The most positive negative emotion?

Can there be anything 'good' about anything 'bad'?

A very meaningful message in the latest edition of Harvard Business Review where it is suggested that its fine to have regrets since thats what is going to give us better perspective towards good decision making in future.

Many a times people tend to pull others out of this mode without thinking that there is a time which is a must spend for actually critically evaluating a decision which has gone bad. Just stating that you need to 'chill' and forget is a probably the most naive way of dealing with any kind of failure in life. Its important to feel bad about one's own judgement (if it has gone awry), learn from it and then move on.

Just wondering if Tiger Woods has taken break from professional golf  for this reason?

Forces in favour of diversity

Finding Globalization another interesting theme to dwell upon particularly because of the way it influences economy, politics, environment, cultures and also values.  There are phenomenally interesting fall outs of globalization and it will great to delve into them gradually.

One of the reasons why people are becoming more and more tolerant towards diversity I guess is because people are seeking tolerance from others. When a person takes birth in a village or a small town and achieves not much in life other than one's title and the legacy of prestige that comes with it, we tend to hold on to it as our sole axis of identity in society.

This identity which develops on the basis of caste, creed, religion etc allows one to have a position of authority and some significance which doesn't seem to be bestowed naturally to the individuals otherwise.

As we go from that insular state to a more broader platform of work by reaching out to other cities and also countries (by virtue of a globalized economy) we meet new cultures, new languages, new systems of understanding people. And then the problem is turned upside down. At this stage, the person doesn't enjoy the luxury of placing oneself on the high social ground but has to make oneself accepted in the new environment so that he/she could enjoy the same respect that others in that community enjoy. For a person who had a low social grounding earlier finds him/herself in a position of relief since the original definition of social hierarchy is not recognized here.

This struggle for gaining the necessary respect or seeking of acceptance in new societies allows one to become more and more tolerant  and reasonable for the simple reason that as a person who is intolerant towards others can't naturally expect others to be tolerant towards his/her own self.

This is happening more in urban areas than probably rural areas but as the country drifts towards further urbanization, we can surely assume that acceptance of diversity would only improve with time.

Social changes are always difficult to be brought about through direct routes. Legal ways also don't run too far. Its only indirect or oblique forces which tend to challenge certain notions and give us perspectives which are much broader and larger than what we hold dearly through significant period of time.

What binds India

This image was taken when I was travelling in an auto rickshaw within Mumbai city.

The thing that struck me was the fact that this image of symbols of two different (Hindu and Islam)religions coexisting in the the 'office' of this auto driver indicates the strength that sustains our country and acts as an example of what acceptance (or probably tolerance) in religious beliefs is all about.

I am not sure how many people with limited education in other parts of the country would be able to have that degree of inclusiveness in their minds. You can quickly think about some countries randomly and come up with answers.

This ability to co-exist is the very strength that acts as a bulwark against the divisive tendencies of our politicians atleast to some extent.

The next degree of this evolution would emerge when there would be total negation and revolt against sectarian tendencies of the political leaders and that would lead to impact at the highest portals of power.

We have come a long way and there is still a huge distance to be travelled.

The debate on debate

I recently had an opportunity to chair a school debate competition organized by the British Council in Mumbai. The topic for the debate was 'Freedom of Expression in Art'. The debaters were quite young and mostly between the age group of 14 and 17 years and did a decent job in putting their points across though with some scope for improvement.

A thought that came to my mind when I had a discussion with one of the very interesting audience of the debate. He mentioned about how after the debate got over, on an offline note, one of the participants who spoke against the motion of debate stated that she was actually not so much against the motion.

The immediate thought that follows is, what is the purpose of this competition? I understand that the purpose of debate is to progress towards clarity after considering diverse view points. While what the judges are expected to judge is how well is the person able to defend his/her stand. In many issues it is likely that the person may agree to some points in favour and some points against the motion then does that mean that the debater is expected to maintain a stand with stubbornness just so that he/she appears well guarded in his/her defence.

Does that mean that the debate is not actually based on the principles of debating but simply the principle of not budging from one's point, no matter what. Or for that matter for those who adulate competition in all spheres of life, the spirit of competition is the key and debate is another arena just like say a sport.

