Research Shows- 4

 My research shows that there are people who feel entitled in all walks of life.

First, are politicians at all levels. Few exceptions.

Bureaucrats, sometimes even more. Few exceptions.

Corporates high up in the hierarchy. With social media on the loose, sometimes even lower down the hierarchy. Not just in India. 

Academics who think they have killed it, but haven't. Lots of them around, if you look for them.

Students from rockstar colleges - read IIMs. There is an inverse correlation with the ranking of the college, in many cases.

Employers with no empathy, for whom employees are cogs in the profit-earning wheel. Both in academia and the corporates.

Employees who think the company/organisation revolves around them. It might not, except for a day or two.

Promoters-popularly known as Lalas in India, who micromanage stuff and run all good things into the ground, sometimes over decades, sometimes a lot faster.

 

The Art of Communication

 Sometimes we communicate through words, sometimes not. When we do use them, we could write, or communicate orally. Both are good, and suit certain occasions well. I recently joined Instagram, for instance, where the emphasis is on the visual, and text is incidental, or by the way. 

Facebook, where I have been longer, has an equal emphasis on both the text and visuals. I do a lot of text, having been into writing, so I am quite comfortable with fb. 

About communication, public speaking is an art that can help in certain professions. If you are a politician, persuasive communication can win you votes. If a spiritual Guru, followers. If a teacher, maybe students who are fans.. or become fans. Of course, there's more to teaching, but communication is a very important part. 

Of course, we make statements through how we dress (up or down, as students tend to do), act, or behave in a place where others are present- at a party, or other public places such as airports or when walking in a park. 

Important to understand various facets of communication, both as a receiver and sender. 

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.

End Game in Politics- A Satire

Actually, there is no such thing, as countless elections and their aftermath (Math is a pun, not intended) have shown us countless times. What appears to be a done thing, can turn out quite the opposite.

Well, this calls for a play, or at least, a play-let. So here goes-

A Multidimensional Romance

Dimension 1 (D1 for convenience) to D2: I am yours forever, but..

D2 (to D1): But what?

D1: I need you to part with your heart!

D3 to D4, in the meantime: I love you, and want you to show me your love, by giving me your heart.

D4 to D3: Love you I do, but cannot part with my heart.

D3: In that case, my heart is D1's...or D2's, if I get to have a heart-to-heart-chat with any one of them.

Soon after: D3 to D1: You want me? Promise that you will never look at D2 again.
D1: But,...Ok, I give you my word.

D2 to D4: My heart is yours, I am on the rebound, from this cheater D1.

D1 and D3 live happily thereafter, and D2 and D4, unhappily ever after.

No politician was harmed during the writing of this...voters, we are not too sure...

What If?

Some thought-provoking What ifs..

What if...

Mahatma Gandhi came back and saw what he had fought for?

There were no IITs and IIMs?

The Arms Race had not progressed beyond Bows and Arrows?

The Kapoors had not entered Bollywood?

Kamal Haasan did not have a moustache?

We did not have a regular supply of jokers in real life?

Manoj Kumar could act?

the ghost of Kishore Kumar entered the likes of Arijit Singh?

Women were powering politics across the world?

Hamlet was Canadian (Trudu or not Trudu?)

McDonald's and Coke had not been invented?

The Economy

The economist talks about the monetary policy, fiscal policy, Industrial indexes of Production, Purchase, interest rates, global shocks, quantitative easing,...

The common man understands it as the price of petrol, onions, tomatoes, cars, scooters, availability of public transport, non-collapsing bridges/overbridges, trains which run on their given tracks, and the bribes that he pays (or doesn't) to do what he needs to do.

The politician who understands this the best, and achieves ease of doing business for the common man (not just for businesses) would probably achieve great success in coming years. After all, the big buzzwords are of no use unless they ease the pain of an average citizen.

We had a combination of good economics and politics in 1991 with the Narasimha Rao-Manmohan Singh team. Hope that happens once again, and India achieves 10% growth in its GDP, and not just 7%.

Global Fashion -an Update

Fashion is the new constant-I mean change is the only constant, and fashion is about change. Don't get it? It's OK, neither do I. So I'll just get on with what I was saying.

The current fashion in these countries/states/cities seems to be-

North Korea- celebrating Diwali by firing rockets over Japan.

USA- Building walls (a fashion started by Facebook, which has since moved to Timelines)

Mexico-Shaking it up

Caribbean countries- Sending hurricanes to the U.S. coast.

China-trying Gujarati food (Dhokla-m?)

Gujarat- banning Sunny Leone ads

Mumbai- trying to become Venice

(These are not countries, but have populations bigger than some.) Fb, Instagram, LinkedIn, WhatsApp,..- trying to be like each other.

