TEDX at IIMB - Rating it 3 out of 10. What's yours?

Recently I attended a TEDx event organised by the Indian Institute of Management at Bangalore, and I must say that it was a huge disappointment all the way. I was pretty critical about the previous TEDx event in my blog post that I published last year, but honestly, the IIMB event made that event look like a rock star. My 5 reasons for why I hated the TEDX IIMB event are,

1. Starting late - common problem with both the TEDX events. I thought this one 'managed' by India's premier management institute would be different, but alas, we are all Indians nevertheless.

2. Selection of topics - there was absolutely no theme to the event. Each of the speakers came on the dias with their own random topics and made their speeches. The least I expected that each session/section would have a theme and some level of focus.

3. The speakers, barring one senior journalist, the rest of them were all low impact and not befitting the TEDX quality. I was surprised that they were unable to find speakers outside the IIMB network of alumni and faculty given their apparent clout in the industry. And yes, I am one of those who believe that getting a degree from a premier institute is one thing, and what you use it to achieve is another. So an IIMB degree or being a faculty there is not synonymous with success. It was pretty evident either that was the prerequisite for making the choice of speakers, or to make up for their inability to find someone else better, the organisers had to settle for this convenient quick fix. Hence, the quality of the talks suffered and added no value to the audience. However, there was one talk I enjoyed. It was on this organization named RangDe. Real impact story and an idea worth spreading. Clear example that brand IIM does not always sell.

4. General administrative issues - the stage was still being setup while we were waiting for the program to start, frequently defaulting sound and video equipment, very average registration experience all added to the agony. It just brought to the fore the clear lack of interest by the organisers to put up a good show. Seemed like everything was a last minute rush. 

5. For the same ticket price,  TEDXBLR served up a really scrumptious lunch. However, here, the audience had to settle for a meagre menu of samosa and tea.

In conclusion, a disappointing experience at TEDX IIMB. I had to force myself to survive the duration of the program.

In the 'buyer beware' age,  I have my share of mistakes I made to land at this mediocre event too. I bought a ticket to this event which had no website and no speaker information whatsoever. Purely had the interest to attend on the basis that IIMB was organising it and had a bare minimum expectation on the quality. Well, that's not how things turned out exactly. 

It now makes me ponder, in one of India's most premier management institute, how are graduates going to manage big organisations in the future while failing to even organize an event of this small a scale. Call it hype or marketing stunt! Or is the industry falling into the same trap as I just did?

IIMB Board meeting - we need more courses to increase our fee collection
Professor - sir,  we can start an MBA in event management.

5 out of 10 for TEDx Bangalore! Whats your rating?

When I bought the ticket to go to TEDx Bangalore that was held on 3rd August 2014, I was thrilled and overcome with excitement to be part of such a high impact global movement. Well, but what can I say? It was a like eating a bowl of stale salad served in gold china in an ultra luxury hotel. Read on for what I mean.....

Let me start with the positives!

Thoughtful categorization - 7 out of 10 

The whole event was divided into 3 sections, BLR to Bangalore, Down South and Outsourced. There was clarity in what the organizers wanted to portray to the audiences bringing together a nice flow of thoughts to the audiences.

Novel Initiatives - 9 out of 10

The paired lunch box wherein the lunch packet is received in pairs thereby encouraging sharing of the lip smacking tucker as well as "food for thought". Also the awesome informal type of seating enabling networking activity in comfort and leisure.

  

The drone 10 out of 10 :-) 

Also, who could not have observed the drone that was used to record the event. Just a kiddish observation, but I would like to put it down as a like. 

The anchor of the event, Sriram Sullia - 9 out of 10 

By far the saviour of the event! He kept pace with the slips and tumbles of the organizers by engaging and entertaining the crowd, while the organizers troubleshot. As usual, his wit was unbeatable while he charmed the audience. Well done Sriram! But I was shocked to hear that he even got a barely audible thank you, and whoever was doing that did not even know his name. There was a loud blurb in the microphone that we "we thank the anchor" (zero marks for that). Guys, he has a name and if there is one person you had to profusely thank, it had to be Sriram for holding the show together.

The Negatives....

The content curation - 3 out of 10

With all due respect to all the speakers and their causes, I feel the selection of speakers, except a hand few, could have been way better that what was mustered by. The best and most invigorating of the talks were those that were beamed on the screen from other TED and TEDx events. I explain why further along this post....
I must say the content curation was way off the mark, especially the BLR to Bangalore category. The selection of speakers brought to fore the blatant lack of knowledge on the issues the city faced and the history of Bangalore. Except the Ugly Indian and Naresh Narsimhan, all the other speakers in the category disappointed. There were no impact stories nor any take away inspiring messages from the others. Abhishek and Nitin Pai had nothing new to say, period. Why were truly high impact stories such as the Akshaya Pathra from ISKCON or individuals like Ashwin Mahesh overlooked?

The Down South segment was a total let down! Also, it was a almost a misnomer since 3 out of the 5 speakers surely were not from the South (Debarghya Das from Kolkata/USA, CREA based in New Delhi, Jadav "Molai" Payeng from Assam). However, the lone shining stars of this segment and arguably in the entire event were Mrs. Shobha Murthy and Sanusree Gomes from HelpDesk. Truly awesome, yet simple solution to a problem that existed for decades. The curator probably turned lucky with this find.

In the highly anticipated Outsourced segment, the audience as I observed were fighting hard to stay awake due to the lack of invigorating talks and the awesome meal. Ibrahim Nehme and Tamadher saved the grace with some impact stories to say. Adnane could hold my attention in patches purely because of his humorous narrative. Wonder why Zac Greene had to fly half the globe to read his talk from a piece of paper, or Jon Walls to make a sales pitch on behalf of Swiss startups in India?

The Delay in Starting the event - zero out of 10

Although scheduled to start at 9:30 AM, the show never got underway till 11:15 AM. While I came into the convention centre at 8:45 AM, I could see the organizers painting the decorative blocks right near the registration counters. I knew I was extremely early and I immediately braced myself to the ensuing long delay. Events of this caliber don't start late and I felt let down right from the beginning.

The broken promise of the Uber Rides - 5 out of 10

I received an email in the morning of the event that mobility partners Uber were offering free rides 'to and from' the venue. There was promptly a discount code sent along with it and it worked great for me to get a taxi to get to the venue. We realized that promise was broken only when we decided to Uber ourselves back from the venue and were surprised that the discount coupon was not working. And then all of those who Ubered in were to crowd ourselves in the buses on our way back!

The ever-breaking Microphone, Visual Systems and Slide Clicker - 1 out of 10

All through the event, that one thing that had a high irritability value was that every time a speaker came on the stage and tried to start talking, the microphone would not work. Then one of the sound crew members would come on stage to fix it. Then when the speaker starts his talk, its the slide mover's turn to not work. The speakers were struggling and taking wild jabs at the slide mover in vain. Nithin Pai had to actually continue his talk without the slides. And somewhere between the talk, its the huge LCD screen's turn to flicker and make it even more embarrassing. Guys, this is a global event that the world is watching, and what a sorry figure we were cutting! And to everyone's dismay, none of the organizers decided to fix the problem although it was persistent throughout the event. Anyway, less said the better on this.

I would like to provide an overall rating of 5.3 out of 10 TEDx Bangalore. I was wondering if I could have spent that scarce Sunday in a better manner. Hope its better next time around, because we have Bangalore's and TED's reputation to preserve. Your ratings are welcome in the comments section.

