Sunday, May 24, 2015
Narendra Modi - 1 year Review
Times files fast, as they say. In this case, it has already been a year since we have had a Narendra Modi led govt. My review so far is that it is a mixed bag, with more positives than negatives.
Firstly, he brings a lot of energy and passion to the table, which was completely missing in last 10 years. Yes, having full majority helps, but then you also need to have the persona, thought process and political nimbleness to capitalise on the mandate. Modi has done that spectacularly well. He has understood the power of connect and being available 24*7 and he has done that very nicely. He is active on Twitter, FB and even on Linkedin. And also does the monthly "Mann ki Baat" sessions on various topics. So on communication, I will give him 10/10.
His foreign policy has been amazing. As was required, he has been on a whirlwind tour and has visited more than 16-17 countries in a short span and shown tremendous zest for diplomacy. He has personally created great rapport with the world leaders; And we are talking about some super powers and very confident developed country heads here. Be it China, Japan, UK, Australia or Germany; he has developed a relationship with all at a personal level. He has expanded the definition of nationalism and literally included all the NRI's in his fold. This is great TV and also important from a geo-strategic perspective. So on foreign policy as well, would give him 10/10.
Economics has been good too Pace of reforms could have been a bit faster, but then he needed to establish his credentials first before he and Jaitley can go for more reforms. With the authority properly established and several steps taken towards sustainable reforms, Modi and Jaitley duo are well on way to achieve a lot more in 2nd and 3rd year of their govt. Would give them a respectable 7/10 on economy.
The one to worry about is education and health. On both counts, Modi needs stronger leadership and insisters in place. Irani seems to be mired in controversies and I don't know who is the health minister. We need to increase the focus on health and education and increase the spending as well as promote more private funding in both areas. Priary healthcare or preventive healthcare and primary education needs tremendous focus. Clean India is good and has brought in a lot of awareness, but a lot more needs to be done in this area. Would give him a 4/10 on both education and healthcare. In first year, he could have done more, specially in the days when he was in India and not travelling.
Overall, a solid start with all the right intentions. I wish him all the very best and hope he will take India to her rightful place. For that reason, may the Force Be With him and all the Indians !!
Saturday, August 2, 2014
Queen
Queen is an excellent and a fascinating movie. The movie is setup in a typical middle class Delhi family. The girl (Rani) is about to get married to a typical Delhi boy (Vijay), who tries all the tricks to lure Rani, in their courtship days. However, post his "onsite" experience, the "middle class" Rani looks a bit old fashioned to Vijay. And in a complete filmy turn of events, he refuses to marry Rani 2 days before their marriage. Rani goes through a complete melt down post this shock, and is very vulnerable as she keeps hoping for Vijay or his parents to change their decision.
The "strong from within" Rani finally comes out of this shock and surprises everyone by saying that she wants to go to her honey moon alone and that is where Rani's discovery of her own new identity and life begins.
The strength of her character then shows up in all her actions as she explores Paris on her own. She makes new friends and is introduced to a different world by Vijaya, her new friend in Paris. Vijaya is the modern woman, who has no inhibitions and enjoys the life at the fullest, and does not like to adhere to the usual traditional standards expected from women.
Vijaya eases Rani into the typical western symbols of modernity (pubs, drinking etc)and helps evolve Rani into a confident, unassuming character. As she starts enjoying her new life, she remembers all those events where Vijay would not give her any chance of doing well, and would always disapprove of her actions and make her feel low. And contrast that with her new life, where she confidently drives the car and even pushes the envelope by kissing the chef, who challenges her.
The movie nicely ends with a contrast, where Vijay who at the start of the movie chides Rani for not being modern, but at the end is insecure to see her new modern awtar.
All in all an excellent movie, which shows the contradictions which still exist in Indian society, as we move forward in our quest to be "modern".
More power to the "Queen" in every "Rani"
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Trying to blog again
It is weird, but somehow I tend to get motivation to start blogging only at the end of the year. This is how the blog even started 3 years back.
This is yet another attempt to restart writing blog and try and be a bit more regular in the same. Specially, as these are happening times and if not now, then when would one write?
So here is to yet another attempt on writing blog. Thinking of writing a weekly blog now. All the best !!
