Diwali at Goa

After a long gap am back, to share with you few pics of the fireworks I had at home on Diwali.

Diwali is festival of Lights, and marks the victory of light over darkness, and in essence victory of Knowledge over ignorance......

Enjoy the Pics (click here), and do leave a comment if you (dis)like them

See you guys again very very soon.

Save our past for Future!

In today's newspaper the most singular thing that stood out was a full page from the Archaeological Survey Of India, imparting information about the new act passed by the government, to preserve our priceless heritage.

The act focuses primarily on the boundaries and demarcation of the limits of the heritage sites, in order to avoid encroachment of same by the general populace, Further information on which can be very well found on the net and various news papers.

But then I ask you, will this act help? I have some serious doubts !! Just like the old adage says "Locks are only for Gentlemen"; this act only prohibits the monuments by specifying a limit of 100 meters, in all directions, called the prohibited area. Now about inside the monument?? While government is busy drafting policies and Acts, the heart of these heritage building and monuments is already bleeding, and will continue to do so...

We all have paid visit to the Qutub Minar, The Red Fort, The Bhool Bhulaiya at the Imambada Lucknow, or some other similar building, and what we have brought along in our memories other than the grandeur and majesty of these buildings is the foul smell of urine, bad experience from encroachment and harassment from the local shopkeepers (read Goons), and various anti social elements, who have already taken the custody of our history (not to mention continuous gherao by the beggars) .

We, are ourselves to blame for it, for how many times have you complained against the bad behaviour of Guides, mugging by so called artifact traders, and most importantly, against the tampering of the fabric of the building (sometimes the whole structure) ??

It is time now to act as responsible citizen, and stand against anything that defames our rich cultural heritage, which we have been unable to protect so far.

I leave above a picture taken of Bhool Bhulaiya at Lucknow, which is the only building of its kind in the world, made in the mid 1700s; and now every inch covered by scribbles of local Laila / Majnu, and those very own people, who want to leave a mark on the history.

Please stop doing it, there are better ways to be part of the history - preserve it!

Tiger Tiger burning bright..

These lines from a poem by William Blake once written in awe of the mighty royal Bengal, now tell the sorry tale of a billion plus nation waking up to the reality "Only 1411 left"!!

Beginning of the 20th century there were more than 40,000 tigers roaming freely in the jungles of India, and then began the inexorable decline; numerous intermittent efforts by the government bodies, some dedicated and ardent wildlife lovers, individuals, but nothing worked.

If I take the liberty of comparing how we Indians fair in terms of protecting our NATIONAL Interests (Read Flag, Animal, Bird, Game etc) with that of people of UK, I feel really ashamed. To start with I almost believe that upon Independence India chose Tiger as the national animal not because it was the king of the jungle, not because of its mighty roar, or not because of its enigmatic air it carries around, but simply because they were in abundance, and could be easily related to India, and not Africa.
Now something that we were not even proud of initially, is made into a national animal, and suddenly comes to brink of extinction, the whole nation goes astir, but mostly superficially. Deep inside, there is more chaos to handle than saving the damn tigers.
On the other hand I was amazed to see in UK how they protected the birds and animals, especially the swan. A female swan had laid 6 eggs right in front of the school, and it became pride and joy of the whole Warwick University. A barbed wired protection (from foxes, and not humans) was given to the lady, notices posted, chain emails sent and resent of the pics, and the precaution one should take when nearing that area. All this not because Swan is the national bird (which is European Robin), but because Queen Mother admires and likes Swans.

We as Indians thankfully don't have to satisfy the ego of a ruler, but at the same time we fail to act as responsible citizens. I initiated serious debates among my colleagues at the work place, on how we Indians feel about the tigers, and what we must as a nation do to save them, and below are some points.

1. To start with, lets us invoke a passion, a sense of belonging and pride in every Indian towards every thing that is NATIONAL, be it Animal, sport, anthem, song, or Flag et al. And this would come from education and awareness. Now this awareness should not be something similar to what we have done in making this nation literate, where literacy means to be able to sign your own name. But this awareness and passion has be kindled in every kid, rekindled in every adult, so much so that this pride feeling about Tigers gets embedded in their hearts, and printed on their brains.

2. Billion plus people to a handful of tigers! What a proportion! Now we don't need the tyrants (poachers and smugglers), what we need is efficient and sincere policing, and fast track courts to nab the guilty and then capital punishment to the criminals. Death Penalty would set a good example of how an Indian feels towards protecting its fauna, and would be a deterrent to an extent.

3. A serious attempt from both entrepreneurs and corporates to commercialise the TIGERS, be it in form of souvenirs, wearable, mascots, or anything.
There are only 4 dolphins at the Sentosa Island Dolphin Lagoon, Singapore, but half the world knows their name! why? because they are commercialised in form of everything that can be sold, picture postcards to hats to baby shoes. It would be a good idea to run a contest among the top B-Schools to devise a Business Model that is self sustainable, which not only touches one and all in their daily lives, but also generates income, which can be utilised towards the protection.

