Street protests that calls for subversion of the law

It is bad enough that our Judiciary system is pathetically slow, and has an abysmal rate of conviction, and that too after a couple of decades has passed. We should be thankful that the understaffed, onerously slow moving judiciary finally manages to get someone convicted.

 

And once that happens the tamasha starts.

 

Of late, people have taken a vicarious pleasure in subverting the judgments of the Courts.

 

Take the case of Yakub Memon, who was a mastermind of the Mumbai blasts two decades ago. He was given a fair trial, appealed, lost, appealed again, lost again, filed a review petition, lost, sought pardon from President, denied, appealed against that, lost, sought pardon from Governor, denied, appealed against that, lost, went back to President, denied, appealed..............................am sorry if your mind has started spinning by now, but that is more or less how his case went. Though many might say that he did not deserve all these chances, there is no denying that he got a fair trial, and deserved to get the Capital punishment, as long as Capital Punishment exists in this Country. One would expect all right thinking Indians to respect the judiciary, but heck no! Out came the NGOs, Social workers, Left Liberals, Media and scoundrels who made such a noise that the judiciary was made to look a tyrant, when in reality it was Yakub who was the heartless villain. One might have given a benefit of doubt to the protesters that they genuinely believe Capital Punishment is wrong, and it has to be done away with. I have no objection to that. They are entitled to their view point, just as I am entitled to mine. But they don't have the conviction of belief. If they had, they would have followed up after Yakub's hanging, and tried to have the law changed. But we haven't heard a peep from them since then!!!

 

Same is the case with the release of the Juvenile convict who was released yesterday after serving his sentence in the Delhi Gang Rape case. I do agree that he should have got a longer punishment morally. But we need to abide by the law of the land. As usual there  was lot of noise, with street protests against his release. This is absurd. Everyone knew he cannot he held back under the current law, and even if the law were to be changed, it cannot be applied retrospectively. If the protest is for ensuring the law to be changed in the future, it is fine. But the tone and tenor of the protests do not indicate that. They wanted Supreme Court to disregard the law of the land, and pass a verdict that is illegal. This is dangerous. Of late we are witnessing lynch mob mentality amongst Indians, encouraged by the media (for selfish ends of increasing their TRP ratings and to boost their relevance which is fast eroding), and this should be addressed and rectified at the earliest.

 

The laws are there for a reason. It may not be perfect. But as a democracy, we need to abide by the laws that are in existence and should not give space to those who try to subvert them for their personal opinion, personal ends or even political ends. Because, then it will lead to anarchy. We can't let it happen.

Random Thoughts

Enemy Within

Mani Shankar Aiyer, of Congress Party goes to Pakistan and on a TV Channel makes a statement that Pakistan has to get rid of Modi and bring Congress back in power for the peace between two countries to be established. Asking an enemy country to support usurping the democratically elected Prime Minister of India, in my opinion amounts to treason and sedition. Why is Doval not arresting him and locking him up for good? Also a few days before that Salman Khurshid, another anti national, praises Pak PM and trashes our own. Congress has been quietly endorsing such activities. When I was with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, I used to joke that my biggest competitor as a Sales Officer was my own people in the Supply Department, who will do their utmost to delay or not execute orders. When we have people like these, why do we need enemies?

 

Hypocrisy

When Terrorists attack third world countries and hundreds of lives are lost, the Western Countries calls for restraint in response, and gives only lip service to combating terrorism. When the same happens on their backyard, as it happened recently in France, or in England a few years back or in US a decade back, then it is a different ball game. Emergency is declared, war planes take off and purported terrorist hangouts are bombed to bits. There is no talk of restraint or such bullshit. A death is a death anywhere in the world. Assuming it is not, is sheer hypocrisy.

Idiots at BCCI

The mood of the people of the Country and the Government is anti Pakistan, except for a few bleeding heart stupids in the media and in public life. There is no way the Government would have allowed a Cricket Series between India and Pakistan, either in India or anywhere in the World. Then why oh why did BCCI began a dialogue with Pakistan regarding a Test Series, if it were to be played in India. This idiocy gave Pakistan to take the moral high ground, and refusing to play us, when all along they have been reduced to begging us to somehow play them. Pakistan Board is broke financially, and only a series with India will bring it some much wanted cash. When Pakistan has been identified as the root cause of terrorism, and when Duval is doing his best to  frustrate them by ignoring their tantrums and isolating them totally, the BCCI goes ahead and makes such a gaffe. I sincerely wish the PM or Duval would call Shashank Manohar and Anurag Thakur up, and give a public dressing down in Eden Gardens stadium watched by 100,000 people on the ground and millions on TV. They deserve nothing less

 

Oh for a Classical Wicket Keeper!

