Of smelly curries, a nation and it's people!

Singapore, a small island nation, with little or no resources is a modern day miracle in nation building.

The architect of this miracle is a undoubtedly Lee Kwan Yew. Lee Kuan Yew was the prime minster of Singapore from 1959 to 1990, making him the longest-serving PM in history. During his long rule, Singapore became the most prosperous nation in Southeast Asia.

 In 1963, Singapore joined the newly created Federation of Malaysia. This was short lived dream though. Growing rancor between Chinese and Malays in the Federation, however, resulted in rioting in Singapore, notably marked by the Prophet Muhammad Birthday Riots, or Sino-Malay riots, of the summer of 1964. A year later, with racial strife continuing, Lee was told by his Malaysian colleagues that Singapore must leave the federation.It is said that Lee was a passionate believer in the federation and if so, this should go down as one of his failures. He ruled Singapore with an iron fist and ran his country efficiently and brought prosperity unheard of before his tenure, at the cost of a mildly authoritarian style of government. Lee was a man of great vision.By the 1980s, Singapore, under Lee's guidance, had a per capita income second only to Japan's in East Asia, and the country had become a chief financial center of Southeast Asia. 

Singapura ( Lion City in Sanskrit ) or Singapore was probably named by an Emperor from the Sri Vijaya dynasty that ruled over parts of Indonesia. There seems to be a bit of deception here as Singapore was not populated by lions. However the city state has had a checkered history till we arrive at Lee Kwan Yew and modern Singapore. Indian's have migrated to and lived in this Island since centuries.

 Singapore is a diverse nation and welcomed the educated expatriate. However today Indian and Chinese expatriates are facing increasing discrimination in Singapore with rental websites putting up advertisements saying "no Indians, no PRCs," according to a media report. A report on the BBC says it is not clear how many foreign workers have been affected because of the bias against migrants from India and People's Republic of China. However, several expatriates have described experiencing varying levels of discrimination. The island recently witnessed rioting after an Indian was killed in a bus accident, raising the temperature all around. Apparently Indian expat tenants are not on the favored list as they cook 'smelly curries'. Well, on an occasion many years ago as I dipped into a bowl of 'Dal', I distinctly heard the word 'Scheisse', as group of Germans sitting at the adjacent table stared at my food. Scheisse is shit is German.I let that one slide, as I figured that arguing with the ignorant served little purpose. Racial taunts leave deep scars and bad memories. 

I was not overly fond of Singapore and found it to be a dry and boring place, painfully picture perfect.Never the less, I hope this tiny nation can work  its issues out!

Winners Curse

The other day I spotted ( On TV - sipping a cold Bud) a rather relived Vijay Mallya watching Yuvraj Singh pulverize the hapless Delhi Daredevils bowlers in their first game of the IPL at Sharjah. Yuvi had been bought by Mallya for the Royal Challengers Bangalore at a staggering INR 14 Crores and many felt that Mallya had lost it and overpaid for an ageing, overweight yesteryear hero at the IPL auction. Warren Buffet, for many years the richest man in the world and quintessential super investor offers us some sage advise - "Stay away from auctions", he says, simply because in the ensuing excitement we tend to over call, spend too much and regret our decision later. The 'Winners Curse' has caused grief to many. The person who wins a bid at a stupendous price eventually is left looking foolish when he/she realizes that they have overpaid. Mallya faced fair flak for his spending on Yuvraj Singh. How does one mitigate the winner's curse? Buffet offers excellent advise - he says, " Decide on your maximum bid, reduce it by 20 % and do not over step that mark". Simply walk away from an auction if your price is not met and congratulate yourself that you were not left holding the can at the end of it all, because that winning smirk on your face can melt away pretty quickly when the mallet pounds or the penny drops. As for Mallya, what with his King Fisher Airlines and the ensuing brouhaha I hope the deal on Yuvi pans out well and RCB is not shortchanged. For you and me, tread warily when you choose to head to an auction, because the Winners Curse is real and ruthless!

The Goal Keeper's story!