This is yet another attempt to restart writing blog and try and be a bit more regular in the same. Specially, as these are happening times and if not now, then when would one write?
So here is to yet another attempt on writing blog. Thinking of writing a weekly blog now. All the best !!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
The monk who sold his Ferrari - Some Gems
Some absolutely stunningly soothing and healing commentary copied verbatim from the book
1. Everything happens for a reason. Every event has a purpose and every setback its lessons.
2. Failure, whether personal, professional or spiritual is essential to personal expansion. It brings inner growth and whole host of psychic rewards.
3. Never regret your past, rather embrace it as the teacher that it is.
4. Your mind is like a garden. If you nurture your mind like a fertile rich garden, it will blossom far beyond your expectations. But if you let weeds take root, lasting peace of mind and deep inner harmony will always elude you.
5. Though most people guard their gardens like soldiers, yet look at the toxic waste that most people put into the fertile garden of their minds;the worries and anxieties, the fretting about past, the brooding over the future and the self created fears that wreck havoc within your inner world.
6. Worry drains the mind of much of its power and sooner or later, it injures the soul.
7. To live life to the fullest, you must stand guard at the gate of your garden and let only the best information enter. You truly can not afford the luxury of a negative thought-not even one.
8. People think the same thoughts everyday, most of them negative. As a result, they have fallen into bad mental habits. Rather than focusing on all the good in their lives and thinking of ways to make things even better, they are captive of their pasts. Some of them worry abt failed relationships or financial problems. Others fret over their less than perfect childhoods. Still others brood over trifling matters including even how a store clerk might have treated them. As a result, they are blocking the enormous potential of their minds to work magic and deliver into their lives all that they want, emotionally, physically and yes even spiritually.
My favorites
9. No matter what happens to you in your life, you alone have the capacity to choose your response to it. When you form the habit of searching for the positive in every circumstance, your life will move into its highest dimensions. This is one of the greatest of all the natural laws.
10. Your outer world reflects the state of your inner world. By controlling the thoughts that you think and the way you respond to the events of your life, you begin to control your destiny.
1. Everything happens for a reason. Every event has a purpose and every setback its lessons.
2. Failure, whether personal, professional or spiritual is essential to personal expansion. It brings inner growth and whole host of psychic rewards.
3. Never regret your past, rather embrace it as the teacher that it is.
4. Your mind is like a garden. If you nurture your mind like a fertile rich garden, it will blossom far beyond your expectations. But if you let weeds take root, lasting peace of mind and deep inner harmony will always elude you.
5. Though most people guard their gardens like soldiers, yet look at the toxic waste that most people put into the fertile garden of their minds;the worries and anxieties, the fretting about past, the brooding over the future and the self created fears that wreck havoc within your inner world.
6. Worry drains the mind of much of its power and sooner or later, it injures the soul.
7. To live life to the fullest, you must stand guard at the gate of your garden and let only the best information enter. You truly can not afford the luxury of a negative thought-not even one.
8. People think the same thoughts everyday, most of them negative. As a result, they have fallen into bad mental habits. Rather than focusing on all the good in their lives and thinking of ways to make things even better, they are captive of their pasts. Some of them worry abt failed relationships or financial problems. Others fret over their less than perfect childhoods. Still others brood over trifling matters including even how a store clerk might have treated them. As a result, they are blocking the enormous potential of their minds to work magic and deliver into their lives all that they want, emotionally, physically and yes even spiritually.
My favorites
9. No matter what happens to you in your life, you alone have the capacity to choose your response to it. When you form the habit of searching for the positive in every circumstance, your life will move into its highest dimensions. This is one of the greatest of all the natural laws.
10. Your outer world reflects the state of your inner world. By controlling the thoughts that you think and the way you respond to the events of your life, you begin to control your destiny.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
2009 - A Decade review
The end of 2009 as an year is special in the sense that it not only marks the end of the current year, but also marks the end of a decade. It is still being debated what this decade must be called (example 90's or 80's etc). Here is my review of the decade.