One of the saddest fall out of One Day and T 20 cricket is the demise of genuine classical Wicket Keepers. With teams opting to have batsmen who can be ball stoppers (I refuse to call them wicket

keepers) to don the gloves, there is no incentive for a youngster to work on his keeping ability. I have seen wonderful Keepers like Kirmani, Alan Knott, Bob Taylor, Sadanand Viswanath, Nayan Mongia behind the stumps and it is a pleasure to watch them take the balls with soft hands or effect a smart leg side take standing up. Their keeping to spinners was an art by itself. But the turn of the century saw the advent of the so called batsmen wicket keepers giving way later to batsmen stoppers. It is a tragedy that Sadanand Viswanath was lost to cricket due to personal reasons - he was a live wire and a class act. The match fixing scandal that put a cloud over Nayan Mongia was a big disappointment. He was superb standing up to spinners. Everyone hails Dhoni as one of the best. Perhaps yes as a Captain and a lower order batsmen. But his keeping was/ is atrocious. He gets up early, is not behind the stumps all the time to take the throw, has hard hands and never goes for the catch low in front of first slip. If anyone thinks that Uthappa or Ambati Rayudu should keep wicket for India, then they should have their head examined. Even the so called more proficient wicket keepers are found wanting in technique, be it Saha, Karthik, Parthiv or Sanju Samson. Perhaps the best wicket keepers in the world are Prasanna Jayawardhane of Srilanka and Dinesh Ramdhin of West Indies. And they both are not regulars. Sarfraz of Pakistan is adequate, at best.

Bharatha's of this world are priceless

Born with Gaja Kersari Yoga, I have always been or aimed to be the leader wherever I am. If I am not, it makes me very uneasy.

 

Naturally born leaders in the Ithihasas like Sri Rama became my heroes. However, Age has brought with it the much wanted wisdom, broader perspective and a fine tuning of the mindset which makes me appreciate the contribution of non leaders too.

 

There are many silent contributors in our epics, and in our work place who deserve much more respect and recognition than we give them. They do silently efficient work all the time, without being in the limelight, thereby allowing the leader to focus on other issues. They are the workhorses, who take considerable load and whose maintenance cost is very less. They run the Organization. The nurses in the hospital are one example.

 

Though I have been fascinated by Ramayana since childhood, somehow I had never given a second thought to the character of Bharatha, until recently that is.

 

Bharatha stayed under the radar, but his virtues are unparalleled. Perhaps his devotion to Sreerama is even more than that of Lakshmana.

 

On hearing that his mother has conspired to banish Sree Rama for 14 years, and thus giving him the Kingdom on a platter, he berates her no end and flatly refuses to accept the Throne, which rightfully belonged to his brother. It took lot of convincing from Sreerama to make him go back to Ayodhya, but only on the condition that he will rule as a Caretaker alone. He also eschewed all the comforts of the palace, and chose to live a simple life like his brother for the 14 years.

 

Bharatha was a brilliant and wise king. During his 14 years, the GDP of Ayodhya grew 10 times! Thus he ensured his brother got to rule a much richer, stronger and prosperous kingdom on his return from Vanavasa.

 

Once Sree Rama was back, he quietly slipped back to his role of supporting him in his duties, and to his credit, not even for a moment did he have any thoughts of wanting the Kingdom for himself.

 

If ever one wants an example for Nishkama Karma, he has to only look up Bharatha.

 

Though India's original name Bharatham has nothing to do with the Bharatha of Ramayana, it is a fitting tribute to him that, though inadvertently, we call our great country Bharatham

Good bye, my friend!

I am very sentimental, and am attached to personal belongings that have been with me for a long time, especially if they were with me during my difficult times.

I hang on to slippers and shoes till they are worn out, no matter whether I have couple of brand new ones already purchased and used sparingly.

Ditto with my tennis racquet or pen.

I hate to change my car, unless absolutely required nor house. There is a comfort in reaching out for something with which you are very comfortable.

It doesn't mean that I don't embrace newer things. Quite the contrary. It is just that I like to surround myself  or wear things which are comfortable.

It is why I was extremely sad when my old iphone ( I don't even remember the version - I think it is iphone 4), purchased in August 2011 finally decided that it has had enough of me and decided to malfunction. I have been urged by all around me to change to a newer version even 2 years ago, but I resisted. And this in an era where people change mobiles every 6 months!!

My IT supplier, who knows my habits, jokingly told me to go for iphone 6s, while light heatedly passing a remark "better take it, as it is the best bet to last ANOTHER 4 years!!"

