Reflections

This is the 14th article in the culture series A business meeting - and a pointed comment or observation by a business person {well, ok - a man} that deserves a mention... "Men will look for 6000 - 8000 Rs Phones for their wives, but go for a 50000 value super premium for themselves". This was a comment that left us listeners momentarily stunned, but in total agreement.... I recounted this to my wife, who also agreed wholeheartedly.  In itself, it is a perfectly innocuous comment; a simple observation of male attitude, intermingled with the Indian reality that in most cases, the male is the earning member - and thus may {or may not} have differing needs that necessitate a higher-cost phone. The point is not whether those so-called differing needs dictate a super-premium mobile phone; the point is the expression of attitude. The point is that the male does not consider his partner in life for things that he can use.. the possibility of  both using 25000 val...

This is the 3rd part of the articles :  1)  Do We Really Want Change 2)  Our Cultural History Of Tolerance In the first part, we looked at our gullibility, and our tendency fawning & hero-worship of personalities, juxtaposed against our real problems. In the second part, we took a look at our history of tolerance and diversity, compared to our modern day habit of rising intolerance & impatience. In the 3rd and concluding part of this mini-series, I shall attempt to put it all together and get a glimpse of the direction we are in In order that we do the above, it is critical that we remind ourselves of the problems India is currently facing :  we need lesser corruption at the lower & higher levels;  we need good growth, ease of doing business;  we need equal growth for all sections of our society; we need a functioning and decent state and central government and their related organisations;  we need a free L...

राष्ट्र-लक्ष्मी की वंदना करते हुए क्यों न मनाएं दीप पर्व  कुछ इस रूप में, संस्कार की रंगोली सजे,  विश्वास के दीप जले, आस्था की पूजा हो,  सद्‍भाव की सज्जा हो, प्रेम की फुलझड़ियां जलें,  आशाओं के अनार चलें, ज्ञान का वंदनवार हो,  विनय से दहलीज सजे, सौभाग्य के द्वार खुले,  उल्लास से आंगन खिले, प्रेरणा के चौक-मांडने पूरें,  परंपरा का कलश धरें, संकल्प का श्रीफल हो,  आशीर्वाद का मंत्रोच्चार, शुभ की जगह लिखें कर्म  और लाभ की जगह कर्तव्य, विजयलक्ष्मी की स्थापना हो,  अभय गणेश की आराधना। सृजन की सुंदर आरती हो,  क्यों न ऐसी शुभ क्रांति हो। मनाएं स्वर्णिम पर्व इस भाव रूप में,  क्यों न मनाएं दीप पर्व  सुंदर स्वरूप में। Poem found on Facebook... Author Unknown;  Happy Diwali, Everyone! May Lord Ganesh Bless India; May Goddess Lakshmi shower her blessings on India; and May Goddess Saraswati Bless India with "Sadbuddhi... ...

India and the Pakistan problem... I have been hearing a lot on the streets from people - the final solution, or words to that effect. We Indians are now getting tired of the constant violence.  It is a common strand of discussion here among normal civilian citizens- let us finish Pakistan once and for all. Ek Jung- one war, end it all. Aar yaa paar ki jung. A last fight to the bloody finish with Pakistan. Or, it is a fervent advise to the Government  that we should be more assertive militarily, and strike the terror outfits operating from within Pakistan, or statements to that effect; statements that advocate a much more aggressive posture as compared to the current calibrated and measured response, which is reactive, firm and yet non-escalatory, with a clearly held olive branch of talks.  Much the same threat has also been voiced by our politicians as well, with one major political leader - an erudite, highly respected and incorrupt man - openly declaring ...

This is the 4th article in the reality series, and is the second part of the article  Do We Really Want Change? The sad reality of growing intolerance is readily seen in Modern India in any number of facets of Modern Life. While it can be argued, and argued with conviction that intolerance is a fact of Modern Life regardless of nationality, the fact remains that this is a truism in India - a nation known not for intolerance, but for  the exact opposite. And that is what makes it an especially sad reality.  While the divides that pervade modern life in India are a subject unto themselves, ranging as they do from caste to rich-poor to religion, and are thus beyond the scope of a blog-post; a few questions can nevertheless be asked of  ourselves in such outlets as blogs and social media. The first and most pertinent of these questions is what I deal with in this post - how is it that the most tolerant and open people on the face of this planet have b...

THE PROBLEM STATEMENT The title says it all. WhatsApped! That is exactly what I was, as I noted 1086 messages on my mobile one fine day. I was flabbergasted, and literally stunned, and more than a little irritated. I have seen 100 messages, 200, and even 300 in a day. But 1000 messages? That is much too much, any which way you look at it. There is simply no way I was going to read all 1086 messages, that much was certain.  Then my mind turned to my own addiction to WhatsApp - and I realised I was part of the problem, not a victim. I was both the problem as well as the victim of overload - not because I was a massive and active contributor to the stream of messages on a daily basis; but because I was an active reader of the jokes and other pointless messages. My participation was usually limited to Politics and news related issues, which make up less than 5% of the daily flow.  I further asked myself : was I really enjoying those jokes and messages? Answer : Some, I...

JOINING HEARTS VS POINTED GUNS : THE DEBATE CONTINUES Article in India Today : Pointed Guns Article in Times Of India : Joining Hearts An effort of peace, of bridging the gap, in the backdrop of blazing guns... and not the first, either. I was part of one such initiative :  Jodey Dilon Ko , which was an interesting experience. In this post, I had observed : "Will this interaction {culture + trade} bridge the divide? All that lies in the future, and depends upon a peaceful coexistence between the two of us, devoid of terrorist attacks, and cross-border violence. That is the core, the non-negotiable reality. The ball is firmly in Pakistan's court; I just hope the moderates in Pakistan win the day..." Today, as we stare at yet another violation in the backdrop of this peace process, it is time for us to try and analyse whether these efforts are worth it, or are they a complete waste of time and energy. This is especially so, since we now have a Government...

Do we, as a nation and as a people, do we really want positive change? Do we Indians really want to tackle the ills that plague our society, our polity; thereby creating an even more vibrant and forward looking society than we currently have? And do we Indians really care enough to walk the extra mile that is required for us to change? Most critically, do we Indians have the intelligence, awareness, the knowledge and the guts required to face upto our problems and our weaknesses? Why are we so gullible, for starters? I admit that we Indians are a highly emotional culture, and thus adulation is a fact of life for us. Furthermore, given the hierarchical nature of our culture, some amount of hero-worship is both a given as well as good for national health. But cant we draw the line between following and blindly following? How can we allow emotional appeals to cloud our views 100% of the time? More critically, why cant we accept that even the most charismatic leader can make mist...