The decade began with a lot of talk about how the Y2K problem will impact the world at large. It was not so much a problem for India considering that there was not that much computerization as in the western world. But certainly India was part of the solution to the Y2k problem. India was just beginning to reap benefits of the liberalization which was initiated by the Narsimharao Govt in the 90's and the educated middle class youth was part of the solution for fixing the Y2K problem. Companies like Infosys, TCS, PCS and Wipro were the early birds in the sense of giving the software industry a boom in the coming years. A whole lot of Indian youth got a chance to travel to USA and other western countries and help solve the problem. This was the first rendezvous for the ordinary middle class Indian youth with the capitalist west. Indians did a great job and once the Y2K bug was resolved, these new software companies kept leveraging the English speaking Indian youth by going up the value chain of the computer and Internet revolution.
If India was at the helm of the positive Internet phenomenon, there was another phenomenon which was growing and prospering in the neighbourhood in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The 9/11 attacks on the USA brought the western world (led by USA) at cross roads with terrorist organizations(led by Osama bin Laden and infrastructure provided by Jehadis in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other parts of middle east). The attack on the nerve center of the America polarized the world as never before. Clash of civilization, as it was termed became part of the geo political jargon. This new jargon has dominated the world for the entire decade and does not show any sign of calming down.
India was also not isolated from this growing phenomenon. The attacks on the Indian parliament in 2001 and the attack on Akshar dham temple in Gujrat impacted Indians as never before. This was on the heels of the hijack of a Indian plane by Taliban and Pakistani Jehadis in late Dec 1999. All these events polarized the Indian society as never before. The result was a shameful display of Hindu backlash in western state of Gujrat. The Muslims were slaughtered and the social secular fabric of the state where Gandhi was born was torn for ever. This was not like any other Hindu Muslim riot. In view of the polarized atmosphere in the world at large, this gave more ammunition to the Jehadis to use the local wrong doings and resulted in a series of deadly bomb attacks through out India. All this was happening in India in conjunction with the rise of a India as a economic super power led by a well educated, English speaking young work force.
Throughout the middle years of the decade, western world continued at a bitter and deadly battle with the Muslim world. Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine and Pakistan continued to be a battlefield. This meant the American hegemony was crumbling and a new world order led by China and India became more prominent. As Fareed Zakaria wrote in his book "The Post American World", American power under George Bush continued to go down. The land of opportunity that America once was, mainly due to the freedom it gave to its citizens and visitors, continued to dwindle as American became more insular and less open as a society. The economic, moral and millatry power of USA continued to deteriorate as never before. All this culminated into the worst economic slowdown in the world after the great depression in early 40's. This gave further ammunition to the notion of a post american world and the rise of India and China as the economic super powers. Both these countries were relatively still growing when the rest of the world (led by America) continued to shrink.
All this paints a very grim picture of this decade. And grim it is for sure. But there is also a ray of hope as this decade ends. US is led today by Barack Obama who ran a inspirational campaign and defeated the republicans. The economic crisis is also showing signs of a retreat and hopefully the new year and the decade will be much better than the decade gone by.
Here is wishing that 2010 and the new decade will be a great decade for the world, which will be peaceful and prosperous for all. Hopefully the clash of civilizations will turn into a conversation among civilizations. Wishing best to all for the new decade !!.
The decade began with a lot of talk about how the Y2K problem will impact the world at large. It was not so much a problem for India considering that there was not that much computerization as in the western world. But certainly India was part of the solution to the Y2k problem. India was just beginning to reap benefits of the liberalization which was initiated by the Narsimharao Govt in the 90's and the educated middle class youth was part of the solution for fixing the Y2K problem. Companies like Infosys, TCS, PCS and Wipro were the early birds in the sense of giving the software industry a boom in the coming years. A whole lot of Indian youth got a chance to travel to USA and other western countries and help solve the problem. This was the first rendezvous for the ordinary middle class Indian youth with the capitalist west. Indians did a great job and once the Y2K bug was resolved, these new software companies kept leveraging the English speaking Indian youth by going up the value chain of the computer and Internet revolution.
If India was at the helm of the positive Internet phenomenon, there was another phenomenon which was growing and prospering in the neighbourhood in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The 9/11 attacks on the USA brought the western world (led by USA) at cross roads with terrorist organizations(led by Osama bin Laden and infrastructure provided by Jehadis in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other parts of middle east). The attack on the nerve center of the America polarized the world as never before. Clash of civilization, as it was termed became part of the geo political jargon. This new jargon has dominated the world for the entire decade and does not show any sign of calming down.
