Common (Loot) Games?

This is how our tax money is (mis)used

And right under the nose of all the ruling party elite in Delhi

What a shame!

P.S: In the past five months, the estimated expenditure on the Commonwealth Games (CWG) has increased by over Rs1,000 crore to a whopping Rs11,500 crore, and rising! This is a quantum leap from 2003, when the erstwhile NDA government had bagged the rights to hold CWG for Rs655 crore, and December 2008, when the expenditure was estimated at around Rs7,907 crore. In February, minister for sports MS Gill had estimated the expenditure at Rs10,455 crore.On Thursday, however, he told Rajya Sabha the estimated expenditure had risen to Rs11,494 crore. And the stadiums are incomplete, infrastructure in delhi in shambles and it is a total mess. No one is held responsible as everyone has his hand in the cookie jar. How can an estimate made in 2003 for a 2010 games jump from 655 crores to 11494 crores is beyond ones imgination

,

What is common.....................?

What is common to Kerala & Paraguay/Philippines, Goa & Indonesia, Jharkhand/Bihar & Congo, Tamil Nadu & Ghana, Punjab & Guatemala, Himachal Pradesh & Morocco, Bihar & Somalia, North Eastern States & Haiti..............................?

They have similar development levels. Doesn't reflect so well on our country, does it?

Get more details HERE

Trivia

The word 'trivia' is derived from the latin word 'trivium', which means 'three roads' or more colloquially 'crossroads'. The junction of three roads is where common people meet, and exchage small, inconsequential bits of information or hold conversations that were general, interesting but unimportant in nature.

A trivia could be an information like India having only 2.2% of the Worlds total land mass, but is home to 16.5% of the World's population.

Another trivia is that Kuwait is the 3rd crowded nation in the World, with Singapore and Israel taking the first two places. India is ranked 33rd.

Why oh Why adjourn?

The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day on the first day of the monsoon session of parliament Monday. The lower house assembled at 11 p.m., which was followed by Speaker Meira Kumar leading the members in paying tribute to deceased former vice president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and former union minister and Bihar MP Digvijay Singh. The speaker also remembered the victims of various disasters - the train accident in West Bengal July 22, the Maoist attack in Narayanpur in Chattisgarh June 29 and the plane crash in Mangalore May 22. On the 11th anniversary of Kargil operations, she also paid tribute to the martyrs of India's war who protected the Kargil heights in Jammu and Kashmir from Pakistani raiders and camouflaged regular troops in 1999.

Meira Kumar then adjourned the house for the day

Why adjourn? Why can't the Parliament spend 15 mintues paying tributes, observe one minute of silence and then get on with the job of law making? That would be the best tribute one can give to the dead. Why should all the MP's get a days holiday? I am sure no one will be even thinking about the dead once they are out of the hall. They will be indulging in wheeling and dealing, brokering deals, playing petty politics to the detriment of the nation rest of the day. The cost of maintaining these MP's per day is prohibitively high. Why should the tax payer be cheated of his hard earned money like this?

Of Apparitions and Evil Spirits

Couple of decades ago, I visited Chottanikkara temple in Kerala in the evening. This was my first visit to the temple. There are two temples - the upper and the lower, knows as Melkkavu and Kizhukkavu respectivel. The upper temple has,as presiding deity, Devi (Annapoorneswari) in full splendour, and represented as Saraswathy in the morning, Lakshmi in the noon and Durga in the evening. The Bhadrakaali at Kizhukkavu is believed to exorcise evil spirit from devotees, after conducting bhajanam.

I was tired after a few days on the road. After having had my darsanam in the more conventional upper temple, I moved to the lower temple. I have heard stories about the power of the bhadrakali, and of the many people, belived to be under the influence of evil spirits, who become violent on seeing the deity, unable to look at her directly. I have also heard of the tree in the Kizhukkavu, where the evil spirits are supposed to be parked, after being exorcised, using nails hammered into the tree (see image on the right).  Though god fearing, I have  been very rational those days, taking all these with a pinch of salt.

While I was on the pathway to the kizhukkavu, there was a powercut. It was twilight outside. The sun had set, the sky was red and there was a surreal feeling.  There was a crowd of about 100 in the kizhukkavu, with the sreekovil door closed for deeparadhana. There was pindrop silence. Everything normal, quiet and peaceful, but getting darker by the minute. Then the door opened showing the deity illuminated with hundreds of oil lamps. A magnificient sight. I closed my eyes, at peace with myself. Suddenly, I heard a scream to my left. A young lady of twenty something had started screaming and jumping. She had her hair down and was uncontrollable. My heart missed a couple of beats. Immediately, another commotion in my back as another lady, this time an older lady started gyrating, abusing the deity. To say I was disturbed is an understatement. I was scared out of my wits, for it was my first encounter with people supposedly afflicted by evil spirits. All my rationality vanished in thin air. I had always thought that most of the people like these fake a lot, but however skeptical I tried to be, I just couldnt believe that these two were faking, and years on I still dont. I watched, half scared, half curious at their actions. It went on for nearly half an hour and the energy levels were amazing. They were still on, with relatives unable to hold them back, when I left, shaken and very very disturbed.

I travelled overnight in a bus, physically and mentally fatigued. The event of the previous evening had taken its toll on me. I dozed off, and had strange dreams of evil spirits floating in my dreams, disturbing me further. I was woken up at 5 am by the conductor. I got down and made haste to my friends house, who had just got married, but I had not yet seen his wife. It was still reasonably dark when I pressed the bell, and was horrified at the apparition that opened the door. It was clad in a white dress, face red, hair in a bundle on top of the head, only the teeth and the whites of the eyes bright.

I almost had a heart attack. All the experience of the previous evening and the dreams of the night had suddenly come back to haunt me, or so it seemed. I couldnt answer her simple question as to who I was. I stood transfixed to the ground, mouth agape, pulse racing.

