POLITICS

In the last 3 days, I don't think I have had as much fun in watching politics as I have had ever before. The fact that the likes of Mayawati, Mulayam, jayalalitha and Karats are losing favour and might finish off is something that not only inspires me but also leads me to believe that the Golden Age might be cometh (Read Last Blog). With Rahul Gandhi, some sort of a saviour might arrive although a lot is still yet to be achieved before any applause is due. But in times as such, any optimism should be taken advantage off.

The election results have been for the most part, a success of India's growing focus on economic and social reforms as opposed to caste or communal politics. Money, jobs, infrastructure, education have become the desires as opposed to 'dalit' supremacy, 'Muslim' minority rights or Hindu righteousness. The reasons are quite easy but is something that a 70 year old or older will not be able to understand.

India is primarily a young country (over 80% are below 50 years of age) and have been born sometime after independence and many also in the era privatisation. These people want choice, options and service which leads to better lives. Roads for travelling and transporting, trains and planes for reaching far off areas, fast food chains for convenience, super markets for choice and access to information to broaden their horizons (in order to probably prove that they are better than any other race of people).

We are a nation that is showing its intolerance of mediocrity, desire for change, and want of a vision desperately so that there is some pride. Although this might take another 20 years, some of the Ideas that occur to me in making things easy are as follows:

1. Focus on R&D to develop 'Indian' IP. We need to create a brand India which can be appreciated worldwide and something that is not to do with IT, History or Poverty.
2. Focus on Internal Security and Armed Services. I advocate harsh punishments (including capital punishment), higher security for the 1.2 billion people and would say that actually, some sort of conscription should be made mandatory. Defence spending also brings in high end technology to the country and gives terrorists something to worry about.
3. Infrastructure and development. I don't think we need to touch this too much.
4. A national policy of inclusion. No reservations, no exclusion of the eastern states, no using words like dalits (demagoguery should be punishable by death), no showcasing India as a nation that speaks different languages but a nation that speaks one common language and knows 25 others as well.
5. Development of freedom of expression. Remove censorship, legalize pornography and prostitution (this will reduce rape and STDs), broadcast parliament sessions on TV like in the US and Europe and make government records even more transparent.
6. Last but not least, create wonders of the modern world to showcase our talents. Be it metro systems, bridges, buildings, centers, institutions, etc.

I think that we shall see much of this in the future and I at least am getting excited about it.

Aditya

The Golden Age Cometh or Misseth

I recently saw a documentary on the Medici family of Florence and their influence in Europe during the renaissance period. I have always been fascinated by golden ages in the history of the civilized world and this was one window into the one that today also brings in a huge tourism boom to Europe. My favourite ones include 400 - 500 BC Greece, 0-100 AD Italy, 300-400 AD Gupta Dynasty, 1400-1500 AD Italy, 1600-1750 Mughals and to some extent 1950 to 2000 US.

Since its been 250 years since we saw this in India, its high time we get our turn again. China might see this closer to 2025 onwards and somewhere down the line, I feel that India may also see this period after 50 odd years or maybe we have missed to boat completely. To understand this phenomenon, I propose to do a more in depth analysis of a golden age, what goes on and what happened in this time period.

The golden ages are characterised by a environment of supremacy either of military strength, economic strength and development of arts and sciences to such an extent that it creates famous personalities, landmarks and social conditions that change the course of the world forever. The Spartans and Athenians marked it by military wars (Peloponnesean wars). The spartan myth, Aristotle, Plato, Socrates, military guidebooks ( Thucydides), great architecture and the first books on governance came in this period. The period came to an end when Alexander of Macedon died on his way back from India and the Ottomans took over command. The Gupta's characterized the period with development in architecture (Temples), mathematics (Inventing zero), sciences, arts (kamasutra, Chess) high caliber governance and flourishing trade. It was probably the most free that India ever was when the local censor board didn't care of what sculptures were put onto temples.

The golden ages come rarely for a simple reason, the conditions have to be right and need to be favourable for a considerable amount of time. A strong ruler has to be in power with a vision and determination for something beyond what is immediate. The interesting part is that these nations never cared for GDP growth at these times but had a vision that was so strong, that it eclipsed everything and brought about extreme nationalism, patronage and focus on internal weaknesses and strengths. I see this in China where the seed have been sown for their golden age to repeat itself (their greatest one was the Song dynasty, Tang Dynasty in 7 and 8th century). They have shown technological strengths (Hangzhou Bridge, Maglev Trains, Tallest Buildings, Roads, Airports and a host of others). Our problem is that Mr. Mulayam Singh wants to remove computers, english medium schools and his competition is Mayawati.

