Its That Time!

Its the time for flowers to bloom, for nature’s colours to invade,

The orb to shower gentle warmth, like a partner’s embrace.

Its the time to take stock, the good deeds, perhaps not done,

To feel the ache of friends afar, of one’s battles lost and won.

Its also the time to do something new, to give birth to a smile,

Celebrate the wonder of creation, and walk another mile.

Measures of Success

It is natural to introspect over and attempt to measure the success quotient of one's life. The answers are however difficult to discover and fathom and the issue in someways remains a quest into the complex and enigmatic. Success, in simple terms, is defined as the achievement of something desired, planned or attempted, and to that extent assumes the evidence of definitive goals, and those being achieved solely through individual merit. In real life, this is hardly the case.

Recently, as part of an animated discussion on India's progress and 8% GDP growth, a dear friend remarked that everybody is much better off nowadays...the standard of living has gone up...almost everybody is earning more and is far more successful. Of course, my dear friend was referring to the rising middle class and beyond, and the ones below and poorer may have perhaps escaped his otherwise astute observations. One was reminded of Oscar Wilde, who said, "Success is a science; if you have the conditions, you get the result." After all, would the middle class (which by some estimates will form 50% of India by 2020) be shining today but for the economic liberalisation post the 1990's. So, does this imply that success happens and is not necessarily an achievement? Or  if you are a pacifist, perhaps a middle path, a coming together of individual and the universe, is a more tenable and palatable approach. Nevertheless, the niggling issue of the right way to measure success, irrespective of factors or causes, continues to play truant.

While in corporate life, one learns, sometimes the hard way, that as you get closer to the top, the factor of perception easily usurps the dominant position of individual and team merit. Success starts to play catch me if you can, and the empowering factors for merit start to wither and withdraw, at the altar of myriad perceptions. Paulo Coelho's recent observation that what others think of you is none of your business, may appear somewhat puerile and lacking pragmatism. A Steve Jobs may get away with his hard-nosed approach, but the same may not apply for people inching up the pyramid, with the steady aim of a good life. Is one successful if perceptions are well-managed or is it otherwise? Does a desire to manage perceptions border on dishonesty or is that convenient pontification? These are difficult questions no doubt and the views of corporate mandarins will vary dramatically depending on the rung they occupy.

Roosevelt's proposition that the prize of life is in doing work that is worth doing, implying the measure of success may be resident in the meaningfulness, relevance and significance of pursuits that one has embarked and traversed in life, may find greater acceptance with people seeking self actualisation and fulfilment. For the others, who arguably represent the majority, this proposition maybe patronising and to be discarded with appropriate disdain.

A far more facile and comprehensive approach may have been defined by the great industrialist and billionaire, Ratan Tata who famously said that the measure of success is in having a good night's sleep. Extending that argument as a statistic, in a bid to convert the philosphical to more scientific rationalising but with the concomitant risk of rendering it simplistic, one could postulate that people who sleep peacefully for 350 or more days in a year, every year, may rightfully consider themselves wildly successful in life. Or did Mr Tata mean that whatever you do or aim to do or not do, don't lose sleep over it!

Well, if we cant figure this conundrum, lets just sleep tight.

Should we Elect or Select?

The Anna Hazare movement has subsided althougth the old man keeps crying out time and again in agony, most recently for imposing capital punishment for politicos who consume cash, for voting this way or that way. After Dickens' Great Expectations, its probably time for somebody to pen-down his gigantic, well-intentioned but unrealistic desires. Probably, he is suffereing from a huge overdose of dreamy-eyed valuation of himself and his so-called awakening. After all, is he not aware that 158 of our MPs, almost 1/3rd of the house, have criminal chargesheets as the crowning glory on their resumes. Mr Hazare, please pause for breath and stop deluding yourself. Noble intentions expressed in earnest need a robust foundation, built with appropriate sagacity in thought, gravity of  purpose and clarity of solution. The governing authorities may have gone to slumber over the decades but that does not take away the complexity of the gargantuan issues at hand. Imagining governing a nation of 1.2 billion as just another job, is a foolish notion. Aiming to solve or resolve by crying hoarse in front of a confused crowd and the eager to report media, is all well for generating applause and certain level of awareness. Managing a country of such large proportions and diversity is an unenviable responsibility and nobody should lose sight of that.