Fortunately, I could make out behind her the familiar face of my friend, who told the apparition who I was, and it withdrew flashing its teeth in a huge smile, making it more scary (something similar but thrice as scary as the image on the left. All pictures sourced from google images)

'W........h....a....a...t   .w...a....a....s..,,    t....h...aaaa....t...      t...h....i....n.....g..?

I blurted out. My friend was nonplussed for a moment, then threw his head back in laughter. Taking the bag from my hand, he put a comforting hand of my shoulder and said,

'That thing is my wife. She has applied red sandalwood as a facepack when she went to bed last night. I had always joked with her that all she had to do is to show her face in the event of a thief entering the house in the night, and looks like she managed to scare the living daylights out of you'

Though years have passed, the image of his wife as she was when she opened the door ( a pretty, beautiful, bubbly woman without facepack otherwise) still sends a shiver up my spine.

Have you heard of this law?

Ever heard of  LAW OF UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES?

The law warns that an intervention in a complex system invariably creates unanticipated and often undesirable outcomes.

The consequence can be a positive benefit, called windfall or serendipity. Aspirin was introduced as a pain killer. But it was found out that, it has anticoagulant properties, which prevents heart attacks. In India, there are many cities which has Army Cantonements. Large, sprawling areas of land in the heart of the city, with lot of greenery, peaceful atmosphere and walking space around it. Years later, when the city around has become concrete jungles, these cantonment areas are perhaps the only saving grace in an otherwise crowded city. A classic case was MGR introducing the noon meal scheme in mid 1970s, which led to the birth rate falling rapidly in Tamil Nadu by late 1980's, which was totally unintended. More rural parents sent their girl children to school so that they can get the noon meal, and these children attained reproductive age by late 1980s, and when the family planning workers went to them to explain the benefits of family planning, because of their education, the girls were much more receptive.

There could be unexpected drawbacks. While the computers and internet have changed the way we work for the better, making us very efficient, it has killed original writing with people resorting to copy, pasting whether at college or at work. This has adversely affected original thinking. While monsoon brings the much wanted rains, so essential for drinking water and for agricultural purpose,the drawback is that it also results in waterborne diseases spreading. Industry set up in a rural area, instead of providing job to locals, may result in locals migrating, as they will be displaced from their land and vocation.

It can result in a perverse effect. By this we mean that the consequence is diametrically opposite to what is intended. A book or a film is banned to prevent public from reading or watching it. But what happens in reality is the contrary. The action results in the book or the films sale increasing leaps and bounds through internet and through the grey market, with more people reading or watching than it would have had the ban been not effected. Another classic case is prohibition. The liquour consumption actually goes up when the prohibition is in place, as people get a perverse satisfaction in defying a law.

Metti

I was asked a question as to the significance of wearing 'metti' on the leg by south indian married women. This is a silver ring that is worn on the second finger from the toe on both the legs, at the time of marriage and since.

'Metti' is worn on the second finger from the toe. There is a nerve that connects the second finger to the heart that also passes through the uterus. It is felt that wearing silver and the friction it causes while walking or doing household chores activates the said nerve. This nerve becoming active, revitalizes the productivity organs. It is also believed, that wearing metti on both feet facilitates regular menstrual cycles, thus increasing the chances of conceiving, which is very important for a married women then, and even now.

At last the GST is here

The much awaited restructuring in the indirect tax structure in India finally gets the go-ahead.

Goods and Services Tax (GST), which is to replace the existing VAT, service tax, excise duties and central sales tax among others, will be in place from April 1, 2011. This shall dismantle the existing multiple level, regressive indirect tax structure, to be replaced by a single tax making it easy for corporates, small business and traders.

I have long been against artificial barriers being set up by each State and Union Territory that hampered the free movement of goods and services across the country. The check posts at state borders are a source of corruption, national waste due to loss of precious fuel and delays transhipment from one part of India to another by at least 2-3 days, a criminal waste.

This will be advantageous to the consumer too. The current Central and State Taxes are different for different products and in some cases it is as high as 30%. Under the new GST, there shall be a uniform tax of 16%, out of which the Central and the State shall have 8% each. This of course will be implemented over  a 3 year period in phases, and as such we shall get the full benefit of this scheme only by 2014. Government has been smart in one way. Our economy has been turning to a service centric one for the past decade. Under the new GST, even the services will be taxed at 16% as against the 12% today, allowing Government to benefit from the phenomenal growth in services.

The only worry will be when the Government decides to increase this 16% at some stage. Then it will be regressive. But that is for another day.

PESTELO

I teach MBA students how macro economic environmental factos  (PESTEL- Political, Economical,Social,Technological, Environmental, Legal)  affect a business. Now, it looks like I have to rename the Acronym as PESTELO, with 'O' standing for 'Octopus'.

Bookmakers in Kazakhstan are furious with Paul the Octopus, who may have achieved a legendary status in Spain, for their low World Cup profits. The Kazakhstan Association of Bookmakers has complained that its members made less than half of their expected profits after too many punters put their faith in the miracle octopus, rather than relying on their own predictive powers. According to Kazakh newspaper Liter, they made a wafer-thin margin of £6,70,000 on £44 million in bets placed.

No Barking!

Next time when you visit my home, please don't BARK, since you have been warned not to by my harris. Was the message aimed at canines or humans in canine's guise, only he can tell.

But I do admire him, for the guy doesnt know one word of English. At least, he tried.

Life is a great leveller

Once upon a time,  a rich man lived in a village. Egoistic and vain about his status, he used to send his Walking Stick to the weddings in the village, to be placed on a chair meant for him, as he felt it beneath his dignity to make a personal appearance. Years flew by, it was time for his daughter to get married. On the day of the wedding, he was horrified to see nothing but hundreds of walking sticks in the chairs meant for his guests, who were reciprocating his gesture.

I was reminded of this story when I heard the following remark of our 'distinguished' sports minister M S Gill.

