Creating Value

For any company to run, you need two kinds of people - Men-of-action and Men-of-the-mind. In other words, you need those who do and those who plan. People who can do both - constantly, effectively and modestly - are difficult to find  don't exist.

There are people who start off implementing their thoughts energetically, but like a Coke bottle, their effervescence dies out after the first few moments - there is no constancy. Most people think of themselves as both good thinkers and great doers, but sadly they are effective at only one of these, at best. And finally, there is the small issue of 'modesty' - a word which seems misplaced in the context - which usually proves to be the biggest stumbling block for people. Human beings and their insatiable egos yearn to 'rise' continuously in the eyes of others. Somehow, this prevents people from doing the things they did themselves a few years back - not because they no longer have the time to do them, but because they think it is 'below' them.

Think of the last time you asked a subordinate to prepare a presentation for you, or better still, think of the last time you asked the office-clerk to bring you coffee from the machine which is ten feet away. Surely, you have the time for that little walk down the aisle? You can jog if you want to save time, but certainly, you can do it yourself. But you don't. Not because you can't, but because you think you have graduated out of that stage in life when you had to get your own coffee.

If all this was only a matter of coffee, I wouldn't waste any time on it. But sadly, the coffee example is just that - an example. Our lives are replete with thousands of such incidents that we choose to overlook them completely. In fact, we have integrated ourselves so beautifully into the system that most of the value we 'create' during our entire lives are during the initial years of our careers. Most human beings in this world  start off as Men-of-action, and then make constant choices and career decisions which transform them into Men-of-the-mind. We all want to stop doing things so that we can start to plan on doing things.

You look at any career path and it gives you the same result: the formative years are hard when value is being created in the world, at the grass-root level: the postman delivers posts, the mechanic fixes the radiator, the software engineer creates actual code and the farmer grows wheat. As years go by, people gain experience; they grow older and wiser. Soon, the middle-aged postmaster is responsible for assigning young postmen to different circles, the chief-mechanic conjectures as to what problems radiators normally face, the manager of the software firm is busy streamlining the process of recruitment in the company and farmer lies back as his sons toil in the sun.

What is common in all these cases is that your net productivity as the years go by is declining. You will make more money and you will earn more respect, but your usefulness in absolute terms hasn't really increased, has it? Of course, the world needs planners to prevent absolute chaos from setting in, but these planners are not creators of value. They merely manipulate value which is produced.

And that is the absolute truth: everyone's ultimate goal is to move as far away from the creation stage as possible, to a point from where you can abstractly manipulate value. Highly respected professions such as Law serve to uphold a certain system which is there only to support other systems, which in turn produce actual goods and services. Politicians discuss policy and make legislation which enable other industries to perform. And then there is the vast and convoluted world of Finance, where people redefine the meaning of 'manipulation' on an everyday basis. These are people who sell concepts such as futures and options, rather than tangible real-world objects. How much money can I make from the fall of that share? How much can be gained from A acquiring B? How to I boost returns for this given estimate of risk?

These systems and professions have distanced themselves from the actual world of value, and have housed themselves in their own comfortable cocoon on the roof of the penthouse. No wonder then that almost 10% of the World's Billionaires derived significant portions of their incomes from hedge funds!

It's funny, but it's true. The farther you are from the job of actually creating something directly useful to the people around you, the richer and more powerful you are. And today, you don't even have to work your way to those positions. Education offers a lazier route for those who think the path is too tough. Education catapults you to one of those high places from where you can use great words and plan greater actions.

You end up with a larger phone-bill. But who complains about that? The company foots the bill, doesn't it?

The Gandhi Consequence

"Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the father of our nation, through his selfless struggle against all odds, single-handedly brought us deliverance from over two hundred years of British oppression. Using only truth and ahimsa as his weapons, he overthrew the mighty colonial power, triggering a series of successful peaceful freedom struggles across the globe."

These were the words that were fed to us by Social Studies textbooks back in our middle-school days. Year after year, History lessons taught us one thing - MK Gandhi was the greatest man that ever lived, and without him we'd still be serving our British sahibs. Those were times when most of us looked up at the man in the white dhoti with awe and veneration; times when we were told stories about how a man who was once kicked out of a train in South Africa for not being white went on to liberate 500 million Indians and Pakistanis.

