Why do you wear Armani?

I haven't blogged in so many months that it's almost alien to be here. I think I am on crack - not the drug but a rather literal connotation of the word. When I hear or see something that infuriates me enough to put forth my thoughts on the blog, I "crack". This morning, I was harmlessly surfing twitter when I came across a blog post that had enough malice built in it to match Osama Bin Laden.

For the uninitiated, a few months ago, the blogger community was up in arms against an author. From the bloggers perspective, the author had slighted the community of online book reviewers at large.

You can read the details here to understand the authors perspective.

http://gyaankasagar.blogspot.in/2013/07/the-fifth-estate-is-it.html?m=1

I am not sure if you've been able to understand the angst but you would have realized that our friend, the author in question, has left 'no turn un-stoned' to make his point. I think the language used in his post is proof enough that the person is suffering from a misplaced sense of superiority.

In all fairness, the author has raised some pertinent questions about bloggers having no literary background. Strange, when contrasted with the fact that the author is a marketing and advertising executive who doesn't have a 'literary' background either.

There are several instances in this blog post that I could counter and present in a different perspective but that is not my intention. Given, that I am in the same situation as the author and share the same 'online agency', I thought it was pertinent to put forth my perspective of the situation.

When I was approached by a blogger to do a review of my book, "The Homing Pigeons", I took it a step further. I requested this blogger to help me reach out to as many bloggers as possible. I was a novice and she was in the circuit. Her insights helped me immensely. It also meant a lot of labour on her part and it was only fair that I paid her for her hard work.

Yet, because I am a control freak, I reviewed every single blogger that would review my book. A lot of them were selected and a few were rejected. To say, that I was uninformed of who was going to review my book, would be a fallacy.

When the reviews started coming in, they ranged from 1-5 on the review scale. Some reviewers considered it the worst book ever written and some thought that I was the next big thing on the literary circuit. Did the bad reviews disappoint me?

I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't disappointed. A book, any book, is the result of sweat and toil for the author. As a business, writing is the worst means to make money because all your investment is upfront with no guarantee of a return. Even after completing the book, an author is not sure that the work will ever see the light of the day. So, when someone calls all that effort, a piece of trash, it is natural to be disappointed. Worse still, the feedback is very contrasting - some reviewers wanted the book to be shorter and the others wanted the book to be longer. Some loved the end and others hated it. As an author, I am the best judge of my craft. Does a review impact my ability to judge myself? I think what I have been successfully able to do, is to filter out the noise from the song. I picked up relevant points and disregarded the feedback that I didn't agree with. But, there is a disappointment associated with every bad review.

So, how does one deal with the disappointment? Does one go onto a social media site and send out derogatory messages, hiding behind the guise of humour? The answer has to be an unequivocal "NO".

In a broader sense, bloggers are a subset of the readers that an author wants to reach out  to. Irrespective of their literary background, a blogger is a reader first. Readers have different reactions to different books. It is unnatural to expect everyone to like every book. It's about a readers own personal taste. I have met an equal number of people who have loved and hated the bestselling "Immortals of Meluha". Does that make it a bad book or a good book?

Why do some people have two cubes of sugar in their coffee? And why do some have their coffee without sugar?

It's like someone asking me why I prefer Calvin Klein over Armani. 

Even when I can't afford either, my response would be : "Because I like to"

Who doesn't like a fight?

I am proud of my Prime Minister. His quote from today is inspirational "...If we have to go down , lets go down fighting:". If ever there is a quality that needs to be appreciated, it is courage. I am proud of the Prime Minister for having displayed this rare quality of courage and standing up for what is right. I wish he had displayed this an year or two ago, it would have saved him the ignominy of being called an underachiever in an otherwise illustrious career.
Today, the government has kicked inaction in its face. The government has broken the shackles of paralysis that its policy makers were accused of lately. It has chosen to not get embroiled in mud slinging, coal-gate or the numerous other allegations that have come up in recent times.
They made a bold move but, what did the government do today?
One,  They raised diesel prices. The hike is sharp at five rupees a liter and it probably wouldn't have been if the government had displayed courage in hiking it nominally over the last three years. The truth is that the price of a non-renewable source of energy will continue to escalate with time. The government in its bid to be populist has subsidized it all along, leading to a higher fiscal deficit. The fiscal deficit has meant a downgrade in India as an investment destination. Already, the government has a 72 hour ultimatum from Didi to roll back the price hike. Her argument is that it will have a cascading effect on all commodity prices.
I delve deeper into this myth to understand how much this fuel price hike impacts the Aam Aadmi that Mamta Banerjee stands for. By my estimate, with some help from a few truckers, I rationalize the cost of this price hike. A seventeen foot truck consumes about a liter of diesel to travel 7 kilometers. So, at erstwhile prices, the cost of fuel per kilometer for a truck was 5.76 per liter ( assuming Gurgaon prices until recently). Now, that would increase to almost 6.48 per kilometer. Sharp hike indeed.
Lets assume that a truck covers a distance of 300 kilometers to ferry vegetables from somewhere in Punjab to Delhi. Therefore, the net increase in fuel expense is Rs. 216 (6.48-5.76)*300. At normal load, the truck has a capacity of 75 quintals or 7500 kilograms.
The net increase per kilo of any commodity goes up by Rs 0.028  or 3 paise. Who can't afford it?
The other people who are horribly affected by the fuel price hike are poor mortals like me who own diesel guzzling SUV's. The government has been more than kind to subsidize my fuel bill and its about time that I start paying for myself. Hell, its still cheaper than driving on petrol!!!!
The other thing that the government did today was open up FDI in retail and aviation. I am not sure if they are good or bad moves. I leave this to the economists and the leaders to decide. I do follow the sensex and it seemed happy about the move. The rupee felt even happier. I think the Sensex knows best.
In all the good that seems to happening, the politicos are bickering, again. The allies want to fight the government more than the opposition. They are issuing statements and giving ultimatums. Will the government go down fighting?
If it does, I would be unhappy. For once, the government and the Prime Minister have shown courage. It reminds me of  Lt. Colonel Frank Slade's legendary speech (Scent of a Woman), " he isn't selling anybody out to buy his future. That, my friends is called integrity. That's called courage. Now that's the stuff leaders should be made of"