I feel very saddened that these folks are our rulers and they probably have never read Machiavelli, Thucydides or Caesars records on how to run a government and as to what is meant to be a ruler. Personally, India's golden age will only come with a change in mindset and although it will come, it might be too late and and not benefit the whole nation in the ways that it could have. The first thing is make sure all get access to FREE education and it should be made a law. Second is to make sure of universal access to Free health care upto a diagnostic level and then insurance to cover the costs. Third is to strengthend our internal security and root out the corruption in the system (think American Gangster) so that kinks and larceny can be forced out of the system without fear of the individuals power. Fourth, the center must establish exemplary standards of higher education to train geniuses to give an output within in India. Whats the point of having an IIT or an IIM when the result wants to work in the Labs or institutions in England, US or Germany, bringing glory to those countries. Fifth, we must find a strong leader and this is the toughest part. Unfortunately, these leaders only come about once in a century and so far, no one seems to be up for the job (this job is not for political dynasties or powerful businessmen).

The last part is to for Indians to introspect and see what they really want in the future. I want India's golden age to return and take us ahead and that's what is my dream and so far, no political party has come out with a manifesto that is remotely in this line.

Till death do us Part

Hmmmm,

Forgive me for saying this and I am sure that many will consider this post as the highest form of blasphemy but, yes I have dared to go where few have gone, the lack of parenting skills in India. I for one, maintain that many Indian parents can safely take home the trophy for the worst parents in the world. Of course, most will vehemently oppose my views while others will rubbish the sayings of 24 year old as immature banter. However, as a human being and as the owner of this blog, I exercise my right to an opinion.

Firstly, Indian parents are like an American wedding celebration (only more real) where vows are taken along with flowery oaths in the background of Norah Jones music (and gothic chants for a little duration) only that the Indian counterpart actually sticks to their unsaid vows, till death do us part. The indian joint family system is a great system for certain kinds of people and in certain situations. It does give support, guidance (more than required) and love (more then all the chick flicks and yash chopra movies can offer). However, the system (through observation) seems to have stifled freedom and creativity for many. The system relies on stability while success in ones life is more about taking risks and control of one's own destiny.

I will take a case where some of my friends decided to go for a masters program to Warwick, masters in marketing. The program is a theory program and is meant for a certian kind of student who pursues a PHD afterwords or goes into a certain job. Its not a substitute for a MBA which is an end degree in itself involving more. The point is that in this case, where the parents should have guided the student, they become liberal. However, when it comes to going out late at night, there is a curfew even though more men die on Delhi streets then women do (news reports are sensationalized and cant be taken whithout a lot of salt). In another case, the parents go overboard where the parent wants the child to become a super human. Taking him for golf lessons, tennis lessons, ballet for the girls, horse riding, even cooking and etiquette, all at the age of 5 or at times a bit younger.

Now after falling off my chair (I think it was my weight that broke it) I also realise one more thing, over protection can lead to huge emotional blackmail of sorts. You cant say that I dont want attention (cause it leads to embarassment), and you get so much of it that anything you do becomes a big deal and causes emotional 'atcyachar'. The deal is, parents need to let the child develop his own identity (I know mom and pops, you dont know and care what is identity but then think of yourself at that age) which is imperative for a stable growth.

Since our parents generation have grown up in a different era, words such as space, identity, exposure, risks and solitude are not positive words when actually, these should be a part of all to have a balanced life. Everyone should get enough space to reflect on their thoughts and actions and at times risks are necessary to reach somewhere. The modern day entrepreneur can't survive without some risks and solitude at the time times. Exposure, although seems to be high on everyones list these days needs to be understood. A fashion designer needs a different type of exposure than a an engineer wherein the latter needs to be in an MIT, NASA or Raytheon type of environment while the former needs to be in Paris or Milan (and not FabIndia or Rohit Bal, no offence to either of them) to develop eomotionally.