But since then, times have changed and opinions have changed. We cried foul as we challenged the lies we were being fed slowly and continuously by the Indian Government! Since then we've watched movies about Bhagat Singh and the revolutionary war against the British which drew no sympathy whatsoever from Mohandas Karamchand, leading to the martyrdom of a bunch of young revolutionaries. We've read articles about Nehru-Gandhi conspiracy theories and about how Gandhi's favouritsm for Nehru lost us Pakistan. My Experiments With Truth, which was once seen as a masterpiece still remains one, but one that indicts Gandhi for many of his crimes and kinky indulgences. Basically, much of urban India has formed an anti-Gandhi club and with good reason.

But today's post isn't about Gandhi-bashing which has become all too common these days, but about how Gandhi's actions, however selfish, have helped shaped this country and make it the India we know today. I maintain that our freedom in 1947 was largely due to the political scenario post-World War II and not plainly because a few thousand people showed the other cheek having been slapped once already. I refuse to believe that a person who wants to hit you will stop hitting you and start considering you his role-model once you start accepting his beatings. However, Gandhi was a genius for having realized the power of people in numbers, in an age when people believed that there is no power without weapons.

I am certain that our freedom would have been achieved faster and more effectively had we fought the British with petrol bombs and country pistols, like Bhagat Singh and co believed. But I shudder to imagine what would have happened to a nation as diverse as ours had we won our freedom 'with blood' as so many people believe we should have! We are, after all, what our history has shaped us to be and violence only begets violence.

There would be no place for the Anna Hazares of this country had we bombed our way into independence. It was perhaps the first and most important example of a peaceful non-cooperation movement which ended successfully, without which none of us would have faith in peaceful methods of change. Some of us are saying that the hunger strikes held by Team Anna must be outlawed as it holds the Government to ransom, but imagine if these protests got violent! - We'd end up like Syria with free-peoples' armies fighting the national army and thousands dying in the process. The Syrian revolt itself began as a protest against corruption, after all!

On the other hand, there could arise a situation where the protesters remain peaceful while the Government uses brute force and military tanks to crush the rebellion and kill millions in the process, like in Tiananmen (1989). Both these scenarios are highly unlikely in India because of the large disincentive for the party that takes up the violent route. We, as a people, will not accept unprovoked violence, no matter how just the cause. And that's why I believe we're lucky to have lost Pakistan in 1947. Thank you, MKG and Nehru, for being that selfish.

The important thing we have learnt subconsciously is to fight for our rights and not for revenge. We may have a pathetic Police and an even more abysmal justice system, which keeps the Kasabs of this world alive for decades, but we believe in the system. We will crib and we will demonstrate to bring about change, but Indians don't take the law into their own hands.

And that is why we have never had a civil war in our colourful 65 year history. In a country of 1.2 billion people with half a dozen major religions, two dozen languages and several different ethnic groups, it is truly a miracle that we've come out of a state of absolute chaos without too many scratches. And if the Indian had taken up the gun at the turn of the 19th century, scratches are all that we'd have got!

So, dear MKG, while I do not much appreciate the fact that you slept with a different naked virgin every night for whatever twisted desire of yours, I thank you for having our people drop their weapons and stand for their rights. Without the World War, your methods might not have been so successful, but in hindsight, it all seems right.

Reality Check

India, the seventh largest country on the globe and the second most populous, currently lies just outside the top-ten list of countries ranked by GDP. India boasts of one of the earliest civilizations on the planet - Mohenjo-daro and Harappa dating back to around 3000 BCE, but I'm sure you know all these things... And I'm positive it's not something you will miss telling your foreigner pals while hanging out in a bar. I am also certain that you say it with so much pride, you are almost taking credit for establishing the Indus Valley Civilization! There's nothing wrong with that, of course... Every nation must be proud of its history.