Unequal Celebrity Power! Moving Mandya to Singapore.....

Its always a fact that celebrities, especially those from filmdom and cricket, get their share of disproportionate attention all the time. And this is not from their fans that I am talking about, but this is from government agencies that bend backwards to accommodate, many a times what are undue expectations. Remember the tax waiver for Sachin Tendulkar's Ferrari for which he did not even pay for, and easy paroles for Sanjay Dutt to name a few in recent times.

One such event that is currently in the news involves actor turned politician Ambarish in Bangalore. The man with a massive fan following was admitted to the hospital in Bangalore in a critical condition. Many days of treatment showed only marginal improvement. With fan and family anxiety running high over his deteriorating health condition, the government of Karnataka took a decision to shift him to Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore for further treatment and better facilities. He is now recuperating and recovering well and we are happy and glad that he is. 

On the other hand, there are celebrities of a different kind. Social activists who do a whale of good to society without expecting any kind of public attention. These people are driven purely by passion and act with a mission of larger good to society. More importantly, such individuals spend their own resources and go about their benevolent activity without any financial gains or incentives. One such person is Salumarada Thimakka, an environmentalist from Karnataka known for planting  and tending to 285 banyan trees on a highway near Bangalore. Contributions such as her's has an extremely high inspiration value and her contribution, given her financial background of coming from a daily wage labourers' family, can put any one of us to shame. But Thimakka is also ill now and was seeking government support for her medical expenses. Given this situation, the best the government could do was admit her in Victoria Hospital. With the sad state of affairs that our government hospitals are in right now, you can imagine the quality of care that she is a recipient of for her illness. 

Between Ambarish and Thimakka, I am not going to squabble on whose contribution is higher or more prominent and impactful, but putting forward argument why our elected representatives and the associated bureaucrats discriminate between two notable achievers. I believe that both of them need the respect and warrant the same level of attention due to their notable contributions. It is not fair on the part of the government to blatantly discriminate based either on their political affiliations, their financial standing or their familial backgrounds. 

It saddens me that while tax payers money is being spent to treat both of them, while one relaxes in a ultra luxury suite in swanky Singapore, the other one is forced to spend one more night in vicious Victoria Hospital amidst a pathetic system put together by the very same people who are getting treated elsewhere.

I hope this public and government apathy stops and equality will prevail amongst all citizens of this country.

At an election campaign....
Politician: I am going to transform this badly maintained city into Singapore....then all of you can enjoy super dooper facilities
Suresha: Hey Ramesh, how will he do it man? is it even possible?
Ramesh: C'mon man Suresh, of course its possible and very easy dude!
Suresha: What its easy? How?
Ramesh: He will just change the name of this town from Mandya to Singapore!!!!!!!

Be a Spongebob during criticism.....

The web is peppered with articles of the nature of 'Traits to know you are an entrepreneur' and I have always read such articles to see whether I fit the bill. Articles cite qualities such as not being able to work for someone, being innovative, not being able to take instructions and not being able to digest feedback and criticism among others. But I always find that the last in the list of traits is not always true.

One of the biggest challenges I face everyday in my entrepreneurial journey is the ability to handle 'feedback', that transcends the boundaries into easily being 'criticism'. Everyday, I am faced with endless oceans of feedback, rivers of criticism and trickles of appreciation if I am lucky. I am faced with critics both inside the company and my customers and I am found wanting in my ability to first absorb it and second make something from it.  

There are ways that one can handle this and I have found my own home based recipe for this. A disclaimer is that the management gurus may beg to differ on this (for which I will be criticised again !!!), but I will still go ahead with it. 

Panic a little first - this reactionary response actually gets my brain thinking of what happened. I quickly run through the sequence of events leading to the situation of my customer being unhappy. I just feel it helps me understand the enormity (or the lack of it) of the problem.

Undermine the problem - don't take the literal meaning of the words here, I have used them for the lack of anything better that could describe it. Basically, I deal with every criticism heaped upon me as a situation I feel that can be solved. I break up the problem into tiny bits and I prioritize what needs to be done first to salvage whats left of my reputation!!. 

Take Action - Well I may sound like a seasoned professional here, many may argue that its the obvious thing to do. But my definition is not as enormous as it sounds. First either me or my colleague associated with the project will start a dialogue with the unhappy individual. My tardy experience has been that if we show ourselves up at a time our customer needs us the most, that helps build a lot of credibility. Because guys, there are a lot of vendors out there who don't even answer the phone at the sight of a customer crisis, and thats really annoying.

Take the beating buddy - The moment you show-up at the customer's office or over the phone, do not resist the outrage from the other end. Absorb it like a sponge and if possible, refrain from saying anything at all, irrespective of whether you are right or wrong. If you have no wrongdoing, atleast you will gain a lot of goodwill from your customer for having the patience to withstand it all.

Promise - Now that the dust would have settled, assure the customer that you will fix it. Promise him an outcome with a timeline and tell him that you will do anything it takes to fix the problem. 

Now really take action - Now put your best people on the job and get it fixed. Keep the customer updated on even the most silly progress you have made on the problem. That will cool their nerves and provide an assurance that you are on the job.

Now a real scenario     

Phone Rings - Chinmay what have your people done? Its completely messed up....

Me - Sir, I am coming there with the project leader

I then put on my Spongebob costume and dash to the car......

Time of my life

The past weeks of my life have been different and interesting. I have been encountering too many changing scenarios and definitely way too many people’s opinions to comprehend. But the bigger lesson I have learnt is the essence of time.

I eagerly wait for the weekends for a purpose, make the most of the time I can muster and hope that there is no travelling plan for the next week. My carefree life where time did not find too much importance has all of a sudden become a major mental exercise. Well talking about exercise, I, after long times have also found time to do it now in the wee hours of the morning!

I now care about when I get up, when I could actually plan a night out, and the most bizarre being that I care about the time I get back home from work. Sometimes I have heaps to do and too little time, the other spectrum being that I have way too much time and have very little to do.

I have also learnt to share time now. Being the selfish one with all for myself previously, I have found a meaning to the saying “sharing is good”. There is never enough time to spend with the people you want and I recirculate the question about where it’s all gone so fast.

My bland weekends comprising of lazing around have transformed into pretty moments. The element of time kicks in the fact that a lot of minute to minute planning goes into it for rest of the weekdays. And then I get ready to plunge into the weekend hoping that it will all work! It’s almost like a diving competition at the Olympics, where there can be only one of the outcomes, I have either made it or not.

I feel the clocks turn too quickly when I want them to crawl, or they take excruciatingly long when I want them to fly. I wish god had given me the boon to control the pace of time wherein I could design its velocity.

But lemme tell u all, there is never enough time when you need it !

Friend : Hey chinnu I want to buy a watch, do you want to come along?
Me: Dude, no WAY....
Friend: Whats the problem?
Me: Never mind bud, I don’t have time to explain that now......

Non stereotypical, hidden talents or just daring passion?

What is common between Praveen Tagodia, the Secretary of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, musician Raghu Dixit and the multi-talented and good friend Meiyang Chang?