I went to the louvre the first time at the age of 10. My parents thought it was good exposure. I got thoroughly bored, thought the mona lisa was a piece of shit and as to how boring grown ups are. I went again last year after reading homer, dante, plato, etc and studying the history of greece, italy, egypt and mesopotamia. To me now, the Louvre is fantastic and a real marvel (possibily the greatest wonder of the world), possibly because I actually understand some of the pieces and what they represent.

The solution in my opinion is for most parents to create a parenting style in sync with the childs personality and development. Try to see if the child prefers a social environment or more of a loner (its not a bad thing) or if she is design oriented as opposed to right brain oriented. Most importantly, don't over train the child by having high expectations. Children have a natural tendency to let people know, the parents need to be the mature ones to realise what they are saying.

Of late, the talks of my marriage keep coming up at my home and it scares the hell out of me, and mostly because of what kind of parent I may be (I am optimistic but then, you wonder about the mistakes your future kid might make that you got of scott free after making) or the kind of husband you would make. At 24, I have seen a lot of the world but I also know that is always will be infinite more to learn.

The Fagin and His fangs

Not to bore the intelligent audience with the usual humdrum but I would like to write a bit about a movie that I saw recently, which touched me deeply and which I despise deeply, Slumdog Millionaire. A directorial masterpiece with a relatively good job in the fields of acting, music and cinematography and one that has brought some pride to me as an Indian with 3 of my fellow countrymen winning Oscars, the movie however, is just what it is, a movie.

The movie is indeed a grim look into reality, somewhat of a despair of irony and our government's folly (being it for political gains or mockery of human emotions and values), although Dharavi, being the haven for "slum gods' as its probably now become, should really be rejoicing at their own misery? My friends tag line on skype is " tolerance becomes a crime when it is applied to evil - Thomas Mann" and in my mind, the people of Dharavi and similar slums actually have become acquaintance to probably the crime of the century, something even Moriarty wouldn't have thought and something that Mr. Holmes probably would split hairs about too, the tolerance of mediocrity and under achievement.

There are tales of men making crores while running businesses out of a slum of a million residents. I ask you, if that be, is that a life worth living? with disease, without art and colour, wit fear and hate, with an uncertain future. Surely, mr. crorepati from Dharavi wouldn't want his kids to grow up there, or maybe he might now that Hollywood has caught its fancy. In my mind, any life is good, as long as you convince yourself it is. As you think, so you are, a popular Tantra T-shirt tag is probably at work here. But then, is that a life?

The purpose of man, in my mind, on this planet is twofold, one biological and one psychological. The former, quite simply alludes to man passing on his genes to the next generation so that his legacy remains, hence the love for a menage e trois and promiscuity. The latter of the two purposes is the more complex strategy which in the words of one of the men I admire the most, my room-mate at Georgia Tech, Joseph, the purpose of man is decided my himself and none other be there a god or not since in the former case, one chooses to do his bidding in the first place. The caveat being under the circumstances as it may or through luck, since all factors taken into account, luck is perhaps the most prominent one.

When Fagin inducted 10 year old Oliver into his gang, it was perhaps what the determined lad had not hoped for but desired after walking 70 miles to London on foot, starving and after some wretched folks not really caring for the orphan. The truth is, in some regard, many of us are Fagin's for our disdain of slums and for their residents although we require their services. I have started to reach a point where I feel guilty of making my maids (I have a staff of 8 at my bidding) do work for me although my large house is in the hands of my borderline "Monica from FRIENDS" syndrome mother. Its just that maybe I am learning to respect human beings, after realising that I am one too.

The one challenge that I find is the lack of personalised education in our society; personalised in the sense of society being the parent, but in a more Darwinian sort of way. In today's world, I believe that we cant live without each other, although a billion folks can be quite annoying, and that we should try to work together in all forms. Being the kind of people we are, Indians don't like team work and like to gain control, something evident from our parenting methods, which in my opinion are the worst in the world as it teaches us not to respect other human beings by and large. If the kid wants a chocolate then let the guy have it, unless he's a juvenile diabetic.

The few that try to help the unfortunate slum dwellers are those with sympathy and compassion but honestly, guys you are fighting a losing battle. This is a battle of the mind, which means that you have to first teach these kids to respect something, anything for they have not seen a life that is worth living for. It is for this reason that some members of our society can become suicide bombers or that they can actively kill others, they do not respect themselves nor others. It is a fault of no one but for our education system which teaches one to follow, but not to lead and leaders are what we lack. Mr. Singh, should come out and at times say address the nation as Obama does or as Churchill used to do but for him I suppose a simple thumbs up would do after signing a deal about which only some people, whose IQ are equal to their height in centimeters can understand.