But it doesn't end there, does it? You inevitably mention a few more fabulous aspects about the nation hoping to leave your differently skinned friends reeling in awe. Let me give you a few examples: (1) The Republic of India has the third largest military force in the world. (2) Along with Pakistan, Sri Lanka and a few other tidbits, India forms the only subcontinent in the world - replete with every fathomable geographical feature; mountains, plains, marshes, plateaus, deserts, rivers, lakes and seas - we've got the lot. (3) We have the third largest pool of qualified engineers in the world! (yes, I bet you didn't know that) (4) And we're one of those elite few with nuclear power - wait, Pakistan's got that too, no? Okay, we've gone to Space. Ha ha, take that!

I suppose we're also the world's largest producer of wheat and the second largest producer of rice... but since we eat all of it, it mustn't count. The only things which get out of the country, unconsumed by the billion people, are cotton, textiles, diamonds and jewelry; not much else. Anyway, all this doesn't matter. Because I'm going to tell you today how all these stories are well-worded 'feel-good' statements which mask the ugly truths which lie underneath.

Listed really high in the National GDP chart, India does really poorly on the per capita basis. Well, you knew that... And I knew that. But I didn't know it was this bad: $1389/capita-year according to the IMF puts us in the 140th place in a list of 182 countries. It only gets worse as the Rupee continues its plunge towards 60 to a Dollar.

Let's talk about the military forces now: most of us start feeling secure listening to the 'third largest military force' quip time and again. However, it must be known that as soon as you divide this number by the number of people inhabiting the country, we end up with the following ratio: 1.1 Active soldiers per thousand citizens, which is incidentally ranked 149th in the world. Alright, we don't have to be North Korea which has nearly 50 per thousand, but this extreme is equally crazy.

Long gone are the days when the subcontinent was protected from foreign invaders by a wall of high mountains in the north and the mighty seas in the south. No longer can the way the earth is sculpted be considered a serious security measure, but these geographical features offer us a plethora of other opportunities - all of which we have failed to grasp. Tourism and agriculture are two activities we have ceaselessly contrived to fail at - and we've done it in style!

Most credible tourism companies don't even give India a rank when it comes to international visitors! Despite being one of the oldest continuously inhabited places, having some of the most picturesque places and boasting of some of the most evolved cultures known to man, India manages a paltry five million international tourists every year. Contrast that with China which sees over fifty-three million visitors annually; no, we must stop comparing ourselves with the Chinese. All those India-China surveys are lies - and we're not catching up.

Agriculture and allied sectors like forestry, logging and fishing accounted for 15.7% of the GDP in 2009–10, employed 52.1% of the total workforce; all this with the most naturally fertile land in the world. When we talk about revolutions in the sector which employs more than half of the people in India, we shouldn't have to quote MS Swaminathan's Green Revolution (1963) as the last good thing that happened. Actually, Dr. Swaminathan, with all due respect was only responsible for implementing the methods of Dr. Norman Borlaug, an American agronomist, who was actually responsible for the revolution.

So what exactly are these one billion Indians achieving? Becoming engineers in hordes, I suppose. Third largest squad of engineers in the world... and what have we got to show for it? The foremost institutions in the country, the IITs, are completely unknown once you exit the borders. And why should they be known? It's not like they're doing any remarkable research or transforming India into an engineering superpower. Mostly, engineering institutions across the nation are producing unambitious people who just want to do management or worse, who join one of those companies which outsource work from the United States and allied countries. Well, the Outsourcing industry does contribute around 28% of our total GDP, but isn't it a very temporary solution? I don't think a country's development can be based entirely on how much work it can do for another. We need to start producing things. Ourselves.

And now that we've established that we've got a surplus of farmers and engineers, how're the other professions doing? According to a recent survey, there are around 50 physicians per 100,000 Indians and I shouldn't have to tell you how bad that is. According to the World Health Organisation, 900,000 Indians die each year from drinking contaminated water or breathing polluted air. And why wouldn't they die?

So, you see, it's not a case of excelling in one field and thus failing in another. We're sucking across the whole gamut, with the exception of Bollywood, which the world knows for its colours and dance routines and Cricket, which is followed closely by a few people in 12 different countries.

This is not a time for incremental change - it is time for a full scale revolution. And we, as a people, are more than capable of making it happen. We've achieved far more difficult things in the past and there is no reason this revolution will not come. Sixty years ago, there was no tangible connection between the different people who inhabited this country - no common language, no common origin, not even the same religion - yet, we have survived. Not just survived, we have grown... without any major civil war! That's a credible achievement to say the least. In 1950, the world was worried about leaving such a large country completely in the hands of a few people who had never known the meaning of freedom until then. Today, we can look back proudly and say we've made it. This is a real achievement and no one can take anything away from it.