So with a heavy heart, I have to bid good bye to a dear friend. You have been with me through times good and bad, and have been very reliable. On my part, I have treated you with respect, and even today, after 4 years and 3 months, you look as good as new. If only your power switch didn't malfunction!! Sigh!

Graahaka: Devo Bhava

Ever wondered why China has grown leaps and bounds on the global business front, while the Western Countries are playing catch up?

About a month back I wanted a quote for some Oil Field Equipment to participate in a tender in Oman. I contacted a Chinese Company, and my query was handled by a young Sales Girl. Despite me giving her a stiff deadline (Just a Week), and giving difficult delivery terms, she did a terrific job. She met my specs, deadline and all other requirements well in advance. Despite a change in spec at the last minute, she, uncomplainingly, reworked the quote so that I was able to prepare my tender well in advance. And she has been following up with me on the fate of the tender religiously since then.

About a week after this, I had to contact a Western Company for a much bigger order of Oil Field Equipment. In this age of falling business in the Oil Sector, one would have expected them to work day and night to give me the quote which was worth nearly $ 7 Million. It is three weeks since I floated the RFQ, and I have been running from pillar to post to get my requirements met. First they didn't respond for a week. Then, they asked me to split the RFQ to three and send to three different people. Later, I got a mail saying it will take time as they are short staffed, as many are on vacation. Then a further excuse that they had to source it from third party. And as I type this blog, I am yet to get the quote for 2 Categories. All this, despite we having excellent personal contacts in that company!!

Unfortunately, Indian Companies also are very poor in meeting Client requirements. If Narendra Modi's push to make India a manufacturing super power has to be realized, he needs to ensure that our Companies have a very high level of customer orientation.

We are proud of our quote 'Athidhi Devo Bhava'

It is time we also chant the mantra

'Graahaka: Devo Bhava'

Well Begun is Half Done

I have a very sensitive nature. I cannot see anything that is in the making or unfinished. It jars my sensibilities.

My father, when he was alive, constructed a house for himself, and oversaw the construction of two houses for my sister. Whenever I came home, he will ask me to visit the construction site and give my opinion. I used to evade his request, or rather make a cursory visit without showing much interest. I couldn't make any sense out of the foundation or the semi finished house.

When the house is completed, I will be in my elements. Looking at everything wholistically, and critically, I will come up with suggestions for amendments or tell him where he has gone wrong ( he was a down to earth practical guy, with hardly any aesthetic sense, whereas I was just the opposite ).

This will drive him mad, and he would chide me for not telling this to him early, though he would try to incorporate, if he can, my suggestions, even if it means redoing the civil work.

I was reminded of this when I see articles after articles chiding Modi for not making drastic visible changes. Most of the Indians are like me. They would like to see the finished article only, but cant appreciate the work in progress. And once it is finished, they criticize with all their might.

But if you look back over the past 14 months, Modi has been busy rebuilding the Country brick by brick. To his credit, he hasn't been dogmatic. Has embraced good things from the previous government i.e GST and even the UID scheme. The ideas was to fix things not broken totally rather than reinvent the wheel. Can't blame him on this.

If we look deeply, we will see the foundation being laid for many initiatives that will change the fortune of the nation.

His foreign sojourn has led to India's prestige restored in the World Arena.

The Defense is happy with him, as he has backed them to the hilt, unlike his predecessor who dilly dallied on any reprisal. Duval has worked wonders - be it repatriating stranded Indians from strife torn areas, or taking the attack to the enemy in Myanmar, or signing the peace deal with Naga rebels. We are much safer as a country knowing Duval is keeping an eye on things.

The opening of Bank Accounts for all, will reduce diversion of subsidies and ensure the benefit reaches the ultimate  beneficiary. No mean achievement

True, Modi has been very luck with lower oil prices. But it has helped him to improve the financial position, which was in a bad state following the scorched earth policy legacy of the UPA's wasteful government.

Swatch Bharath and Digital India are the baby steps in creating a cleaner modern society. As are the Smart Cities and the AMRUT programs. 5 years down the line these initiatives, along with those regarding connectivity - roads, port and railways - will make a huge difference

Make in India is at its base stage. We need to see how it progresses before commenting on it.

Our Education system is totally broken. We are yet to see any major initiative to set it right. It just cannot be tinkered any more. This is a once in a life time opportunity to fix it. We owe it to our future generation.

One year is not a long time when one wants to fix an economy and correct decades of rot and decay.

As the saying goes, 'Well begun is half done'

Answerless Why's in India

There are many things that baffles ones sense of logic and reasoning.

