I Me Myself

I look myself in a mirror
Unmoved careless he stands
He stands in the midst of all this chaos
Like he doesn’t give a damn

There in the midst of maddening crowd
I stand, i stand lost and confused
The whole world is moving ahead
And yet i stand even without care

The days dawn to dusk as usual
As usual they are again ordinary
Iam living a life without a change
It looks like any other ordinary life

Tomorrow it’s yet another day like today
And when it’s over i will still be the same
My agony my pain will still have its pang
And when it’s over ill still crib about the same

I will still hope for a better day tomorrow
For every mundane day that passes by me
I will still hope for better days and nights
Coz i can hope only till when it’s all the same

-acp

Kerala Consumed 2 Billion $ of Alcohol in 2009 !!!

Yes it is true the people of kerala has consumed 2 Billion Dollars or more of alcohol in 2009. This is a staggering achievement by any means. We should pat ourselves in the back for arriving at such an interesting figure. The official sales by the beverages corporation ( State Supplier? organised Sector ) put the sales at 4500 crores and this does not include the major chunk of supply by the unorganised sector which includes hotels, restaurants, Bar's, the toddy shops, the arrack shops, military quota hehehe and more. if you consider these outlets it could contribute to nothing less than double the sales of the organised sector, for a comfortable analysis lets give them an equal share so the total sales can amount to 9-10,000 crores.

If you go in detail about the figure, the population, the demographic breakup and all the figure can be quiet revealing. Out of the 30 million population of the state more than half are women ( the only state in the country to have a favorable social indicator) so we have roughly 15 million men ( not that all women are teetotaller) and if you look at children below 15 and men above 65 ( assuming they consume less or totally abstain from it) lets assume them to be 3 million. So lets assume out of this around 5 million people are alcoholic or at least consume on social occasion. So the 2 billion worth of alcohol is consumed by 5 million people .

That gives us a figure of 400 $ worth of alcohol consumption i.e. per capita consumption of alcohol at 400$. This you should consider in a state with per capita income less than 300 $. This is really alarming to say the least. In terms of our ranking we stand first in the country in terms of alcohol consumption even beating the party manic Punjabis. We have clearly outdone everyone by far now.

Alcohol consumption has become a necessity for most of the customers like a social addiction that cannot be stalled. There is an anecdote of how a great leader was suggested by his advisory to ban smoking and drinking in his country and after great thought the leader asked him " if you can find me another activity that generates as much revenue for the state, i will immediately oblige to your wish ". SO it has become more of a necessary evil for the state to sustain its developmental activities. For some states like Punjab 1/3 of its revenue is collected from alcohol sales.

It has become a necessity for the youth to consume, to belong to a certain group, peer pressure etc. In certain group it has become difficult to disclose you don't drink rather than the other way around. People have started assuming and taking for granted such habits in us. The social stigma that was associated to drinking earlier in conservative communities like Muslims have started shifting. We have started recognizing the fact that someone cannot be considered alcoholic if he consumes on selective social occasions.

This has become a social epidemic to say the least ( i know some of you will be grinning now hehehe) and something has to be definitely done to contain this or we will end up like Yemen addicted to qat leaves which has lead to an idle population and a looming water crisis. We have to organize community awareness programs and do social advertising campaigns curtailing the enigma attached with alcohol consumption.

tc

How We Look Different From Our Photos !!!

Iam sure iam not the first one notice this, many of you might have had this odd feeling too. I was inspired to do this post by seeing an original photo of Ambedkar on the latest Outlook edition. The photo looks so different from the popular representation in hoardings and paintings. In them he looks more like Mamooty (southern Super star), may be because he has made an attempt to portray him in a movie.

This kept me thinking and i started researching on various other popular figures, the results are truly shocking a majority have been altered to form an entirely different image. Don't take my comments on face value, try looking through images 50 years before and the ones circulating now.I think this has a lot to do with the emergence of photo shop editing, beautification relevant now. Are we so conceited to hide our real faces or has the fair and lovely bug caught up on this front too.

Iam not talking about the political figures alone here, try looking at the image you have put as profile pictures on Facebook/Orkut/ and the countless other social networking sites. This cannot be tried by people who have put Shahrukh/ Salman/ Hrithik/ John Abraham etc as display images iam pretty sure they will find no resemblances at all heheh. You will be shocked to find that the best possible images pasted will have only 50-75 % resemblance to your real self. And if it is a bad hair day the chances are even remote.

Recently one of my cousin was asked to give his own photo from a government office because the one given by him (whitened/ spot less/ fault less) image had no resemblance to him heheheh. Most of our images specially the good ones will be at least 2-3 year old, before the additional pounds crept on, before the love handles started bulging heheh.

Who are we trying to fool here, What are we trying to prove here ? Iam not looking at my best today but 1 1/2 year ago i was definitely good looking hehhe. Lets accept it we dont look as good as we expect we are, we are not as smart as we think are and yes the fat guy sitting opposite to you is definitely thinner than you. And the seemingly bald guy across the street has more hair than you hehehehe.Iam sure there wont be changes in photos any time soon. We are as hypocritical as we can be, if Susan Boyle can make a difference we should definitely give reality a shot.