Of greater importance at this point in time is to start meaningful debates on the democratic processes laid down in the Constitution. Its all very well to follow a tome inked 60 plus years back as long as the processes remain relevant in today's time. Even if Anna Hazare's episodes, resulted in a limited awakening, the desire for change was felt across. This points to the virtual abyss between the people and the government. Evidently, representation of the people's voice through the process of election is not working. The elected representatives have not always been known to act on their behalf. More importantly, there is need for an objective assessment of their contribution, as parliamentarians and ministers, to the nation-building process.

Its interesting to note that virtually 40-50% of our ministers today are law graduates. Is there a significance in this fact? Most other ministers are plain graduates  except some like Dr Farooq Abdullah, who is an MBBS, the Pilot and Scindia scions who are MBAs from foreign universities, Nandan Nilekani, an IITian, with the most educated being our Prime Minister, a PhD from  Oxford.

It was Dr Manmohan Singh, an educated professional and not an elected representative, who fostered meaningful change in the country through reforms, when allowed to do so, in the 1990s. Perhaps, it would be interesting to debate whether we should induct high-calibre professionals to run the different portfolios of the cabinet or maintain status quo with the goons and the not so educated.

Would it serve the country better to select than to elect? Think about it!

Corrupt, Corruptus, Corrumpere

The Anna saga is finally over, at least for the nonce, and one can breathe a sigh a relief - relief that the government did not allow the 74 year old, apparently still pristine, avatar of Gandhi to just die, relief that the Parliament behoved themseleves creditably albeit under duress, and relief that the media demonstrated early signs of objective debate. And what was it that was achieved? One suspects, not much as most of us may realise once the fatigue of celebrations and rejoicing settles.

So, what is corruption? Understanding this, is by no means an academic exercise as it affects many. Is it a function of opportunity or value systems or both? Corruption, some credible tomes suggest, is abuse of power or resources for personal gain. And the word corrupt, literally speaking, refers to a person who is utterly broken, in more facile terms refers to moral decadence. Plato and many others of his cult believed that humans are inevitably corrupt. Evidently, Anna, the simple yet very dogged septuagenarian is yet to be introduced to the complex intellectual.

Look at it this way - is not a vast majority of us engaged in relentless pursuits for personal gain and are more often than not wont to misuse or leverage or manipulate the opportunity to suit. It does not matter if the gain is in terms of currency or for power or for anything more or for creating false perceptions or just for gaining an upperhand in a spiteful conversation.In that sense, is not Anna's revolution nothing more than a boyish dream serving to delude the bountiful yet misplaced energy of the youth brigade. 75000 people or more, they say, took a pledge with Anna, to not give or take bribes. Any which way you look at it, its insignificant or scarcely meaningful in a nation of 1.2 billion.

With the Parliament having passed the resolution, a small (giant or historic as per many) step has been taken and one is loathe to take away any credit or sense of achievement from Anna or his coterie. The Lokpal bill, with its protagonists' noble intentions, aims to address instances of corruption in government and as many institutions and individuals the wise men in Parliament will finally allow, and further hopes to curb the evil of corruption that plagues our being today. While it is true that the fear of punishment can drive mitigation of evils to a certain extent, the real significant change is yet to germinate. It is perhaps convenient, to paint the government and the politicians in one colour as human angst seeks a distant subject for its vent. The real metamorphosis will happen, when we challenge our imperfections as individuals and seek to rise to an identity one can go to the grave with, without any regret or shame.

Can Anna help the corrupt, corruptus, corrumpere?

Let's Talk, PM tells Team Anna

As the drama of Anna vs the government over the Jan Lokpal Bill continues to unfold, i am stunned into introspection. After more than 100 hours of Anna's fast at the Ramlila Grounds, the crowds continue to throng with alacrity, the support spreads to more and more cities across the country and the government continues to meander within a jigsaw puzzle. First it was "to arrest or not to arrest" and then swiftly followed by "to release or not to release". And now the ambiguity and wishy-washiness of whether to pacify or to remain arrogantly resolute. It would appear to the layman that the government is not a single, cohesive unit but a melange of widely divergent opinions and voices. Some may want to rejoice, as one is wont to do in the face of a confused enemy, being suggestive of one step away from victory. However, is the ambivalent state of mind not the case with the protagonists, with its supporters, of the show as well?

Consider for a moment this. Is the real issue corruption or even the lokpal bill? Is that the driver of the tide of supporters? While Anna may be a man of great simplicity and un-corruptible value systems, how many in the well-meaning mob, can claim that. Very few, i suspect. If that be true, is this is a case of all and sundry seeking a vicarious and one-shot approach to catharsis? Or is it that we wish to commandeer the right of claiming to our grandchildren, we were there, if at all the movement would turn historic. Most of us who have preferred to stay indoors are perhaps too keenly aware of their sins and abject surrender of morality over the relentless journey between birth and death.