The Poor Sikh Gentleman

Manmohan Singh must be ruing the day that he chose to become Prime Minister. An economist who was thrust into the dirty, mudslinging world of Indian politics. I wish he had listened to his 'inner voice' and said "No" to the Prime Ministers job when Madam's inner voice said that she shouldn't become the Prime Minister.

Well, he didn't; and so, he continues to listen to the slander that gets thrown at him. He has recently been  heard using poetic verses in Urdu to defend his silence on the coal scam issue.

The BJP, meanwhile holds the parliament at ransom, not allowing a single debate or a bill to be introduced during the short two week monsoon session. Their demand is that Manmohan Singh should quit. 

Let's for a moment assume that Manmohan Singh quits. The cabinet will need to be reconstituted and a new Prime Minister found. In keeping with this assumptive theory, lets explore the candidates available within the UPA.

Since the Indian National Congress emerged as the single largest party in the last elections, chances are that they would have the  first shot at putting up another Prime Ministerial Candidate. With Pranab Da elevated to the Rashtrapati Bhavan, there are very few choices. Lets look at some of them -

Sonia Gandhi will continue to listen to her inner voice. Her foreign origin issue is still alive and the moment that she stakes her claim, the allies and opposition will have a problem. So, its safe to rule her out.

Rahul Gandhi is a political novice. With the recent results in Bihar and UP, his claim to be the congress' new messiah stands rubbished.

P Chidambaram does not have a clean image. The moment he is presented as a Prime Ministerial candidate, the media and the opposition will dig deeper into the telecom scam.

A K Antony has a clean image but has little or no mass appeal. He has been India's defence minister for a while but can hardly be seen taking on the mantle of the Prime Ministers job.

Kapil Sibal can do the talking but if he could walk the talk, we would know Chandni Chowk ( being his parliamentary constituency) to be a different place from the one that it is today.

There are various other 'leaders', but, atleast I don't see them as Prime Ministerial candidates.

Therefore, if the Prime Minister does not come from the INC, then it must come from the allies or supporting parties. My list of probables there are below. Without commenting on their virtues or vices - the candidates ( really, the party heads) are Sharad Pawar, Mamata Banerjee, Karunanidhi, Ajit Singh, Farooq Abdullah, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mayawati, Laloo Prasad Yadav and Shibu Soren.

I am not sure if any of those names inspired an awe.

Given that none of these candidates are better than Manmohan. Its probably best to dissolve the parliament and hold fresh elections.

I am not an astrologer but chances are that the anti-incumbency brings the NDA to power. The BJP is the single largest party and lets look at the hopefuls there

LK Advani is tainted. The blood of Ayodhya refuses to leave him.

Narendra Modi is in the same boat as Advani. What Ayodhya is to Advani is what Godhra is to Modi. One might argue that he has done wonders for the state of Gujarat, but just his name as a prime ministerial candidate will take away Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, both Muslim dominated states away from the BJP. We all know which states make our Prime Minister.

Sushma Swaraj once said that she would shave off her head and wear a white Sari if Sonia Gandhi ever became Prime Minister. As Delhi Chief Minister, she was a failure and couldnt bring the party back to power. If anti- incumbency was the reason for her failure, then why is Sheela Dixit serving a third term as Chief Minister?

Arun Jaitley has never contested an election but has the oratorical skill that Manmohan Singh is so weak at. I am not sure of the substance that he possesses besides that. There has been too little evidence of his prowess. 

The other hopefuls then would be the regional leaders Nitish Kumar, Naveen Patnaik and Prakash Singh Badal.

We all know what happened when a smaller regional party comes to power backed by a large national party. The ex-PM's Chandrashekhar, Deve Gowda and IK Gujral and their fate is a testimony to that.

So, mid term elections might not help in getting us that perfect, charismatic leader who can represent us on the world stage. And if we do not have an alternative, then why change? Why bother going after the poor Sikh gentleman when the other options are so limited?