P.S
I look better than my photos, the smile is for real and extra pounds have been added virtually to give a more mature look hehhehehe

Why i Hate Social Networking yet bother to Annoy You !!!

Here i am shifting between my home pages on face book and orkut, deciding whether the display photo looks as good as i thought it would when i first placed it there. brooding on whether this virtual social networking is getting boring by the day, the alerts that prompted me to eagerly visit these sites have started to become annoying. whats on my mind deserves to stay in my mind, not to be shouted to a bunch of friends who are as jobless as you are.

The photo updates have started becoming typecast, its either a marriage, a recent trip or sometimes scanned images of old escapades. And the endless games which gives you high IQ ratings if it ever was true you wouldn't be sitting and blabbing on. Its as silly as it can to be to be farming virtually bothered about the non existent black sheep that has entered your non existent field. And then we have the fortune cookies and random questions which can make your day ahead more confusing than it already is.

Take your time to browse through your friend list once in a while and look at all the guilt driven acceptances you have had to make, of people who you rarely know, of some who have common friends, some with cheesy display images. If you seriously reconsider you friend list every other year, you will have to remove a quarter of it. And in the midst of all this orkut is trying to be emulate features on facebook, suggesting people you might know just because you have common friends, your neighborhoods are across the street and evn because your birthdays might come on the same day hehehe.

And of the endless new sites trying to get a share of you wasted time, some offering you hug, a pinch and even a slap. Friends unknowingly requesting you earnestly to join this new freebies. Describing their satisfaction and the endless freebies on offer.

I am yet to decide whether to join Twitter, to be bothered by one more set of user name and passwords. I know its the popular thing to be tweeting now, when iam unable to keep up with blogging how can i do justice to micro blogging. Even Shashi Tharoor is in trouble tweeting , so where do we mere mortals stand a chance. I think iam technically handicapped, i cannot configure the GPRS on my phone, yet to come into terms with 3G and unable to handle basic WIFI settings. Is it virtually aceptable to accept these handicaps, will i be sidelined for more aware and able browsers.

So as usual i have done justice to my confusion my hypocrisy. I have bothered you with my gyan, of which you would have been better if not bothered to read this. So why do i keep visiting the so called social networking sites, I Dont Have an Option !!! hehehe

tc

Of All The Things I Have Lost

Of all the things that i have lost
Its hope that is what i miss the most

Of all the lies i have told you
Its the ones about me i repent

Of all the people i miss
Its you that was dearest to me

Of all the sunrises i have missed
Its the ones i have slept through i regret

Of all the opportunities i have left
Its the life changing ones i shouldn’t have

May be I have 
Lost, lied, missed and left 

But yet iam here

And iam happy to be alive                                    

tc

Why God's Own Country wont be affected by Recession !!!!

For those of you who are not aware of the sobriquet Gods own Country, this is the fancy name given to the south Indian State of Kerala for its mind blowing greenery and natural beauty. By demographic, social and ethical indicators this state can be compared to any of the leading European or Western nations. The state has a population of 31 million and land area of 15,000 Sq. Miles. This gives you a brief idea about our destination and chief protagonist.

Now coming to the more important aspect of the topic why god's own country will not be affected by recession. Now iam in a dilemma on the context of the post, should i grind the hidden economist in me and explain the phenomena with some financial indicators and situational analysis or should i try to be candy about the normal practices in the state.

This is a place that works on its own terms which has evolved its own type of economy called the "Kerala Model". The state has had 80 days of harthal in the first six months of last year and generally it is a mood of lax and absence. The industry is generally dominated by agriculture, tourism and fishing in the order of importance. Then there is the most important, silent and turnover intensive segment of real estate. In the real estate market price for the property depends upon various invisible factors which doesn't justify the cost benefit ratio and value of investment.

Another important characteristic and unique aspect for "Kerala model" is the number of non residents from the state (approx. 2.5 million). They are spread mainly across the oil rich sheikdoms specialising in various types of jobs from cafeteria owners to CEO's of billion dollar companies .

As a whole the state receives around 240 Billion INR every year through overseas remittance . This is far more than the states expenditure during the same period. So the kerala economy does not depend on manufacturing, service sector or outsourcing. These are the main sectors which will be affected by the recession. The driving sector of the economy like agriculture will get a boost in this era when primary segments will be boosted, promoted and highly in demand. So on one side the major industry is getting an unexpected boom and inward remittance is far higher than ever thanks to the highly favourable exchange rates.

It is not that jobless gulf dependant malayalees are bothered about recession or job losses. When you have dinars, riyals, dollars and dirhams flowing in and basic services are highly over priced people are not bothered about any global phenomenas. An average hartalee spends only 6-8 hours of working with amble gaps and rest hours. With 5 working days and weekend ceremonies like marriages, receptions, parties etc. etc. people are a happy lot.

The conclusion of this wandering post is that when there is no production why will there be recession. When you already are jobless you cannot risk loosing it. The same hartalees when they become non residents are ready to work 12-15 hour shifts without breaks and holidays. So it is not the inherent characteristic of the average malayalee, it has got something to do with the environment, attitude and political system. The irony is that when the whole world is concerned with layoffs and production cuts Kerala has welcomed the new year with aharthal on the 1st of January.

P.S Sorry for wandering from our topic, it was unintentional, expecting comments and reviews.