I'm not a great follower of football and was even less a player as I was growing up. The reasons are pretty obvious, at 5'6" and slightly built you don't stand much of a chance tackling burly boys whose sole intention is to crack a rib or two of yours.Well, this short blog is not about my football days but more about decision making.Surprise, surprise! One of my memories of watching a football world cup was the great Frenchman Michel Platini winding up for a penalty kick.It was June 21, 1986, on a blisteringly hot day at Guadalajara, Mexico France played Brazil. Platini takes the kick and the ball aimlessly floats over the cross piece as the goal keeper dives away to the right. The French supporters groan in dismay and hold their heads in disbelief even as the goal keeper looks around to see where the ball is. The point here is the action of the goal keeper. Research has shown that during a penalty shoot, one of three things are likely to happen - the ball is shot to the right corner of the goal, the left corner of the goal or goes straight, unless of course like Platini did the ball is kicked out of the goal. However it is generally seen that the goal keeper dives either to the right or the left while there is a good 33% chance that if he just sits tight the ball might head straight to him. Why then does a goal keeper dive all over the palce? Psychologists say that it is human nature to look busy. Looking busy and failing is more acceptable than failing while appearing to be doing nothing. Hence from our football analogy, while it makes good sense for the goal keeper to sit tight and wait, he dives to either side simply because he does not want to be seen to be doing nothing, even at the cost of conceding a goal. Managerial decision making is unfortunately similar and many managers think that incessant action looks better than calibrated and calculated decision making.Senior managers need to impress upon their subordinates that action without progress is a waste of resources and does not pay in the long run!

What Narendra Modi needs to know?

As the great Indian masses wind themselves up for yet another general elections, most people feel that the BJP’s Narendra Modi will be India’s next Prime Minister. Modi will take over from a beleaguered though likeable Dr.Manmohan Singh. India has this habit of selecting the strangest men to lead her, from Deve Gowda to Manmohan Singh and now probably Modi. Narendra Modi hails from India’s western state of Gujarat, known for its great entrepreneurial skills and not necessarily its leadership though both Gandhi and Jinnah hail from Gujarat. Narendra Modi has been the darling of the masses, in times of great economic uncertainty simply because he promises the average Indian a better deal in life over the next five years. The country is at the end of its rather long tether with the dithering and over cautious approach that typifies the incumbent Congress leadership. Narendra Modi comes with a track record of vision and transformation where he has put Gujarat on a road of economic prosperity and this has struck a resounding chord with the rest of India. His oratory skills are brilliant and his followers look up to him as a definite game changer in what I repeat are difficult economic time for an aspiring Indian. In short Modi is telling us that this, again, is India’s moment in the sun and that the Congress is wasting time in seizing the moment. However is there disquiet? A few days ago I asked a Muslim acquaintance on his thoughts of Modi being our next Prime Minister, considering the fact that most Muslim’s either fear or loath or have both feelings for the man after his alleged supervision of brutal riots in his own state under his watch. While this has been negated by successive courts in India, the Muslim’s or Modi’s opponents are not buying the story. There was long pause as my acquaintance mulled over his answer, saying hesitatingly that he does not mind Modi, if he was inclusive…….. So will Modi if elected lead a divided India? If we are able to resurrect Sigmund Freud and should Freud have had a shot at psychoanalyzing Modi, Freud would have told us that Modi is a narcissist as a personality type and a leader lead by personal vanity. Now before you shudder and recoil, let me remind you that some of the greatest leaders of this century have all been Narcissist’s. Good examples are Napoleon, Winston Churchill, Charles De Gaulle, Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison and Bill Gates. You might have guessed right, all these men were/are great visionaries who thrived in the most turbulent time and came up trumps. Narcissistic leaders are strangely some of the most successful ones, but then why are they disliked? This personality type can be ruthless, exploitative and vain glorious while being men of great vision, action, risk takers and wonderful orators who can have people eating out of their hands. Narcissists need side-kicks who can temper their own sense of infallibility with some caution and sanity. The side – kick needs to also figure out how he/she is going to survive the rather tricky role of giving advice to a narcissist. Freud pointed out that Narcissists, are emotionally isolated and highly distrustful. Perceived threats can trigger rage. Achievements can feed feelings of grandiosity. Consider how an executive at Oracle described his narcissistic CEO Larry Ellison: “The difference between God and Larry is that God does not believe he is Larry.” Having said that do we need Modi? As a country I think we do, with Modi down playing his Hindutva side and being more inclusive, less autocratic and surrounding himself with sane advice with a strong dose of genuine empathy for the minorities. To paraphrase George Bernard Shaw, some people see things as they are and ask why; narcissists see things that never were and ask why not. India needs a person who can lead her into a future that is free of poverty and hunger and I think a narcissist is best suited to the job!

Stories from Troy!