Taking strong exception to pullout of some of the star athletes from the Commonwealth Games, Sports Minister MS Gill on Sunday asked CGF President Mike Fennell to bring those champions to New Delhi instead of an army of officials. Scottish cycling star Chris Hoy is the latest Olympic champion to withdraw from the Games after Jamaican sprinters Usain Bolt and Shelly Ann Fraser decided to give a miss to the October 3-14 Games.

"Star athletes have slowly drifted away from the Games. It's not at all good. I want to tell Fennell that don't bring your officials but bring stars like Bolt, Fraser, Hoy and others with you. They are the main attraction for the people of this country to see," Gill said while inaugurating the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Swimming Complex. "Commonwealth Games is a sporting event and not the meeting of officials. These athletes drifting away doesn't please me nor the Organising Committee. This is not done."

During the past few decades, India has been sending a large contingent to various games, whether it be Olympics, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games or any major international sporting event. All of these contingents comprised of 90% officials and 10% sportspersons. And the officials did not even bother to look after the basic needs of the athletes, as they were busy sightseeing and shopping. Even during National Games in India, the officials stayed in 5 star hotels, enjoying the finest cuisine, while the athletes languished in 3rd rate accommodation, eating substandard food, unfit even for animals.

All M S Gill has to do to verify this is to turn to his right hand man Suresh Kalmadi, President of IOA in India for donkey's years.

Impact of Gulf of Mexico oil spill

The impact of the explosion on the oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico,  the subsequent environmental disaster due to the massive oil spill, and the US Governments tough stand on liability (Indians should take a leaf out of US in this regard, just compare our weak kneed response to Bhopal Gas Leak which killed more than 10,000 people, and the US's response of demanding billions of dollars when the death toll was a mere 11) has far reaching consequences.

While, on the one hand, this tough stand of US shall result in the Oil Industry becoming more socially responsible in the future, it is more likely that off shore drilling will cease to be less attractive in the years to come. Even today, many companies shy away from off shore drilling, considering it too risky.  The risk for them on off shore drilling has just increased considerably. On the one hand more expensive equipments have to be purchased, additional safety measures implemented and the insurance companies shall demand higher premium - all of which leads to cost of production shooting up. No oil company is going to absorb this cost. And of course, this cost will be passed on to the ultimate consumers, that will push the oil prices up, which in turn can have a cascading effect on the inflation.

In the long run, this disaster could be the best thing that could have happened in the energy sector. With on-shore oil recovery becoming more expensive, due to non discovery of new assets and dwindling reserves in the existing wells, off-shore was considered to sustain the production levels. With off shore becoming riskier and more expensive, the world might just speed up the research on alternate fuels, which can't be that bad a proposition.

German Revival in Football

Worth a read!

How Germany revived their sagging football fortunes of 2004.

You would have noticed that Germany discarded their play of style of 2004 (strategic plan prevalent), adopted a new aggressive style of play (new strategic direction), implemented the plan across the various age group levels (strategy implementation at all levels), Klinsman planned and executed the new style (Change leader), involved the German football federation (co opted the Board of Directors) and ensured Joachim Loew was there to carry on the plan (Succession Planning, both at the Coach's level and also note that since he took pains to implement this at the U-21 level, there were players like Mueller, Ozil, Schweinsteiger ready to step in effortlessly into the senior team when the time arrived). The Klinsman plan will really  bear fruit when the current young team matures during the time till the next world cup.

Who said Management principles cant be applied in the sports arena?

Key concepts explained!

Some Economic, Financial and Marketing Transactions Explained!. An amusing take, extracted from an article in http://newstodaynet.com/

I give you something, you give me something back. This is the basic barter system, much in vogue in ancient times. But when you gave cows and goats and got back cows and goats in exchange, I think the business cannot be called all that enterprising.

I give you something, but you not only don’t give me anything in return, but also become rude and callous to me. This, needless to say, is how the modern-day governments were born.

You take a lot from me. You get on a pedestal and announce several things, none of which is understandable or beneficial to me. Yes, it’s Finance Minister announcing the fiscal policies in the budget presentation.

I give you a lot, but you give me just an useless piece of paper in exchange. Ok, you know it, I am indeed talking about stock market operations.

I give you something, you don’t give me something, but you are nice to you. This heralded the arrival of modern-day journalism, by which I mean big business.

I give you signed papers. You give me money. I return more money than you give. You return my papers? No, you ask for my blood. Cue: Personal loans from banks.

You don’t give me anything, I don’t give you anything. And we both don’t give anything to anybody else, but we gather a lot of people and talk to them how we both have made a lot of money in the whole business. This is, of course, multi-level marketing.

Okay, the last one: You just keep calling me. And I go: ‘*#$3@^&.’ This is the highest form of business and trade today: Tele-marketing.

Sai Na!

The more I see of Saina Nehwal, World No.2 Badminton Player, the more impressed I am. The girl has class.

In an era, where every half bit India non-cricket sports person, who has hardly achieved anything,  take a potshot at cricketers and the money they are earning, Saina's comments comes as a whiff of fresh air.

Asked to comment on the Rs 210 crore deal of Mahinder Singh Dhoni, Saina wished India's cricket team captain the best. "He is a cricketer. I think we should not compare it [cricket with badminton]. Cricket is always a first sport for India. I am really happy for him and I am happy with whatsoever I am getting. I just want to do well for my country in the game and am happy with that."

"I see changes in my sport and also in the way my sponsorships are happening. I am really happy with the progress. But I don't want to forget that it is all because of my game. At the same time, I am really happy to be associated with such big brands now."

To a question about her potential brand value, she replied: "I don't know anything. I just have to focus only on my game. These things hardly bother me; my work is only to play and do well."