 

When we had paper ballot, the polling used to be across India in 1970s and 1980s in a single day, and the counting took place the next day. Remember, it is a tedious process, as each and every ballot has to be checked physically, segregated, bundled and then counted. 99% of the results were announced by the end of the Counting day.

 

Everyone welcomed Electronic Ballot using the Voting Machine. But look at the ridiculous scenario. Now, polling across the country takes place in 5 schedules spread over 45 days! Counting starts at least one week after the last vote is casted. And EVMs were expected to expedite things. Counting using EVM is easy and can be completed in 3 hours, even for Parliament elections. The Election Commission cites the reason of security for having such a length schedule, but to me, it sounds absurd.

 

Take the recent Delhi Assembly Elections. Can anyone tell me why the Counting had to be done 3 days after the polling day? Why not on the same day, after the polling was over.

 

If Srilanka can start counting for the Presidential poll on the same day evening as the polling day (and their polling was only for a day), and declare results by midnight, why cant we, at least in a small state like Delhi?

 

But then Election Commission is a holy cow, like the Supreme Court.

 

I read recently that Manmohan Singh had sought a stay from the Supreme Court, on the lower courts order to appear before it on the Coal Block Scam, which was promptly given, and the case is likely to come up for preliminary hearing in 2018!!!! He is already 80 plus and who knows whether he will be alive till then!!

 

We have a Government which has an absolute Majority through popular vote, and we elected them to implement their agenda. The people had expressed their preference without any ambiguity. And what do we have? The Government is held to ransom on important legislations by Rajya Sabha, which comprises of has been, rejected politicians and where opposition has a majority. This doesn't make any sense at all. I am not arguing about the desirability of these legislations. But we have elected a Government, and they should be allowed to work with a free hand, whatever be the outcome.

 

But then many things don't make sense anyway. Why is Ravindra Jadeja in the Indian Cricket Team, or for that matter Suresh Raina or Ishant Sharma? or Rohit Sharma? or even M S Dhoni? Why consider Virat Kohli as India's Captain, when one knows he is a disgrace to the nation with his boorish behavior?

 

Why is the majority in the Country suppressed by the voice of the minority?

 

Some things don't ever change...........We are like that "only".................................

 

 

BR is losing his touch

Buddhi Rakshasan was upset with me and refused to take my calls. But my persistence paid off, and he relented.

"Swamy, you have forgotten me. It is ages since you talked to me"

"I am sorry BR. No excuses. Just one of those phases when I retreat to myself. So what is new  these days?"

"This guy Ajit Duval has made life difficult for flies in the walls like me. Very difficult to get inside information these days"

"Ah.............................."

"I am afraid I cannot give you any political gossips, though there are plenty irrelevant things about Congress and APP"

"I am not interested in both of them. Anyway there is nothing secret about both. The dirty linen is washed in the public"

"I have some inside information regarding Indian Cricket"

"That should be interesting"

"Dhoni is definitely on his way out after the WC, irrespective of what happens in the knockout stages"

"That is no secret"

"With him his chamchas will also leave"

"That is the best piece of news you could have given me, which means.................."

"Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina, Ishant Sharma and even Rohit Sharma"

"If Kohli takes over, then........................"

"Shikhar Dhawan will be feeling shaky after their spat in Australia. He is a marked man"

"Only Murali Vijay, Rahane is sure of their places under Kohli amongst the batsmen, Shami and Bhuvi amongst the bowlers along with Ashwin are bound to be in"

" Hmm..............."

"With Dalmiya at the helm, expect Wridhiman Saha to have a long run and perhaps Ashok Dinda and Manoj Tiwari"

"Oh no!"

"Saurav Ganguly will replace Ravi Shastri as Team Director"

"Saurav is ok. He at least has a good cricketing brain"

"Duncan Fletches is out and we may not have a foreign coach at all"

"With Saurav in charge, we might see some youngsters being roped in"

"But where are the youngsters?"

"Swamy! There are some good ones around but because of the focus on IPL, we don't get to hear of them. It is time to really have a go with Rahul, Unmukht, Baba Aparajith. And there is none better to groom them than Saurav"

"Is Kohlis temperament as a Captain suspect?"

"He is aggressive alright but he needs to accept the reality that our bowling as it stands today is not going to win Test Matches, either home or abroad"

"What will Dhoni et al do?"

"Dhoni is learning baby sitting, Raina will settle into a quiet married life, Jadeja will become another Irfan Pathan, and Shikhar Dhawan will play Big Bash in Australia, to be with his family"

I took leave of BR, but got a nagging feeling that he has lost his touch. Must be the inaction of the past year when he is not getting fodder for gossip from the Government.

