990's. The same country which preached economic prudence and belt tightening to other countries to sort out their financial problems are refusing to do the same in a similar situation.

Had it been any country other than China, there would have been global hue and cry over the atrocities conducted by China in Tibet and they would have been taken to cleaners for human rights violation. But look at the muted response of the world and especially the shameful servile attitude of India. Suddenly people are more concerned about the sanctity of Olympics and the need to uphold Olympic spirit.

It is time India and Indians understand the importance of being strong. Without that preaching platitudes and dharma shall yield no results

Leading the underdogs with Passion

Staying with Cricket once again...........

The stand out player during the first fortnight of IPL has been Shane Warne. Much has been written in every second website worth its salt about how he, a retired legend, took over a bunch of no hopefuls of the Rajasthan team that had not invested as much in star players as some of its more famous opponents, and turned them into a match winning team. He has led from the front, given the youngsters the confidence, led with passion and delightfully said that he doesnt need a few computers, pages of notes and umpteen meetings to create a fine team. He has made his no hopers believe in themselves and has led from the front, whether be it ball, bat or as a captain. The underdogs have been barking and sniping at other teams with great success. It is a regret that the cricketing world never got to see an extended run of Shane Warne as Captain of Australia, which he should have been instead of Ricky Ponting, but for his colorful life off the field. Such a pity. It has been a delight to see his intensity and leadership on and off the field. (maybe Sachin can take a leaf out of Shane. He has done his usual vanishing act in the current Harbhajan - Sreesanth slugfest. As the icon of Mumbai team, he was expected to take Harbhajan to task the moment he punched Sreesanth. This is not the first time and wont be the last when Sachin has abdicated from his responsibility despite being the finest batsman India has produced -well almost! for me, Sunny Gavaskar qualifies for that title. While I respect Sachin for his skills, I don't think much of him as a leader of men. He has hardly stood up to be counted when it mattered on any issue).

About a few weeks back, I was in a Middle East country visiting some Schools as part of my job to evaluate a prospective business partner. The Principal of the School claimed with lot of pride that his school always had 100% results. While my colleagues nodded in admiration, I asked innocently, " What is your detention rate at 8th and 9th standards and do you conduct an entrance exam when you take the students in?". An embarrassing silence followed. I had touched a raw nerve. There was lot of hemming and hawing. When I insisted, they admitted that the retention at the pre board exam level classes were quite high and yes, they did have a strict entrance test to ensure the best students get in. You don't have to be a frigging genius to get 100% results from top students. Also by detaining students who are just about average, you are making them failures in life when they are not. The psychological scars run deep. This is what the so called best private schools do. They of course have the best of the infrastructure and teachers. Compare this with a Government school, that takes in at least 3 times the number of students, working with tremendous constraints, not detaining students and still having a 60-70% pass rate. Who is the better of the two? My heart goes out to the selfless teachers and administrators of these Government School whose passion for teaching is seen to be believed (not all of course).

Leadership and strength of character are not about recruiting the best and making them perform at 80%. It is about taking over a team and a situation when you know you are given a raw deal and then to lead from the front with passion,turning around a hopeless situation into a clear success. That is what separates men from boys. The operative word is 'passion'

Think from a different perspective

Having been brought up in a traditional atmosphere in a (not so) typical Palghat Brahmin family, it was the norm to think conventionally. Anything that challenged the traditional thinking was frowned upon. This despite my father being quite liberal in outlook.

It was cricket that taught me to think unconventionally to start with. Being a reasonably active player in the Age group tournaments, I was a permanent fixture in the summer coaching camps.

As batsmen, we were always told to look out for where the fielders are positioned to avoid hitting the ball in the air to them. Then one day our regular coach had a bereavement in the family and he was replaced by a new young coach who was considered to be a bit of a maverick. He scrapped the regular net session and replaced it with matches every day. While I was waiting for my turn to bat, he came sat with me and said, "Raja, try this out. When you go out to bat, don't look at where the fielders are, but concentrate on where the GAPS are. Since you are so obsessed with fielders, you tend to subconsciously hit straight to them. Think only gaps". Even as a youngster, despite my upbringing, I always had a rebel streak in me and was (and is) game to any scatter brained ideas. I went out, fixed in my mind only the gaps and the runs flowed. Anything and everything I stroked that day pierced the field beautifully. Score 1 for lateral thinking.