Our leaders take great responsibilities but I fear that they are too caught up in their own political drama's to really see our problems which at times needs a look from a different perspective. Mr. Arjun Singh and his fangs need to pay heed, not to the budget but also to the methods of teaching. The fact that my cousin cant come to a family function because he has his 8Th class exams tomorrow is a worry for me. My other cousin can't come down from Bombay to visit me as his high proud christian school (I want to allude to a particular school, not to the religious affinity of the school) believes that it is a sin to take a day of from school to visit family.

The fact that all take tuition's is a direct indicator of the fallacy of the system. Tuition's are for people who perform below average but if the average is 90 then I suppose all need tuition's. But then our slum dwelling friends need to get a big L tattooed on their foreheads, since their money is spent on food. How will they ever make it into this world.....!!!!

The solution, to the slum problem, to the tuition problem, to the cousins not meeting us problem is simple, Get the NINTENDO WII (Just kidding). The solution is to change our ideologies, to believe that each human being is of value to us, to society and to himself. I had reasons to not like myself, because I didn't achieve all that I wanted to. Through some very nice people, I learnt to love myself and come to terms and move on. I hope that others will so the same, as all of us are not born geniuses (only 1% maybe).

My message, learn to love yourself and others and teach others to love themselves. Give them compliments, give them reasons to be proud of. It will go a long way for our society (You will have a wait of a few decades but then, its worth it right!!), and for you and me.

Dragons and Demagogues

Idi Amin titled himself "His Excellency, President for Life, Field Marshall Idi Amin Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Seas and Conqueror of the British Empire in General and Uganda in Particular" in 1977. His regime saw over 100,000 deaths in Uganda and he was rumored to have suffered from cannibalism (Do see the Last King of Scotland with Forest Whitaker). In a very congruent manner, India is also seeing a new wave of such self styled (gramatically although not politically correct) demagogue's rise to power. I talk of none other than Mr. Raj Thackery, Mr. Ashok Gehlot, Mr. Yeddyyurappa, Mr. Muthalik, Ms. Sadhvi and others. According to one news channel, Mr. Thackeray juniors cost to the taxpayer is little over 100 crores since his perceived acts of hooliganism started, brings immense satisfaction to me as I am one of the country's largest taxpayers on account of my family business and don't believe in good infrastructure or health care. On education, I differ just a little.

I have tried to reason out why such Fascists exist in life and the answer comes inevitably as the need of power. But maybe it is not as simple. It could be that some of these guys are just not getting laid for free or that their wives are highly unsatisfied. Or that they are tired of them in which case, their frustration is vented out on poor innocent pub going girls or the poor and illiterate Biharis and UPwalas who have so rudely taken away the jobs from the Marathis. In a more benign manner, some of the South Indians (those who don't dress smart, have pot bellies and don't like wearing shoes) could be frustrated as to why perhaps they can't pick up women as lets say the Spanish or the English or even the chewing gum munching Yankee. But lets delve into the psychology a bit deeper.

I think that there is a bit of sexism and some basic lack of sex education that is coming into the picture here. That and a complete lack of knowledge of economics and development studies (but these are less relevant for the moment). In my opinion, men and women are born equal (if the latter is not superior) and are capable of doing pretty much everything that each other can (except for a few small things) and set exemplary standards. I would attribute a sizable contribution of India's growth in the last decade or so to the millions of women coming into the workforce. Not only do they add value to the organisation, bring in entrepreneurial enterprise but also make the office atmosphere a lot more pleasant and friendly (Sorry IT folks). Also, women have some natural advantages that lead them to be better at certain matters. They mature earlier, are better at empathy and can and have shown amazing leadership abilities (Soniaji, Thacherji and Bhuttoji). And, yes without women, well without them, there wouldn't be a workforce.