India was also not isolated from this growing phenomenon. The attacks on the Indian parliament in 2001 and the attack on Akshar dham temple in Gujrat impacted Indians as never before. This was on the heels of the hijack of a Indian plane by Taliban and Pakistani Jehadis in late Dec 1999. All these events polarized the Indian society as never before. The result was a shameful display of Hindu backlash in western state of Gujrat. The Muslims were slaughtered and the social secular fabric of the state where Gandhi was born was torn for ever. This was not like any other Hindu Muslim riot. In view of the polarized atmosphere in the world at large, this gave more ammunition to the Jehadis to use the local wrong doings and resulted in a series of deadly bomb attacks through out India. All this was happening in India in conjunction with the rise of a India as a economic super power led by a well educated, English speaking young work force.
Throughout the middle years of the decade, western world continued at a bitter and deadly battle with the Muslim world. Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine and Pakistan continued to be a battlefield. This meant the American hegemony was crumbling and a new world order led by China and India became more prominent. As Fareed Zakaria wrote in his book "The Post American World", American power under George Bush continued to go down. The land of opportunity that America once was, mainly due to the freedom it gave to its citizens and visitors, continued to dwindle as American became more insular and less open as a society. The economic, moral and millatry power of USA continued to deteriorate as never before. All this culminated into the worst economic slowdown in the world after the great depression in early 40's. This gave further ammunition to the notion of a post american world and the rise of India and China as the economic super powers. Both these countries were relatively still growing when the rest of the world (led by America) continued to shrink.
All this paints a very grim picture of this decade. And grim it is for sure. But there is also a ray of hope as this decade ends. US is led today by Barack Obama who ran a inspirational campaign and defeated the republicans. The economic crisis is also showing signs of a retreat and hopefully the new year and the decade will be much better than the decade gone by.
Here is wishing that 2010 and the new decade will be a great decade for the world, which will be peaceful and prosperous for all. Hopefully the clash of civilizations will turn into a conversation among civilizations. Wishing best to all for the new decade !!.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Wake up Sid
We watched Wake up Sid yesterday in one of the many swanky multiplexes in Indore. It was a good experience watching a movie again in India with close friends.
I found the movie to be a fascinating one with a simple but lovable story and gripping music. The direction was very nice and refreshing. The depiction of the characters was very real and full of the contradictions we see in our daily lives. The rich spoilt college kid is a character we have all come across in our lives. At the same time, the character of Konkana was very lively and something that any middle class Indian kid could relate to. Although in this case Konkana was from Kolkatta, but Bombay (to hell with Raj Thackrey) has fascinated every body including me. Konakana is full of dreams and has a lot of determination and conviction to make it come true. Since she has grown up in a middle class environment, she is aware of the ground level reality and is ready to adjust in life and not loose focus.
On the contrary, Ranvir's character also has a different kind of realism and is representative of a kind of "divide" that exists in urban India of "the haves" vs "the have nots". Life has been so comfortable for him (thanks to his father's flower shower business) that he is totally unaware about the hardships of life and everyday battles that the middle class has to go through. The director has been able to show the frustrations of Ranvir when he is out of his comfort zone and is forced to think about his "roti, kapda aur makaan". The "credit card culture" which we all are becoming a victim of is also highlighted in his character when he tries to use a credit card at a "paav bhaji stall".
The story reaches towards a tipping point for Ranvir when in a powerful scene Konkana makes him see the reality and prods him to take care of his life and to wake UP. In the meanwhile, Konkana who thinks of herself as mature and "not a kid" finds out in a rivetting scene that her boss thinks she too is a kid for liking old hindi music as opposed to the elite Jazz music. This and the insecurity towards Ranvir makes her feel vulnerable and she too needs a shoulder to cry on (which not surprisingly happens to be that of Ranvir !!)
In a true Bollywood style, the things take turn for the GOOD and Ranvir finds his passion for photography. The story then reaches its climax again in a true Bollywood style and they supposedly live happily ever after.