First Dr. Tagodia, I always thought he displayed an honorary doctorate to be honest. His radical views and his path of advocacy of his ideologies have been noticeable in the media. Some condemn it, some endorse it, but my opinion on Praveen Tagodia is " like him or hate him, you cannot ignore him". Something about his personality intrigued me and wanted to know his life a little more clearly. And as always, Google came to my rescue and I happened land up in the non-curated encyclopaedia, Wikipedia. That’s where I was struck with the fact that he is a "Cancer Surgeon" by profession. That totally beat me, and not only that, I was totally impressed. But knowing Wiki, where one can pretty much post anything he or she likes and if no other user objects or edits the facts, the myth can be the total truth. So head off to some more references, and yes..... the same facts reiterated. Bookmark your thoughts right there as I have another example for you.

I have been an ardent fan of an Indian rock band called Antaragini, now rechristened as the Raghu Dixit Project with some tweaks in their composition!! Hailing from Mysore, a gold medallist in Microbiology and a proficient Indian classical dancer is known more for his self taught musical skills than the ones he was formally trained and academically excelled in. I was extremely fascinated by his work in a regional kannada movie I watched recently and I thought Raghu has displayed his brilliance again.

Lastly but in no means the least, good friend and my senior in university, Meiyang Chang. I know him best as the bubbly, friendly and multi-talented student in dentistry. He used to always be a stage performer and a creative guy. But now is famous not for his root canal treatments but for his clinical singing and acting skills.

That said enough, you must have figured the point I was trying to make at the beginning of this blog entry. I have quoted examples of persons whom we know very well, yet very little is known of their background qualifications. What I think puts personalities like them in a league apart is the daring quality in them to do something outside their comfort zone and stand by their choice with integrity. The passion and integrity within automatically propels them towards excellence. They have been successful in defying the odds and proving our very stereotypical society wrong. This is an eye opener for everyone at large where we draw our boundaries and limit ourselves since we are bound with our university degrees. Don't despair if you are unable to find that perfect job, maybe you are here to achieve something larger than just writing code or crunching numbers.............

"Hey mom, where are those papers that were on my desk yesterday?"
Mom - "threw all the clutter out"
"Wow mom, that was the draft copy of my first attempted book" Sigh

Theology trouble.......

I have had an experience in the last few days that I find a bit difficult to analyse and digest. I have just finished reading a book titled “Death of a Guru” written by Rabindranath Maharaj. It is supposed to be an autobiography of a person born into a staunch Brahmin family in Trinidad who eventually becomes a Christian pastor. Well, religion always being a contentious issue is a tricky conversation to make or write about. We all have our loyalties to the religion we endorse and in a way show our unquestioned faith and dedication to it. And this emotion is fine with me and it is absolutely understandable. Here I am writing this blog purely based on what I thought about the book and the presentation of its facts and content.

The author first writes about his rise to being a pundit as early as 11 years of age and how people would bow down to him and touch his feet and give him money. He then writes about the caste system and all the popular history that come attached with Hinduism. He mentions that he practiced yoga and meditation everyday to bring him closer to god. Then the book shifts gear to how he picked up smoking and how violent he had become all of a sudden. He speaks about how certain gods like Shiva and Kali brought a chill down his spine, and an incident where the cow he had worshipped for a long time as god had attacked him. The first half of the book where he is hindu is filled with negativity and dark shades.
Then he and his family endorse Christianity and things started falling in place. He miraculously got some money to go to England and his grandmother was cured of arthritis that she had suffered for more than a couple of decades. The transformation from not being able to walk to actually able to squat without support was seen only in a matter of weeks! He recounts enormous number of such case reports that has proven beneficial to him, the highlight being him quitting smoking overnight and him getting through a spinal surgery.

He then becomes a pastor and travels around the world; most of his time spent in criticising Hinduism than promoting his new found faith. He also claims that he had cured a girl of an untreatable blood disease (HIV) through religion. Since Christianity does not have a restriction on eating meat, he attributes it to his improving health which could Hinduism could not provide.He blames eastern religious influences like Hinduism and Buddhism to being the cause of the increase in drug users in western countries. He equates the experience of practicing yoga and meditation to being the same as using addictive drugs like LSD. He also goes to the extent of ridiculing certain hindu gods like Ganesha for possessing an elephant head and the violent nature of Shiva, the destroyer of the evil. He then finds Hinduism as the root cause for India’s problems of poverty and underdevelopment. He criticises great saints and personalities like Swami Vivekananda, Dalai Lama and some eastern missionaries to be the cause of misery, drug abuse and to the growing popularity of yoga and meditation, in his opinion the greatest trap of the east in the western world. The opinions and the innumerable personal examples provided here seem so contrived that it is hard for any sane person to believe.

It is one’s personal choice as to which religion he or she wants to follow. But the point I am trying to make is; promote a religion based on its positives and not by criticising the others that are around. If one has the ability to analyse other religions, then do it ethically and not through concoction of stories packaged as facts. India today is one of the world’s greatest emerging economies with a large mix of different religions in its population. Religion and development have little relation and it is outright idiocy to state that a certain religion has a negative effect on its economic progress.

There have been social and political revolutions that have taken place against certain practices of Hinduism like in the 12th century lead by Basaveshwara and by Swami Vivekananda in the 19th century. This is a phase that religions go through leading to its metamorphosis and its ever-changing interpretation to suit the prevailing social and intellectual ability of its followers. Hinduism and Buddhism are very different today, unlike the way described in this book which is very dark and unethical in its criticism.

The author tries to salvage credibility to his book by saying that he has been a guest speaker in universities like Harvard and Oxford. Making a speech in Harvard, if it is true at all, which I really doubt, does not justify the book’s unethical and blasphemous nature. I need not remind my readers about the beneficial effects of yoga and meditation that now have scientific backing to them. Choosing to use drugs of abusive nature is the prerogative of the individual and he has to deal with the consequences of making a lethal and unlawful choice. He criticises gurus of the east for accumulating vast amounts of money. But I think the Vatican is the richest religious place on earth!! The author himself now lives in Switzerland in a comfortable country home like the loads of other Christian preachers who own private jets. Flimsy arguments like these he poses in the book, and mine that counter them is a list that could see no end. It is not about who is right or who is not; it is just a matter of secular co-existence. Every religion has its positives and negatives, and the big picture lies in relating to a higher cosmic power that we call god, be it any form or conception. The bottom line is to keep away from controversy by not touching the livewire called religious sentiment.

Publisher: “your last book was a total failure and we are thinking of not renewing your contract”
Failed author: “my next book will be a mega seller for sure”
Publisher: “what are you writing on?”
Failed author: "Panacea to untreatable diseases, Religion". I will feature some (not so) real examples in it”

Gold greedy gurus........

The one thing that is on everyone’s lips is the talk about the global financial crisis. The subject dominates conversations in coffee shops to taverns. It is the intellectuals to the school drop outs; everyone has a theory and an opinion about it. How I wished the fund managers and financial advisors had talked and analysed it as much as the general public are doing now!
I was invariably a part of this conversation a few days back. I was sitting there and trying to make sense of all the financial jargon that sprung up like jacks in boxes all around me. I should say that it overwhelmed me pretty badly and left me struck by lightning. I could not make too much sense of all the numerical bombardment. But who should be blamed? The self proclaimed smarties that had held top decision making posts in banks? Or the greedy investment firms occupying expensive real estate in New York City, who think they set financial trends for everyone to follow? Or is it the average dude on the road with no job trying to buy holiday homes?