ANY RESEMBLANCE OF CHARACTERS OR SITUATIONS IN THE POST TO ANYONE ALIVE OR DEAD IS PURELY COINCIDENTAL. IF ANYTHING SAID OR MEANT IN THE POST HURTS ANY ONES BELIEFS OR FEELINGS IT IS PURELY UNINTENTIONAL AND APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE.

Addendum

This post has been posted on this blog on a previous date and it is being brought back taking into consideration its relevance today and my mounting lethargy which keeps me away from regular blogging.

Ramblings

The idea of posting in a more organised way has been impending for couple of weeks. The inspirations required for posting new articles have been a lot but the discipline to do that has been nil.

It has been one whole year of blogging as of 15th of November, one whole year of rambling, one year of digesting all this crap. Would like to thank my co authors who have been influenced by occasional bouts of enthusiasm and confused ideas. Thanks to all the search engines who have misled browsers to this portal, all browsers who have taken the effort to spend some time on this site.

It is almost one year since i have posted a testimony of commitments known as resolutions and again it has been an year of failed promises, lost friends, new acquaintances and a whole new perspective towards life.

One year since a set of hooligans had the audacity to attack our national symbols of wealth, prosperity and unity. One year of gratitude to our resilience, unity and our strength to survive, fight and stand up to all the injustice done against us. Hope no bloody new kasabs have the courage to set foot on our mother land again .

One year of facebook, of my courage to stay away from farmville, of orkut trying to improvising competitors features. One year of staying away from twitter and all the new crazy invites that turn up and crowd my inbox. I think things will never change all the annoying people failed promises and endless dreams will remain.

I have led one more year of confused life, have kept up my promise of being the quintessential hypocrite, of accepting all the fallacies of life. Before you people pull your hair and start screaming, let me stop.

tc

Micro Finance for The Indifferent !

Yes the economic bug has smitten me again. The last time i have written something in this genre had to do with the downfall of neo petroleum economies. And as usual the prediction has gone wrong and the oil rich kingdoms are back to their comfort zones. So why should you take me seriously with this regard ?

Banking is a daily necessity like the air we breath or the food we eat. You could beg to differ and i can keep on arguing on my opinion. But the fact is that it is one think that has been influencing our actions, decisions and even our destiny. So changes in the banking system can evidently bring about changes in our lives.

I have been reading the biography of the Nobel Prize winner Mr. Muhammed Yunus, and i have got an entirely new perspective towards persistence and social entrepreneurship. For the uninitiated he is the father of Micro Finance. He has showed with evident results that we can change the social structure of bonded labour and the destitute through credit. ( the book is a must read, will write a review once iam done through it)

So what is Micro Finance, in a layman's word or through the eyes of the Mango People it can be defined as institutional credit of small amounts without physical collateral and collected back in small negligible installments (Daily, Weekly etc.). It is an anti thesis to conventional banking, where minute loans are detested with the argument that the proposition wont even cover the documentation cost involved, Where you have to prove that you are rich enough to not need a loan to avail the facility you need and Where the reality of the society is totally neglected to service the so called socially and economical advanced class.

This is the true form of banking the society needs, to make a difference to the social structure yet remain profitable and financially viable. The process of raising a loan is a more emotional task than the cumbersome paper works. In the grameen model the proposer has to form a group of five people who act as mutual guarantees instead of the collateral model and the group ha to prove their credit worthiness step by step to ensure that the entire team is eligible for the credit.

The grameen people has been instrumental in elevating poverty, social stigma, improving living conditions and even empowering its customers. Another matter of difference is that the majority of customers of the grameen model are women. This is because women are better to lend (yes) because of their credibility, social conscience and responsible nature.

So what can we learn from the model the poor can be trusted than rich industrialist faking non favorable conditions for defaulting humongous amounts of money. The recovery rate is 98 % compared to some disturbing statistics provided by banks established to promote industry, agriculture and society. We need more Muhammed Yunus in the world to alleviate poverty, bring about social change.

Addendum

In new developments the opportunistic entrepreneurs have evolved micro finance into more commercial models manipulating the need of the people. They sell anything under the sun through the micro finance model, some are good like offering the rural folks with drip irrigation systems, solar lanterns etc. But some have gone one step ahead and disguised to form a new avatar of money lenders promoting materialistic behaviour in the unexplored rural market.

Where Are We Going ?

Now i know why not many people are consistent in their motives, why it is not always easy to do the easy things. I have come to accept the reality that life is predictable, there are no shortcuts to happiness and above all the easiest and most basic things are the most difficult ones. Don't ask me about the circumstances that has led to such a conclusion.

When i read the book Alchemist for the first time , i wondered what is so special about following your dreams, doesn't everyone already do that, isn't that the purpose of our life. But now i have come to realise that complacency is as much an illusion as any other feeling of self content. We do loose hope, we do compromise, we can even fail and leave behind what was once the only purpose of our lives.

The greatest mystery of life is not how we can succeed but how we can hold our nerves together in times of great stress. How not to step over to the other side can be more demanding than how to remain focused on our dreams.

I know all these sounds crappy but sometimes we sit, we ponder and come up with strange conclusions. Its just that iam going through one of those stages of confusion, when everything puts you in a dilemma, even the fundemental questions of life. What is the purpose of a life ? what is our role ? How we can make a difference ? How not to be forgotten ?