The fact that we're doing so poorly on so many fronts must not deter us one bit! Every thing we are lagging at is a serious business opportunity. No longer must we rely on governments bringing legislation to improve the condition of the people, only to be completely undone by the subsequent government. True, legislation is the easiest and most successful way to bring about change. But we shouldn't sit on our backsides and hope that change will come! Scams will happen, corruption will continue and red-tape will make things very difficult for the common man. But there is still a way. Sleep six hours instead of eight. Forget about that extra one million rupees in profits and do something for the country. And don't wait for the goddamned government to bring the revolution. You must do it yourself.

As M.K.Gandhi said, "Be the change you want to see in the world."

Pissing On The Motherland

Surely, no one has missed the fact that I have been going around India's Weirdest Places with the enthusiasm of  the quintessential nomad. And I am sure that I've told you innumerable times already about how beautiful it is to speak to the wind and dance with the sunset. Well, I keep putting stuff like that on Facebook and somehow end up getting more likes than some people announcing the arrival of their first-born! (It's time to revise the algorithm, Mark.) Anyway, I digress. While I hurl all the routine stories into cyberspace via social networks, I reserve the more important ones for a more sacred, rather respected area, viz. this blog. (Bah, who am I kidding... I'm going to post this link on Facebook anyway!)

It so happens that all interesting stories involve other human beings, and this story is no different. This tale is about the Indian Idol (II) and his three sidekicks; the Prophetic Arab (PA), the Intelligent NRI (IN) and I. Alone, each one of us wasn't somebody you would take notice of... But together? Together, it was like the Justice League.

The story begins at Samalkota Railway Station, Andhra Pradesh - sometime early in the morning. It was no different from any other Indian train station: a poor woman was sweeping the dirt off the platform, the old rag-picker had collapsed in the sun after collecting two bagfuls of empty water bottles and plastic bags, and a bunch of gutka-chewing fellows were busy ogling at the backside of the young lady who had just walked into the station.

Upon entering, PA asked, "Hey, do you guys mind waiting a little bit... I'll just light this cigarette?"

II (scandalized): "Whoa whoa... We have rules in India, man. No smoking in public areas - it's injurious to health. We are health conscious, unlike many other countries."

IN (in agreement): "Yes, yes... Even in Singapore, it's like this."

The arab shrugs and says, "Alright then, let's go catch the train!" And so we went.

While three of us took the long, arduous path up and down the overhead bridge to reach platform number three, Indian Idol simply jumped onto the tracks and strolled across in style. As we reached him, a little out of breath, he flashed us a wise smile.

II: "You fools... You guys climbed all the way up. I just walked across. See? Being Indian is about being smart."

PA: "Isn't that breaking the rules as well - just like the 'No Smoking' rule you talked about so proudly?"

II (in defiance): "You tell me where it's written... Where does it say I cannot cross the tracks?"

PA looks around. Alas, there is no board. The Idol smiles, very content with the happenings so far.

Then the NRI says - "In Singapore... And in most western countries, we have escalators! This is horrible. What are we? Animals?"

Hungry as we were, I bought a few samosas and chilly bajjis from the nearby IRCTC counter. All four of us were soon munching in a hurry, trying to finish off the food before the train arrived. Upon finishing, the Indian Idol promptly rolled the paper plates together in a ball and dropped them on the floor. The arab was pretty scandalized by the behaviour and bent to pick it up...

II: "Hey, what are you doing?"

PA: "There's a dust-bin right there man... I'll put the plates there! We really shouldn't litter the platform."

II (laughing) : "That's not our job, man! That's hers." He points at the shabbily dressed woman sweeping the floor.

PA: "Come on, man... She's tired and she's doing so much work already. We can do this much, right?"

II: "You foreigners will never understand, man. If you clean up behind yourself, then what work will she have?! She will be unemployed!"

PA: "Are you crazy?! If everyone cleans up behind themselves, then she wouldn't be a cleaner... She'd be doing something more worthwhile - contributing something else to society."