The real issue, i think, lies beyond corruption.The huge support for Anna, could be symptomatic of the breakdown of the democratic system of governance. The pyramidal structure with aam aadmi who send their elected representatives to Parliament on their behalf, cascading upwards into the prime minister, for governing the country, is clearly not working. The two-way communication channels have virtually collapsed, whether it be because of the arrogance of the governerment or apathy of the governed, and appear somewhat ill-conceived today. No wonder, the Gandhian way of shaking and waking up the system are back in vogue.

So, carry on Team Anna and we will get the right bill to fight corruption. However, i will move on to the next day with the fervent hope of a constructive debate for a more contemporary and effective system of democratic governance.

USA Financially Downgraded

It has come as a surprise to some that S&P has chosen to downgrade the USA to AA+ from AAA rating. The US had held its high ratings for the last 94 years and now its sovereign bonds will no longer be considered risk-free. Apart from the financial implications, its the pschological impact which is equally worrisome. Any financial pundit will find it easy to surmise that this could easily trigger another recession. Is it not a continuation of the before? For so many decades, the world saluted the American spirit of free enterprise, probably rightly so. Default leadership of the world naturally followed. However, if stifling of merit and private enterprise was the bane of communism, the proclivity for insatiable and inexorable greed is the inherent weakness of capitalism. At least, it would seem so now.

It was only in September 2008, that the US was hit by the submprime mortgage crisis and soon enough the US belly lay exposed awkwardly to the world at large. The vast majority of Americans since then have had this growing realisation that it will never be the same again. Their hard-earned pride had been inflicted a heavy blow. The latest events will only serve to exacerbate their sense of loss of identity.  

Nevertheless, this is no occassion to rejoice for the rest of the world. The world today is economically connected like never before and the effects will sooner or later start to engulf the other continents in relative degree.

For the nonce, one can't help but reflect benevolently on the lessons learnt from Indian culture and its education system. Bromides such as lalach buri bala hai and jitni chadar ho utna pair phelao, which our parents and teachers kept grilling us with are more meaningful than ever before. The new generations which has picked up American values and beliefs in rebellious disregard of their childhood learnings, might want to stop a while and ponder!

It would seem now that a new world order needs to emerge. The Russian dream has failed, the Americans are failing, the Europeans will only follow suit albeit slowly and the Indians are as confused as always.

So, is it time to stop deprecating the Chinese model of growth? Before you start to agree, one needs to remember, a China rose is not really a rose.

Chalo Dilli

The last few weeks had been hectic and i thought i would gift myself a tiny break over the weekend. So, a dinner out gorging over handi mutton, was followed by a movie on demand at my home. I lay in my bed, determined to have a chilled out experience watching Chalo Dilli, eagerly looking forward to the funny rendition of simple things in life which only Vinay Pathak, the protagonist of the movie can perform to perfection.

Chalo Dilli is about the glorious misadventure of a lady corporate hi-flyer (who happens to own a Rs. 200 crore company and played by Lara Dutta), traveling to Delhi. And it so happens, almost like the very dead Murphy would say, that everything that can go wrong, does go wrong. Over the twisting and turning journey, the so very "particular", beautiful and well turned out, "successful" Mika Banerjee, realises the insignificance and fecklessness of  her pride, her panache and her penchant for independence in navigating through unforeseen travails that life presents. On the other hand, our dear friend Manu Gupta, easily wades through these tribulations, with a smile and a laugh. Manu is a not so succesfull trader from Chandni Chowk, and the contrast between the two main characters of the movie could not have been more stark. Nothing is a big deal for Manu, whether its traveling without a train ticket or facing a set of rogues or befriending small town politicos. He even manages to hook a lift for the two, with jeep-mounted gangsters. His ability to quickly make friends with anyone and everyone using his rustic honesty and some doses of street smartness, stands out even as Mika fumes and festers whilst hanging on to "Manu bhai saheb" for dear life.

Its only at the end of the long journey, which takes us through several small towns and villages of Rajasthan, that Mika figures what the big deal really is. Manu's wife has been in coma for several years now.While that saddens him at times, he refuses to run away from his problems. Our smiling samaritan refuses to live a life of regrets.

A truly Indian movie which could only have been made in India. (Slumdog Millionaire can take a walk!)

Keep Walking...with a smile!