We were then living in good times. Oil was cheap and people had a lot more to spend. Everyone had extra cash to spend and people were happy. But then, the greed to acquire more kicked in. So the banks came up with this brilliant idea of stated income, verified assets (SIVA) where in where in one has to just state his income and not to bother about proving it and he is sanctioned a loan. Then another bank came up with No income, verified assets (NIVA) where one need not have any income at all, but will still manage to get a loan. Believe me guys, I could relate to SIVA and let it pass by being ultra liberal with my internal ethical instincts, but NIVA was totally unacceptable. But then some Ivy League MBA comes up with the idea of No Income, No Assets (NINA). You don’t have to have job, nor the need to have any assets. Yeah! Who else would like to take a loan would you ask?
What is the logic behind these schemes? Put a person under an obligation he cannot fulfil, promise him a better life and charge him the sky for the loan. Now every bank knew that this was a risky affair. So they sliced up the risks and packaged it to look like a very safe investment with a nexus with credit rating agencies. So the big boys on Wall Street decided to buy these “investments” thinking that it would generate revenue. The insurance companies did not want be left out of the bandwagon. The big boys insured all these so called dream investments with them and the insurance companies were more happy to do so. Higher premiums! All they eventually did was buy liabilities that were labelled as profit making means. The bubble eventually burst and the rest is history.
But one startling revelation here is that all these financial institutions dared to gamble with the money of the people who trusted them to safeguard it. The heads and directors made a fortune while the average investor is left in lurch.
The greed to have everything for oneself has led these people to make decisions that were eventually detrimental to global economics. And the world is left in jitters because a handful of individuals played a dirty unethical game. Fed by this sentiment of material pleasures, the guy next door goes absolutely beyond his financial means to lead a life of luxury and splurge. So everyone has his part in this broth gone wrong. The root cause for all this mess is human greed and I reckon you will agree with me. Greed was a human emotion that was underestimated isn’t it? Well, it’s hard not to recognise it now!

Playing spoilsport....

I was reading an Indian newspaper online yesterday and I came across this bizarre news item in the sport section. It was the President of the All India Tennis Association (AITA), Anil Khanna making some dullard comments on national media. He is trying to unhinge a company which has associated itself with the country’s star tennis player, Mahesh Bhupathi to release their spending details of their scholarships and to scrap their advertising campaign. Apollo tyres in a tie-up with Mahesh Bhupathi are going to help fund prospective junior champions to make them Grand slam winners by 2018. They are selflessly pumping in about 1 billion rupees over 10 years to help actualise a prospicient dream. There is one company for a change who are not looking for quick publicity through funding cricket, but have put their interest in tennis. Imagine being treated like this for doing a favour.
Sports in India other than cricket lack selfless funding to make an impact. Athletes are always left fending for themselves and these financial constrains restrict talented athletes to make it to the international stage. The AITA should respect Apollo tyres for a feat that it is ready for the big task. Getting a huge sponsorship like this is only possible with stars like Bhupathi trying to make a difference to the sport that brought them their riches and fame. This is a commendable act by the champion to put his credibility on the line to create champions. Sponsorships do not come easy and I have had a firsthand experience of that with my sibling. It is a humungous task to convince a funding source that the money they spend on the athlete is justified. Many give up hope due to the slack of the respective sports associations to bring in the critical finances.

The sports associations in India are headed by people who are distantly connected with the sport, but come into power due to their political or social connections. Once they get into decision making positions, they have no clue as to how to manage and improve the affairs of the sport. But the disappointing scenario is that they are a constant obstacle to people with a real interest to make a difference. Anil Khanna in his statement repeatedly says that he is not against Mahesh Bhupathi. The very fact that he reiterates the same sentence makes it very obvious that he is targeting him. Bhupathi owns a sports promotion firm which help manage international tennis tournaments in India. These events tend to give our in house players some much needed international exposure which they cannot afford due to the costs involved in overseas trips. If my memory serves me right, Anil Khanna has made another pitch against Bhupati by passing a resolution that private organisers could not conduct international tournaments in India without the AITA’s nod. Well all these series of events and circumstances makes it evident that a person with good intentions is victimised. It is shameful on the president to behave without consideration against a well known personality. This shows that he is the most incompetent person and that he cannot tolerate Bhupathi’s contribution and achievements. He does not have the capacity to either bring in a huge sponsorship deal like Bhupathi has done with the kind partnership of Apollo tyres, or neither let the combination work in peace.

Individuals like Anil Khanna do more harm to the sport than good. His organisational incompetence is showing up and his evil face is being revealed. Another classical example of a sport going rot is hockey with the mess than K.P.S Gill created. He sent our national sport stumbling down like an avalanche after taking over the post of President of Hockey Association. I just hope tennis; a game that has retained some dignity and popularity in India is not headed the same way. Let’s all cross our fingers and support champions like Bhupathi to create their clones to bring us fame.

A presentation ceremony of a tennis tournament.
President: “ ladies and gentleman, lets applaud the players for their fantastic “BAT” (for racquet) skills......
The kids chuckle in the background....

Hypocrites preaching human rights....

I am shocked at the recent bombings in Delhi where in innocent people have become victims to the cowardly acts of some narrow minded individuals lead by a set of bizarre ideologies and psyches that would win a Nobel Prize if ever reasoned out. Imagine if there would be an article published titled the “psyche behind the cause of terror” which has solid scientific backing. Psychology would be the “in thing” and absolutely savvy. But I think you have heard the word “cowardly” way too many times for comfort from the past few days. The sad part is that the word has been used more times than the number of cricket matches that India has played in the last 1 year! Well that is real high frequency I should admit and it is scary. The people who have been using the word “cowardly” have proven themselves that they suit the description best. It is a failure not in my opinion about intelligence of our forces, but the lack of political will from the individuals in responsible and governing positions to send out a stern message that these kinds of insane acts would not be dealt with lightly. We have a dude, who has been a political agenda, an eternal news pot for the press and a topic of casual conversations over beer, enjoying his time in prison from the last couple of years. His nice holiday sponsored by our tax payer’s money is courtesy….. his act of attacking the seat of our democracy, the parliament building. And what has the government done? It has been extending his holiday indefinitely than packing him off to the gallows. Well the explanation is pretty obvious for the moment I think; it is a classical case of vote bank politicking in which the collateral damage are innocent people. If the Indian home minister have had half as much loyalty towards his country than what he owes to his political party president, the lives of innocuous people would have been saved. Karnataka has been a witness to apparently some kind of religious tensions and clashes over the past few days. Any lives taken? NO. The central government wants to pressurise the local government to protect the affected people. Well, I am not saying that it is a trivial issue, but it has been blown so much out of proportion that the situation does not demand. The national human rights commission has stepped up its investigation in this regard. People at the central government have gone into overdrive to make the state government a scapegoat holding them responsible for these incidents. They want to curtail the powers of the state by attempting to use an act that is no longer taught of in law schools.
Why is the home ministry taking all the trouble to protect a bunch of people who live half the country away and why all of a sudden this immense interest in the welfare and the protection of our countrymen?
My impression is that this is a perfect way to make a mountain out of a mole hill to skew the attention of the people away from the real issues that really matter. I believe we have more pressing problems on our hands than investigating petty issues. The ministry has to step up its force on matters that mean a matter of life or death for the common man. We need our resources to be spent on strengthening our internal security to assure a peaceful life for our countrymen. The people responsible should be shown no tolerance and compassion and treated in a way that they chose to be. When they can ruthlessly take the lives of thousands of people who have no connection to them, why should our country give them the luxury called existence?
The human rights commission if they really mean business should initiate legal proceedings against the home ministry for not doing their job. Didn’t the victims of the blast have a right to live? They too have families, had jobs and had been bread earners for them. What can the government do to these victims of a real human rights tragedy? Oh well yes they can, make it a political agenda! Accuse someone else remotely connected with a petty robbery and axe him. Pass the baton on and shun away from responsibility.
The individuals at the powerful executive positions in the country are the most fearful ones I have seen. They fear political repercussions to protect the lives of our people. They fear losing their skin and are ready to trade it for the security of our people. The human rights commission has no real role to play and they are just a puppet in the hands of the ruling governments to act and make a noise when they are told to do so.
The people making statements on human rights should first awaken themselves to the fact that every individual has the right to live, irrespective of caste, creed or religion. Please show human life some respect by using the law in the true spirit of human rights. Avoid being synonymous with hypocrisy.............