II: "These people are illiterate. They don't know anything. What work will they do? They can do cleaning work only. Let them do their job."

IN (cutting in to the conversation): "In Singapore, they have fines for littering in public. You can't even spit in public... They can put you in prison for that! I don't know why they don't have such measures in India. Stupid government!"

PA: "You are saying that you will continue this behaviour until the day they threaten you with fines?"

II: "In India, there are so many people... Without Government rules, how can anything change? Even if I change, what is the point? One billion more people will do the same thing... You won't understand, man."

By now, we realize that the train is late. The Intelligent NRI is outraged! This would never have happened in Singapore.

IN (looking at his watch): "Disgusting. Disgusting."

I (trying to calm him down): "Chill man... It'll be here in a while."

IN: "This isn't the way they should treat us. Trains are late, stations are dirty... there are no toilets. Tell me, where's the toilet here?"

I: "Must be on platform one... Or maybe, there's another one at the other end of this one!"

IN: "This is horrible. Why can't they space them out properly? This never happens in the west."

I: "If you want to go the toilet, go ahead man. I'm sure the train will take a little while longer."

Indian Idol (interrupts): "No, no... Don 't do that. You can piss right here."

PA (mortified at the suggestion): "Here?!"

II (laughing) : "Yeah, man. On the tracks... We're men. We don't need to go into hiding to pee! Look at that man over there!"

Yes, there was a man over there who was emptying his bladder into the air in front of him.

PA: "You guys object to me smoking in public and then piss in the open? I'm never going to understand this."

II: "It's simple man... If you smoke, it harms people around you. It's scientifically proven. But my piss hurt nobody!" Everyone laughs.

"Okay then, are you going to join me or not?" says the Idol. "Come on, man... There's nothing to be afraid of. You should never hold it in! It's not good for health."

IN: "You are right... Thank god this isn't Singapore. I'd be punished for such behaviour, there."

And so they pissed with a true sense of freedom.

The Truth About Giza

If I had known it would be such an experience, I wouldn't have minded working twice as long in the western desert. Never before has something managed to stand up to hype of such tumultuous magnitude surrounding it; the great pyramids of Giza simply stood-up and delivered, the way they have been doing for the past two millenniums, when their time came.

The knowledge that each block of the great pyramids weighs over two tonnes should be reason enough to be overawed by the tremendous structure, but it goes beyond that: to build such a massive pyramid wouldn't be an easy task even on this day! And then, let's try building something like that without cement. So, when somebody tells you that it's just a set of rocks and that they'd do it themselves if they had enough slaves doing their bidding, it gets rather irksome.

One of the lesser known facts about Giza itself is that it's not 'Giza' in the first place! Well, in Egypt, it is... but that's only because they replace every 'ja' in Arabic with 'ga'. So, 'Al-Jizah' becomes the world famous Giza! Another thing people hardly notice is the anachronism that the mighty structure is. Unlike in India or in any place boasting of an ancient civilization, where the great examples of erstwhile architecture are surrounded by small settlements of people having some roots, at least, in that period, the pyramids of Giza stand alone. I suppose it is mainly due to the broken history that Egypt has: the major periods being (1) the Pharaonic state, (2) the coming of the muslims and (3) modern Egypt, the world wars etc. Almost all symbols of the Pharaonic empire have been thoroughly eliminated over the course of history.

Interestingly enough, there is probably a logical explanation to all this and it lies in the Old Testament. When Moses led his people out of Egypt, across the Red Sea and into Israel, he kick-started three different religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The people who formed these religions were the slaves who were part of the great Exodus. And since it was the Pharaoh's wrath that they'd always feared and his self-indulgence and pompous arrogance that they had disapproved of, when subsequent dynasties of Christians and Muslims ruled the land, they slowly eroded away the Pharaoh's people. The Pharaoh, who held the whip on thousands of slaves, was a villain after all.

