In a World of OTPs and KYCs

 And digital menus.. imagine these..

If you want to enter Heaven, you need to prove your credentials.. first, a KYC to prove your identity.. and then, enter your OTP to confirm you are dead- but how do you do this when you are dead?

KYC to use a public toilet.. so that you can be fined if you forgot to flush..

KYC to enter a classroom and get your attendance marked.. proxies will be eliminated.

Criminals who want to prove that they committed a crime can also do a KYC.. or else they can't take credit for it.

Moms of newborns need to do a KYC that they are what they say they are- mother of the new-born. Or else, that kid won't be given a birth certificate!

None of this proves you are a citizen.. go do an SIR, sir!

How to Build Your Presence on Social Media

 These are learnings over about 10-12 years, because I am no social media guru.

Be yourself most of the time. Intellectual, argumentative, funny, sarcastic, innocent, curious, engaging, or some combination.

Use visuals wherever the medium lets you. 

Be original, and don't rely on forwards alone. Though forwards also help you establish an identity. Caption forwards too..

Comment on your friends' posts, rather than only liking them.

Use the medium regularly, so people can track you and know you better. 

Explain more. Where you were, what you were up to, or what the occasion was.. memories are shorter than you think.

Edit photos to make them more attractive, without losing their essence.

Identity and Politics and Media

 Any media report without the identity of the main players you heard recently? On TV, I don't think so. The newsmaker is always identified by caste, community, religion, or whether his/her father was a rickshaw-puller, and so on. 

This actually perpetuates politics of identity. Why not just mention the facts of the case? And then we blame politicians for using all of these as vote banks. Why wouldn't they, because the media- you and me- perpetuate it all the time.

This is not restricted to India- it's always Democrats versus Republicans in the news reported by American media.

If it is a riot or fight between communities, maybe that's relevant to the news item, but mostly, it is not. Being conscious of this is the first step towards treating all human beings as one.

Marathi Manoos

I am confused. I was born in Andhra (now Telangana) to Maharashtrian parents from Belgaum and Jalgaon, and have lived in Orissa, Delhi, Lucknow, Nagpur, Calicut, Bangalore and Harihar apart from Hyderabad. I speak Telugu, understand Kannada, speak Marathi at home, understand and read some literary stuff in the mother tongue.

My confusion is- am I a Marathi manoos or not? At the rate at which the definition of one keeps changing, I may never know.

Am I an Indian? Probably, as I have lived in India a majority of my 57 years, but at various points of time, I feel affinity towards America (where I have friends, relatives etc like every other Indian), or European nations for their contributions to society, or African nations because they are where we were a few hundred years ago, with the potential to be a lot different, and so on.

But the confusion is ever present. Who am I?