Difference between a Brahmin and a Kshatriya

I have been vilified a lot for my acerbic tongue. Normally an easy going person with a laid back attitude and a quick wit, I have always wondered how I got the image of a person whose words are sharp that hurt.

 

Then I came across this while reading the explanation of a Shloka in Devi Mahatmyam,

 

 

 

Navaneetham Hrudayam Brahmanasya Vacha: Kshuropa Nihitha Theeshna Dharam;

Vipareethamethadu Bhayam Kshatriyasya, Vak Navaneetham, Hrudayam Theeshan Dharam

 

 

A Brahmin's heart is as soft as a fresh butter, but his words? they are as sharp as the edge of a Knife. The opposite is the case of a Kshatriya. His words are soft like a butter, but his heart is as tough/sharp as a steel (knife)

Natural Flair vs Coached Skills

I play quite a few games. Though not endowed with natural athletic abilities, even as a youngster (and definitely not now, when I am over weight by a mile!) I always had a very good hand eye co ordination, backed by a thinking brain, which made me a decent player in any game played with a racquet or indoor games that need skills, like Carroms.

 

I self taught myself on most of the games, with the sole exception of Cricket. I had attended numerous coaching camps, and have been coached extensively as a youngster, and was a decent bat.

 

I did learn to play Tennis, Badminton and Table Tennis on my own, as also Chess and Carroms.

 

Recently, I noticed with amusement that my approach to other games, self taught, with respect to Cricket, was totally different.

 

I am a dour, defensive, technically correct batsman, who rarely takes a risk nor do I hit the ball in the air. Safety first is the motto. Perhaps I watched Test Cricket growing up and idolized Gavaskar or perhaps I was Coached as per the MCC Coaching Manual.

 

In contrast, I have a totally different approach to other games. I love going for impossible shots, or to hit the ball at acute angles, and am least bothered if the ball goes wide a bit, as long as the shot was executed as I wanted. I throw caution to wind while playing tennis, and try atrocious drop shots or dinky lobs or  backhand flicks that have a low margin of error. It is art for the sake of art. I back my natural hand eye coordination and court sense to pull these off.

 

Recently, I was playing caroms. I fluff the easiest of straight coins, while pulling off difficult cuts and third pockets with ease. I didn't have a follow for the red, but had two coins touching each other on the right of the centre in the board, and also had a relatively easy back shot option. I noticed a small chance of cutting the outer of the two coins to the left top pocket, told my playing partner I was going for it, and pulled it off as I wanted, with the bonus of the second coin going in at the left hand bottom pocket, which was not planned at all. I whooped in joy, and the opponents were downcast with eyes popping. It made my day. It is for moments like these that I play.

 

So does this mean that formal coaching kills creativity and risk taking? I have reason to believe so. Look what has happened to the Brazilian team. The Brazilian teams prior to 1986 were a treat to watch, playing flowing football and they could conjure up magic out of nowhere. During the last 25 years most of their players have migrated to the more regimental European league and this is being reflected in their football which is a mix of rigidity and staleness. And with a dour coach like Dunga at the helm, we are not going to witness the free flowing Brazil of yore anymore.

 

Some of the most exciting batsmen in the world today are natural strikers, who defy the coaching manual - A B Devilliers, Brendon McCullum, Chris Gayle, Sehwag, Dhoni, Steven Smith.

 

And would you rather watch the supremely naturally gifted Roger Federer or machines like Nadal, Murray or Djokovic? The less said about the clones in women's tennis the better.

 

Like sports, does our formal education system kill creativity? Food for thought

Crossing 50

Both me and my father were voracious readers. We used to finish lengthy novels in a couple of sittings. When he was well into his 60's, he will baulk at reading 800-900 page novels, which came as a surprise to me. When queried, he came up with the following response " You wont understand now. But when you are old, you lose the drive to take up the challenge of reading a 1000 page book. Once gets a sense of futility". I could not agree with him, but let it go.

 

I have, this year, turned 50, and have started realizing the truth in what he said then.

 

I used to drive my employees hard and was relentless in my quest for perfection, which created lot of friction. But of late, I am accepting slight imperfections, am more tolerant of mistakes and slightly less task oriented.

I still read a lot, but am more leisurely in my readings. I read when I am in the right frame of mind to do so, and am not worried too much if I take a week to complete a book, that I would have sat through and read in a single night in the past.

 

I am more into why people are behaving in a particular manner, and don't give out free advises unlike the past.

 

I have started enjoying even the slightest achievements, but at the same time am not downcast and devastated when I have major setbacks. I take it in my stride, and don't lose sleep over it.

 

I have started feeling the age at times, and strangely don't regret it.