Year 2020, the clerk in the Finance department,
“Sir there has been a request for a room A/C and a new limo”
“from whom?”
“The commission for the Delhi blast investigation of 2008 sir”

Line up and get drunk….its free……

I was at a house party hosted by my friend here in Perth. It was a potluck party and I have to mention that everyone survived my cooking! We had an excellent dinner and some even more delicious desserts. Then being a connoisseur of wines, he laid out a platter of different kinds of wines and cheese which most of them tasted and appreciated well within decency limits.
Imagine a situation where in a random person at a party goes overboard with the alcohol served to them at the host’s place. I have seen it happen umpteen number of times in parties back home in India. But what surprised me most was that it happened here and sadly the person happens to be from my motherland. There arose a situation where this guy went so drunk that he actually ended up verbally offending the host who had so kindly invited him to his house and who played the role of the host to perfection.
With my limited experience with parties involving alcohol and me being an almost novice when it comes to the subject, I was particularly taken aback at this kind of atrocious behaviour. Even as a child, I was brought up in a way where in, if we were invited to a dinner or a lunch, we had to maintain a decorum which caused the most minimal of inconveniences to the host of the party in their house. I was always expected to lend a hand at any household chores or organisation problems. It has been my duty many a times where I have played the role of the food and beverage manager at our friend’s place during a celebration or event.
Another important lesson I was made sure that I learn to perfection was that if we were invited to a third place like a restaurant and if we had the liberty to order according to our wishes, I would have to pick an item on the menu that would be on the lower spectrum of the price list and that which would cause no monetary burden on the person paying the bill.
The incident that I witnessed a few days back has reiterated my preconceived notion that our country men tend to cross the line when there is free alcohol served. I cannot reason out this kind of behaviour and I am not able to judge whether it happens in other cultures and societies as well. I have being witness to such incidents at home and abroad which had multicultural groups in their invitee lists. Every time I have seen one, it has involved an Indian, which I very painfully have to accept at this point in time.
It boils down in my opinion to the atmosphere in which one has been brought up. It is a perfect reflection of the values and culture of public decorum that has been imbibed in a person as child and adolescent. Some of them perceive that if it is something that you don’t have to pay for, try and misuse it to the highest degree and make the person offering it miserable and kick himself in the room after the party for the mistake he made in inviting the wrong person. What saddens me most is that people in other countries now categorise our men or women as junket seekers and it is a reputation that sticks for life.
I am extremely lucky to have been brought up by fantastic parents who have put some of these important and life saving cultures into my genome. I value those upbringing skills to no end when I am exposed to a western society and culture. It has helped me behave in an acceptable and appreciable manner and being accepted in a culture and society that was alien to me. Looking back at it, it is not rocket science that one needs to know these behavioural skills, but as the saying goes, common sense is not common among all people.
I only hope that I am not witness to incidents like these in the future, where it not only puts the person to shame and ridicule, but the our whole country’s image at black and shatters.

Can we still call it Tennis elbow?

Having beaten the stress from the past 5 weeks for the exams, I thought I will catch up with some news on the other side of the globe in my beloved home country. I logged into the online newspaper. I saw a humongous dedicated news edition that only had articles written on the Cricket World Cup which India won in 1983. I was a bit surprised at the entire spotlight it has received. I then thought to myself, is there the existence of responsible journalism anymore? Well, I do accept the fact that it was an achievement considering the circumstances that we won the cup and the unprecedented glory that was part of the package. I do have regard to all the cricketers who represented the country and their contribution to reaching and getting our hands on the penultimate trophy of the sport. With due regards and respects to all part of the squad, I think we have to look beyond those old times and move on. For how long can we just bask on the past glory of winning the cup, about a couple of dozen years back and have valuable money and time spent on its celebrations. If my memory serves me right, I think there is always a mention of the country winning the cricket world cup back in those golden ages when the topic of sport is discussed in India. I don’t deny the fact that it is an achievement; my only disappointment is that why most other sports in India don’t get the same amount of credit and regard. Why are all the other sports neglected and pushed to the way side and its only cricket that keeps the country running. By being the most lucrative cricket body in the world, this is definite proof that the BCCI definitely has some extra pocket money to spend.
Why don’t we remember Leander and Mahesh winning the Wimbledon trophy? I will be surprised if any of our country men or people in the sports decision making arena remember when India won the gold in the Asian games or their splendid performance in the recently concluded Sultan Azlan Shah Trophy.
The cricketers, whether one was a yesteryear player or a current player have received enough monetary benefits and lead comfortable lives. In the pretext of celebrating these occasions of anniversaries of each of our significant wins, there is more money than asked for which is being pumped into their bank accounts.
We have Geeth Sethi and Pankaj Advani who are world champions in Billiards and some notable champion Badminton players like Arvind Bhat and Kanitkar. But the media does not seem to care and nor do the central sport bodies.
I really don’t understand where the root of the problem is present for this kind of discrimination that occurs in sports in India. It may be partly due to the individual administrating bodies that have only the vested interests of its board members and its internal politicking on their agenda than serious sports promotion. I am indeed witness to one of them that occurred to two most promising lawn tennis players in Karnataka.
This celebration now has made me a critic of the saying that history repeats itself. In cricketing terms, it is yet to repeat and we still live and muster pride, courage and solace in the history rather than looking into the future. Cricket is a minority among global games when compared to football, basketball, tennis and others that are played virtually all over the globe, not to mention athletics. With all the resources poured into cricket, I think their performances should have been the top among all world teams and by now should have won the world cup times over and again. India with more than enough green bills in its association should have in my opinion fared much better than its present performances.
What hurts me most is that the media too is always cricket centric and portrays it as being the ultimate sport that man has ever played and it’s the next best thing that has happened to the human race after sliced bread. Is the ratio of expenditure to performance justified in cricket in India? I remember an incident narrated by Geeth Sethi when he led a contingent of sportsmen other than cricketers to the then Prime Minister. I believe the national hockey team mates were filling out a petition to the PM to provide them with jobs. This is an utter disgrace to the national game of India.