Singapore Ahoy! - One

The moment we landed in Singapore, it became apparent that our first foreign holiday would be quite interesting. The Chiangi airport, which is naturally the first impression for tourists, comes across as an extremely large, modern and organised introduction. I was half expecting long queues but the ease with which one passed through immigration and customs, left one wondering if there were any checks and balances at all. Hopping on to a cab, we were soon gliding through the highway, shepherded by greenery. It was raining a little but that only added to the pleasantness. Being a Delhite, where the rains necessarily result in traffic snarls, vehicle breakdowns and jams, this experience was turning out to be different. We were in the hotel in 20 minutes or so. Its only later one realised that travelling by taxi, within this tiny country which spans less than 700 square kilometres, one could reach everywhere in more or less the same time frame. Our hotel, located near the Marina Bay, stood on reclaimed land, i learned. Come to think of it, Singapore has only two ways of absorbing its growth. One, it keeps reclaiming land, and today 30% of the country exists due to this and secondly, it builds tall structures (i guess, it would be wastage of sky space, if one were to do otherwise). Relaxing on the hotel balcony, one could not help feeling the advancement Singapore, once a fisherman's village, had achieved, with envy. This less than 44 year old country had attained visible and sustainable development in leaps and bounds. Their governance model and strategy was definitely worth serious study.
The next day we roamed around a few malls and got some currency exchanged. The super serious air-conditioning left my daughters and me shivering a bit. Over the next 6 days, we were to get accustomed perforce, as much wasteful shopping awaited us. As we moved about without a plan, two things immediately dawned. One, everybody who was apparently local, dressed as per the climate (Singapore is generally hot and humid), without fear, if you know what i mean. Men and women looked good and totally comfortable in their t-shirts and shorts or skirts. Two, one could make out that Singapore had a mixed culture, with four main languages (Malay, Chinese, English and Tamil), i was later told. People were always friendly and approachable, although at times it was difficult to catch the counter girl's accents (come to think of it, so many of these shops and counters were run by the fairer sex). Even if there was some lurking sense of animosity against immigrants or Indians, it was definitely not demonstrated in any measure whatsoever. The paper, the Straits Times, eponymous with the stock exchange, does give you a perspective on some level of discrimination prevalent in Singapore society. However, when one considers the deep divisions in Indian society, one would not really make too much of it.
In order to amuse my beautiful children, we decided to take the duck tour. Well, it's an adventure on a truck- like vehicle, which travels both on land and water. As the tour proceeded, one learned quite a bit about the city from the enthusiastic, Chinese-looking guide (who spoke chaste English with absolute clarity and no lisps). My younger one, devoid of any deference to the guide's efforts, was soon asleep in my arms. The duck waded through the waters of Singapore river (is it really a river?), and we were given a view of the Singapore Flyer (my elder one initially thought it was a giant ferris wheel but was soon dismayed on noticing the painfully slow movements...well, do excuse her, she is more inclined to thrill than to sight-seeing, you see!), the esplanade (buildings which you could confuse with porcupines, when viewed with an aerial perspective) and the Merlion (a statue of a hybrid animal, the lion and the mermaid – well, i am quite sure, that this is somebody's figment of imagination, configured in stone, with stories build around it, to give a sense of history to pique a tourist's appetite...i could be wrong, you know). We were back in an hour or so. Back we went to the hotel, after purchasing a pack of cigarettes (for some reason, you cannot carry cigarettes into Singapore...and these were expensive to buy...i guess, the government wants to discourage smoking...but does this really work...a fair number of Singaporeans, both men and women, smoke, but only at the designated areas). Thankfully, the hotel television aired a couple of cartoon channels, to suitably engage my kids. I waited patiently for my wife to return from her marketing conference, so i could hand over the chaperone robes.
Once the family quorum was complete, we decided to start hunting for dinner. We walked into an adjoining mall, right through the third floor of the hotel (there are a lot of such inter-connected access points across the city)...to be continued

Dasvidanya

On the way back from Singapore, I watched Dasvidanya, a Hindi movie, to kill time. It's the story of a simpleton, who will die in a few months. His soul then exhorts him into making a list of things to do for the fast depleting quota of earth moments. He does that and ticks them out on completion, one by one. He is transformed into a man with a purpose in life, going about his mission with zest and excitement. In a nutshell, he lives life to the fullest once he knows he has little life left. More than the story and the message, it's the simplicity of narration and presentation, sans much melodrama or exaggerated emotions that impresses the most. The story also does not seek to moralize, e.g. the protagonist sets himself material (a new car) and non-material goals (love, meeting childhood friends), without any patronizing or fuss around it. However, there are multiple but subtle takes on today's lifestyle and society showcased without intent to sit in judgment. The uncomplicated approach hits you and takes you in completely, or so i felt. Inspite of the subject, perhaps being sad, it's far from being a sad movie! It leaves you thinking, with a gentle push to introspect!