Iran and the World

I have no idea of the politics that goes on in the world driven by the supercop, but I have a lot of reasons to wish it would not lead to Iran being left out of the world scene. I have had colleagues and friends who were from Iran, and I always enjoyed my interaction with them. The hide and seek that goes on between Iran and the Western powers should not cloud India's historically good ties with the country and its people.

There is good news that the sanctions will go soon. Hope Iran returns to the mainstream. I also find that Iranian films are of a high quality, and appreciated by many. I have seen around six or seven, and most were very good, if slightly political. I think we all have a lot to learn from each other culturally, and Iran and India have usually had a good exchange. We are respected there, and I think we can build on that to further ties, going beyond just oil. We all stand to benefit.

Kalyug- Book Review

This is an original fiction title, just published. Written by first-time author Sreeram Ramakrishnan, it is a thriller set in present-day India.

Meticulously detailed, it sets out with a writer being called upon to witness a coup 'as it happens', in Delhi. A shadowy organisation claiming to do it in the nation's interest, puts up a puppet as the Head of the new government, and runs it by remote control. There is another organisation run by an industrialist, with nexus abroad, which is a rival power-monger, appropriately called 'Powerhouse'. The coup succeeds, and the rival, Powerhouse, attempts to sabotage the new 'government' by all means available to it. There is an exciting finale to resolve the various threads.

The unique thing about the story is its contemporary Indian setting, and characters drawn from recent political history. Many of the characters and events are recognisable, and add to the curiosity of the reader about how things will pan out for each one of them. The crux of the story is a defence scandal (from recent memory of a similar one that actually happened) involving shoddy equipment that ends up killing soldiers on the front, and one general's commitment to expose it. A female journalist also takes it upon herself to get to the bottom of things, and plays a pivotal role, and the love interest.

There is also interference from Britain and the US, sometimes positively affecting events, but usually looking down upon India from their high horses-pretty accurate in its depiction. There are plenty of surprises, and the writing is first rate.

A well-researched, high-voltage drama, and scary in its implications, it reminds the reader of how easily democracy can be subverted, with just a few years' planning, and a handful of committed people, if things are rotten in Denmark. A good read!

Conversations with Storehouse of Compassion

That's of course a person with whom conversations could be lost in translation. Because he is from a Southern state and not from the heartland (did not say badlands). So a conversation with him could go like this, or any which way...

Heartland Hero- So SoC, what are your plans for today?

Storehouse of Compassion- I am doing a pullout.

HH- From where? Iraq? Afghanistan? But you aren't even there!

SoC- No, no, those I leave for Obama and Cameron..small fry. I am after the biggest democracy in the world..big fry!

HH- Did not know you were so fond of fish fry..I will bring you some next time. But what makes you wanna pull out?

SoC- Bahut din se vella hoon ..kuch kiya nahi, yeh dikhane ka waqt aagaya hai ki hum bhi maujood hain...

HH- Wah, SoC sahab, aap ghazab ki Hindi bol lete ho...aap Pradhan mantri kyon nahi ho jaate?

SoC- Ab umr kahan rahi kuch hone ki? Sirf apne manoranjan ke liye pullouts karta rehta hoon, bus..

HH- Achcha, understood. This is a media conspiracy to increase their TRPs. Nobody was watching TV anymore after India thrashed Australia..and IPL is yet to start. So you are filling the gap.

This could go on, but like all TV shows, we need a break. Milte hain, break ke baad..with a lot of compassion! Ravana, Kalicharana, ennada..

La Di Dah- It's Rocking!

Decoding didi is getting extremely tough even for seasoned political analysts, let alone the wannabes. The state of West Bengal used to be lorded over by dadas earlier, but this time around, didi has stolen a march over them with her didigiri, not to be confused with ordinary dadagiri.

The hand that rocks the cradle is rocking much larger things , like the fate of the nation, or at least its government. Rocking gets a new definition, and DJs who think they know a thing or two about rock 'n roll need to go back to the drawing boards- or keyboards.

What a breath of fresh air in the otherwise predictable scenario of simple and repetitive strategies like bandhs and fasts and other sundry protests. 'Pulling the plug' act, you say? Coming up soon, at a political theatre near you.

Karnataka Politics

Yeddy, steady, go seems to be the rallying cry. Only, it is not towards progress, but towards suicide. A party that takes several years to come to power is able to destroy its own government in less than 2 years. Have our parties lost all sense of propriety, shame, and even the will to survive? Reminds me of the time when the Janata Party came to power in Delhi after the infamous emergency in the 1970s. The new government did not even last 3 years. All the common causes evaporated as soon as power got into their hands. Surprise, surprise, Indira Gandhi came back, strong as ever.

Like other organisations (corporate), political parties need to infuse a certain amount of discipline, and at least some common sense into their members, to ensure that at least they complete a term before frittering away a mandate which is earned after a lot of effort, and expense. People deserve a good government.