So if you are as enlightened as me, ask yourself these questions, if you are luckier than me in finding an answer do share them with me.

Dasvidaniya

On Rain, Rainy Days and More !!

The most memorable memories of my motherland has a lot to do with rain, the drizzle, the downpour, the gloomy sky and the intoxicating smell of soil.Like the latest tourism departments promotion, rain is an experience , something to cherish for a long time. Unfortunately the past month monsoon has been on a reluctant mode. The sky has been frowning, acting moody yet denying the much awaited rain.

In my memories related to the school days one of the most memorable one is riding the bicycle through a winding road wearing a rain coat yet drenched in water. I remember a school holiday when the main bridge connecting our town was flooded by a heavy rain. The joy was not in the holiday or the free time but in seeing the bridge flooded, the pillars and the road immersed like a jigsaw puzzle visible here and there.

The same river bed had been left barren in the major part of last decade like a football ground or a plot assigned for sale by real estate agents. Unexpectedly the river flooded once and an opportunistic photographer utilized the snap and sold it with the caption " the dream view of Bharathapuzha"

Another interesting memory is switching our football game into a match of rugby when it rained and the ground became slippery and muddy. The main motive of the game is to slide thought the slippery grass and enjoy the unexpected free falls. One of these days a good friend was tagged as "Faker" (not as in fraud) but someone good at faking movements and tackling. Rugby was an opportunity to get even with your rivals and annoying peers, all you had to do was pass the ball to him while playing and inititate a pile up over him. He is sure to suffer sufficient pain and definitely remember you for a long time.

There are some really mesmerising things to do in a good rainy season. Walk barefoot through the muddy floor, sip a cup of hot tea in the balcony or open veranda with the rain drizzling on your face forced by the wind. Drive with the windows open playing soft music like abnajaa by Euphoria, Pall by KK or the likes of these, drive aimlessly (not recklessly which iam famous for).

Go to the beach and sit on its shores staring aimlessly at the glory and limitless fury the sea holds in its belly. Walk through a paddy field and cross the brooks bare foot across it. Try to get the huge circular palm leaves cap used by the farmers and stand in a heavy down pour, it is a wonderful experience.

Travel in a train sitting on the side doors with the wind blowing a rain drizzling on your face ( be safe and alert). A time to renew friendships, to write poetry (sentences ending with rhyming words written in paragraphs hehe). To huddle in cozy sofa and watch a tear jerker or a cheesy romantic flick. To sleep without knowing whether its day or night listening to the tinkering, splashing, humming sound of the wind and rain. Wake up in a haze and again sleep like there is no tomorrow.The best food to have in the rain spicy hot pani puri or in the home front try apna meen mulakittath and appam a culinary marvel.

"rain like there is no tomorrow, like its going to flood away our lives, let it wash away all our pain and sorrow, let it rain for a better tomorrow "

P.S. This is not a fresh post and the timing is unlikely too, this has been posted elsewhere earlier. The idea of putting it up here has lot to do with the absence of a new post and my increasing lethargy towards writing something new.

chao

How 11 Indians Pulled off The Impossible !! A Book Review:

Haven't written any review on books so far, this book has been too compelling and the need to write one is very much evident. Some basic Details:

Book: Making Breakthrough Innovations Happen

Author: Porus Munshi

Genre: Business/Innovation/Entrepreneurship

Having read some reviews about the book in some of the regular business magazines, i was too anxious to get the copy. I can give you a brief idea about the content, its about 11 Indians who did the impossible with the same existing resources that we crib about, with the same people whom we call unchangeable etc.

Few of the Case studies which really caught my fancy are

1) Transformation of Surat from the filthiest city into the second cleanest town within two years, reducing the number of malaria deaths from 20,000 t0 0 in just twenty months, a case of miracle urban transformation.

2) Trichy Police implementing Indianised community policing and reducing crime rates by an astounding 60 % and managing a city of 3 million people with 260 constables, a case study on how the police can manage community with friendliness rather than force.

3) How titan beat the Swiss in their on Field of expertise by developing the thinnest watch Titan Edge.

The rest are about ITC, CavinKare Su-kam etc. The book has good flow to it bringing out interesting details and how the same can be used by us in ordinary situation. This is a must read for The few us who still believe we can change, we can make things happen and that nothing is impossible as such.

Do read it, its a must read for anyone who believes in the Indian Superpower of the future.

You are a Mallu If ?

Putting together some of the common traits bringing together the mallu brotherhood. We might ignore, deny and even get furious about some of these, but forgive me guys truth can be really painful at times. So lets get the list started, if i offend anyone it was truly intentional hehehe, if you got to add more to it please feel free,

Your favorite film star is above 50 and his BMI will be mostly above 25 (over weighed)

Your idea about haute courte could be a glowing white lungi with an eye tingling red shirt.

You are unemployed but lives happily on the stipend send by your uncle who is either in Dubai or Saudi Arabia

Or you are running a home stay on your cousins property who is settled in USA.

You are ready to work 20 hours without a break yet raise the flags if you are asked to work 8 proper hours at home.

You cook all your food with coconut oil and use some of it as a gel supplement on your hair.