Cricketers rob others professionals of their jobs. They have virtually replaced all the models and actors in endorsements and television commercials. Even a trivial ramp show is not spared. Then there is this whole new debate on the recently concluded IPL which in my opinion was the most expensive movie made on this globe. It was total apathy towards the tax payers’ money that was used up to provide power, security and other expenditures for some mega event which was absolutely unwarranted. The revenues generated should have been shared among the owners of the club and the state. This arrangement then would have negated the expenditures incurred for using the state machinery for these events.
I come from a country where for the large section of the population doesn’t know where their next meal is going to be coming. And here we have some rich blokes and their mates spending these insane amounts of money on virtually nothing beneficial. We have problems in food, health care and education; we don’t need expensive events like these.
The media should rather focus on issues like the food crisis, climate change and other more pressing issues rather than giving a subject like this which do not matter to our existence on this planet. Sadly folks, in reality we cannot breathe, eat and drink cricket and please get present to it as quickly as possible.

Can we still call it tennis elbow? You know Sachin Tendulkar had it…..I thought someone with an unexplained passion and dedication to cricket may want to call it something else, maybe “Cricket elbow”

Child – “mom is school closed tomorrow?
Mom – “why are you asking this question?”
Child – “ you know it is the 60th anniversary of the Indian cricket world cup win, 17th anniversary of the sahara cup win, 32nd of the reliance cup………………{and the list continues}

The circle of life and everything in-between….

Life by no means is a perfect circle. It is not even close to the circles I churned out when I got a grade “C” in geometry while in school. I am sure you would have figured out by now, but my math was as good as my knowledge of the Latin language.
In this circle of life is where “Murphy’s Law” plays its part in many ways and circumstances. It may be career, finances and loads of other problems known to mankind, which more often than not do have preventions and solutions if worked with a diligent mind. But the main obstacle which is almost impossible to overlook is the one concerning health issues. Well, this is where my audience, the part of the “Health Care Sector” shows out its ugly face behind a kind and smiling mask.
As a professional in the health care system, I always wondered the way corporate hospitals run the show and their sustainability strategies. I see my share broker friends investing heavily on the health sector as it yields high dividends and gives more value on selling them. I could never imagine the corporatisation of the health profession. Doctors I agree are not here for charity although a small section of them still do it for saving the grace of this so called “Noble” profession. Doctors also have mouths to feed and families to care and provide for. The point I want to make here is the question of ethical practice, where the intention is to benefit the needy more than making them crib and ponder over the costs incurred.
I would like to narrate an incident where a cousin of mine in India landed up at a fancy corporate hospital for a broken leg. It demanded surgical intervention and rightly so. But the bigger shock was the manner in which the bill for the expenses was generated. Although she was taken into the operation theatre only once and the surgery was performed at a single go, the different procedures of the surgical treatment were billed as three distinct surgeries. Although the anaesthesiologist, the surgeon and all the support staff played their part only once, the bill presented to her categorically stated that each of them be paid thrice! So the surgery cost went up by three times flat. This was an intriguing situation for her and she demanded an explanation for this. The reply given to her was that the insurance is paying for it, and why should she care as to what the bottom line reads? This is just one off real life example I have narrated. Other actions of prescribing an expensive drug because the company would give the doctor a fat payback when cheaper alternatives exist and unnecessary diagnostic procedures to recover the cost of expensive equipment are a few.
Now this opens up a whole new debate about these insurance companies. Since the insurance companies know that hospitals are going to manipulate the costs, they raise their premiums and add a few hundreds of clauses which have an explanation to every tricky question even Einstein could come up with. To augment the agony and to suck the policy holder silently but yet efficiently are the numerous hidden costs behind the Great Wall of China where it is virtually impossible to even imagine that a whole new equation lies behind it. I always wondered why business graduates from premier institutes were paid so high. Does it answer the same question which I am thinking about now?
Well the argument about whether the chicken came first or the egg still persists and it is hard to point a finger at one particular area. But the truth lies in the fact that the general public is getting ripped off their valuable and hard earned money due an unethical system which exists in our country presently.
Here is a situation where we see a vicious cycle of rising costs of insurance and health care expenditure. Health care to a society is one of the main issues which can make or break an economy and a nation. The human resource is one of the most important and strategic resources for a country like India where growth is driven by knowledge processes. With an unethical health care sector, the percentage of people who can afford quality health care is limited. Like medical education and most other needs which has become a luxury only for the rich, it alarms me that health care is also taking the same direction and its effects are already been felt.
Is there a way out to this? Not that I can think of at the moment. As a health professional, the only part I can play here is to endorse ethical practice and not to make my Hippocratic Oath in my graduation gown a formality for nice pictures. The vicious cycle has to be intercepted at some place and why not start from us.
Health care is a delicate and emotional area where hard core corporate rules of making more money and attracting a large number of share holders should not be the ulterior motive. Increasing volumes that have access to genuine care and making it affordable should be the goal. Churning out profits through legal and ethical means should be the path we should resolve to take.

Doctor 1- “Dr 2 bought a Mercedes Benz last week; I am still driving my 1 year OLD Skoda. NURSE! [He shouts], is that medical representative from the MNC drug company representative outside? Send him in and tell the patients to wait……..

Think local to be global

I was grocery shopping in Perth where I tend to live for a little over half a year trying to be prospective researcher and hoping someone would fund me for all those bizarre ideas I get. Dad are you one of them?
Well, like always I tend to deviate from the core subject. Coming to the point of grocery shopping. I was at an oriental shop trying to identify the pulses and cereals and attempting to figure out in which dish they are supposed to be a part of. Mom its time for you to write a cook book to help beginner cooks like me! They were kept in huge open containers for display. Like shopping in India, I put my bare hand into the container and picked up a few grains and started to examine them like a seasoned grain dealer although I did not know what I was looking at. Within a few seconds, the shop assistant made aware that I made a mistake. It did not strike me at that very moment that I should not have. I did buy some of the pulses that looked familiar to me, unaware of their nomenclature.
On the way back I wondered how shopping styles varied from one country to another. I then connected it with a book that I was reading with great interest. It is a book called “It Happened in India” written by Kishore Biyani, one of India’s well known businessman. He is the founder of a humongous shopping chain in India under the brands of Big Bazaar, Central, Food Bazaar and Pantaloons.
In this book he always mentions about the Indian way of shopping. There are some things we Indians do when shopping. First, we always look for low prices, although sometimes we do give the saying “penny wise, pound foolish” it due and meaning. Secondly, I think we are keen examiners of the articles we buy. That is what results in people picking up grains and examining them before buying. If one has observed, most grocery stores in India have samples of all the grains in stock displayed in small bowls on the cashier table with a hand written price slip carelessly poked into it. This example of touching the grains we buy is one classical way Indians shop. Kishore Biyani illustrates in his book how he used the Indian sentiment to build his consumer empire which is worth a few million dollars today.
Like every other variation that we see between different countries, business too should be country specific. In my opinion, irrespective of the trade, the strategies should be country specific and locally oriented. This gives businessman an opportunity to blend in well into the local culture and make the consumer feel he is part of the fiesta.
Well, I am a dentist by profession and I fell in vain trying to have a dental practice the Indian way. I am now in the process of reaching a summit in a field that seemed odd to many of colleagues. My dream is to be a researcher, is there an Indian way of doing research? This would open up a whole new endless debate which would eventually not change much.
Anyway, where do the international business graduates fit in here? Can someone enlighten me on this?