4. Encroachment of the jungle land is one of the biggest issues, pushing the tigers to their extinction, and needs to be addressed on war footing. The local villagers are to be paid in cash for every cattle that is killed by the tigers so so as to dissuade them from keeping the animosity towards the King himself. They should be educated on how their livelihood depends on the Tigers, and the various jobs / industries created around it. A live example of it is GIR where now the population of the Great Asiatic Lion has been brought to 300s from a mere 20, all because of the support of the local villagers.

5. We all know why the tigers are Killed, don't we? because China is the largest importer of Tiger Bones and skins, where they are used for medicines and what nots. Let us confront China through an international lobby, and force them to stop it immediately. Let us keep all the politics and jargon aside, and the associated slow paced processes and procedures of building a case, and then requesting China to Stop it.... Tell Them to stop it RIGHT NOW. We only live once, and refuse to take this shit, not in our only one life.

It really amazes me when sometimes (in India many times) we all know the root cause of a problem, but fail to address it because either we are scared, or turn a blind eye because it doesn't matter to us, or because of political involvement.
But not now, not any more. We don't have a minute to lose. Let us do every small bit that we as an individual can do, and every big thing as a nation to save our pride, Let us all give the GREAT ROYAL BENGAL its due, and treatment of a King, which it truly deserves, and let's let it rule a billion plus subjects. Let the protection of the KING be our utmost duty, and its enigma enshrined in our hearts.
Let's wake up to see this common dream before it becomes too late, and not when the only place Tiger can be read about is in Blake's Poetry :Tiger Tiger. burning bright, In the forests of the night....

Let us make our best attempt to save tigers, now!

Please mind the Gap !!

This post is not an advertisement about the products of GAP; and nor am I going to narrate my numerous rides in the London tube (or Singapore MRT), where this sentence is announced a million over times a day!! This is something serious.

As a seafarer I traveled far and wide, always putting my best foot when it came to going out on shore leave at different countries, strange ports, among great and sometimes not so great people. After all I was representing a country which was coming lately into the global picture because of its large IT talent pool, because of it economic reforms,a country which suddenly became a production house of miss worlds and miss Universes.

I was an ambassador to a country which was slowly undergoing an image changeover, from the land of snake charmers and elephants, to a country which was frequented by the likes of Bill Gates' and the Clintons.
Representing a great country which was in turn representing the 3rd world, representing the growing economies was no mean thing, and had put great responsibility on my shoulders. I had to be well informed about anything and everything that was Indian, or was even remotely connected to India, and more than that I had to possess the same information that media had already propagated in those lands. And it was tough.
During my visit to Dominican Republic I was at loss of words when a loading master knew more about the history of India than me, he was well informed about the reasons that led to the partition of India and Pakistan. Another time in a bar at Santos, Brazil, I was cross questioned about the cutting edge technology that was being used in India in producing various drugs and vaccines. I was humbled during my conversation with an MIT professor on a trans-Atlantic flight when after a long debate about the perennially slow moving government system I couldn't defend India. The professor then himself rescued me when he retorted "it is all about DEMOCRACY". "Things move slow, but at least they move in the right direction, in the direction that people of India want to see it moving".
Thats it! I had found the mantra, the magic words "World's biggest Democracy". I was comfortably poised then on in my demeanour when it came to talk about India.

Fast Forward... post my MBA now I am in India for good, and suddenly see my conceit about India, melting, because I'm getting to see the real India. This is more than what I've ever been talking aloud.. a lot more !
There is a Big gap between the India known to the western world, and the India, that an Indian farmer lives in, travailing day in day out, just to make those two ends meet
Thanks to Pareto's 20/80 rule now I understand that 80% of the good things that we hear, 80% of the country's progress is showcased because of the hard work of 20% of population roughly.
Rest 80% of the population has lost its empathy (or probably never had), and has become calloused with daily work they do to keep themselves alive.

From now on this blog is committed to bridge the GAP between where the real India is TO where it should be. Gandhiji said "You must be the change you want to see".
This blog is my earnest attempt to shout out loud about everything that is going wrong in this great country, and more importantly how it should be.

My dear reader, I would request you to sincerely contribute to this blog (which would now be a forum)about how you feel about these various issues (be it TIGERS on the brink of extinction, or the plight of our national sport Hockey, or the ever increasing number of suicides by farmers, just any thing), and by suggesting the ways how these issues should be mended or tackled. Remember - Your Way, and not the politically correct, system generated diktat.

To start with ....."TIGERS - Only 1411 left"
start pouring, and lets get the ball rolling.. This could be our chance to do our bit to save the big cat..

Happy New Year - one day at a time!

As we welcome the year 2010 greeting and wishing each other a wonderful new year full of peace joy and prosperity and every thing good, I realise that this is what I did last year, the year before that and even before ever since. This is what everyone else has been doing too... But has it actually made a difference to my life or anyone else's life?