 

Touche. This girl will go far

This and That

"Tata motors to hike Nano prices" - As expected..... end of a dream and perhaps the beginning of the end of the silly car, that is poor in quality

'At no point during the talks, by no means the external affairs minister (SM Krishna) expressed agreement with foreign minister (Shah Mahmood) Qureshi's opinion on Home Secretary G K Pillai' said foreign secretary Nirupama Rao. - But did the nincompoop of a foriegn minister S M Krishna refute the insinuation?. Oh! Why must we suffer this idiot

Delhi was constantly directing Krishna - Qureshi - And ISI was directing Qureshi

'Rise in food prices is 'temporary': Pawar' - Temporary, like lasting 3 years perhaps?

"Indira opened Indian economy:  Swaraj Paul" - Can attribute this inanity to senility at the age of 79

'Sachin deserves a World Cup victory under his belt,' says former Kiwi fast bowler Danny Morrison - Thank god, he didnt say 'below the belt'

"Pak tops world in 'sex' searches" -  Take pity on them. What else can a bunch of impotents do?

New National Trait, sponsored and promoted by the powers that be

Is it the new national trait?

I have noticed a trend amongst the younger generation of Indians, especially the male. They do sloppy work in the beginning, delay the work for flimsy reasons, and finally patch up the whole issue and dump it on the Manager's head just a few hours before the deadline (or even after the deadline), leaving the Manager with no option than to either accept it, or correct the mistakes himself.

The youth take cue from what is happening around them. They see inaction and substandard work by the leaders of the Country.

Take the example of the Common Wealth Games. We had more than 4 years to develop the infrastructure. India's bid document for the Commonwealth Games in 2003 estimated the cost of hosting the event at Rs 1,899 crore. After several revisions the estimates now range from an official figure of Rs 10,000 crore to independent experts at an astounding Rs 30,000 crore. Even by official estimates, the cost has gone up 5 times. There is an interesting Comptroller and Auditor General report that chronicles changes in the Games' budget. Originally, in May 2003, when the government allowed the Indian Olympic Association to bid for the CWG, an expenditure of Rs 296 crore was indicated towards upgradation of sports infrastructure and conduct of games, with expenditure on security and Games Village to be incurred by the government and Delhi Development Authority. The report moves on to reveal that the updated bid document of December 2003 estimated the operating expenditure alone at Rs 635 crore and other expenditure at Rs 1,200 crore. The first budget for the Games approved by the Cabinet in April 2007 estimated the total expenditure at around Rs 3,566 crore.

Some cost escalation is understandable, but not 5 times, definitely. Despite this splurge, we are nowhere near having the world class infrastructure or city development as promised. All that can be seen is substandard work, crashed bridges, cracked buildings, potholed roads, unfinished stadiums, last minute patch up jobs, giving additional tenders to the guilty contractors in the guise of meeting the deadlines - a situation caused by them in the first place, and Delhi praying that it wont rain during the CWG games, as it has been noticed that 3 hours of rain shall bring the city to a standstill. It is obvious the real reason for hosting this wasteful games (by the way, why the hell are we still hanging on to the concept of Commonwealth - a relic of the colonial past that only serves to assuage the ego of the British, who are paupers in the World Power rankings now) are to make the political parties and individuals rich through massive corruption.

The motto is - do substandard work, delay- delay-delay, and then get rewarded for it through additional funds, that is used to line one's pocket.

'Yadha Raja, Thadha Praja'

Were you aware?

As kids, and later when we had kids, we have played Snakes and Ladders, at one time or another. But how many of us know that the game originated in India, and was once used to teach the importance of leading a virtuous life to young kids? It was known in Ancient India as Moksha Padam or Parama Padam.

Though there are stray references to Moksha Padam that dates back to 2nd century BC, the credit for developing the game is attributed to Gyandev, the 13th Century AD poet and saint.

As conceived by him, the Ladders represented the Virtues  and the Snakes, the Vices. Many of the squares represented various virtues. For example, the square 12 dentoed faith, 51- Reliability, 57 - Generosity, 76 - Knowledge, and 78 was Asceticism. And obviously, these were the squares that had ladders, implying that if one has faith, or is reliable, or is genorous, or has knowledge, or is an ascetic, then he/she will climb up in life.

Likewise, Square 41 was the square of Disobedience, 44-Arrogance, 49-Vulgarity, 52-Theft, 58- Lying, 62-Drunkenness, 69-Debt, 73-Murder, 84-Anger, 92- Greed, 95-Pride, and 99-Lust. Needless to say, the head of the snake could be found in these squares, and one slips down in ones life if he/she were to be tempted by any of these vices.

The objective of the game was to reach square 100, that stood for Moksham or Nirvana, the ultimate aim of one's life as per Hinduism. And when you cross 90, and thus very close to Moksham, there are strong negative forces like Greed(92), Pride(95) and Lust(99), that can bring you crashing down to the bottom very fast. Also, the task of attaining moksham is made difficult, as you have to have the exact number on the dice required of you to reach 100, showing how difficult it is to attain nirvana.

The game was westernised mindlessly by the British, who renamed it as Snakes and Ladders, without imbibing the spirit behind it. And like many other things from our past, the real philosophical intent of the game was totally lost, though I understand that the game in some of its original form is available in certain parts of Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.

It is still not too late. You can buy a Snakes & Ladders, and rename the squares as above, or as per the starting point of ladders and snakes, to pass on some good value system to your kid.

Government initiated loot

When I was the Sales Officer in HPCL during early 1990's, we had a Cash & Carry System for the Consumers. The Consumers can bring the empty refill to the showroom, and take a full one as against the same being delivered at their home by the delivery boys. We used to give a DISCOUNT to the customer - the discount being equal to the delivery charges incurred normally by the LPG Dealer, which was quite fair.

Now, we have swung to the other extreme. As per the new scheme announced, you can have the LPG Cylinder delilvered at your house on a time of your choice by PAYING AN ADDITIONAL Rs 25-50. 