You are working in Bangalore, Hyderabad or Chennai and crib about the layman's inefficiency when at home .

If your off road is better than on road even if it is supposed to be tarred pakka roads.

You have just returned from your Diploma course in UK and unwilling to remove the white shoes, shirt inside the t-shirt and above all the fake accent.

Your idea of erotica is on the plumbier side and size zero is an abomination of humanity.

You have a relative or friend in some god forgotten place which people even find it difficult to place on a map.

At your wedding the bride is wearing a ton of gold (or imitation) and the food served is enough to feed an entire town

People laugh at you for your pronunciation yet find your lexicon and vocabulary unmatchable.

You are highly opinionated and find it easy to quote statements and statistics in a flash. (even if they are wrong)

Your mom doesn't know what is vegetarian, she thinks its a variety of fish she can deep fry in coconut oil. (mostly)

You don't mind voting and bringing to power either of the two non performing parties every five years.

The land at the centre of your town is worth more than its weight in gold ( he hehehe)

You are ready to raise the flag in no time if you think the injustice is on you.

Iam running short of ideas, i know iam not even half there and we can be really complicated if you look at it this way. This a post meant to be purely on the lighter side. Like they write before a movie " all characters and situations are fictional, if it resembles reality its truly coincidental ". Please comment and add to this, looking forward to your ideas.

tc

Endless Dreams, Countless Aspirations !!

I guess i have to start with the statutory explanation on why i have been off from the already rare blogging scene. This time i have no explanations no theories and even short of new excuses, i have been lazy, constantly procrastinating and lack the initiative to post the countless drafts online. If i had been a writer i would call this phase a writers block (stop grinning).

I have been traveling on and off for the last few weeks some on pretext of job, some looking for peace and redemption. What have i attained, nothing in particular but a sense of serene existence. At least in some front things are looking good, i have been able to complete some really compelling non fiction writings. Off late have been developing an affinity towards travelogues detailing adventurous journeys and eye opening conversations. Off the very few people who are compelled by nagging facebook and orkut alerts don't visit these pages for weekly escapades of a wannabee blogger. So whats disturbing me off late, whats the hypocrite in me concerned about.

62 years of independence and where do we stand, what is our testimony to time bygone. I know iam 2 weeks late to make the post look relevant and appropriate, why shout louder and be absorbed in the crowd when you have a chance to howl alone ( i was trying to convince you on my late post). Where have we reached, is the title of being the largest democracy self serving. Can we still call it democracy when the ruling party has just polled 10% of the total votes in the mangled system called coalition governments. Can we still be called democratic when family politics and sycophantic hero worship rule the national front and to a larger extend in some state fronts. Are we secure and safe when we have Maoist uprising in considerable parts of the country.

Its true that the leadership at the helm are experienced with admirable credentials and considerable track records. But don't you think we have reached no where in our path to being a self sustaining developed economy. ( not getting into macro economics) Look at our infrastructure, does it really take so much to have good roads and clean drinking water.
Cant we get it right at least once, remove the gluttonous middle men and do a quality work something which will stand the test of time. Some of our best bridges and remote roads date from the imperial era, even if their intentions were to plunder their means to it were uncorrupted.
We champion NREGA when it should have been implemented 50 years ago in a socialistic ideology dominant government(better late than never)

If you have been noticing how we have been dealing with a terrorist caught on tape brandishing automatic weapons and killing some of our most respected officers, we will understand the need to have a social awakening. No iam not criticizing our last beacon of hope the Judiciary, but isnt it too much to take a year to declare justice for a crime so disturbing questioning our pride. I cant come to terms with people who profess this as an act of civilized justice, it is already so evident about the crime and its perpetrators lets not delay justice anymore. Our press branded it as our 9/11 and yet is this how we deal with something that shook our nations integrity.

I know we have a robustly growing economy in the midst of global meltdown, that our scientists are scheduling a moon trip and the west look at as the elephant rising from a slumber ready to take on the Chinese dragon. We have to do more act faster and implement quicker to win this race, lets not be daunted by the distance and enjoy every moment of this journey.

Jai Hind

Fall of Neo Petroleum Economies

Every civilization has gone through its peaks and falls, most of the oldest civilizations have become extinct after reaching their pinnacle. Like the Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Harappa, Incas, Mayas etc. We have had empires spread over the world reduced to rumbles and ashes. Rulers with control over half the world reduced to unpronounceable names in history books. So where do they go wrong, some lost it all to the power of nature, some lost it to irresponsible incompetent heirs and some even fell to incomprehensible superstitions. But in the flat world it is either the end of world or economic downtroddeness, there cannot be any end to this civilization unless we have a nuclear holocaust or a apocalyptic meteorite attack like the one in Armageddon.

How do economies fall from grace, from their superior wealth and higher standard of living? We have had the mystic Indian Subcontinent which at a time contributed to around 20 % of world GDP reduced to now when we hold just 1%. The Japanese economy in its real estate boom of 90’s had a land value of 4 times equal to the land price of USA. Tokyo city was compared equal in land price to the whole of USA, from there it went bust and millions of people lost billions of dollars and led to the closure of thousands of business houses. The Asian tigers like Taiwan, Korea and Malaysia had their share in the late 90 are when the roller coaster ride controlled by USA lost control and the whole economy fell to its feet.