Giving due credit to the good vibes thats these wishes bring along with the mutually agreeing sentiments, I feel the work of these greetings and wishes stop there only!! Otherwise how one can justify millions dying every year in diseases, natural crisis, wars!! How can one explain the recession and the millions dislodged because of it? I am sure they all received and exchanged wishes and greetings on the New Year eve, had made great plans for the future, and hoped that things will be just according to those plans.

The fact of the matter is that even though no matter how much we plan and wish for betterment, for peace and for harmony, for health and for propserity, there is no control of ours over the future.

Taking cue from my Corporate Finance module where the market can be associated with two kinds of risks - Systemic risks, and Idiosyncratic risks, I believe our lives are also similarly susceptible to these two risks.

Systemic risks would be the risks which influence and prevail over the whole society in general like a natural disaster, Swine Flue or similar epidemic, recession, terrorist attacks..and the likes.

Idiosyncratic risks would be drink driving, smoking, over working - no exercising, scattered cases of terminal diseases, accidents.....and the works.

Now without giving any advice to the wise (assuming everyone thinks that he or she is wise), I wish you all a year ahead where you shine like a "blue chip" stock...hardly or little moved by the systemic risks by keeping all the risk management and control practices in place, and never be bothered by the Idiosyncratic risks - never treading that direction.

Wishing you all shine brighter than the brightest star (which happens to be the SUN)this year!

But then again, as we have little control over our future, let all this Systemic / Idiosyncratic risk go for a toss, why dont we strive to take our journey each single day at a time?

Wishing you well for each single day! one day at a time..

"There's only us, there's only this.
Forget regret, or life is yours to miss.
No other road, no other way, no day but today.
I can't control my destiny. I trust my soul.
My only goal is just to be. There's only now, there's only here.
Give in to love, or live in fear. No other path, no other way.
No day but today."

'The Skyscraper Index' -

It would be very difficult to find a man from the modern world who does not know about Burj Dubai. At 2,684 feet, it is the tallest man made structure ever built. And until most recently, it was a statement showcasing the giant strides that Emirate kingdom of Dubai had taken in affirming itself as one of the most popular destinations in the world. But henceforth, Burj Dubai is also going to be remembered for something else. It will be remembered for validating once again, an economic theory called as 'The Skyscraper Index'. Created by the economist Andrew Lawrence, the theory states that the building of world's tallest building may be a useful way to predict the onset of a major economic downturn. It was in October 2009, Emaar, the construction company that was constructing Burj Dubai announced that it had completed the exterior of the building and within two months, the Dubai government has come very close to defaulting on its loans.

Equitymaster has found out that this is not an isolated case. As shown in the table below, there seems to be a strong correlation between construction of landmark buildings and the occurrence of a financial crisis.

Skyscrapers & economic crisis: Is there a link? It definitely appears so
Year Skyscrapers Height Economic crisis
1907 Singer Building 612 ft US banking panic
1931 Empire State Building 1,250 ft The Depression
1973 Sears Tower, Chicago 1,450 ft Oil crisis
1998 Petronas Tower, Malaysia 1,483 ft Asian crisis
2009 The Burj, Dubai 2,684 ft Subprime crisis?
(Source: Equitymaster research)

And whats the reason behind such happening, or what underpins the theory? Possibly construction of tall buildings is a long gestation and a capital intensive project and the most favorable time for it to start is during a time when there is low interest and strong liquidity. Therefore, asthe building gets completed, the loose policies have lived their lives and the markets ready for a correction, leading to the completion of construction coinciding with a slowdown. Like all economic theories, this one may also not be a foolproof one, but can definitely used as an important tool towards assessing the health of the economy.

The Right Words !!

It is the mindset of the champion that provides him the winning edge. To lift ourselves to the level of champions, we have to change the way we think and feel. By changing our vocabulary, we can change the quality of our thoughts.

To know the power of words, just utter the following words and observe the feelings it kindles in you: Flowers, rainbow, Buddha, nun, baby, sunrise, mango, love, friend, gift, top of the world….. Now utter the following words and observe the feelings it kindles in you: Thorn, volcano, Hitler, hospital, graveyard, desert, betrayal, cross, crisis……… Did you observe that uttering different patterns of words creates a different pattern of feelings in you?

Our words have in them power to make or break us. True, our attitude shapes our altitude. But our attitude is shaped by our thinking and our thinking itself is shaped by the words that we use. Positive thinking can be developed only by using positive vocabulary. So it all narrows down to the power of the words that we use.

Let us introspect and find for ourselves what our limiting vocabularies are and replace them with resourceful words. Unlearn the words that limit us and learn the words that can create us. Unlearn the words that create guilt and learn the words that create celebration. Unlearn the words that discourage or create a complex. Learn the right words and watch our lives flourish