There is an irony to this. The guys really affected by this is the poor delivery boys. Till now, they will deliver the cylinder at a prefered time if requested unofficially by the customer, and will be happy to get an additional tip, which never exceeded Rs 10. Now that source of income is gone. And the customer has to pay more legally to get the same benefit. The only guy laughing all the way to the bank is the LPG Dealer. And the Government has, in the guise of an innovative scheme, is actually facilitating a loot and more harassment by the LPG dealer. Do you want to bet that the LPG dealer will make it a point to supply at the most inconvenient time to all the customers who refuse to pay this additional amount? This is Government initiated loot.

See my 3 related posts on this here , and here , and here

Of Bars and Benches

As a Sales Officer in HPCL, I was forced to  be present in Judicial Courts, whenever any civil case pertaining to a dispute between HPCL and Landlords of the Petrol Pumps came up for hearing. This used to be at least 2-3 times a month. On the morning of the case, I would visit my lawyer Krishnan, and then be present at the Court by 11 am. It was the most frustrating experience I even had in my life. A bunch of cases were called one after another, the respective advovates stood up, either asked for an adjournment or submitted a document, and then the case would be postponed to another day one year or two down the line. And most of these cases were at least couple of decades old, and would continue for another couple of decades. It was a depressing experience.

However, I  have always been an avid reader of legal thrillers, be it Perry Mason or John Grisham. The court room arguments and the work that goes behind it always attracted me, though I know that in reality this is not how it works.

I was always intrigued as to why when a lawyer graduates and wants to practice, he is said to have joined the 'Bar', or why when a Judge is appointed to the High Court or Supreme Court, he is said to have been elevated to the 'Bench' or why we have the terminology 'Single Bench', 'Three member Bench' etc. I could have googled, but somehow I didnt.

Now thanks to a book 'Tales from the Bench and the Bar' byVicaji J Taraporevala, I have the answer.

In the olden days, English judges sat on the central portion of a long bench. When a judge sat for the first time, the newly appointed judge was said to have been ‘elevated to the Bench.’ Though the benches have been replaced with long backed chairs, the expression continues.

The term ‘Bar’ is derived from an actual bar, which earlier in England, divided the dais of the judge and the seating arrangement for counsel. Advocates presented their cases standing in front of the bar. Those who got this privilege was said to have been ‘called to the Bar.’

Disappointing

A forgettable final befitting a forgettable World Cup. The team which was less capable of not scoring goals won.

When you have a World Champion crowned, who won their pre-quarter, quarter, semi and final by a 1-0 margin, and a team who scored a total of 8 goals in 7 matches, while conceding only 2, it speaks volumes of where the priorities lie - in not conceding goals and in not scoring goals. A highly defensive France in 1998, a flairless Brazil in 2002, a dour Italy in 2006 and now a lacklustre Spain in 2010 - the World Cup has lost its sheen.

The best game of the World Cup was perhaps the 3rd place play off match between Germany and Uruguay. It was open, aggressive football at its best.

Only saving grace is that Diego Forlan won the Golden Ball for the Best Player of the tournament. The unassuming Uruguayan was a revelation. He shouldered the responsibility of taking Uruguay to the Semis single handedly on his shoulders, scored vital and spectacular goals, was unselfish in assisting, and was an epitome of grace both on and off the field. A gentleman to the core and a highly skillful player. Perhaps the only one who really mastered the Jabulani ball in dead ball situations. He was game to the last, literally, for the 3rd place match ended with Forlans free kick just hitting the cross bar, thus narrowly missing going into the goal, that would have squared the match.

Let us congratulate Spain but let us hail Diego Forlan.

Amid the gloom, there is one bright spot. At least we are rid of the damn Vuvuzelas.

Are you in Control?

Years ago, when I was a rookie with HPCL, I used to prepare meticulously for our Sales Review Meetings held 3-4 times a year. At least one of the meetings will be chaired by GM South Zone. You need to understand that computers had not become popular, and one had to painstakingly type the Sales Presentation document in a rickety Remington Typewriter oneself. I was known for my immaculate groundwork.

There were 8 of us, Sales Officers. The meeting will start at 9 am, and the Regional Manager would decide who goes in first. I was never given the first slot, nor was Shaji, my Trichur Colleague. The first presenter will normally have a presentation lasting 90 minutes, during which most of the general issues will be discussed threadbare. But no one had any doubts that he was the target for the management (any review meeting the management will come prepared to rip one of the Sales Officer apart). The second presenter will be given 45 minutes. At around 12.50 pm, they will ask me to present with a caveat "Rajan, you have 10 minutes! Just highlight your major problems. We are hungry and need to break for lunch at 1 pm". Or alternatively, I will be given the last slot at 4.45pm, or immediately after lunch when no one is interested. 

Intrigued, and disappointed that all my preparations had gone to waste, I, once, complained about this perceived injustice to my GM when he was on a private visit to my Sales Area in Coimbatore. A very soft spoken paternal gentleman, he smiled, patted me on the back and said,

"Rajan. we look at only a few things. Are you in control of the situation? Are you aware of the problems? Have you applied your mind to find workable solutions to the problems? Have you identified those problems which need decision making at a higher level, and if so, are you approaching us in time?. In your case, you score high on all of the above. And so does Shaji. That is why we leave you to your job, give you limited time during which you normally clear up the 2-3 issues that need decision making at my level" 

That is one lesson I have never forgotten in my life. I have applied that rigorously in my professional life, and in my teaching life. I worry (and some say behind my back, reveal the Darth Vader side of my personality) only when my subordinates/students appear to be unaware of the pitfalls or when they don't think it through or when they are reluctant to approach me when they are stuck or when they approach me to solve things that they can solve on their own.

Heart or Head?

Heart says Holland and the Head says Spain

Rajasilpam-Marketing Model-1

Everyone has his own model of Marketing, starting from 4 P to 7 P, to 4 C and beyond.