Modern day Egypt has roots in the beginning of the last millennium and one would be lying if he said that it is more ancient than that. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that the day Egypt becomes a really wealthy nation (a la Saudi Arabia or UAE), they would want to have nothing to do with the pyramids at all! It's just something which fills their coffers up pretty well.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion (not something Arabs believe in much), but I'd want you to think that every nation must be proud of every bit of its history, even the 'darker times'; for it is our history that makes us. I'm no fan of Indian Governments seeking out roads named after British viceroys and generals, and renaming them 'Rajiv Gandhi Road'. The British were in India for two hundred years, for better or for worse, but they were there alright. And you cannot change that. So, it goes without saying that a country which depends so greatly on these spectacular architectural feats should do better than asking its people to be indifferent to the Pyramids.

The Revolution

In the wake of the greatest country-wide protests since the days of the Emergency, one only wonders how such a vast and diverse people, which can normally be dismissed as a bickering population at best, is united by a common and singular passion. Stranger still is the fact that thousands of people who have taken to the roads don't have an inkling as to what they are protesting. But that doesn't matter, does it? After all, in Hitler's great words, "Nothing unifies a nation faster than a common enemy."

Turning one's gaze towards the so-called educated lot - the ones who speak sense on Television rather than simply "Hum Anna ke saat hain... Jo bhi Anna karenge, wahi hum bhi karenge" - the uprising seems to be based on much stronger fundamentals. In fact, most of us can empathize with these people even as we attempt to comprehend the simplicity of a Gandhian struggle. While Anna, a man, can be done away with, "ideas are bulletproof."

Ideas alone have molded our civilization into what it is today. These are ideas which aren't intrinsically right or wrong; the notion of 'right' and 'wrong' is decided by the observer alone. But how independent are we in choosing our stance? While we continue to ridicule the fools who have no idea what they are fighting for, although they happen to support the righteous side by chance, we must consider how our own viewpoint on the matter came to be...

Most debates are won, not on logical grounds (as it is hardly possible to pitch the merits of one idea against different merits of another) but by appealing to one's sentiments. While Anna Hazare's motives are perfect and flawless, the Jan Lokpal Bill seems to be the only logical course of action. But imagine, for a moment, that our ruling Government wasn't such a supercilious, high-handed bunch; that Kapil Sibal didn't always carry that disdainful sneer and didn't declaim everything that the civil society did; that our thus far mute Prime Minister was able to address his people and make them understand that - while the idea of a Jan Lokpal Bill is excellent, a parliamentary democracy cannot allow such a movement to succeed as it will set a precedent which future governments may struggle to cope with... Then, would so many people still be on the roads?

If there is one emotion human beings are perpetually capable of exhibiting, it is Dissatisfaction. Channelize this, and you win the war. After all, if everyone understood what they're fighting for, no revolution will be possible. And debates are never won on logical grounds.

The Photo Post: Campus Shining

Another one passes by and just like in three previous years, it went by so fast I cannot believe it has. Many have spoken the evergreen truth, but none more than yours truly, that Poly is in fact one of the most insanely unproductive occupations on campus. But being true to the 'Great Hypocrite' tag which I have won myself through persistent and determined industriousness, I decided to give Poly 2010 a shot, after having been egged on by none other than our pin(k)headed friend.

The past few weeks have allowed me to fully appreciate the definitions of a plethora of words: n00b, rookie, newbie, fresher, fledgling, idiot etc. After spending hours at night trying to distinguish the no-good from the competitors and the kings from the jackasses, only to rethink our conclusions the very next day, we were often filled with an inexplicable feeling of unbounded awesomeness which we sometimes confused with a lack of sleep.

The elections of 2010 have finally come to an end for most of us while it is just a beginning for those willing to go that extra mile in proving that unproductive hobbies can go a long, long way. And having exited from such a unique wing which threw in seven candidates for the title of 'Councillor', I end this post with the feeling that I came so close to saying - "Maine banaya!"

THE ELECTIONS IN PICTURES:

There were ambigrams and colourful banners sporting a gazillion names, but one of the most eye-catching posters was of this "Maslow"-esque pyramid.

I wonder if the bloke reached self-actualization?

Cartoons from my own wing-mate... Creativity reaches a new high.

Damn, we ought to have a lot more of these elections... And we can scrap the 'Fine-Arts' section.

The face which launched a million votes.

This was the rope outside the mess which was initially used to put up attractive campaign posters!