Petit Pleasures

I was driving through a road leading from the conservative Bangalore to the swanky side of the city when it struck me like lightning! My hands were trembling and my head was on a merry go round, I was finding it hard to even clutch my steering wheel when I decided to stop. It was my “Hunger pranks” and not a typhoon I was experiencing. Adding to my woe was the parking problem and I had to park a fair distance from a popular café I decided to go for my much needed bite. I then found a Babylonian garden to cut across and beat the dust and smoke and I eventually got in.
This is supposed be a connoisseur’s paradise and a regular stop for people addicted to its coffee. It was peak snack time and the place was packed and bustling with activity.
I found my place next to a couple enjoying their delicious food and I had to pretend a smile to the lady although I had my curious eyes on her plate! They were an elderly couple and man had with him a cloth bag stuffed with fresh vegetables, had stopped by on their way home from food shopping. I called for the waiter to place an order to live again. By then the elderly couple had finished eating and my shared table was empty expecting another group of customers. My table mates were this group of men who got seated. One of them unfolded a newspaper and started to read. The guy on the table next to mine started to read its flip side and started a conversation with group. The conversation included various subjects and I even wondered why our pals did not actually start their own newspaper! My order finally arrived and I got tucked in with their dialogue in the background. Then heralded the entry of the local political gang to socialize with this huge conglomeration of humanity which had assembled here. The latest trends in the political scenario were then the centre of attraction with people voicing their opinions and future predictions. The financial damage for our “leader” in waiting was the evergreen and never refused cups of coffee which does not cost the world in places like these. I then looked around and found wannabe artists, writers and journalists lounging around the place. I saw our slow paced government employee seated to beat his frustration as he sipped his coffee with his snail pace. My visuals then included young families with their noisy children enjoying their day out.
I then became present to these kinds of small pleasures which are hard to find in posh eateries and restaurants. The table etiquette is blown into the air and people enjoy their food whole heartedly. The chatter is a bit too loud to me, but who cares; it’s the freedom to be oneself that matters here. There are no DJs playing, no dandy cutlery or crockery. Its just plain great food with no strings attached and homely atmosphere. I feel sad for people who need to always need to play the character they are not for the sake of others. These are the people who are totally unauthentic to others as well as to themselves. They are pseudo modern, pseudo sophisticated and spurious. Today, I was impressed by the happy moments and pleasures that people living in a conservative society experience and cherish that many perceive insignificant. I hope this would give you some food for thought.
My satiety centre in my brain was refusing to give up and I had to order something more. “Would you like to have anything else sir?”
“one bonda soup and coffee”

Religion Inc.

I am getting into the habit of being very critical of the seers and religious heads off late. Please do not catch me wrong that I am trying to analyse the confluence of different religions that exists around me. I think I would leave this to the socio-religious thinkers of our barren and fractured society.
I have got a very different angle to the way the some seers and the religious heads lead their lives, their ambitions and goals they set for themselves. With exception to some of the gurus that live in this age and era most of them in my opinion do not lead the stringent and pious lives that they are expected to do so.
Very recently I have started reading and trying to learn the nuances of how businesses are set up and run. I do have some clues about what a start up company is and how the green bills flow into a company. Although I am taking toddler steps towards getting the big picture, I can at least recite the alphabets correctly now.
I saw a picture of a great personality of our country inaugurate a humongous medical college set up by a well known religious institution a few days back. The cost of building one must have been equal to half yearly revenue of an established information technology company I guess! But the irony lies in how a non profit organisations which is supposed to have dedicated its life to the amelioration of society raise this kind of money? It has come to such a state where in the majority of the educational institutions in our country excluding the ones that are setup by the government seem to be solely owned by the seers. Try getting yourself a chance to study there and you will see the brutal side of the otherwise pious and peaceful mask the seers adorn themselves with.
Coming up with such colleges and schools and also running them successfully and profitably require a deep sense of entrepreneurship. Seers and religious heads have a huge pool of unquestioning and unconcerning potential venture capitalists in its followers and devotees. That’s a businessman dream investor of sorts. They usually head the management in these institutions and dictate its affairs. The seers employ advertising agencies and public relations personnel to popularise their institutes. They are looking for paying customers who can increase the bottom line in their organisations. The only prerequisite that one has to posses to study here is a fat bank balance. Meritorious and deserving students form a minority here. The profits are also exempt from most taxes by the virtue of being a religious organisation. No wonder you see seers having the latest Mercedes or helicopters as their prized possessions! I think they do more harm to the society by churning out doctors and engineers below the average competence standards. What hurts me most is that innocent people are victims of these qualified quacks that live amongst us today.
Its is very disheartening to see that organisations which have the elevation of moral and spiritual values of the common man as their main mission, in all reality do more harm than good. This is like skipping the main course to eat dessert in a buffet! The short sightedness of the people with apparent high intellect and positions of high social responsibility is starkly lacking and I think it should be exposed like a raw wound. Hope to see that day soon…..or will I ever?
“Captain Sharma, you will be required to fly our customer today barefoot”
Why? This is obnoxious!
We have a seer chartering our jet today captain…….you know the customer is always right eh!”

Real super heroes….

I was at a filming site, courtesy of a family friend. It was the filming of a song, which are an integral part in Indian movies. They play a major role in entertainment and also in making the flicks intolerably long sometimes. The protagonist of the movie was played by a very popular star in this particular regional language. There were loads of his fans waiting to get a glimpse of their idol. The star was the centre of attraction on and off the camera there. I also had this rare privilege of having a photograph taken with him much to the envy of others who were refrained from even getting close to him.
I was at this filming site for a couple of hours and observed very grossly the procedures of film making. The confusion was compounding at every passing minute and the director was yelling on his microphone to bring some order around the place. It had not sunk in till then the reason for such a big hustle in this tiny make shift studio place which was setup. It did not take me long to realize though! It was this huge conglomeration of technicians, artists and casual laborers that added to this disarray. I then became present to the hardships that the supporting crews have to go through to make a movie. The actors as always get all the attention and help. The producer and the director are always tracking every breath of their lead face to make sure he is pampered and happy. They are always at the core of every action at the site. Unsurprisingly they charge a fee that would be more than my dream lottery!
The stark contrast was the manner in which the second rung technicians, artists and casual laborers are treated. I saw the dance troupe which danced with our lead artist on the song. It mainly constituted of wannabe actors who just hang around the film industry’s hub waiting for their destinies to have a paradigm shift to get them an opportunity to have others dance around him. They were dressed up in glossy outfits ready to take orders on the sets. They don’t mix around with the main cast of the movie and I could see their submissiveness and inferiority complex they carried. It almost looked like they were ostracized from the main crew. How many of us who watch Indian movies tend to realize the co dancers in the songs and give due credit to their participation in making the song viewable? I must admit that I never did and maybe I will never be able to do it. Well partly to blame are the camera angles that focus on the lead of the movie. Actually I would use this as a safe excuse!
The next were these bunch of men designated as the “light boys”. They hung like trapeze artists on high ceiling grills and weak make shift ladders. The safety of these workers is in an utmost pathetic condition. They hung precariously from these high positions with only Aether (Greek god of air) to his rescue if he was to fall asleep up there.
These were just a few examples I have illustrated here to give you all the tip of the iceberg. The others like the trolley pullers who help the cameraman give you those unbelievable shots under a waterfall, the cooks who don’t have enough to eat themselves, and the beautification artists who cover the pimples of our gorgeous heroine all face the same scenario.
Guys, the next time you are at the cinema to watch your latest crush on screen or your macho man beating up the baddies, please realize that there were armies of under privileged people who make these super heroes.
Wanna watch a movie tonight? I have invites for a premiere!