Let me add my one bit to the debate.

My model is based on treating the word PRODUCTS as an Acronym. You might ask Why Products? Simple - Marketing do not have a cause to exist without a Product (or Service). It is the foundation on which Marketing edifice is built.

The first letter 'P' represents PRICE.

The price has to be viewed from two angles. The Maximum price that the Customer is willing to pay and the Minimum Price that the Seller can afford to charge to stay in business. Both do cost-benefit analysis, and would effect the transaction if the B/P is => 1 for the Customer, and P/C=>1 for the Seller - B,P,C standing for Benefit, Price and Cost respectively.

Higher B/P for customer means lower P/C for the Seller as C increases with increase in B. A very high B/P for the customer would make the transaction unprofitable for the seller, who will then back out of the transaction. Similarly, a very high P/C for the seller, which is effectively exhorbitant profit, would make the B/P considerably less than 1 for the buyer, who will look for alternate solutions, jeopardising the deal. An equilibrium point between the two will be one when the transaction is effected, which in effect means a Win-Win situation. Succesful marketing stories are all about creating these Win-Win Situations.

Quarter of a century ago, I used to visit my brother regularly while he was working with IOB in Delhi. We would go to Karol Bagh monday market for purchasing dresses. My brother would ask the price of a kurta and the salesman would say Rs 100. Brother would make a counter offer of Rs 10. Then the haggling starts. At that point B/P for my brother is very high and the P/C for the shop owner very low. It is a no-go situation. The shopowner reduces in stages of Rs 10, while my brother increases his offer in stages of Rs 5 or 10. At around Rs 35, there is an acceptable B/P - P/C trade off, and the deal is effected.

The model will be revealed in parts in the subsequent blogs. Keep coming back.

I can't believe this!!!

How can some with an iota of responsibility be so callous and unprofessional?

P(l)AU(ssib)L(e)

It is a sad state of affairs that world cup will be remembered more for Paul the Octopus's prophesies (predicting the result of all the 7 matches in which Germany were involved correctly) than for quality football, and breathtaking goals. This has indeed been a very mediocre World Cup, sans personalities.

But everyone is talking about the prowess of Paul. I came across a plausible explanation for his prediction in this article.

The middle path

I was a brash youth long ago, when I was doing my MBA and then in my job with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation. I had revolutionary, off beat solutions for most of the problems and was always game to test my cranky ideas (one such idea was recounted in this post )

But one thing I lacked then, and now, was diplomacy. During my MBA, many a time, I would come up with extreme workable solutions, only to be thwarted by someone else whose idea, though acceptable, was inferior in quality. Noways, I am claiming that my ideas were always better than others. But there were numerous instances when my ideas were far superior in quality, and should have been implemented. In the end, it was that every single time only compromise solutions/ideas that were average in quality got the nod ahead of the best solution on the table. I have seen this happen to others ideas too.

The practice persisted in my jobs. The status quo, dont rock the boat ideas and solutions found favour with the powers that be, than path breaking ideas. I remember a classic case. Early in my career as a Sales Officer with HPCL, I went up to my GM and gave him an idea. The Petrol pumps (dispensing units) were always installed parallel to the road in a line. A single row will contain 3-4 pumps, with driveways on either side. This resulted in a queuing problem. Many an occassion, I had noticed that there were cars in the queue behind the last car being filled, when the 2-3 pumps ahead were lying vacant. My suggestion was to install the pumps at 45 degrees angle to the main road/main driveway. This would ensure cars will not have to queue up unless all the petrol pumps are engaged. An original, simple idea back in 1990. But I was made fun off. I persisted, send the idea to our CYI (Coin Your Idea) scheme, but never heard anything about it.

Almost 8 years down the line, after I had quit HPCL, I returned to the same office to make a courtesy call. I heard the then GM, who was Sr.Manager in the office when I proposed the idea, discuss in admiring tones, how our competitor BPCL had gone in for restructuring their outlets along the same lines I proposed all those years ago, and the benefit that they have reaped. I could but smile, and didnt say a word. At least it proved to me that my idea was not bad, after all. That was enough for me.

I was reminded of this when I read a review of the number-one best-selling novel in America today The Overton Window by Glenn Beck. It is based on a brilliant idea invented by a researcher named Joe Overton. The idea is that at any given time there is an acceptable area of ideas and debate, with things too extreme being excluded. Overton’s point was that a skillful politician can move the window. I should read the book one of these days, for then I might be able to make some sense of what happened long ago

What do you want to be?

This anecdote was received by me through an e-mail and is thought provoking.

A young woman went to her mother, told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her wise mother did not say anything but led her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on the stove. And the pots were brought to boil. In the first pot she put a carrot, in the second she carefully dropped an egg, and in the last she put a spoon of ground coffee beans. She let them boil for a while, without saying a word.

After twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She stained both the pots containing carrot and egg, which she placed on separate bowls. She poured the pot that contained the coffee powder and water into a third bowl.

Turning to her daughter, she asked, ' Tell me what you see.'

'Carrots, eggs, and coffee,' she replied.

Her mother asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break its shell. After pulling off the shell, she observed that the egg has now become hard boiled.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.

The daughter asked, 'What does this mean, mother?'

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently.

The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after being boiled in water, its inside became hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water to a rich aromatic enjoyable coffee.

'Which are you?' she asked her daughter. 'When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

By the way which are you?

Are you the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity you wilt, become soft and lose your strength?

Are you the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes when the heat is really on? Do you have a fragile demeanour, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other hardship,  you come out hardened and stronger?

Or are you the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the boiling is over, it adds fragrance and flavor to even the water. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest you elevate yourself to another level. You also have the habit of turning adversity into an opportunity. 

What are you, then, and more importantly, What do you want to be?