The next instance came in an inter zonal match. The pitch was turning square and the spinners were turning the ball a mile and beating the bat my the same margin. It was all 'oohs and aahs' but we just didn't pick any wickets as the ball was beating everything and the spinners, eyes lit at the sight of a square turner, putting more vicious spin into each ball. We came in for lunch and were quite animated. The coach didn't say anything at first. When we were about to go out, he said, "don't spin the ball, use your arm balls and top spinners more. success in a spinning track lies in not spinning the ball." I was leading the team. In the middle, I called my left arm spinner and leg spinner for a chat and asked them to try out the coach's advice for at least 4 overs. I changed the field accordingly. The slip was straightened, the short leg move a little squarer and left the mid wicket open. My spinners carried out the coach's advice superbly, they mixed up the odd turning ball with a majority of straighter ones and bamboozled the batsmen who were playing for the turn. We took the last 8 wickets in 41 balls after lunch for next to nothing. Score 2 for out of the box thinking.

There are many tit bits like this.

The most critical thing in football is off the ball running and positioning, not the actual ball play. Always analyse the teams from this angle.

In tennis?- well all you have to do is watch the mighty Roger Federer's footwork the moment he hits a shot. Look at how he moves back to the centre which enables him to be beautifully balanced and prepared for the next shot. That is the key to his success.

Back to cricket. The dictum in spin bowling is that "spin is in the air and break is off the wicket". The spin is all about how much revolutions you can give to a ball in the air. The more the better as it will allow the ball to drift and dip, bite the wicket and then turn(break). Good spinners always beat the batsmen in the air, not off the wicket.

You can create wonders if you only think out of the box in your workplace and looking at things from a different perspective. More about that at a later date

I do like T-20

I have always felt that I will be the last person to take to T-20 Cricket. I am a die hard fan of Test Match Cricket and one day cricket had never held a fascination for me.

But IPL has changed everything. Initially I thought it will be a sham, more of a festive match than serious stuff and essentially a slam bang thank you very much kind of game. But the intensity shown by the teams surprised me and the first week of IPL was really competitive. That is what sports is all about - being competitive.

The biggest gain was that I was able to sit back and watch a match without getting emotionally involved as in the case of India playing. There is no nationalistic jingoism and no sadness when one's team loses. It is just a good game of cricket that can be enjoyed.

It has not always been about batsmen so far. Warne turned the match on its head the other day with 3 for 17, showing that a great player is great in any form of cricket. Mohammed Asif has been his measly self. The slam bang batsmen have all failed to live up to the expectation. It is those who play correct cricket who have scored runs - Mike Hussey, Shane Watson, Rohit Sharma, Mathew Hayden, Sehwag. Compare this with the failures Gilchrist, Symonds, Afridi, Bravo, Jayasurya.

After a long long time, the Indian second string is getting a chance to test their skills not only against the top Indian Test Players but against some of the best players in the world. This can only do them world of good. Badri, Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Gony, Ojha, Rohit Sharma, Raina have distinguished.

Isn't is strange to see that Cricket, with its staid English moorings, has been the most innovative of the Sports of late. During the past 3 decades Cricket has evolved from Test Cricket alone to One day Cricket, coloured clothing, white balls, playing under lights to T-20 now. Compare this with other games who have hardly changed - Football has refused to innovate. Same is the case with Basketball. Volleyball just tinkered with the scoring, likewise Badminton and Table Tennis.

Cricket has demonstrated why it is necessary to have periodic product innovation. Now they have a nice product mix. Hats off to the Administrators

Stories

Stories have a wonderful way of communicating a message. I have been fascinated by stories since childhood. Reading Chandamama (the malayalam version 'Ambili Ammavan'), Poompatta, Thalir, Balarama, kadhasaritsagaram, panchathantram, 1001 Arabian nights, Aesop's fables, Grimm's stories........................................all helped.

Most of the popular stories linger in the memory. Quite a few not so popular ones too. One such is reproduced from memory in my own words.

An ayurvedic physician sat down for dinner one late evening. Since his house had a common wall with his neighbours, he could overhear his neighbour who was a reasonably rich trader.

That day he heard the trader ask his wife to bring him a cup of curd.