Now is the time for the neo rich Arab economies gone prosperous by the black gold called crude. It leads to a class of People made rich overnight with least of their effort and maximum external involvement. This lead to irresponsible spending and unavoidable external control on vital national resources. People who have minimal knowledge on how to operate and exploit their natural resources. But fortunately over the years through immense exploitation and unprofitable mutual deal the local populous and a set of technically educated Diaspora of Asian Origin they have gained control of what is left. In the time of their prosperity they have made limited spending on social Infrastructure and communal development leading to the growth of an incompetent new generation. Add to this the rise of extremist Islamic ideology promoting violence and hatred; they are moving into a vulnerable scenario. The easily earned money is spend on gas guzzling SUV’s, over priced foreign acquisitions in non complimentary sectors and companies, unnecessary luxury products etc.

There are basic forces of economy which rule all basic economical activity like demand and supply. If demand exceeds supply, a commodities need and price will rise and vice versa. These basic forces were denied corrective action in time of dire need and this has lead to the fall of certain gulf countries. When land was available in abundance, it was reclaimed from sea in the pretext of providing sea front living. Artificial islands in size bigger than Hongkong and Manhattan were built to attract foreign investors, high risers touching the sky and senseless architectural designs given funding and life to create the ultimate city. There is an old saying which goes like this “slow and steady wins the race” but they were into an anomaly of both with senseless pace and unregulated consistency.

Unless something really happens and the dream is broken everybody fails to notice the warning signals, the unfavourable external debt equity ratio, unrealistic pricing compared to the demand supply ratio. When will we learn to control our growth and regulate sensibly, when will there be a sound mechanism to direct a viable development. From this crisis we have understood that capitalism is not the best possible solution for equitable economic growth, it is not a perfect scenario. I am not a leftist promoting more government involvement and socialistic policies.

The fall of the oil economies is short lived since as long as the middle class is rising and the need for petroleum products is on the rise, they will revive and live another day to commit the same mistakes. The china’s and India’s of the world will provide consistent demand for their natural resources to compete in this new world.

tc

Misselling to The Layman

The existence of the word misselling is a contradiction, some say it means selling something by describing the wrong attributes, and others say the word doesn’t even exist. So let’s start by defining misselling, i would personally define it as falsely convincing a potential customer about non existent features or by hiding negative side effects.

This post is not an intellectual attempt on dissecting the cons of organized advertising and marketing. There are certain things that we notice everyday yet fail to question. Doctors selling steroids as eco-friendly, healthy medicines. Water filter companies selling inefficient filters with the so called quality certifications which supplements the bad performance. The examples can go on and on.

The reason for writing this post is that, i saw someone wearing the latest collection of a popular men’s wear brand. The dress looked superb on the bollywood hero and even had a touch of class to it, but the same apparel on the layman looked downright ugly. Iam pretty sure this poor guy would have fallen for the ad campaign featuring the dress as a breakthrough, This should also be classified as misselling, these advertisements should come with statutory warnings like the "COSTUME ON DISPLAY LOOKS GOOD ONLY FOR CERTAIN BODY SHAPES AND SKIN COLORS"

These warnings should be legally enforced on all apparels, cosmetics, energy drinks etc. The layman should not be confused between drama, glamour and the actual use of the product. The advertising industry should have the guts to market the product with ordinary man stressing on their product quality rather than the brand ambasssadors financial well being. Only when the product feautures gets highlighted and stands out of the brand endorsers shadow misselling can be stopped.


Atleast only then will i see adults trying to look young in bush shirts made for teenagers. Advertising has become a medium motivated by sex and glamour. What does a scantly clad rusiian women got to do with bathroom sanitaries, it is another thing to use her for a lingerie ad. And the latest trend in advertsing is by exploiting the innocent feautres of a child, it is so evident in telecom, banking, insurance and anything that needs a hidden agenda to sell.

The hypocracy of speculative stock aarket products is so evident in their advertisements where the part with the kid and women is slow and sweet and the part where they say "Mutual funds are subject to market risks........" rushed through like a lightning. Lets open our eyes and see this dram for its true colour and shade.

Unfortunately iam in a very sarcastic and argumentative mood, forgive my prejudice and leftist arguments.



chao

On Blogging, Life and Thereafter !!

Back to blogging after a long period of absence. Reasons for blogging are many, starving for creative ideas, infective lethargy all around, transitional activities the list can go endless. Moral of the story is that, iam back to blogging with renewed vigor and passion (taking into assumption that some people were reading it occasionally and the content doesn't irritate them to the extend i assume)

So expect more senseless ramblings and meaningless sentences in this new avatar. Expect to read more India centric thoughts, where the author will be looking forward to dissect the existing practices, un evident observations. Looking forward to write on first hand travel experiences in the subcontinent, providing a layman’s view on exploring India. As usual you are welcome to comment, advise, and criticize on any of these posts.

So hurray to more blogging, more life and even more blogging!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Getting back at the Capitalists !!!!!!

The classification of first world, second world and third world is going to be in an upheaval once the economic meltdown comes to an end. The pride and prestige of modern economies like popular brands, latest technologies and smart brain power will be flowing into the growing economies of India, China and Brazil.