A bad feeling about the inflation scenario

The Government, headed by two 'economists' ,Dr. Manmohan Singh and the Dy. Chairman of the Planning Commission Dr.Montek Singh Ahulwalia, has only one prescription to tackle inflation - To increase the interest rates. And this is plainly not working.

We are currently back to the bad old days of 1980's when the interest rates were very high, stiffling productivity and consumption. Immediately following the Petroleum product price hike last week, RBI has quietly increased the repo and revere repo rates by 0.25 basis points. And a probable further raise can be expected on 27th July, when it announces its credit policy.

There has been both supply and demand side pressures on inflation. The petroleum price hike will result in another 1% rise in inflation at the WPI level, while at the retail level, it is likely to be almost double, taking into account the ripple effect on various sectors. However, the unbearable food inflation is purely due to supply mismanagement. We had identified supply side problems for over a year now, but has hardly done anything to combat that. One would have expected Government to come out with a long term Agricultural master plan to to ensure food security for the country. Unfortunately, this Government has shown very little interest in the Agricultural sector, probably because there is no US angle to it. The alacrity shown by MMS in getting the Nuclear Bill, Nuclear Liability Bill, Peace Talks with Pakistan, policies favouring MNC's etc - all with a view to pleasing the Americans, is absent when it comes to a basic issue like Food, which affects the common man.

UPA has been in Government since 2004. Any government is measured by its ability to give a comfortable life to its citizens, with inflation contained and manageable at best. But, Indians have been suffering badly due to inflationary pressures, mainly due to poor governance. Some figures are given below for you to assess for yourself,

The impact of inflation is felt in School fee which has gone up by 100%, public transport charges that has risen by almost 80%. The personal loans have become dearer.

An interesting point to note is that there has hardly been a major farm crisis, or a unprecedented spurt in demand (like export opportunities) for the Sugar, Rice, Tur Dal prices to go up. This can be attributed to bad policies, negligence and downright mismanagement.

We have gone horribly wrong with our economic planning and priorities. The Congress is back to its bad old days of tax and spend high interest rate policies of 1970s and 80s that proved disastrous for India, and took it to the verge of bankruptcy in 1991. I have a bad feeling about the current scenario. Let us just hope we dont end up seeing food riots in the country.

Importance of the less strong

I was active in age group Cricket when I was in my teens and has attended many coaching camps. A Right handed batsman, I was taught the importance of my LEFT HAND while batting. Not many know, but it is the LEFT HAND that is crucial for a right handed batsman and vice versa (illustrated by the Sachin picture on the left). It is the controlling hand, and it also helps keep the ball along the ground (remember, it was the Sunil Gavaskar era, where hitting the ball in the air like Sehwag was frowned up on). The left leg positioning was also critical while playing forward, either in defence or while driving. Early in my career, I had a tendency to drive with my dominant right hand, leading to my getting caught in mid off or mid on. Coach got fed up advising me, called me up one day, asked me to put my right hand behind by back, tied it with a piece of rope to my back, and started throwing balls at me from half pitch to make me drive or defend only with the left hand. Later, I spent hours hitting a ball tied to a rope with my right hand tied to the back to perfect the drives.I found to my amazement that I just couldn't hit in the air even if I want to, and went on to score many many more runs.

In another Coaching Camp, I was standing near a very good bowling coach, who was explaining and demonstrating the importance of the non bowling hand to the bowlers. He showed how the position of the weaker non-bowling hand helped in improving accuracy, and also the criticality of correctly landing the left leg, which is the leading leg for a right hand bowler, correctly. In both the cases the relatively less strong part of the body played a critical role in improving performance(See the wonderful picture of Dennis Lillee in his delivery stride).

In both the cases, the right hand (dominant hand) provides power generation, while the left hand (less strong hand) allows the player to gain better control. An analogy will be the Engine and the Steering Wheel.

This is true in professional life too. I have certain skills which I consider to be my core competencies, and certain others which to me are tangential and not so important. But I have noticed with amusement that it is quite often my lesser skills that have paid off in the long run. I consider Knowledge, out of the box thinking, problem solving, analytical skills, ability to take quality decisions under pressure, team building and leadership to be my strength. The less important skills, at least in  my eyes, are my communication skills, being organized, handling routine affairs with minimum fuss and my doggedness to get things done. And surprise, surprise!! I always use my core competencies to give me the real push, while using the less dominant skills to guide me in my day to day operations.

Ditto in my teaching career. I consider my knowledge and my mentoring skills as my core competency. But whenever I ask  students as to what they like about me, they always tell 'puctuality'. Also when I ask students why he/she preferred to choose me as a project guide, the answer is 'sir, you will make me work and ensure I finish the project on time'. It is as if my lesser skills are more prefered by students for it controls them in a way.

Such is life!

Germany - What a team!

I have been commenting on all my world cup related blogs to never underestimate Germany. They came into this World Cup with a very young team, with two out of form strikers in Podolsky and Klose and without their talisman captain Ballack. But Germans are big match players. They thrive on pressure and they are physically very very strong. They have been magnificient this World Cup and proved that Football is all about scoring Goals.

As I said before, I never thought I will see a day when I would be cheering a German Team, for I used to abhor their functional, artless, physical football. But this German team has been a relevation. In Ozil and Schweinsteiger, they have two wonderful players. And Mueller has been magnificient, and so refreshingly young.

To take apart a supremely talented Argentina, comprising of Messi and Tavez, 4-0 takes some doing. They absorbed the immense pressure put by the Argentines on either side of the half time, and then counter attacked with brilliance to score two more goals to the opening one to settle the issue.  Carefreeness of the youth and a payoff for investing in a youth program by German Football Federation 20 years ago.

Football at its best.

What we teach and What is needed!

ADDENDUM

My good friend Srinivas Rao has his own interpretation of the above diagram, which he was kind enough to share with me through e-mail. I am reproducing his mail and his version of the picture below,

Sir,

What we need is "Balance Sate" between RED & GREEN (ref: Picture Posted by Raja's World at 08:05).

