Andhra Pradesh- Telangana Et Al.

 To me, it's still one state, and not two. I was born at Kothagudem, Khammam district. Railway station was called Bhadrachalam Road. Singareni Collieries, a Centre-state joint venture coal-mining company, was the reason we were there. I learnt Telugu, and still speak a little, when I find a few who also do, like Siri Adi, my ex-student. Or Jayanti Ranjan, who was a colleague and friend from IMT G.

Anyway, we had a British-built bungalow with a sprawling front and back garden, for a house, the first few years on the planet. I climbed trees, watered plants, and picked mangoes by the bucket in a storm. Learnt photography by observing my parents use a German folding camera, and later, in school, learnt how to develop black and white pics in a lab. 

After 1982, did not see much of the state, though we stayed till 1989. I was away getting an MBA, and later working, or getting a Ph.D. abroad. But my memories of those days -22 years- is still strong, and many of my childhood buddies from those years are in touch, at least on facebook. Met a few over the years too, last in Pune last November. Also had a record player, and lots of records. Developed my taste for Hindi film music by listening, and watching films- my parents were buffs, and we drove to cinema halls in town whenever a new film released. Jewel Thief was one of those, I remember.

Rudhramadevi- Film Review

This is a film about the Kakatiya Queen Rudramadevi who ruled in present-day Warangal. It was a rule that brought about prosperity and welfare for the most part. She was anointed as Rudra Dev and brought up as a prince, because a female was not acceptable as a ruler those days. She proved herself more than equal to the task, and managed to outwit her opponents within and outside with the help of a crafty Prime Minister, a la Chanakya.

The movie was ineresting to me as I grew up in Telangana/Andhra Pradesh, and Warangal is a place I visited many times. The arch from there also constitutes the logo of Vignana Jyothi Institute of Management where I worked for a few years.

From a historical viewpoint, it is worth a watch to find out how some of the kingdoms functioned, and understand why the foreign invaders had it easy to conquer/plunder India at various times, particularly in the North. The Queen refers to the infighting among Indian kings towards the end of the film. The actress Anushka (Shetty) is competent in her title role. Prakash Raj is impressive as usual, and Allu Arjun does well as Ganna Reddy. Baba Sehgal appears in an unexpected role.

See it if you are fond of history. The effects are not as spectacular as in Baahubali, but overall, it is a well-made film. Trimming about 15 minutes would have made it even better. There are some references to Italy. I don't know if they are meant as a dig at you-know-who.

Coal, Telangana and the "Power" crisis

Half the country is struggling coz apparently, the coal got wet. Also, the AP govt. undertaking, Singareni Collieries, is on strike. There seem to be two 'power' struggles going on here. One for the yet-to-be formed state of Telangana, and in particular, the Nizam crown jewel, Hyderabad (do I hear the Nizam laughing?) Apparently intractable problem, making Kashmir and Palestine look like a 3 year old's jigsaw puzzle by comparison. What's so intractable about it, I am still not too sure. Maybe the next committee will tell us.

The other struggle is far more interesting, and I believe, presents us with a great opportunity. Why not go all out for renewable energy sources, now that we know what the future looks like- BLACK, or dark, if you prefer, if we continue depending on coal and oil. Actually, the U.S. and Greece could start doing this research too, to bring them out of debts/bankruptcies, etc..might be good for everyone.

Telangana and good governance

I wonder what the real motive of anyone demanding separate smaller states is. True, the U.S. has 50 states and is reasonably well governed. But are we governing the best we can with available resources and technology-using it? I doubt it.

Good people at the top may actually do wonders for governance, rather than shrinking the size of the state. A Chandrababu Naidu made a lot of difference, Nitish Kumar seems to be doing the same. Even appointing a few good people can do the trick, as in Mr. Sridhar for the Delhi Metro project. The common man needs to see visible change for the better. Of course, some people would argue that they would rather be left alone by the government. But some interactions are inevitable. Registrations of marriage, birth, death, ration cards, driving licenses, passport issuance, roads, water and power are basic things every citizen must have. The unique identity card project is a good move, hope it succeeds. It is great that professionals like Nilekani are being sounded out and agreeing to get into public service. Let's hope there's more of it in 2010.

Significant Happenings

Asterix turned 50 recently. Millions of people across the world have enjoyed his adventures along with Obelix, the maker of the magic potion, Druid Getafix and so on. The names of the characters are great entertainment in themselves. I still carry around a particular one called Obelix and Co. which is a great take off on management- in particular, advertising and marketing. There is a smart alec who gets the Gauls addicted to making money by selling menhirs (he buys them himself)and succeeds in corrupting them. Great read for an MBA.

The bard Cacophonix is another briliant creation. We come across equivalent characters in real life so often, that he is easy to relate to. The caricature of Romans (particularly Julius Caesar)is hilarious, and should be compulsory reading for all would-be dictators.

Paul Samuelson, author of a great text book on Economics, passed away. I read his book during my MBA and it was the first one on Economics that I enjoyed reading.

The Telangana crisis set me thinking. I was born in Andhra (undivided), so will I have an identity crisis if that changes to Telangana? What is the economic rationale for a new stste to be formed? Will the reorganisation help the common man in any significant way?