No Problem

 There was this ad many years ago, for a bike, that said it was a No Problem bike. Nicely made. 

So, one can imagine a conversation that goes "No problem" as follows-

Someone- It's so hot!

You- So what? No problem. Makes you appreciate the cool weather when it comes.

Someone- There's so much traffic.

You- Yes, but I think about other things while stuck in it. Not a problem.

S: It keeps raining so much.

You- We need the rain, farmers will have no problem.

S: There is so much corruption all around.

You- It could be worse, in some countries, they kill innocent people. There is so much violence.

S: My boss is always putting me down, 

You- Think about those who don't have a job. What's a bit of a problem with the boss?

Is Five Years Too Long?

Elected reps should be able to do their job if they want to, in about three years time, if they really worked hard. They can concentrate on one proble/issue at a time for about a month, and leave the rest to someone to do, and monitor things from then on. If you can solve one major issue a month (put the best available brains/teams on doing so), you can do at least 24-30 in three years.

I think we could have elections every three years, to make that happen. Five years seems too long, and gives people time to waste on irrelevant things.

Cynicism and Optimism

The reactions to PM Modi's speeches are bipolar- you either love them or hate them. The unfortunate part of our history for the last decade has been that cynicism has replaced optimism. Actually, everyone knows the problems we have as a nation AND the solutions to these. In 1991, they were articulated well by Manmohan Singh in his historic budget speech.

It is indeed ironic that it took the (once-in-opposition) BJP PM to re-articulate them for us. And that the same Dr. Singh allowed things to drift in the other direction-away from reform- when he had the chance. Anyway, the lost decade apart, one can still solve most problems by working at them, bit by bit. No one has a magic wand, not the US, not Russia, nor some messiah from above. We need to work on the agenda we set ourselves.

The sooner we start, the sooner we get there. And we have to learn to understand what is good for us as a people- a country, indeed, the world (but after we set ourselves straight). That we need productivity, jobs, health, education and infrastructure stares us in the face everyday. Point is, what are we going to do about it?

This is just a reiteration of the fact that optimism and hard work can at least help us improve our lot. No amount of cribbing or wishful thinking will. We still have a good chance. Let's take it.

Unemployment and Solutions

There seems to be major unemployment threatening lots of people in India. Some of these unemployed (even ex- BIG BOSSES) and underemployed guys land up fixing matches. If ever the following find themselves in such a situation, here is what they could do.

Kapoors can start a school for putting on weight. With pics of all the male members of their clan, you don't need a hard-sell.

Khans can start their own version of the Cannes film festival. Pronunciation is almost the same, anyways. This can be held at the Kandivali fair grounds, to match with the name of the fest.

Madhuri can start a primary school to teach arithmetic, as in "Ek do teen.."

All bit role actresses of yesteryear can have an eatery called Bits and Pieces, which will serve variety of chats, or a cybercafe that is titled Bits and Bytes.

Nana Patekar could start a school for wannabe actors who will learn how to deliver fiery dialogue in a ghati style.

All other game-players can start a welfare league for themselves right now, as their earnings probably will not be able to support them even at the peak of their careers.

Finally, the commentators of cricket can set up the next edition of comedy circus, as they fit the requirements to a 'T'.

How about it?

One Solution to Global Economic Woes

I don't understand what the fuss is about, in Europe, in the U.S. and elsewhere. You have an easy solution and also have the core competence to implement it. It will solve at one shot all the economic problems (and a few more). The solution is - BUILD MORE MALLS. Building railway lines for economic recovery is passe.

The social and economic benefits of building malls are many.

1. People remain in an airconditioned environment when inside a mall, and therefore, are cool.

2. Malls reduce people's intelligence levels, and hence their questioning ability. So it's good politically!

3. They are lulled into a sense of well-being while inside.

4. If they actually shop, it directly increases the country's GDP, creating jobs for people who have to man/woman the counters.

5. It boosts the (mall) construction industry, even if nothing else happens.

Merkel, Obama, and co., I hope you are listening!