The problem I see is the big brother syndrome creeping in where Mr. Muthalik believes that he is in fact protecting his sisters from the lecherous eyes of others. Same goes with Mr. Gehlot and maybe Khomeini. What I think they fail to ignore (due to lack of adult education) is that maybe, a woman wants to be noticed, given affection and attention and that maybe she also wants to have a good time as the guys do. Now, our esteemed politicians (excluding Ms. Dikshit) forget that men and women are there to be together before or after marriage as marriage as an institution is also a man made concept so as to make the bond a more official one. Religion, moral policing and more traditional ideologies may bring about some level of security but it is not a long term solution as at home, men and women will desire more freedom or become the nice mother in laws in Ekta Kapoor TV shows. In all fairness, with all the nonsense that men have done in the last 5 thousand years of religious dictatorship, it is our duty and priveledge to make them feel superior (maybe not for the next 5000 years) and give them the respect they deserve.

As a suggestion to the women haters of Indian politics, women account for about 600 million of the population and it is not in the best interest of some of these factions to persist with their ideas. Women are more sensitive to these issues and it will have a backlash including lack of funds coming in to political parties (From ICICI and Biocon for starters), losses of vote out of pure spite, bad publicity, reporters going after certain parties quite ruthlessly and maybe even lack of sexual activity. Bangalore already has a definition of being a boring city and this will lead to Hyderabad and Chennai coming up in the ranks, both for business and tourism. Mumbai is a fantastic city but with Mr. Thackeray, it's probably more backward then Delhi at the moment.

As a conclusion, I would suggest that our highly revered education minister, Mr Arjun Singh, should include sex education as a major course so that children know what the hell it means and what to do, not do and at what age. Secondly, the government should legalize prostitution and pornography so that at least the authorities know who all are involved and take measures to protect the workers and yes! create jobs (Legalizing pornography will also let to a reduction in sexual assaults and rape as is the case with the Japanese and the Dutch http://209.85.175.132/search?q=cache:K-M9wxowXAkJ:www.hawaii.edu/PCSS/online_artcls/pornography/prngrphy_rape_jp.html+pornography+and+rape&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=in&client=firefox-a). I urge all the women of the country to not vote for these useless egotists and stand up for your rights.

No, I am not allowed to say...!

Recently, a colleague of mine was working on a video for a non profit cause (www.careforindia.com). She, alongwith a friend went around Delhi - NCR shooting film footage of people in distress, asking them questions and delving into their past.

One set of people that they interviewed were the beggars on the street. Even upon some payment of money, they were hesistant to talk on film. I would have imagined them to be loud and vociferous about their predicament and would have wanted ears but here, they were almost scared. One even said they were not allowed to say.

This incident caught my attention and probably would go one day and talk to one of them (maybe by giving them a sizable amount of money but then I would be hypocritical of my own views). However, this does lead to many questions about the integrity of poverty in India. Is it controlled by unseen forces (some of which maybe related to mafia and intern, certain politicians or parts of the beaurocracy). I realised as there are positive things to discover in life, there are some dark sides to them as well of which some seem to too unpleasant.

I have proposed to my colleague to make more films and I will actively pursue in marketing them to spread the message. Please do visit www.careforindia.com for more information and in case you would like to help as well.

Resolution

Hypocrisy at its best. I was in Bombay a few days ago visiting my family and going around the city. I was rather pleased to see that there were protests still going on and that people were quite moved by the Fidayeen attack. With suicide bombers available for hire, assasinations now can be done with style, accuracy and class, unlike the Parliament building where the real culprits got away scott free (the 800 odd MPs (major pissers) and beaurocrats). The hyprocrisy of the entire event is that only when some very wealthy folks in a major landmark of the city get killed and injured in a lonig drawn out battle (since our internal security sucked), people start to protest. With the Delhi, Ahmedabad and Jaipur blasts, this sort of outburts was nothing as no one 'important' was injured.

If by knowing people who died, if by seeing your favourite restaurant and cafe being destroyed is the way to stir the politicians then I say, Mr. Militants please go after some more prominent places such as the residences of Polticians in UP, Bihar, Rajasthan, MP and others. I am sure that these people kill more Indians when bribes are not paid then you would through suicide attacks. When I see the hopelessness of Human Beings and the tolerance of mediocrity (TOM), I cant help but feel that India is destined to fail and that we don't have a future. Corruption is such a major part of the country that unless our politicians grow some balls, things will get worse. The mumbai attacks have already lost that buzz and TOM is back in business.

We all know that Mayawati will go scott free, that Shekhar Tiwari will get some leniency and that the bozos that let 26/11 happen will also not get anyting except some bad 'rep'. I laud the Press for at least telling us the truth but unfortunately, we all need to do something.