The physician turned to his own wife and told her 'I promise to get you a pair of ear rings'

Then he overheard his neighbour call after his wife " Add some salt to it"

Physician " there goes one of your ear rings"

After a minute, he heard his neighbour tell " don't forget to add a piece of ginger to the curd"

With a sigh, the physician remarked "now both your ear rings are gone"

The confused wife asked him the meaning of his promise and the later withdrawal. To this the physician said,

"It is not healthy to eat curd in the night. That would have led to the trader falling sick and approaching me for treatment. I thought I shall be able to get you a pair of ear rings from the fee he would have paid. But adding salt to the curd reduces the negative effect by 50%, hence my comment that you have lost the opportunity to get one ear ring. When he asked for ginger to be put in the curd, it makes the curd safe to consume. A guy who knows to add salt and ginger to negate the adverse effect of taking curd in the night don't need my services. Hence my final comment"

This story, that I read once nearly quarter of a century back, has somehow been etched in my mind. It conveys in a simple way the negative aspects of curd and the ways to counter it.

Yadha Raja, Thadha Praja

A few months ago, as part of a preliminary discussion on a Consultancy Assignment, I met an Indian Expatriate Entrepreneur in Kuwait. He was running a mid size organization trading in oil field services/oil projects materials and was quite successful with an organization that had nearly 200 employees, mostly Indians.

During the course of the discussion he lamented that his employees were dishonest and did not miss an opportunity to make a quick buck behind his back, while compromising the organizations interest. There were the usual fudging of claims by the sales people, leakages in the warehouse, sales people showing a discount in the sales invoice while actually not giving the benefit to the customers, employees holding multiple jobs......................the list was endless. He ranted on and on for nearly half an hour and I empathised with him.

When I got an opportunity to get a word in, I asked him about the nature of his business and how he made the money starting as a low level entrepreneur.

He said, "Rajan, my nature of business is simple. I have an arrangement with many project managers who are in charge of major and minor oil field projects in Kuwait. We have an understanding in that the project manager over invoices on quantity and price on almost all the projects. When the project is being wound up, rather than returning the materials officially,the project manager sells it to me at half the price, which I in turn resell it. Also me and the project managers split equally the extra profit made on over invoicing the materials in the first place"

I quietly asked him, " Sir, have you realized something? You have built an entire business on unethical practices and dishonesty. How can you then expect your staff to be honest?"

Yadha Raja, Thadha Praja

The leader has to maintain high ethical standards and should possess a sound value system

P.S: I didn't get the consultancy as a result of my statement. But I have no regrets. Any payment made by him would have made me tainted too and I don't want such a stigma

More humiliations

There are many small nuggets of issues that has significance but goes unnoticed.

First let us talk about the olympic torch relay in Delhi. We shout from the rooftops that India is the largest democracy in the world. We also send a huge contingent to every olympic games (well! the ratio of officials to athletes is skewed at 80:20) without a hope of getting a medal, but all the while telling that it is the spirit of participation and olympics that matters. Can someone in our government please tell me where the hell this Olympic spirit was when the torch was kept in a 5 star hotel and the relay took place on Rajpath surrounded by 17ooo security men with NO AUDIENCE and even people working in the office nearby asked to shut the windows facing the Rajpath. All to please a country who has at every turn humiliated us and sees us as an enemy. The torch was allowed a free run in many other countries without this security tantrums. Is not the right to protest enshrined in our constitution? Why should the Tibetans and those who oppose China's policies be shackled? What would have happened if a few tibetans have protested? I will tell you-Nothing. What India has lost is our self respect, dignity and right to be called an independant nation. We have still not overcome the subserviant mentality. It is also why we will never become a great nation.

It is also why our President was humiliated in Brazil and Mexico on her recent trip. Personally I loathe the fact that Pratibha Patil, a sycophant and a cheat, is holding the most important office in the country. But that doesn't diminish the fact that she is the President of India. When she is slighted, it is as if all self respecting Indians are slighted.

In Brazil, she was to address a house of parliamentarians that is 81 strong. Only 8 turned up.

Worse was to follow in Mexico. The opposition left wing parties boycotted and stalled the house which she was to address (though not on any issue pertaining to India) forcing the cancellation of her speech altogether.

Do we need any more proof to understand how other nations view us. This is what happens when the rulers dont have a value system, conviction of their beliefs and have no strategic plan.