If we look at the alternate view point, should there be points provided to the participant for revisiting one's thoughts in an objective light and again come back with a more balanced perspective. Will the debater in that case be 'judged' weak or will that be the true victory of debating as a means of clarity and maturity of thinking. What should be the parameters of judging in that case?

Isn't it funny that at times as we try to recognize someone's competence in one realm, do we give an altogether wrong message on the same subject but at a different end.

Probably the 14 year old might go back home thinking that he did a fine job in sticking to his point while actually he might have missed out on the core of what a sound discussion is all about.

But surely, he is not to be blamed. He becomes a victim of another system of evaluation

Why should Terrorism matter to us?

I am nowhere related to influencing policies on terrorism at this stage and neither can I do much beyond reading about terrorism whenever there is reporting of some facts or some fervent expression of thoughts through editorials in newspapers.

At the same time, lately I have realized that the concept of terrorism has multifarious levels of demensions which range from local politics, international politics, historical equations, law and order, lack of education, religion, poverty to name some of those aspects leading to actions routed in mindless violence.

The other reason why i feel understanding of terrorism is critical for any individual who is otherwise not connected to the problem directly is to look at how the phenomenon is shaping our thoughts about identities and how the same get translated from one generation to the other.

Just as a singular thought, what would be the impression born by a 16 year old child after reading through or experiencing these elements since the time he/she took birth. How would these thoughts influence the decisions of the child in the years to come? How would the adult in him/her relate to people from specific communities?

Who takes the responsibility?

In my future expressions on the subject, I would like to talk from the point of view of various aspects of terrorism as I get to dive deep into the subjects not through any focussed time bound effort but as a need to understand the problem and its ramifications on the society to a greater degree of detail through general exploration of the subject.

Mirakle Couriers

I know i am looking funny in this snap. :) But its not about the snap. The important thing to notice is the person next to me. He is working with a courier company by the name Mirakle Couriers. The moment you open their site it says

'Mirakle Couriers is a courier company with a difference as we employ only deaf adults.'

Isn't it a miracle ?

The founder of this company called on me along with surely a lot of other people last year when he was trying to figure out some space to run his operations. I didn't prove to be of much help as there were few people to give out real estate with no charges. Thankfully his concept of employing only with people of disability turned out to be a success when he presented it in a forum called Echoing Green early this year and it seems now his concept has taken off.

I was so delighted to see a chap from this company come to deliver a courier (Tehelka magazine) that i immediately requested him to for a snap :)

The beauty of the idea lies in the fact that he has carefully understood what it takes to deliver a certain kind of services and created a model of business circumventing that while at the same time neatly targetting an important cause related to physical disability. Its a win win preposition if they deliver well. People who might otherwise find it difficult to get employment find their strength get utilized leading to high sense of self respect and this would in turn lead to higher retention rates. An excellent example of social venture.

Let me tell you that Mumbai is a highly competitive city from the point of view of starting any enterprise and it calls for immense strength to get into something of this nature when you don't know what kind of service issues you might encounter.

I wish Dhruv all the Success in his great venture.

On importance of facts

In a world with deluge of multiple sources talking about the same subject, facts can get distorted depending upon the tacit interests of the person who weilds the pen.

Interesting article on the need for thinking sceptically so that we don't shape our opinions on wrong information.

China's growing tentacles

Words that surely can't be ignored

Economics lesson from the local kirana storewallah

High inflation has been the order of the day in our country since past few years. The other day I went to my local grocery store to buy some rice. The grocery store by the way has a very funny name - Jai Gurudev Chana Bhandar. :) He offered few variety and I narrowed down to the one being sold at 44 Rs/kg. (almost 1$/kg)

I felt like chatting with him for a while and got to learn that the owner of the kirana store came to Mumbai in early 80s from Uttar Pradesh. One of two states from where maximum immigrants come to Mumbai on account of low economic growth and also poor quality of life that the largest state offers to its people. I told that person that 'yeh bahut mehenga hai' (this is really expensive). He said there is no way that the price would come down.