 

I don't lose my temper these days, but on those times when I do, I take time to cool down.

 

In any case, I am less hated than I used to be in the past, which is not bad. But am I paying a price for it? I don't know!

 

Am I slowing down, mellowing? Is the above a good development? Will I get my old spark back? More importantly, do I want to go back to my good (bad) old days, when I used to be less popular?

 

Only time will tell.

सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः सर्वे सन्तु निरामयाः ।

सर्वे भद्राणि पश्यन्तु मा कश्चिद्दुःखभाग्भवेत् ॥

sarvé bhavantu sukhinaḥ , sarvé santu nirāmayāḥ |

sarvé bhadrāṇi pashyantu , mā kashchid_duḥkha-bhāg-bhavét ||

All of you be happy, be healthy, see good; 
May no one have a share in sorrow.

 

 

 

 

Your Happiness in

 

 

 is in your hands

A Land Mark Year for India

A decade down the line, we will turn back and look at 2014 as the year that changed India.

 

The year that ended decades of absurd socialistic pseudo secular leaderless rudderless (mis)governance.

 

The year that saw the rise of a powerful leader who brought to the table the need for citizen involvement in development - personal, social and national.

 

The year that saw a leader opening communication channels directly with the common man.

 

The year that brought back on agenda the magnificence of our wonderful culture.

 

The year that put common man ahead of pampered netas.

 

The year that saw a popularly elected PM single handedly resurrecting the tarnished image of India on the World stage

 

The year we told Pakistan to go fly a kite

 

The year that gave hope to the majority Community Hindus that their interest will not be compromised at any cost

 

The year we put the issue of development back on track

 

The year that saw someone talking about accountability of the public servants

 

The year that made us sit up and listen to a man with ideas and a vision for the country

 

The year a leader showed us the way by clocking 80-100 hours per week himself.

 

The year, during which we could say with heads high

 

" I am proud to be an Indian"

 

Thank you Narendra Modi!  and Thank you The Indian Voter!

B2B- Back to Basics 1

 

One of the things I learnt from my days as an amateur sportsman is to 'Go Back to Basics' when things go wrong. If you are not scoring runs, get back to nets, have a relook at your stance, get someone to throw down balls at you, start playing forward defence, then the drive, play in the V and hit thousands of balls. And then go out and play a match, and see the difference.

 

This is true of business too. Whenever things go wrong, I do go back to the drawing board and see where I am deviating from the tried and tested plan. As one gets sucked in by the day to day work, one tends to start taking liberties with policies and practices, resulting in much regret.

 

It is time India, as a nation, stop talking about rubbish like Secularism, Communalism, Rights to ...........well! everything under the sun!!!, or even corruption.

 

We need to go back to the basics and start discussing about a few fundamental issues.

 

Every one agrees that Education is the foundation in which a society is built. It is ridiculous that we are earmarking less than 2.5% for Education every year. The Primary education is in shambles. The Government schools are rotting. The private schools have become money making machines. Less said about the University Education, the better. We are churning out graduates who lack the skills to be productive, and are unemployable. The hold of private educational businessmen mafia over this sector is so strong, that one cant even see a glimmer of hope. We need a total revamp of the education system from the primary level to the Ph.D level. We also need to give children more choices at the school and college level, and have to introduce the Credit system ASAP. Why should a child be forced to study Maths, Physics and Chemistry when he can jolly well choose Maths, Psychology and Business Administration or Music? Let him learn what he loves. Anyway, we hardly use 5% of what we learn technically in our Schools and Colleges in our job. So why not make learning fun............ to be continued

Of News, Comments and Newspapers - Onine or otherwise

We did not have Television during my formative years. TV came to our household only when I was into my 20s. Even then we had only one channel - the drab DD. The news explosion with Cable TV came a decade later.

 

The only source of getting information was through the Newspapers and to some extend the Radio. The Newspapers, then, had good journalists who wrote pieces that had news and journalistic value. They were far from today's newspapers where one can, and does, a newspaper by copying and pasting news stories from internet. Father subscribed to three newspapers at home, and we read at least two more by exchanging with the neighbors.

 

I still have in my attic the notebook containing the clippings of the India-West Indies Cricket tour of 1975 and can recall the detailed constituency wise analysis of the General Election post emergency. We read with joy Indira Gandhi being beaten by Raj Narayan and Sanjay biting the dust. We learned about the exploits of Bjorn Borg and his epic struggle with John McEnroe. We were thrilled by the exploits of Sunil Gavaskar battling it out against the West Indian pace men.

 

Times have changed. The newspapers of today hardly have any in depth articles. The magazines are still worse. They are aimed at an audience that has brought up on a staple diet of Breaking News. The attention span of the viewers/readers is very small. No wonder we don't get to read long essays or articles with deep analysis any more.