I can but cry!

Wisdom or Numbers?

Choosing the right resource and using it wisely is the hallmark of a good manager.

Before the Kurukshetra war started, both Duryodhana and Arjuna went to enlist the help of Lord Krishna. Seeing both of them together, Krishna gave them an offer - they can choose either him (though he wont take to arms, only consultancy service) or his army which was very large.

Arjuna unhesitatingly chose Sri Krisha's wisdom and support while Duryodhana was too pleased to get the numbers offered by Sri Krishna's large army. And we know who won.

This episode gives us a clue as to the nature of the effective manager - wisdom over numbers.

Onam and Vishu obsolete?

Another 'Vishu' passed by.

Though I got numerous sms messages wishing me on 'Vishu', the messages were not from the heart, but a part of standard chain messages developed by some service provider. We have even lost the ability to wish someone from the heart but had to rather depend on a text prepared by someone else. What a shame!

Commercialization has become such a part of our life that the human element is getting lost.

Maybe it is time to have a re look at the festivals. Most of our festivals have their roots in an earlier agrarian economy. They marked the various stages of harvesting and provided an opportunity for the hardworking peasants to rejoice after a hardworking season.

Onam is essentially a harvest festival when we used to have 'Chinga koithu' (harvest in chingam - August/September) and when people raised only one crop. It was a time of plenty, with the farmer suddenly having surplus income and it also denoted the end of the agricultural activities. Time when he can relax. 'Vishu' on the other end of the spectrum symbolized the beginning of the agricultural season with farmers sowing seeds that will be replanted after 45 days when the monsoon finally arrives in the first week of June. Vishu is celebrated only for a day while Onam lasts a full 10 days since there is more cash flow during Onam.

Times have changed. The economy is no longer agrarian and with it the relevance of these festivals are diminishing. The current generation has moved away from farming (which anyway is not a profitable profession), has taken to education, opted for a salaried job or business and have migrated. Onam and Vishu as it were celebrated remains a faint memory in the minds of the older generation. It has no significance for the youngsters. You can't blame them for they are out of touch with the roots and most can't even read malayalam. Onam and Vishu are spent in front of the mini screen which dishes out crap cinema based programs which are shown amongst a host of advertisements.

There is a need to rethink on these festivals. The onams and vishus have long gone past their expiry date. Maybe we should develop new festivals that are more in tune with the current demographic profiles, aspirations and culture.

Any ideas?...........................

Why can't...........................

I try not to be, but I am forced to be .................cynical

Why do Government suddenly wake up and think about OBC reservation only during the election year?

Why are we increasing the ambit of reservation 60 years after independance? If 60 years of independance, which means a couple of generations that has got the benefit of reservations, have not produced the desired result of achieving equality in the society and necessitates our Government to bring more people under the quota system, do one really believe that there is hope?

In an era where we should be talking only in terms of meritocracy to make India a global power, why are we pushing merit to the background?

Why should we be ruled by geriatric people who are 70 and 80 years old when the demographics is so skewed in favour of people in the 25-35 age group?

Why are we not giving Cabinet rank to young (well! young in indian politics is anyone who is 50 plus, but I mean dynamic youngsters in 30's) politicians? Why are they given insignificant minister of state portfolios when older men hog the important portfolios?

Why should we have a guy who is 71 to head our sports and youth affairs ministry?

Why is it that there is a sudden price increase leading to profiteering for the manufacturers and traders just before an election? Is there a trade off between politicians and them so that the excess profit is siphoned off to fill political parties coffers?

Why can't we take a decision on the clemency petition of Afsal Guru, sentenced to death in the Parliament attack case? To keep the decision pending is unfair on the convict and the society

Why can't we.....................oh! forget about it.................I can go on and on

Wings to fly

Children have always been dear to my heart. I am a firm believer in less parental control for children. We should not aim to realize our unfulfilled potential and dreams through our children. Each child is an individual and we should only be a facilitator who enables them to realize their potential.

The children should be given wings to fly.

Our job is to be sure that they have the skills necessary to succeed in the world and the self-confidence to take that giant leap out the door when their time comes.

The process of fledging starts early - long before they are ready to fly.

When they are very young, we should begin to teach them to be responsible and to contribute to the family.

