Countries I am Aware of

 I became aware of England due to the language that they left behind. Vilayat meant England. There were a few Anglo-Indian families too, when I was growing up. Not sure if there are too many left. But in college days, USA was definitely the dream destination for many. I applied for an M.S. too, but managed to go there later for a Ph.D.- not in engineering, but Management. During stopovers in Europe, visited Greece, Italy, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Germany (West at the time), and Holland. France more intimately, thanks to Anne, a friend from Brittany we met at Clemson. 

Many years later, I have met people from Sri Lanka (have a good friend Samudrika there), Vietnam, Cambodia, Japan, S. Korea, New Zealand, Dubai, Sharjah, Australia, England, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, China ( I have a couple of friends there), and so on. 

I am yet to visit Down Under (Covid stole my thunder), and a few countries like China, and South America and Africa. Maybe I will, maybe I won't. But I had friends from Iran, Nigeria and Portugal in my Ph.D. program, and also from Turkey, and a colleague from Venezuela at Greenwood where I taught.

That is not a bad score! Yes, I know there are around 190 countries, but I am just one person..

Behaviour and Leadership

 I think if you wanted to study contrasting styles of political leadership, you only have to look at New Zealand and the USA in the last few years. No idea where Jacinda Ardern came from, but for me, she symbolises what leadership is all about. Of course, economic growth is important, but it's not everything. We are human beings, not robots. 

Even robots may not be too happy with the kind of crass behaviour that the last POTUS put up, I am sure. He posed as a successful businessman, but I am not too sure that was also misrepresented like most things about him. Of course, he was legally elected, and had a right to his political and economic views/policies. My point is more about the human angle. Maybe if COVID had not shown him up for what he was, he may have won again. In a way, Biden must thank the virus too for helping his cause.

Hope the Biden-Harris era reminds us more of the gentlemen of the past.

The Globalising Indian

During my growing up years, mostly Indians were going to the U.S. for higher studies, and then, many settled down there. Hardly any other destinations.

Now I find my friends/students or relatives in multiple places. Canada and Australia seem to be the popular ones, though there are a few in New Zealand, Dubai, Finland or Germany as well. This is a sign of globalisation.

I think it is also a sign that a few more countries have realised two things- that you need immigrants to bring in some new ideas, at least in some sectors. And that Indians have what it takes, in those sectors.

If immigration laws did not exist (I suspect they did not, long ago when India used to be one of the richest economies in the world, even if under monarchies), people (labour in the words of economists) would probably be better able to redistribute themselves according to need and joblessness may reduce - hypothetically at least. The alternative, globalised production according to the cheapest location that can produce anything, seems mired in tariff wars across geographies.

Anyway, interesting to see where all the nationalist, anti-immigration rhetoric in various countries leads us..and what happens to the oil-rich economies when oil runs out.

Diversity is Amazing

I am amazed at the diversity I have encountered in the human interactions I have had over the fifty nine years I have spent on the planet. Not necessarily boasting, but I have spent significant amounts of time in the four major regions of India, and a few years in the U.S. teaching and studying. While there, had a lot of international students/colleagues too. I visited at least one, Anne, in France at her home in rural France (and HER friend in Paris). Also met an Iranian friend in Malaysia and later, in India. Lots of American friends also invited us (my wife and I) home while we lived there.

It is also obvious while teaching in class, that diversity of age, gender, experience and background (previous education/subjects) usually leads to a richer class experience for all. This is true at least in management, where both technical and non-technical skills are equally important in solving problems.

The U.S. was open to immigrants (still is, compared to a few others, barring Canada and New Zealand/Australia) and has been enriched by those who chose to settle down there and adopt the American lifestyle. A few Indians are also at the top of the academic and corporate ladders there- I know at least a couple of them personally.

One has to wait and watch where the recently-made-fashionable anti-immigrant stance of countries/governments around the world will lead.

Making Predictions

My top ten predictions

1. Kim will continue to sport a funny haircut.

2. Kings and Queens will continue to thrive. Long live monarchy!

3. Kejriwal will continue to wear mufflers, but whether e will get rid of his cough, is too tough to call.

4.  Gun laws will remain what they are in the U.S., regardless of shootings in the country, and over-zealous actions by stupid countries like New Zealand.

5. Vada pav will continue as the State Dish of Maharashtra, along with Misal-pav.

6. Meetings will continue to waste hours, while generating Minutes, arround the world, particularly the corporate world.

7. Baldness will not have a cure, ever. Nor the common cold.

8. Men will be men (thanks, Imperial Blue, for pointing it out).

9. Selfies will become the leading cause of death- people jealous of others' abilities to take good selfies will kill themselves.

10. Student of the Year will continue till its 10th sequel, beating the Superman and Spiderman franchises.

Ambitions

Many of us have ambitions. In the seventies, many had ambitions of owning a scooter or a phone at home. But this is a slightly different look at the different ambitions of different people/things-

1. A coloured shirt's ambition could be to replace 'that white shirt' in all the detergent ads.
2. A father-in-law's ambition may be to be as talked-about as the infernal mother-in-law.
3. A CEO's ambition could be to be a Don Juan-some have attempted this too, with unexpected results.
4. Dracula's ambition could be to enjoy a colourless solid food item.
5. April may want to experience how it is to be 'cool' as December.
6. A gold necklace may want to try 'necking' an ordinary gal next door, rather than 'stiff-necked' royalty.
7. A saucer (or a broom) may wish to fly, even if a witch is needed to make THAT happen.
8. An Australian may wish to be a New Zealander for a day, just to see whether the jokes about their IQ are really true.
9. An ass may want to perform so well that it gets known as a 'kickass' performer.
10. Readers may want to burn this post, but that ambition will remain just that-an ambition.

Ungodly Barbs- This is not Cricket

In Indian cricket, there is a God. His name (like mine) ends in a 'kar'. There was, in the early years (of my watching or rather hearing it on radio) of cricket in India, another God, whose name also ended in a 'kar'. Will not need a lot of intelligence to figure these two out. So far, so good.

Only, now, it seems there's trouble in paradise. Some people say that we create gods. If that's true, they must reflect our realities to some extent, plus of course, some imagination. Anyway, coming back to the trouble at hand, it seems God Sr. has raised questions about God Jr. (also sometimes called master blaster) and his age and related faculties, like eyesight and resultant footwork. These acute observations came during an obtuse innings that he played in the ongoing Test match against the New Zealanders, who got him bowled by bowling very 'zeal'ously.

Now, God Sr. was known to have tackled the bouncers as well as the googlies, but also has a record of having scored the slowest runs in a match, putting him in the category of the Geoff Boycotts for whom it was a left handed game (sorry, baayen haath ka khel, literally). So is it the case of the pot calling the kettle names?

Hope the Kohlis and the Pujaras get us out of this ungodly mess (someone has to), and we continue to have Gods to worship. What if they are new ones?