It is quite evident that we are witnessing phenomena of reverse imperialism taking place world over. The old world industrial masters and their expensive toys are in disarray and turmoil. It is not surprising when world over the industrial giants are shrinking and very few economies can boast about single digit growth rates, International brands and giants are up for sale.

So coming back to our topic of reverse imperialism, we are finally able to get back at the hundreds of years financial oppression and looting. We are able to stake our claims at their Kohinoor’s of wealth, we have been able to acquire giants like Jaguar and Land Rover, China is in the process of buying Hummer, what next. World over there is a stigma towards Chinese and to some extend even Indian Products. They were considered to be of lower quality and low on the trend index, now this condescending attitude will have to stop.

If the meltdown continues at this rate for few more years, I won’t be surprised to find a Brazilian Ferrari or an Indian Airbus. So where do we go from here, will India become the next global manufacturing hub adding to its profile of a cheap outsourcing destination. And when we are growing and they are shrinking will we be able to get ahead in the market size indexes.

The questions are many and yet we have very few answers, but the one definite outcome is a leveling of snobbish attitudes among the so called developed nations. This phenomenon was a necessity to level the human ego and start a new era of equal opportunities. The WTO should play a more constructive role in the new era and stop policing from mountain tops. We have to accept the fact that capitalism is not all picture perfect and better than the so called evil socialists. We should work towards a more adoptive economic system where the capitalists and socialists have an equal role to play.

When our local small scale industries were quashed by cheaper imports and self employed craftsman were left helpless, the globalization effect didn’t look evil to the capitalist masters. But when the incomparable manufacturing cost and cheap technical skills of our rising economies left hordes of people jobless in the developed world globalization has become evil perpetrators in their demise.

Iam not against the enterprising nature of humanity or the opportunistic ideas evolving world over, but there has to be constructive regulations in every society and the absence of it can lead to very dangerous scenarios. We are at a juncture where we should be responsible enough to mend our established norms and practices. Banking sector should not be lured by gains from ill mannered, short term instruments. They should be ethical enough to disclose all hidden terms and conditions rather than keep the customers in the dark. Lets hope for a brighter tomorrow a new day a new hope.

adios

Some Things You Always Notice

Sometimes things just happen, It might be out of coincidence, maybe a mere probability of an event happening or even could be out of pure luck too.These event could be day to day happening, or memorable incidents in life or anything for that matter of fact. Some of these are

In a traffic jam the next lane always keeps moving faster than the one you are in.

In a public washroom the person ahead of you always takes more time to wash his hands than you think

The photograph in documents like passport, licence etc. are always your worst ones.

The longer the memory the details get more exaggerated and more unrealistic.

School life/ college life gets more dearer farer from the last year of college.

You always score well in your first game of bowling/snooker.

You always for sure get late to that important meeting which turns out good in the end.

The person whom you least expect to help turns out to be the saviour in the end.

The obscure politician in the middle of a demeaning character attack always turns out to be the winner in the end

The dumb stupid underdog of today mostly end up as the winner of tomorrow

Opinion polls never get it right and still they make so much fuss all over the next year.

The movie with the most hyped trailers and launch pads mostly end up as disasters on screen.

North Korea and Laloo always gets away with all the crap they say, however controversial they are.

You always get up early on weekend's when you are really looking forward to sleep.

The killer deal you got at the discount store is always more expensive than your best friends option.

When the hype sets in and the success becomes evident even the most ardent critic becomes an admirer.

When you want advice people will flood you with options and no body takes your opinion seriously in the best of the times.

In a blog the least interesting post according to the author always become peopular among the readers.

In blogging when you ask for comments nobody obliges and when you want their silence they become the loudest.

When you feel you have lost weight some looser always laughs at you and when you have put on weight the same guy thinks you have lost it.

There are more to these unusual things, i hope i have done Justice to some of them at least, if you feel anything is to be included, please add on.

adios

The Whimpering Women

The relative who died was just an acquaintance and the visit was just customary. The bereavement and crying siblings had an emotionally distressing effect on me. Why are people born if they have to die some day ? I guess there are larger Truth n the mysteries of life unknown to mankind.

As usual like every time I come from a dead relatives or friends house, I kept wondering how it would be when my time came, who will be there crying for me, will my sons who are abroad able to make it to my burial in time? Why should I have such depressing thoughts when my health is fine. Even the blood test I took today morning had a satisfactory result. The doctor was kind enough to compliment me on my health and how it was better than many of my peers who were on the other side of fifty.

It was already midnight when the news of death came and I was sure I wont be back home for another two or three hours. On the way back I decided to walk from the main road through the paddy field, it was a good decision to take the torch. He would have dropped me to my home if I insisted, but it was already too late and I had already given him enough trouble.
Th junction looked empty and no one would guess how this was a bustling centre a few hours back. The only street light on the road side was flickering and created a eery feeling to the centre.

The car sped away and the red back light vanished around the corner. All of a sudden I felt lonely, not scared, what should I be scared of. I knew the town like the back of my hands, I had spend a good deal of my adult life in these streets and wandering through these now closed shops. I crossed the road and entered the gully that lead to the paddy field. How could everyone sleep so silently, except fro the wind gushing through the trees and leaves everything else was so quiet.