Even pre-school children can be expected to put toys away and to help with household chores. This helps them to feel capable and instills in them a good work ethic. Responsibilities can increase as our children are able to handle more, but they should always be balanced with free time and opportunities for play, because children learn and grow from those as well. This shall also enable them to believe in themselves.

Confidence also comes from the ability to make decisions. In order to prepare our children for the outside world, we need to give them opportunities to make their own choices. We can start with the insignificant things, such as what to wear and how to fix their hair - then gradually move to the more important decisions with real consequences.

Let your children take off,

Give them responsibilities early, and increasing with time.
Help them develop values by your example and by setting definite limits.
Give them choices early and increasingly as they are able to handle them.
Give them permission to explore and make mistakes and experience the results of those choices - not as punishment, but as a way to learn what works and what doesn't.
Help them find their gifts - find what they love - so they will have passion for life and a sense of purpose.
When we do our job well - when we help our children develop strong wings - yes, they will fly away.But if the roots are strong enough, they will always fly back to us - not to stay, but to share with us the wonderful things they are discovering and creating in their own lives.Maybe to say "Thank you."Maybe just to get another good dose of the love that helped them to be who they are.

Then we get to see that we never really lose our children, as long as they know there is something worth coming back to. - adapted from www

Oh! for a bit of self respect

India is a great country. It is home to one of the three earliest civilizations in the world. It is also home to perhaps the most tolerant religion - hinduism. A country where people of different faiths co exist peacefully for at least 99.9% of the time.

The result of this can be seen in our daily life. Strong value system, tolerence, democratic fundamentals, freedom of speech, fierce independance and so on. We were timid for a long time due to colonization first and later due to below average economic conditions. Now the situation has changed. We are 60 years into independance, economy is booming and the new generation of indians are admired all over the world for their hard work, creativity and work ethic. The world has realized that India is emerging as a superpower.

Power comes with responsibility. Unfortunately our political leaders do not understand this. Though we crave for international recognition, we fail to stand up and be counted on any major issue. We are allowing others to ride roughshode over us. Our foreign policy is highly reactive than proactive.

Shall give you two examples. Tiny Bangladesh, which was created by us and which is one of the least developed country in the world and hardly having a decent army to boast of has been irritating us for a long time. They are pushing illegal immigrants to india by millions, have made repeated incursions to our territory and are even occupying a large chunk of our land. And despite boasting of one of the largest army in the world and nuclear arsenal to boot, what do our government do - nothing!. Our government dont even have an iota of self respect. What a shame!

The second case is that of Tibetan protests. True we have signed an agreement with China on Tibet long time back. But China has many a time violated the spirit of the agreement. They have occupied our territory, have not recognised Arunachal Pradesh and have been a thorn in our side for a long long time. I am not saying that we should support Tibetan issue. We have a ridiculous situation of being a lapdog to China, dancing to their tunes on the torch relay and even threatening Dalai Lama. The least we could have done is to stand up to China, look them in their eye and tell them off saying we are a democracy and we will allow peaceful protests. It is our duty to protect the torch and we wont allow chinese guards to guard the torch. Are we not capable of doing it? Let me give you a scenario. If there are protests and these chinese guards beat up the protesters, will India dare to take action against them.

Our Government is spineless and has no sense of self respect. When will we ever get a leader whom we can be proud of ,who will inspire us and make us a world power?

Responding to negative behaviour

On an occasion when Buddha was teaching a group of people, he found himself on the receiving end of a fierce outburst of abuse from a bystander, who was for some reason very angry.

Buddha listened patiently while the stranger vented his rage, and then Buddha said to the group and to the stranger, "If someone gives a gift to another person, who then chooses to decline it, tell me, who would then own the gift? The giver or the person who refuses to accept the gift?"

"The giver," said the group after a little thought.

"Any fool can see that," added the angry stranger.

"Then it follows, does it not," said Buddha, "Whenever a person tries to abuse us, or to unload their anger on us, we can each choose to decline or to accept the abuse; whether to make it ours or not. By our personal response to the abuse from another, we can choose who owns and keeps the bad feelings."

Every one of us has the choice whether or not to take personal offence from another person's behaviour

Inflaaaaaaaaaaation................................

Rising inflation is causing serious concerns. The inflation as per the official figures has crossed 7%, the highest for a long time. The ground reality for the common man is much worse, as the inflation of food articles is anywhere between 15-20%.