What ended up attracting us, though, was TOI's page 2.

Haha! Another punny one!

Saare Jahan Se Accha

We Indians are seldom perpetrators of racism. No; being home to such a copious heritage dating back to Mohenjadaro-Harappa and Pataliputra, we strictly adhere to the Vedic gospel –“Vasudheva Kutumbakam” – The whole world is my family.

It is the west which causes divisions among the people. Those damned Brits came to our land and tried causing rifts among the masses. Divide and Rule, they said. We didn’t give in. No! We stood tall and we stood our ground. The world is my family. I do NOT discriminate! All people are one. India is a very well governed country with great unity in diversity. But the differences in our cultures are so immense that we have had to divide the country into smaller governable regions – The states. And what better way to do this than to divide them on the basis of language? This is strictly for administrative ease. Nothing else.

After all, I resemble a Tamilian more than I resemble anyone else. Hence, it is only apt that I should be clubbed together with my people to improve bonding and social well-being. A Maharashtrian must live with a fellow Marathi and a Bihari with a likeminded person. It’s the only rational way. We are all united after all!

We Indians, from the land of the Mahatma, have been taught to turn the other cheek when slapped hard across the face. Non-violence. I am proud of this ‘Indian value’. It has lived on for over half a century now. Did not the UP worker in Mumbai turn his other cheek when Raj Thakeray’s mobs attacked him? He probably didn’t have a choice though. He died the next day, of excessive beating. His friends went with him too.
All the protests for independent Telengana are purely non-violent- Hunger strikes and peaceful all-state bandhs. Tears of joy roll down my cheeks when think of the mature stance we Indians have adopted.

When I came to north, I was ‘saved’ by my rather wheatish complexion. Other Madrasisweren’t that ‘lucky’. The ‘Oye kaale’s followed. But if this is being ‘saved’, I’d rather be on the other side, and take these ‘insults’ on my face. It’d have given me a good laugh, thinking of the lowly mindset of the United people of India. Today, we have wonderful politicians fighting for the rights of their people; fighting for more states; fighting for independent and autonomous regions alike. These people are our future. Karunanidhi would rather join the Sri Lankans than let his people speak a word of Hindi. That’s our country. Unity in Diversity.

There was a time in school, when I read about the 26 states of India. Now, it’s 28 and seven union territories. Who knows how many there will be by the time you read this post!

“All Indians are my brothers and sisters… and I am proud of its rich and varied heritage. I shall always try to be worthy of it.” Really?

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A Tale of Two Cities

Aeroplanes amaze me. Three hours and bang! Everything has changed. The gradual change of climate is simply done away with, the intermittent linking cultures obliterated and landforms simply restructured. All the while, you are sitting unawares wondering why that simple Vegetable sandwich cost so much.

I am home now; and I am glad. I have accomplished the task of enduring a day of wandering through the length of our country, only to find myself astonished yet another time by the immense diversity of our nation. While Gandhi employed the steam engine on his tour around the land to comprehend the sheer magnitude of cultural wealth India possesses, I am sure he would have been far more bewildered had he taken a flight like I did, thus highlighting these stark contrasts. Here is a tale of two cities (I omit the town) which I encounter, three hours off each other; each time I take the ride home.

The massive cash inflow into the DDA’s coffers is only apparent in the speed at which the pillars rise. The Commonwealth Games have given Delhi’s development a mammoth boost which, all going well, must give the Capital infrastructure close the World’s best cities. The weird aspect however remains the fact that the mighty Mughal capital has waited until 2010 to grow into a global city. I have often wondered what Delhi-ites were doing prior to their magic-Metro. With an abysmal bus-service which is known to kill more people than it transports and immensely congested roads inhabited by colossal vehicles, I’m amazed people even worked!

On the other hand, the land of the Tamil people has been rather supportive to its growing population. With an impeccable bus-service and omnipresent autos, albeit charging exorbitant fares to the unwitting Northie, coupled with much less clogged roads as compared to any of the other Big4, it has never been a problem to traverse the lengths of the seaside city. Another fact is that each area of Chennai is more-or-less self contained, something I never saw during my ephemeral life in Delhi. Call it Boon – owing to lesser travel necessity – or Bane – as each man sees so much less of his City, it remains an intrinsic fact.