In less than thirty days, he will be deemed a failure for not pushing through any reforms. Will someone, then, ask the BJP if they let a bill be presented in parliament that may catalyse reforms? Will the masses ever know or remember this fact whenever the next general elections happen?

Is Integrity Passe?

Another Scandal - Another top executive in a MNC accused of Sexual harassment- Another is the keyword.
There is never smoke without fire ,they say, and as hard as I would like to believe that the men who were accused were framed, the truth probably is that they were not. They were probably the few that got caught - perhaps the unlucky few.
It is not only sexual harassment but the degradation of ethics that concern me. Fortunately or unfortunately, I have known some of these people personally.
What would prompt a seemingly happily married man to ask sexual favors off another woman? An unfulfilled fantasy?
What would prompt a very well paid top executive to generate a side income by running a business ,in his wife's name, that causes a conflict of interest? Greed?
What would prompt another Vice President to coerce business partners to hire a certain community? Religion?
These examples raise a fundamental question on the denigration of society, however, the larger question is whether these examples represent power in the hands of wrong people?
The quintessential chicken and egg story - Does power corrupt people? or Do corrupt people come into power?
My belief is that these behaviors stem from the rot that this country is suffering from. Our leaders have continually and virtually raped this country and they continue to be in the seat of power. The belief is that ' If one is in power then they are immune'. And this false sense of power that has remained with politicians and bureaucrats thus far, is pervading into the corporate world today.
The most pertinent question in this context is not "What caused it?" but "How do we stop this?"
Unfortunately, the solution isn't a quick fix. It will take a generation of good parenting, years of education and a possible revamp of the entire justice system.. and then again you may have a rotten apple that stinks.

Star Power

Ever Since Robot got released a few weeks ago, my mailbox has been flooded with Rajnikanth jokes. The North might ridicule him, even hate him, but they can not ignore him. Such is the power of this man and he is one of many.

Raj Kumar brought Bangalore to a standstill, the tremors of which were felt in as far away places as the Philippine islands and the United States ( BPO's in Bangalore shut down that day)

Chiranjeevi is Andhra's answer to Rajnikanth. What do these stars have that cause mass hysteria?

Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan have/had the ability to draw in crowds from all corners of the United States during their annual visits for concerts/stage shows.

Is there a common strain between these species? Without delving into the occult, is there a common  trait that distincts them?
Charisma? Behaviour? Looks? 
Given neither Rajnikanth nor Chiranjeevi are no Greek Gods, we can safely assume that this pull can not be attributed to looks alone.
Is there an affinity to this set of people from the masses? 
A small town guy reaches Bombay ( it wasn't Mumbai back then), struggles to get a role in a movie, gets rejected multiple times before getting a breakthrough and coming good. So much so, that he attained cult status or a bus conductor who made it so big that the biggest politicians in the state want him on their side?
I believe that the hysteria surrounding these stars, emanates from the fact that the masses see them as role models. They are what they would want to become- they are veritable personifications of their ambitions or their children's ambitions. They are a reflection of what they would aspire to be.
In doing so, the looks didn't matter, the skills didn't matter (read Shah Rukh Khan's acting), what matters is the popularity they got and the way they used it.
Some resorted to politics, the others to social causes, and the lesser ones continue making money, banking on the fact that there is another generation that will idolize them.

Kashmir

Television provided two facets today on different channels, Arundhati Roy's sedition remarks and Kashmir ki Kali set somewhere in the 60's. The world has changed since the 60's.

I firmly believe that at the heart of all separatist movements, is the inability of the government to provide a reason to be part of the Union of India. Devoid of development, devoid of infrastructure, and devoid of a means of livelihood, there is reason enough for citizens to believe in a cause that is negative - separatism.

On a recent visit to Assam, the streets of Gauhati still resemble a B grade town in Haryana, if not worse. For a state capital, the infrastructure was poor, the roads shoddy and the people indifferent.While I haven't been able to visit Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh and the other Naxal affected states, I don't expect much difference in the state of the civil infrastructure.

While some may argue the case of Punjab, which despite being a rich, abundant and naturally gifted state, fell prey to separatism. However, the movement itself was short lived, primarily due to the fact that the belief and reason weren't strong enough.

In contrast take the case of Himachal, about 250 Km's north of Shimla and about 2.5 kilometers from the nearest road head, lies the village of Batseri, which can boast of street lighting, paved roads and a computer training center. Why does Himachal not want a separate country or independence? 

Militancy has done to Kashmir, exactly what it set out to achieve, alienation from the union, Impoverishment of the population and strengthening of the negative belief. The army's been trying to do what it knows best - to rule by force...it hasn't worked thus far and chances are slim that it will. Maybe it is time for change and a new thought process.

My solution to the Kashmir problem and any other problem state ( read many) is very simple. Create a means of livelihood for its people- tourism could be one , importing something from the state could be another (it could be as simple as 'jam in a bottle' or a shawl). The capitalistic cause brings the development of roads and civil infrastructure. The development gives the people another means of livelihood and is a catalyst. Prosperity gives reason enough to believe in the country and the union.

This year take a vacation to Srinagar or Raipur and invest in a states economy. Your country will live a little longer.