 

I have moved with times and read a lot of online news papers. It makes economical sense too, as I live overseas.

 

The articles are shabby, poorly written and most of the online newspapers have strong political leanings. There is hardly any balanced writing any more, with a few exceptions. But I used to enjoy the comments section. The Letters to the Editor in a conventional news paper had limited space and only a select letters, heavily edited, were published. But the online comments can be endless, scathing, crude and brings out the carnal side of the people. Even highly educated people behave like one in the gutter. But at least it gave us a perspective of what a cross section of people think about a particular issue. And they were genuine people, who vented their true feelings.

 

But even that has changed. Now political parties have paid comment writers who troll on all online sites, which masks the genuine people who have moved away from these sites, like me. And there in lies the tragedy

Similarities between 2008 Financial Meltdown and India 2013

One of the reasons attributed for the Financial meltdown of 2008 was the short sighted behaviour of the CEO's and other Senior Executives of the Financial Institutions world wide, who put personal short term goals ahead of the long term health of the Organization and the Economy. In order to earn performance linked fat bonuses, they turned a blind eye to policies and products that were doomed to fail. So called 'innovative' derivatives that were churned out by these Financial Whizkids were aimed at attracting customers in the short term, but not taking into consideration the impact in the long run. Most of them were, in a way, akin to Ponzi Schemes. Prudent Financial Discipline was given a go by, and mortgage loans were given to people who couldn't afford them, creating a Real Estate and Housing bubble that burst at the first prick made by a small needle. How the behaviour of these individuals brought their companies down and took the global economy with them is history.

There is a striking similarity to the 2008 Financial Market scenario with what is happening in the Political front in India during the last few years. Congress and UPA has taken a very very short sighted view to somehow get back to power. They have splurged public money, not on Planned Expenditure, but on welfare schemes that are leaking and are totally unproductive. The avowed objective is to win votes at the cost of the nation. There is no long term vision. Minority (read Muslim) pampering has reached absurd levels. Muslim youth cannot be arrested as per the Home Minister of India, while Karnataka Congress Chief openly exhorts Muslims to not repay loans. How Akhilesh Yadav, BSP and Congress turned a blind eye to the equally guilty Muslims in the Muzzafarpur Riots is known to all. It is a game of one upmanship where the loser is the Country. Fearing negative reaction from Muslims, the Defence Minister craftily declares an invasion by Pak Army as one done my Terrorists dressed in Pak Army Uniforms. The PM is uncaring if our Jawans are beheaded. MNREGS, Loan Waiver, Ordinance against MP disqualification and finally the thoughtless creation of Telengana is tearing the Country apart. For a few seats, Congress, which sat on Telengana demand for more than a decade, came out with a hastily pronounced decision, without arriving at a consensus. And the result is for all to see. Contrast this with how NDA under Vajpayee created Chattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhan, without any ripple. 

One can just hope that, while no one could save the Global Economy from crashing in 2008, at least the electorates are wise enough to throw the Congress and UPA to the Bay of Bengal in the 2014 elections.

Time to hit the Lecture/Seminar Circuit again?

For nearly a decade and a half, I was associated with Training and Teaching, though I was not a full fledged academician. I was holding regular jobs in the field of Strategy, Investment Banking, New Venture Advisorywhile also heading middle level companies, including mine.

 

But there was always a stigma associated with it. In the course of my job, whenever I gave sane advise to my own Directors or to the Clients, it was always shrugged off with a "Ah! the Professor speaks" meaning my advise is more theoretical than having any practical value, and hence invariable ignored. Posterity proved in many cases my advice, if taken at the right time, would have brought more profit for the other party. Of course, not all my advises were spot on. I had my own share of bloomers, which is par for the course.

 

When I moved to Muscat in 2010, I took a decision to give up teaching and training to concentrate on my Consultancy Business. It was a very painful decision as I really enjoy teaching. It is 3 years since I moved to Muscat, and people here listen to me with more of an open mind than when I was in Kuwait.

 

This is unfortunate. Decisions taken with a theoretical background tend to be more correct than not. I have seen this in the case of recruitment of staff. Whenever I have been forced to give a go by to my recruitment process and guidelines, due to pressure of having to fill a post, I have suffered, getting stuck with people with poor attitude. Ditto in the case of Company deviating from the Strategy developed and try to be opportunistic, without doing a proper evaluation and risk assessment. Intuition and experience counts, but backed by solid theoretical foundation, they are unbeatable.

 

It is also one of the reasons why Consultants go to great extend to do lectures, or teach in Universities.