In short, we loved the movie and enjoyed it.
I found the movie to be a fascinating one with a simple but lovable story and gripping music. The direction was very nice and refreshing. The depiction of the characters was very real and full of the contradictions we see in our daily lives. The rich spoilt college kid is a character we have all come across in our lives. At the same time, the character of Konkana was very lively and something that any middle class Indian kid could relate to. Although in this case Konkana was from Kolkatta, but Bombay (to hell with Raj Thackrey) has fascinated every body including me. Konakana is full of dreams and has a lot of determination and conviction to make it come true. Since she has grown up in a middle class environment, she is aware of the ground level reality and is ready to adjust in life and not loose focus.
On the contrary, Ranvir's character also has a different kind of realism and is representative of a kind of "divide" that exists in urban India of "the haves" vs "the have nots". Life has been so comfortable for him (thanks to his father's flower shower business) that he is totally unaware about the hardships of life and everyday battles that the middle class has to go through. The director has been able to show the frustrations of Ranvir when he is out of his comfort zone and is forced to think about his "roti, kapda aur makaan". The "credit card culture" which we all are becoming a victim of is also highlighted in his character when he tries to use a credit card at a "paav bhaji stall".
The story reaches towards a tipping point for Ranvir when in a powerful scene Konkana makes him see the reality and prods him to take care of his life and to wake UP. In the meanwhile, Konkana who thinks of herself as mature and "not a kid" finds out in a rivetting scene that her boss thinks she too is a kid for liking old hindi music as opposed to the elite Jazz music. This and the insecurity towards Ranvir makes her feel vulnerable and she too needs a shoulder to cry on (which not surprisingly happens to be that of Ranvir !!)
In a true Bollywood style, the things take turn for the GOOD and Ranvir finds his passion for photography. The story then reaches its climax again in a true Bollywood style and they supposedly live happily ever after.
In short, we loved the movie and enjoyed it.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Back to India
We are back to India after 2 years from a good US trip. Though, we intended to stay for a bit longer, but in view of the economic recession, we decided to move back and spend some time in India. One of the best experience in US was the chance to move around and see a lot of places in and around US. Some of the places we saw in US were Chicago, NY, Florida, San Jose and Hawaii.
In the past, I have not really been a keen traveller in India. It was only after coming to US that I wandered around in US and developed a hobby of traveling and seeing places. Having come back to India, it is a dream and also a very important aim of our life to see many places in India. Be it the "dil walon ki dilli", "himachal ke pahad aur wadiyan", andaman islands or the fabulous south India, we wish to see as much as we can.
US is an amazing country. What they have achieved in terms of infrastructure, civic awareness, freedom of speech, sense of humor and creating a land of opportunities is mind boggling. I had a great working experience as well in US and learnt a lot during my stay there. However, no country or society is perfect and US also has some serious issues at hand and I am sure they will work to solve them.
One of the best experience in US for both Divya and me was attending the Obama speech in Grant park in Chicago after his historic victory. I can never forget the entire election process and subsequently the privilege to listen to magical words of Obama.
I also intend to pursue my blog more seriously and may be even start a travelogue.
Lofty goals may be, but we really intend to travel in India. All the Best !!!!
In the past, I have not really been a keen traveller in India. It was only after coming to US that I wandered around in US and developed a hobby of traveling and seeing places. Having come back to India, it is a dream and also a very important aim of our life to see many places in India. Be it the "dil walon ki dilli", "himachal ke pahad aur wadiyan", andaman islands or the fabulous south India, we wish to see as much as we can.
US is an amazing country. What they have achieved in terms of infrastructure, civic awareness, freedom of speech, sense of humor and creating a land of opportunities is mind boggling. I had a great working experience as well in US and learnt a lot during my stay there. However, no country or society is perfect and US also has some serious issues at hand and I am sure they will work to solve them.
One of the best experience in US for both Divya and me was attending the Obama speech in Grant park in Chicago after his historic victory. I can never forget the entire election process and subsequently the privilege to listen to magical words of Obama.
I also intend to pursue my blog more seriously and may be even start a travelogue.
Lofty goals may be, but we really intend to travel in India. All the Best !!!!
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