With mighty pillars, strong and bold, each overpass seems to underline that power which Delhi so much wants to flaunt. Malls rising out of every nook and cranny; retail chains spreading like Virus; and more asphalt, steel and cement, only make apparent the Capital’s urgency to let go of those chains which restrain it. These, however are also those ropes which link Today with the past. Delhi is letting go.

On the other hand, the maritime city, 20^oC warmer, is hell-bent on holding on. The outlook is cautious; and though development will not be overlooked, no one seems to be in a hurry to shed the present image. Malls are few; the few stand tall. Anything built overhead is with miniscule pillars, built as excuses for Flyovers. Buildings rise, not as cement monsters but behemoths of steel and glass. Rayban, Ferrari and Gucci are taking their own time trickling down the rungs of society; much unlike 1000 miles away, where Connaught Place boasts of a mini Manhattan - people trying all too hard to don the image of the quintessential New-Yorker. But the cautious outlook down South borders on bourgeois, leaving me reeling in alarm.

While T-Shirts and Jeans have become unisex themes of Delhi, Chennai finds itself yet a melange of tees, shirts, saris, salwars, jeans, trousers and veshtis – maybe not the collegiate dream. While Delhi has jumped into hyperspace drive; still the temple of the Theist, Chennai somehow seems to encompass the past, present and the future, . IT corridors have slashed open the newest avenues of growth and the coast may soon serve as the Auto-hub of India, while Parthasarthy and Kapaleeshwarar shrines and the Santhome church will forever remain the heart of Chennai.

NCR is growing at light-speed, breaking every record it sets; but as a friend aptly pointed out – 75% of Delhi is well-developed, great; but 50% of its people still suffer for bread. I’m uncertain about the below poverty ratios of Chennai, but the far fewer less endowed settlements are evenly spaced out, clearly visible to the naked eye; not latent. However, the steps taken both here, and there, are encouraging. The Delhi Metro has me overawed, but I cannot imagine life without my beloved ‘29C’!

I’m definitely against Karunanidhi in his unintelligent calls for protecting what he calls ‘Tamizh Kalacharam’, but maybe there is something in me that wants to hold on. This is not a sermon, and I do not preach. Neither approach is better than the other, neither easier to accomplish. I shall terminate with Anthony’s great words – “Take thou what course thou wilt.”

Needles, Omiprazole and Related Sufferings...

Well, I admit to committing the crime... I confess - I ate that ice cream, blissfully unaware of the fact that orange-flavoured ice lollies may hospitalize you for a couple of weeks. Maybe it was a message; I was cribbing too much about how boring the holidays were getting and the tiresome lack of variety in what I was doing... But this wasn't quite the kind of change I had in mind.

With doctors dumbfounded as to the cause of the ailment, they also seemed to treat me as this wierd specimen with a one of a kind sickness! Needles, Omiprazole, bad nurses (who never seemed to realize if fluids were to go in through those tubes or blood was to come out...) and endless hours of television passed during which I gained a substantial knowledge about which MPs were already with the UPA and who were required to be given 25 crores... (In fact I can bet that I know more about that July 22nd trust vote than Sonia Gandhi!) The stomach pain often seemed to be diminished; Only later did I understand that it was because there was more pain due to the needles! 'Everything Is Relative'...

The intense pain actually did fade out after the initial couple of days; All was over was what I believed... But NO, it was the beginning. Many days and many more litres of IV fluids later, I was 'discharged' only to be advised to stay on a liquid diet for a few more days. Here I must mention that though I never realized the time passing as nights ran into days and Sundays into Mondays as I lay in that room, oblivious of the world that lay outside, I finally understood that my holidays were about to end; especially when all my friends left the city... (Again, I don't understand why the IIT system has to be so kind by bestowing upon us more holidays than we need.)

But then again, I would never be able to explain the last two weeks as they seem to have been 'Shift-Deleted' from my holiday time... Well, these holidays have had its moments and then again the valleys (like the one I find myself in right now). And hence I've taken time-out in order to type this post out and the recent happenings... After all, all my readers get pretty restless when I don't post for such long stretches. But now I gotta go, I've got a mountain to scale. So cheers!