On poking a bit further about the basis of his assertive statement, he started explaining his understanding of economics. He mentioned that when he came to do business in the city, the cost of toor dal (a popular variety of pulses) was Rs 3/kg and since then the price has always risen and today its being sold at 90Rs/kg. He said that people are fools to say that its because of Congress that the price is high. Using an interesting swear word he states that irrespective of which government comes, the price just can't be low for the simple reason that the interest in farming as a means of occupation is losing popularityin the villages now. When they go home every year, they get to meet villagers who want to see cities, work there and ensure that their kids get a good education.

When there are no producers, prices are naturally going to shoot up. There is nothing to get surprised about that. That was the crux of that few minute conversation.

The interesting part was that, this person has not completed his formal schooling and in his conversation, you can get a light understanding of a basic principle of economics, trend towards urbanization and the limitation of public policy in certain food prices.

Though there was nothing to bank upon but its really nice to see how each individual despite his limited formal education, tries to develop some understanding of the reason why things happen in a certain way.

I found it really interesting. This also points to the fact that we can never take for granted the opinion of the common man on political matters. No wonder his vote wins at the end of every election.

PKK returns to Turkey

Kurds have been fighting against the government of Turkey for a seperate state and their rights since long. Recently in a historic development, the people from Kurds who have been involved in guerilla fight with the Turkish army returned from Iraq after several years. You can read about it here

The interesting aspect is that, this gesture by the Kurds is aimed at not adopting a seperatist stance but they are now extending their hand towards the democratic government of Turkey. This surrender may lead to immense advantages for the Kurds for generations to come. Atleast we should pray for that!

But why am I writing about this all of a sudden?

In my recent trip through the IVLP program, one of our colleagues (now a friend) was a Kurdish social leader who is working for the rights of Kurds in rural Turkey. We received a mail from her and realized that it was a matter of extreme joy for her since she never anticipated that this development towards conciliation would happen in her lifetime! The challenge for her was to the extent that she could not give a Kurdish name to her son and expect him not to get discriminated in educational institutions. When she would excitedly speak about politics in her country, it would be evident that some day she might be able to enter into the corridors of power and take her efforts towards the rights of Kurds to the next level. Not seen a lot of women speak so passionately about local politcs backed by understanding of history.

I was so happy to share this joy with her for the simple reason that now the development was no more a political event in some distant corner of the world. There was a person who was happier because of that development and hence that news becomes even more valuable to me.

I always feel that for us who are part of groups whose rights are well defended, it gets very difficult to relate to situation of people who are marginalized and are reeling under the battle for political space or personal freedom. Be it Maoists, Ultras from North eastern part of the country, erstwhile Punjab militants, Tamils in Ceylon, Kashmiris in PoK etc. Its just so important to have an understanding of the legitimacy of these demands and may be even try to see is some support can be mobilized at any point in time.

Whats so unique about Silion Valley?

A thought provoking essay on what it takes to create a hub for entrepreneurs.

Yess. We surely can't afford to fail in Copenhagen

Powerful speech by Gordon Brown in the wake of the Copenhagen Summit slated for December this year.

"We cannot compromise with the Earth; we cannot compromise with the catastrophe of unchecked climate change, so we must compromise with one another. I urge my fellow leaders to work together to reach agreement among us, recognizing both our common and our differentiated responsibilities, and also recognising the dire consequences of failure."

and also

" There is no Plan B for the Planet"

This statistic was also startling

"98% of those dying and otherwise seriously affected live in the poorest countries, and yet their countries account for only 8% of global emissions. This is the great injustice of climate change: those being hit first and hardest by climate change are those who have done least to cause it."

This meet is going to be a tough field for Leadership at National as well as International levels. On one hand we have a democracy where probably 90% of the population may not get an inkling of what India's stand is and its rationale, while on the other hand the discussion would be driven more by the fate of planet in decades to come. How to manage the short term interests with long term benefit of the nation and planet rhymes well with the regular challenge of meeting quarterly results with long term growth of corporate groups.

I guess it all boils down to vision of the leader at the end of the day.