 

Maybe the time has come for me to hit the lecture/seminar circuit again!

Manmohan Singhs Survival Strategy during the past Decade - Blind-Deaf-Dumb

See No Scam, Be Deaf to People's Cries of Anguis, Speak Nothing

Don't be an Abhimanyu in Business and Life

I sacrificed 17 years of my Work Experience when I joined somewhere at the lower end of the ladder in an Investment Bank in Kuwait. I was known as an Educationist and this was hampering my career in Kuwait, where one can easily get type cast. Once an Educationist, always an Educationist is the motto in Middle East. There is no talk about transfering the knowledge of one sector to another.

It is another matter that I grew up very fast in the Investment Banking Sector, partly due to favourable market conditions, partly due to the Company registering phenomenal growth in the Private Equity Sector and partly due to good fortune. I have never looked back since. Though I have moved away from Core Investment Banking, I still think and act like one, and have not forgotten the lessons I learned during my stint as an Investment Banker.

Though I had been an entrepreneur once in the past, having been a franchisee of NIIT, I need to admit that it came too early in my career, at the age of 29, when in retrospect, I have to admit, I was not ready for the task. I did not have a good grasp of Finance, Costing, and was poor in man-management. I also thought there will be sustainable growth, and the higher revenue will justify the higher cost and paper over other cracks. When the inevitable downturn came, and the growth plateaued, I didnt have too many answers. And to boot, I didnt know where I went wrong.

I got the answer to this riddle during my stint as an Investment Banker. I am a sucker for new ideas, and whenever I get a good hair brained scheme that requires funding, I used to champion the cause and take it to my Chairman, explaining to the virtues of the project and the profit that will accrue to the Company. He will listen patiently and ask just one question 'Rajaaan, what is the exit?'. I didnt know initially what he meant. But later on learned that Investment Companies enter at an early growth phase, add value and exit when the time is right, making a tidy profit. The exit option is always important. This was drilled into me time and again. These days I dont encourage any investment proposal without a clear exit strategy.

Be it in business or in personal life or professional life, always have an exit strategy before you enter.

Remember the story of Abhimanyu, who learned while in the womb how to break into Chakravyuha, but did not know how to exit, and paid for it with his life. Whenever I have an itch to start a venture without considering the exit, I remember these stanza,

Veenithallo Kidakkunnu Dharaniyil
Kshonithavumanijallo Siva Siva
Nalla Marathaka Kallinotothoru
Kalyanaroopan Kumaran Manoharan

If you want peace, be prepared for war

In a village there entered a poisonous snake. It  would attack and bite people at random. Many were bitten and some of them died also. The villagers were upset about it. But none dared to come near the snake for the sake of his own life.

Once a Sadhu visited the village. The villagers approached the Sadhu and told him that how badly they were scared of the poisonous snake that had entered their village and bitten many and is now hiding somewhere in the village itself.


Sadhu possessed certain supernatural powers. He could even talk to the beasts and reptiles. Through his inner vision, he came to know where the snake was hiding. He approached the snake and commandingly advised him that he should not bite anyone in the village henceforth. The snake obeyed. The Sadhu told the villagers that they should not worry anymore. The snake will never bite them hereafter.

Exactly as the Sadhu had assured them, the snake stopped biting them. The fear that the villagers had of the snake, was gone. Now nobody bothered about the snake anymore. The children were playing and hitting it with the stones. Though the snake was wounded badly, yet it did not bite anyone.

After sometime, the same Sadhu visited the village again. He saw that the snake was badly wounded. The Sadhu approached it and asked how is it that you in such a pitiable condition.

The snake replied, "Sir this is all due to your command. Ever since I stopped biting they have started treating me like this".

The Sadhu at-once remarked, "You fool, I stopped you from biting but not from hissing. Had you been hissing at them, they wouldn’t have harmed you in this manner.’

There is a common saying ‘If you want peace, be prepared for war.’ But it does not mean you harm anyone. It only means that you always remain prepared to safeguard your ownself, your own nation.

This Story is applicable to the current situation of India viz a viz Pakistan. We have one of the better armies in the World, which can hiss and bite. But our Political leadership is like the Sadhu, who advises the Snake to not bite, and allow it to be beaten blue by the Pakistanis, time and again.

The whole of India is clamouring for India to bite in retaliation for the inhuman beheading of our Jawan. Forget biting, will India at least 'hiss'. The 'Eunuches' ruling our Country can't even dream of doing it. What a pity!!! We need to negotiate peace from a position of strength. But we are compromising every single time Pakistan misbehaves, and they are getting bolder. When will we have a leader who has some spine?