There are many reasons for this. In the euphoria of Indian economy growing at greater that 8%, the eminent economists who are heading the government, the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister P Chidambaram and the Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahulwalia, overlooked a simple fact. The agricultural sector was not growing. Likewise the core sector had started stagnating. The growth was spurred by the manufacturing sector and the services sector.

The problem with this is that the wages started rising resulting in more disposable income which led to an increase in both conspicuous and non conspicuous consumption. Conventional wisdom states that for every 1% rise in GDP, the food consumption will rise by 0.7%. In the case of India, due to pent up demand, it was close to 0.8%. This means that since the economy was growing at 8%, the agricultural sector should have grown by at least 6.4%. Unfortunately, this sector has been growing at a very low 2.6% due mainly to lack of credit, reduction in arable land, absence of technological and farming innovations, thoughtless import policies, poor support prices, high input costs, obsolete storage facilities and volatile weather patterns. This has resulted in supply side constraints and the offshoot is the food shortage and the rising prices.

Having blundered on long term planning for the farm sector and oblivious to the rising prices, Government woke up when they realized that rising inflation can cost it dearly in an election year. In a knee jerk reaction, Government raised the interest rates to squeeze the money supply in the market. While it served the purpose of reigning in inflation for a brief period, the flip side of foreign money flowing into India from low interest rate regimes negated the gain. Inflation dipped, then broke free and is galloping uncontrolled. Government cannot again raise the interest rates as the economy has already started slowing down because of the earlier interest rate hikes. Any further hike will be suicidal for the growth prospects.

The profligacy of the Government in allocating huge sums of money for non producing social development programs like National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme which has resulted in increased money flow without counter balancing returns has added to the inflationary pressures. One dreads to think what the situation will be once the pay commission report is implemented as this will ensure enhanced money flow in the market. With hardly any effort made in controlling non plan expenditure despite lip service being given, this government has pushed itself into a corner.

There are no short term solutions unfortunately. The least government can do is hold back the ridiculous pay commission implementation. It should immediately start taking tough measures on reducing fiscal deficit and non plan expenditures. That means downsizing. What it should not do is raise interest rates and ban exports of food. The farmers are already at their wits end. Food prices are at an all time high in the world market. When there is a glut, government allows exports which give minimal returns to the farmers, but when they can make money, government bans exports. This is ridiculous. The government should also put in place a long term agricultural policy that will lead to the next green revolution. Our farming is still stuck in the 1960’s. No sector can afford to be like that.

Any crisis provides and opportunity. Will this government grab it with both hands? I doubt as its track record on being visionary is pretty poor.

Mathru Devo Bhava................................

From time immemorial, children have been taught wonderful concepts through 'vaymozhi' meaning 'oral language' but more specifically stories.

Every story narrated to a child must have three aspects pertaining to - the mother, the father, and the teacher.

The mother after giving birth nourishes the child carefully and gives the child access to tools for development. So the narration of a story to a child must also create the requisite interest and desire in the child to get more and more interested and to develop an inquiring mind to proceed further with the story. The intensive desire to keenly follow the trends in the story should be born in the child’s mind.

The father helps the child to grow up and develop a continuous and well connected pattern for the progress of the child. So any story must develop a sustaining interest so the child may feel to be an active partner in the world of the story, and move along with the heroes and heroines with an attentive mind.

The teacher imparts knowledge to the child to with a view to think independently and gain some life skills. So the story should have a moral that the child could follow and help the child to deal with various situations independently.

Hence the prayer,

"Mathru Devo Bhava, Pithru Devo Bhava, Guru Devo Bhava"

Meaning that I worship the godliness in my mother, and in my father, and in my teacher

Fooling the People

A small news item caught my eye,

"Meanwhile, Congress president Sonia Gandhi said that she had wanted her son and party general secretary Rahul Gandhi to become a minister.

"I wanted Rahul to be made minister, but he refused," said Sonia Gandhi."

So another renunciation drama. 4 years back there was this big tamasha of Sonia apparently giving up the PM's post as if it is a great sacrifice when she was actually been told off by the then President that she can't legally be the PM.

Now she want us to believe that Rahul Gandhi also made a sacrifice for the party and the people by refusing a ministerial post.