The torch was new, a gift from my youngest son who went abroad recently. The light was strong enough not like the old red torch which was only good for its antiquity. The path that lead down to the paddy field was slippery , I had to be really careful to avoid a fall.

The paddy field looked really beautiful in the half moon lit sky. The rectangular paddy field were surrounded by tall and narrow earth embankments for stopping water seepage and acted as borders of property. As long as I remember these pathways were as narrow and full of weeds, it would have been like this from the very day they were formed.

Our ancient palatial home was a good 15 minutes walk from the main road and it took longer in the night because of the uncertainties involved. Five minutes down the path near the ancient temple and the banyan tree along it, I passed with little faster steps.
It’s just psychological I thought, how can people come up with such spooky stories based on places like these. I tried my best not to recollect the stories said about these places and kept walking. At first it sounded like the wind passing through a crack of wood, then it got louder and clearer.

Yes it was the sound of a weeping women, it was coming from right behind me. It felt like someone was standing at my arms length and weeping into my ears, getting louder by the second. It is true in these instances intuition and inhibitions overcome logic. The adrenaline started pumping and a odd feeling strated building up in my stomach, can it be true, is my mind making me feel this, who can be weeping at this time of the night in the deserted field.
The time was running short, I had to decide something, if I turn back and see something scary that will be my end, I will die of shock.

If I don’t turn I can stay away from what was waiting for me behind. I gathered myself and started running the weeping sound followed me and it was followed by an eery silence. The kind of silence that follows a loud bang or an uncertain noise. The weeping sound turned into whimpers followed b y timely sobs.I kept running for my life , the torch fell from my hand in the panic and all that was left was me, the moonlight and the creepy sound. I don’t know how long the sound followed me, but luckily I made it home through the darkness and horror.

I must have fainted and when I woke up everyone looked worried, the anxiety and fear was evident in their eyes. I couldn't’t gather the words, the mumbling and jabbering made little sense to people around me.In occasional bouts of consciousness I knew that I was bed ridden for a good whole week. The gossip mongers had the time of their life describing the incident in the minutest of details. One thing I didn’t do after that incident was to walk alone through the fields after midnight.

AN ATTEMPT ON FICTION, PLEASE COMMENT

A Movie That Was Never Made

Yes i have been hit by the movie bug and unfortunately i have decided to write yet another post on movies. To be precise movies that were never made on real life stories. It was by accident that i came across the movie called " The man who knew infinity" based on Ramanujan's life. A man who lived for only 32 years and rewrote laws of mathematics in such a short span of time.

This kept me wondering, have the movie industry prodigies covered everything that could have been ever made. Its true we are able to see a lot of new genre fiction and quality work over the years, Something that really amazed me was the picturisation of "Curious Case of Benjamin Button". Fortunately i have some really good movie buff friends who ensure that quality movies are made available as and when it releases.

Over the last few months, thanks to the increasing spare time available, i have been able to watch some really good movies from international legends like "Citizen Kane" to all time classics like Life is Beautiful, 12 Angry men, Cinema Paridaso and more. Some of you might find these movies to be an achievements of an amateur movie buff, but iam really taking an effort to increase my knowledge in this arena.

No this post is not to brag about my fetish for long forgotten Black and white movies, its about some real life incidents or stories that were never made into movies. There might be several reasons to this, lack of commercial viability, lack of importance or it could even be that the movies were made and i never came across them. If the last one is the case please forgive my ignorance and consider it as yet another blabbering of a wannabe blogger.

The first case which i believe should have been given immortal life through the reels of a movie is a true story adaptation of an ordinary citizen of Hiroshima/Nagasaki's perspective and experience of the only ever nuclear bombing done. Now that evil axis is no more relevant and Japanese people are concentrating more on Technology and development this story is something that should be told.

If Pearl Harbour based on the American oppression could have made such a good plot, undoubtedly Hiroshima can have a lot to tell. It is not the first time a foreign perspective movie was made with foreign actors and made it big in Hollywood, look at the movie "Letters from Iwo Jima". The movie could portray the suffering, trauma and horror of a nuclear attack. It could act as a precedent to any Lunatic tyrant to stop firing the next nuclear arsenal.

I know it will have to show the mighty super power in a negative angle, but history has proven again and again that decision taken by a powerful leader with the interest of the greater common good has not always been just. Lets not get into a proverbial debate on good and evil. What we are looking here is the possibility of bringing justice to all the infinite suffering experienced by ordinary citizen's in Hiroshima. If any of you remember the brief description of the effect of nuclear bombing in our history text books, you could recall the words used there. The eyes melting into the sockets, the skin becoming one with the flesh and the endless brutality and deformations left behind.

For a commercial viability lets bring in a love story and a chance meeting on the D day and the unfortunate survival of a lover (yes inspired by titanic). I do not mean any disrespect to any of the survivors or to the kith and kin of the perished ones. Let this movie be a beacon of hope for the future and stop more injustice from happening. I know the story is too big and practically non feasible to be made into a 2 hour commercial potboiler. The happening's of the day are too cruel and unjust to be encapsulated into a documentary either. But let there be some effort to revive the nuclear holocaust.

P.S please comment on the possibilty of such a movie and other stories that could have made it to the reel. This post is by no means a trifbute to my political inclinations, this is a post on inhuman history and the injustice that followed.

tc