When there is equilibrium state between these two, rest of the people live in peace.

We don't need only RED.......(Ignorance) or we don't need only GREEN(Sophistication of knowledge) which leads to high level stress in human life.

There is a need of both groups for the society.........

Regards

KS Rao

Fuel Price Saga continues...........................

About two years ago, I had written a three part series of posts on Petroleum Prices. You can read them here --> Fuel Price Imbroglio-1, here --> Fuel Price Imbroglio-2 and  here --> Fuel Price Imbroglio-3 .

Situation on the Petroleum Prices front has not improved, but rather taken a turn for the worse. Two years of mismanagement of sector, first due to the elections last year and then a lack of political will and imagination to tackle the issue has seen common man suffering, petroleum companies making losses apart from India looking down the barrel on fuel adequacy issues.

I, for one, am fully in favour of deregulating the Petroleum Prices to bring it on level with international prices, but with a caveat. When international oil prices drop, corresponding drop should be there in the domestic oil prices. Whether this will happen in an Indian deregulated economy is a moot point.

Why do I argue for deregulation of Oil Prices? When we opt for administered pricing, we artificially keep the prices down. But this means Government subsidising the Petroleum Companies in the long run. Where does this subsidy come from? Through higher taxes imposed on the common man. Ultimately the common man pays for the petroleum prices, either directly or indirectly. Let the users bear the cost directly.  It is true that prices will go up in the short term, but then the users will find more efficient means of reducing the waste by going for more fuel efficient equipments, that shall ultimately lead to better energy output per unit of fuel. And the oil companies, which have sustained their inefficiency behind administered prices, will have no place to hide. They can offer no further excuse and run to the Government to bail them out. This shall lead to increased productivity in the sector, which can be nothing but good news for the Country.

An emerging economy like India, aiming for a 10% GDP growth, cannot afford to curb fuel consumption if it wants to achieve its targetted growth. The pertoleum pricing structure is such that the Government taxes total upto 50% of the selling price, i.e: if Petrol Cost Rs 50 per litre, the taxes accruing to the government is approximately Rs 25-26. Everytime the petroleum prices go up, the Finance Ministry is happy, for it brings in additional revenue that can be splurged on non productive sectors. It is high time the taxes on petroleum products are rationalized and reduced to a maximum of 30% as against 100% that is prevalent today. This would mean a base price of Rs 25 and a tax of Rs 7.50 making it Rs 32.50 for petrol, which is what it should be.  Government needs to find other means to bridge the revenue deficit. For a starter, instead of concentrating on raising more revenue, they can think of reducing non plan expenditure drastically. Let us start with cutting the convoys that accompany the ministers, and stop subsidising their wasteful living.

There is no doubt that the poor need to be protected. Fuel coupons can be given to BPL families. It is high time we revisited our top down subsidy structure and replace it with the direct-to-customer subsidy structure. Let the BPL consumer decide where, when and how he/she will use the subsidy coupons, be it fuel coupon, food coupon or education coupon (Read my blog on the subject of coupons here)

But above all, we need a national program on reducing wastage of precious fuel. Let us invest in better roads, better and fuel efficient vehicles, generators, low cost highly efficient kerosene lamps, stoves etc. Kerosene is consumed by BPL families mostly for lighting purpose. We can reduce the consumption by going for 100% electrification (Kerala has already achieved 100% electrification) of households. A simple way of reducing waste will be for us to enforce traffic rules strictly and remove all the checkposts. Enforcement of traffic rules will pave way for free flow of traffic and, ensuring Contractors pave the road as per specification would result pot-hole free roads, all of which goes a long way in saving fuel.

But then that is asking for the moon, isn't it?

Inspirational Leader

Leaders must inspire. It is essential that a leader performs exceptionally well at a personal level. But that alone is inadequate. He should create synergy and lift his team to a higher plane.

Messi, Kaka, Ronaldo and Rooney. These four were supposed to be the inspirational leaders of Argentina, Brazil, Portugal and England respectively in this World Cup. But none of them have shown the inspirational leadership that was expected of them. Messi has been efficient at best. If Argentina has performed well, then it is inspite of him. Kaka is easing himself from an injury. He has only shown flashes of brilliance, but has been a pale shadow of the player that he once was. Instead of him carrying the team, it is the team that is carrying Kaka. Ronaldo has been a dud for Portugal. He was virtually incognito in most of the matches, despite having a very good team around him. When they were a goal down against Spain, Ronaldo, instead of lifting his game and thus inspiring his team mates, just faded away. Less said about Rooney, the better. He was a liability for an otherwise woeful England team. One has to only look at the difference Arjen Roebben has made to the Dutch team, when he enters as a substitute or when he started the last 16 match. The team looks totally different when Roebben is in the field. Or for that matter Diego Forlan for Uruguay. He has been magnificient and has carried the team on his shoulders to the Quarter finals.

Let us look at some of the traits noticed in inspirational leaders in organizations,

• Passion for and pride in what they do
• Clarity of vision and ability to share it with their people
• Strong communication – storytelling and listening
• Passion for learning and intense curiosity
• Focus on developing people
• Strong self-belief, coupled with humanity and humility
• Very strong focus on priorities
• Committed to giving something back and to making a significant difference
• Dogged determination and often “ relentless”
• Having fun and very energised
• Not afraid to show some vulnerability
• Regular use of reflective periods
• Almost universal dislike of jargon

It is interesting to note that the list of traits the followers consider is important for an inspirational leader is much shorter,

• Genuine shared vision
• Real confidence and trust in their teams
• Respect for employees and customers
• Commitment to developing people
• Clear standards of ethics and integrity
• Willingness to take risks

The interesting aspect of these traits is that all of them can be learned/developed/acquired through personal effort. Most require just a tweak in your attitude and a determination to master it.

How many of these traits do you have?