But then why be a mere junior minister when you can be the prime minister. And why be a Prime Minister when you can be the de facto Prime Minister enjoying unlimited power without any accountability.

Some people can have the cake and eat it too.

But it will be wise of her to remember this,

"You can fool some people all the time, all the people some time, but you can't fool all the people all the time"

Goodbye friend!

I took my last class at the IGNOU study centre in the Fisheries building today. There was a lump in my throat when I turned off the projector one final time. The building is being demolished and the study centre has already moved to a swanky new building.

There is something humane about these old buildings. They have a soul. They have so many stories to tell. You can almost hear the walls whisper to you in a conspirational tone.

The building was a reassuring sight during my hard days in 2001-2004. It ensured that I have at least a small job that pays me something when things were tough in my regular workplace. And when I came back after a brief break that lasted a year and a half in 2005-2006, it was like the prodigal son returning home. I was welcomed with both hands or doors rather

So many fond and not so fond memories.

Shared the pain with the student whose brother was in the World Trade Centre building on that fateful 9/11. Rejoiced with her when we got the news that he was safe.

Was at my wits end when a husband and wife, both my students, walked into the classroom with their 5 month old baby to attend a Marketing Management Class and sought permission to keep the baby inside. Not having the heart to say no, I consented and the class took place between the baby's crooning and everyone playing with the kid.

The building was a mute witness when I lost the thread with my past. I was disturbed from the class to be told that my father, who was an alter ego of me, has expired. I heard the news in stoic silence and not a drop of tear came out. Still dont know why. I cried a full 24 hours later.

The building introduced me to a cross section of expatriate indian students, of all age group and from different background. Most younger than me, some as old and a few much older.

The building also witnessed a turning point in life. It was when on a Vidhyarambham day, Martin called me out of the blue at 7 pm to come over. When I did, he had an application for M Phil duly filled awaiting my signature. I had decided not to go ahead with M Phil. It was as if someone was showing me the way from above through Martin. I did sign partly out of respect for his affection and I have never regretted it. Successful completion of M Phil has changed the perception people had of me. I am sure I won't have to write any more written examinations in my life. The building thus has a special place as the location where I wrote my last examination.

The last six months has seen tremendous change amongst the students. Workshops, GD Clubs, Cricket, Aavishkar competitions, E-Magazine........the list goes on.

It was as if the building almost showing defiance and saying "look this old man still has a spark left and has much more to offer. Is still vibrant. And you want to bring me down?"

Well. Anything constructed has to face the reality of destruction one day. Nothing is immortal. That is the law of the nature. And so it is with my friend the Fisheries building in Sharq.

I can almost visualize a heartless, soul less, ugly , giant glass skyscraper in its place in a year or two. The current building housed common people, simple guys who earned a few hundred dinars every month. The inhabitants were humane with no airs. The building empathised with them, comforted them during their tough times and was happy when they smiled. But now I foresee a set of high flying rich, spoiled corporate honchos talking nonsense with self assumed importance sitting where I enjoyed taking classes for my students

Goodbye friend! I wish I could stay this demolition. Alas! I don't have the power

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Slogging a lifetime for ?????

A management consultant, on holiday in a African fishing village, watched a little fishing boat dock at the quayside. Noting the quality of the fish, the consultant asked the fisherman how long it had taken to catch them.

"Not very long." answered the fisherman.

"Then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the consultant.

The fisherman explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.

The consultant asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

"I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, have an afternoon's rest under a coconut tree. In the evenings, I go into the community hall to see my friends, have a few beers, play the drums, and sing a few songs..... I have a full and happy life." replied the fisherman.

The consultant ventured, "I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you...... You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat. With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have a large fleet. Instead of selling your fish to a middleman, you can negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to a city here or maybe even in the United Kingdom, from where you can direct your huge enterprise."

"How long would that take?" asked the fisherman.

"Oh, ten, maybe twenty years." replied the consultant.

"And after that?" asked the fisherman.

"After that? That's when it gets really interesting," answered the consultant, laughing, "When your business gets really big, you can start selling shares in your company and make millions!"

"Millions? Really? And after that?" pressed the fisherman.

"After that you'll be able to retire, move out to a small village by the sea, sleep in late every day, spend time with your family, go fishing, take afternoon naps under a coconut tree, and spend relaxing evenings havings drinks with friends..."

Look at it! Is it not what we all do?