Wanted IPL Modi

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is well into its third season and what a walloping success it has been so far, in market terms, a multi-bagger! The credit for this phenomena has without doubt gone to its commissioner, Lalit Modi. I am not sure what his qualifications and past experience are but he has turned out to be a great leader and manager. Even for corporate types like us, the IPL phenomena is a great lesson in entrepreneurship.

For one, its an idea which reaches out to a huge market. The product is all about cricket, and it is common knowledge that we are a nation of cricket-lovers, that too at shameless levels. This ensured a very high scale of revenue, if the product were to succeed. It does not really matter that the original idea belonged to ICL or EPL, and whatever may have been the driving force for conceptualisation, the first steps were taken in the right direction.

Secondly, the product has been well-defined, detailed and differentiated, demonstrating a strong willingness for taking deep dives and meticulously churning out innovative features. The strength of the product lies in its differentiation, whether it is the strategic timeouts or the super over or the indian/foreign player mix or the icon players. Mr Modi has packed the product with so many differentiators, that it is virtually impossible to replicate. On top of that, every edition of IPL sees some refreshing change or the other, leaving very little scope for competition if any, to keep pace. Add to that the heady mix of bollywood and corporate celebrity cocktail.

A great product meant for masses, would probably yet not succeed, if the marketing and the communication strategy was not bang on. This is where Mr Modi scores another maximum. The high decibel strategy spanned a complete media mix across television, radio, online, outdoor, et al. A brand was quickly built and established, so much so that even the media blackout for this year's IPL, proved to be a hollow threat.

As is the case with the corporate world, most brilliant ideas and products are wont to fail at the altar of execution. In the case of IPL however, as it turned out enough heed has been paid to this aspect of success. In fact, its quite apparent that a lot of thought and energy has been consumed in working out the details to the nth level, be it the detailed processes for player auctions, ticketing, security, stadia management, et al. Hats off to the commissioner!

Last but not the least, Mr Modi has showcased a visionary approach coupled with a hands on management style. He is visible and comes across as extremely accessible. He has shown great acumen in managing uncertainties, as was evident when the IPL was executed in South Africa. I am sure that he is backed up by a great team as well.

All in all, it makes Mr IPL Modi one of the most desirable CEOs in the country today. What say!

Time for Homemakers

I am extremely enthused by the passage of the Women's reservation bill in the Upper House. Changes, especially the ones more radical, are always difficult to bring about. The incumbent government has shown great character (and i do believe that there is a foreign hand in this) in pushing this through, and that leaves a good feeling. I do hope that they do have it in themselves to take it through to the very end, as there are sterner tests ahead. Be as it may, I have already started dreaming of the benefits.
For one, our leaders from the darker sex, have time and again demonstrated the proclivity of reliving their childhood, as enfant terrible. Tearing up papers, throwing 'whatever they can lay their hands on', exchanging un-pleasantries, is perhaps a natural retro. This bill, if passed, could change all that, for i believe that 33 women are suffice to tame the other 67 (In our country, most mothers anyways have the necessary experience of managing male multiples.). I hope to see a safer and saner law making institution.
Whilst i am not a great fan for reservations as a policy, i must acknowledge, that the vast divides that characterise our polity (rich-poor, hindu-muslim/other religions, man-woman, Brahmins-others, north-south, boy child – girl child, et al) perhaps necessitate such movements (why can't the reservations be for a specified period, say 20 years, within which period the stated govt objectives should be achieved?). I do believe that the women's seats reservation will encourage a lot of women to come forward and participate in positive engagements which are beyond their family and households. Right now, the examples are too few and far between. More importantly, it will force the male political bastions, to open up, to receive the aspiring women as individuals and not merely sari-clad addendums. Over a period of time, it may even metamorphose men into better human beings, as they learn to deal with their insecurities arising from accosting confident and beautiful women.
It remains to be seen whether women will get their rightful place in Parliament or not. Nevertheless, the beauty of the dreams has started to linger. For the people who think of India as their home, its perhaps time that they let the spirited homemakers, run the country.

Before I go

Will I ever leave a whisper in the wind,
cause a ripple in the sea,


Will I ever walk alone, stand tall,
a million smiles behind me!