Divine ignorance!

India is a land of various religions and their network of related casts and communities. This large scale religious diversity also has its share of controversies. The latest one to hit the wrong notes in the divine sections is the issue of the “Paryaya” among the ashta mutts in South Canara in Karnataka. Paryaya is a coalition setup between the eight mutts in the Udupi region with this very diplomatic way of sharing power to run the affairs of the Sri Krishna Temple in Udupi. The stumble block to the smooth transfer of power has been that the succeeding administrator, Sri Sugendra Teertha swamiji of Puttige mutt has violated an unwritten code of conduct to be followed by the seers. The apparent mistake is that he traveled abroad and crossed the seas in order to do so. I cannot see another way of getting to the US without crossing the Atlantic Ocean. It is called the Samudra Yana. The controversy still lingers on and a solution is yet to be reached. But the only thing that has not stopped is the war of words between the successor seer and those against him. Their spats in public has not only damaged their reputations but also reduced their following and credibility. The seers of these mutts are the guardians of the brahmanical knowledge base. It is a very ironical to see people of apparent high level of intellect behaving in such a mundane and atrocious conduct.
I do not see why such a trivial issue like traveling abroad should come in the way of worshipping the god and take over the reins of administration. We have seen one of the most respected, broad minded and the face of Hinduism to the world, in Swami Vivekananda who traveled abroad to make his epic speech in the World Parliament of Religions way back in 1893. No person with a sane mind can make a mockery of Swami Vivekananda’s visionary knowledge and ideas. The young scientific minds of this country would argue as to how crossing the seas can make an individual impure or not fit for the act of worshipping the almighty who according to the scriptures and other popular philosophies is supposed to exist everywhere.
It is high time that we break the shackles of these kinds of unexplainable, unscientific and mindless thinking patterns and move on to become more practically oriented. That is exactly what happened in the 12th century when soci-spirutual leader like Mahatma Basaweshwara accomplished this herculean task. He strived to break such nonsensical ritual practices and caste divides to unite all people under an umbrella of a philosophy which focuses on practical and productive living which also had spirituality interweaved into it.
It is disappointing that a community that is known to be the intellectual cream is tight lipped at this kind despicable conduct by their gurus. I am surprised to see that eminent personalities, social thinkers and Gnanapeet awardees like Sri Girish Karnad and Sri U R Ananthamurthy who always had an opinion about anything under the sun are now in hibernation about this issue.
As India moves to be a world power, our religious leaders should also adapt to the new living patters of their followers and not create such unwanted and ludicrous controversies which do not contribute to the growth of our society. Spiritual leaders are seen to be role models, and this kind of public altercations by them sends a wrong message and sets a negative example. I would like to quote Sir Charles Darwin who said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”
Seers are you listening?

Negatively unique…….

I was home…..that’s the feeling I got the moment I landed in Bangalooru airport when I was returning home after a gruelling 1st semester at UWA. I loved the feeling of getting back into my ghetto and comfort zone. I came in contact with the crumbling infra structure of my beloved city when the conveyor belt to transport baggage gave way on my arrival and it was like the final moments of a football world cup final where everybody on my flight were doing their best get to their baggage first. Welcome home chinnu! The first day was spent in total hibernation trying to wipe the jet lag out of my body. The adventure begins now….
India is an absolutely unique country. The uniqueness lies in its languages, cultures and most importantly the food. There is another unique concept that we fellow Indian brothers share unknowingly. That’s the harsh reality that I was struck when I ventured into a taking my car out and take a drive. The sight I saw on the road then shocked me. No! It’s not about the road conditions if your mind wandered in that direction. It is the lawlessness of the drivers who use them that shocked me rather rudely.
I experienced a total deliberate ignorance of the drivers around me to follow the traffic rules. There was a driver driving one of the premium brands of automotive history blatantly standing on the right lane when his insane mind is definitely originating nervous impulses to turn left on the traffic lights. Then I had a student on the ever popular motorbike cramming dangerously between two monster looking buses. To add to the agony was that he had no protective gear on him and had an IPod stuck in is ear. I think he had the Guns n Roses song, “knocking on heaven’s door playing on it”. Yeah mate you will get there rather quickly!
Then I proceeded to the next intersection. Two guys on their two wheelers ahead of me are in my opinion the busiest people alive on this globe. They had to have their meeting on their way home driving their respective vehicles. I then saw a truck approach them in the intersection, but the both of them were ignorant to that harsh fact and proceeded to continue to move and lie on the highway to hell. These guys were willing to risk their lives in order to save 3 seconds of their precious conversation in a rather precarious way.
Then a few minutes past by and I had a dose of the BPO industry's contribution to my city, CABS! These companies have filled our city's roads with cabs of varying shapes and sizes. I had this driver behind me who was in a great hurry ferrying its executives that he was honking away to glory behind me knowing very well I had no place to neither go myself nor have any to spare for him to go. This is what I would call road rage!
We have a sense of pride and accomplishment in the fact that we break rules and cause inconvenience to others around us. I can never understand why we have least concern to other people who like us also have a life and the right to lead it fully and comfortably. I have heard people who gallantly announce the ways and tricks they used to waylay the law which we all as law abiding citizens of the world’s largest democracy that we should follow sacredly. What surprises me most is that the educated elite do not seem to care an aorta bit. Another surprising reality is that the government and law enforcement department vehicles are the biggest law breakers. It was the car of a high court judge of the court that bravely skipped the red light in front of me!
In my opinion it is not about illiteracy that is a stumble block to my country’s development, but is the urban public apathy in its unilateral decision not to follow the rules laid out.
All said and done it is home sweet home. Let us hope we change our ways to help us and others lead a better and organised life in the future. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
hey auto….jayanagar bartira? The adventure continues………………………………..thud! Oh pothole…….

Divided we stand!

I was standing in the bus stop which has now become an eternal pool of ideas for my blogs. Another fellow Indian sat next to me. I smiled at him, but he darted his vision away from my face. After a few seconds he stood there expressionless staring at me like an archer staring at his bull’s eye. I got a feeling if this person had a super sense of seeing through people’s body and I felt transparent.
I smiled again trying to invoke a response at this human face staring at me. He was a statue. I then shifted my sight on an attractive advertisement board glittering away on this lonely and dark street.

The bus was unsurprisingly late and I had to wait that bit longer. In the course of just loitering around I saw this person trying to see what I was upto and was definitely trying to judge me. This made me uncomfortable. All he had to do was just smile back and connect. But he chose not to, but I could sense the curiosity etched on his face trying to find out more about me. I brushed it away as another one of those instances which I have been in before.

In my short stint of living abroad, these kind of situations pop up very frequently. Our own countrymen do not greet each other. There is an inherent fear among Indians living abroad that other Indians tend to stick to them and would ask them for help if they get friendly or even to just exchange courtesies. Why do we forget our human relation values which are praised and so widely spoken about in other cultures?

I don’t see the logic behind this narrow mindset. I think most Indians living abroad have their own competence which helps them get there. Why do we fear people who come from the same motherland elsewhere so much?

I see the division of an Indian society here much more than back home. This is silent and unexpressed but inherently a very strong kind of discrimination because it is led by some of our country’s fine tuned brains. I would like to call it intellectual discrimination. So here we are, half the globe away from our beloved country land and surprisingly (or unsurprisingly!), divided we stand!