This morning I casually remarked to my domestic help that she was in with a chance to secure a pressure cooker or a goat for free in the near future. The lady goggled at me, puzzlement writ on her broad brow. She had been looking rather questioningly at me as I lurked around the house, wondering as to why I was not at work? The lady is well acquainted with IT folk and is quite aware of the cycles of boom and bust that they seem to go through. Well to cut a long story short, thanks to the good God Shiva, I was home. So, where does the goat enter the scheme of things? Well, apparently the incumbent Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Miss J.Jayalalitha has entered the race to be Prime Minister and has promised the masses’ freebies, amounting to gas stoves, pressure cooker's, cows, mixer-grinders and of course goats, if she does become Prime Minster heading a band of loosely bound political entities ranging from the extreme left to the left to the socialist. The issue is that this band calling themselves the third front have not identified Miss JJ as their leader as yet, though our venerable ex-PM Devegowda, seems to feel that the lady has it in her to be Prime Minister. Amidst the excitement the details or fine print are a little difficult to see, being how Miss JJ would finance these freebies considering that there would be great demand for goats and such offered free to the great Indian population. Interestingly Rome was not built in a day, neither was its demise sudden. As the Roman kings thought up of innovative ways to entertain themselves, they realized that they needed to keep restive bourgeois quite for them (king) to be allowed to continue to wallow in the fat of luxury. And how did they do this - well you have guessed right - by distributing freebies though the great Gibbon in his magnum opus The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire does not record that goats were distributed free to the citizens of Rome. Free bread and carnivals, where men slaughtered fellow men or beasts did little to improve the lives of the groaning masses, though it did divert their attention for a while. These shenanigans eventually weakened Rome internally and she imploded. What exactly does Miss JJ say in her battle of the ballot with her main opponent the DMK? Her manifesto offers a big bunch of freebies for the financially weaker sections. It promises free houses of 300 sq ft each, costing Rs 1.8 lakh, to three lakh BPL families. Other promises for rural areas include 60,000 cows for 6,000 families increasing milk production from 2.5 million litres to 10 million litres. Families below the poverty line will also get four sheep. Women remain at the centre of Jayalalithaa's scheme of things. Women's self help groups will get loans up to Rs 10 lakh, with a waiver of 25%. Pregnant women have been promised Rs 12,000 during four months of maternity leave. Marriage assistance for poor women would be enhanced to Rs 25,000, with a four-gram gold coin as a special gift. For those women with a diploma, the wedding assistance would be Rs 50,000. A few days ago the lady was at the centre of controversy for threatening to release those accused and indicted in the murder of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi by throwing an ultimatum at the Central Government. On occasion the lady and her faithful band seem to forget that they are a part of a larger nation called India, which is larger than her and her followers. I'm sure all of us are aware of the story of Troy, of the Trojan horse and gifts that arrive gratis!

On Pepper Spray and other things......

Last fortnight was tumultuous to say the very least. The Congress lawmaker Lagadapati Rajagopal earned notoriety last week when he jumped into the well of the Lok Sabha, India's lower house of parliament and unleashed an aerosol from which he splashed pepper spray on his colleagues during an unprecedented five minutes of vicious, violence and vandalism. Members of Parliament rushed out the hallowed house of Indian Democracy holding handkerchiefs to their face. Many, including Mr Rajagopal, were taken to hospital. He said he acted in the heat of the moment and in self-defence. What nobody could answer was how did he have the chutzpah to carry the can into the house, in the first place? Later, Rajagopal was among 16 MPs from across parties who were suspended for the violence and so were not present in the Lok Sabha when the Telangana bill was passed. These MPs belong to Seemandhra - the non-Telangana regions of Andhra Pradesh that oppose bifurcating the state. Mr Rajagopal had vowed he would do all he can to block the Telangana bill in Parliament and has since quit politics as he says he has lost all interest in politics on the compromise of the Telugu Nation.Hailed as a hero in his constituency, maybe it is for the best. A couple of days ago, Celebrity Cricket League ( Film Folk ) team Kerala Strikers' members were deplaned at the Kochi airport after they allegedly misbehaved with the crew of a Hyderabad-bound flight. The flight, scheduled to take off at 1 pm, eventually took off one-and-a-half hours late. Apparently, the aircraft had taxied on to the runway when the incident happened. The captain brought the plane back to the apron, and ordered them to disembark. The team of about 30 members denied any wrongdoing but it is alleged that they kept applauding safety announcements made by the cabin crew and did so to announcements made by the Captain too.Construed as a threat to safety the airplanes Captain acted decisively and deplaned these seemingly unruly passengers. Two very different events, but in some ways it indicates the the lack of respect that people have for process or institutions, when they live in an unreal world. Both politicians and actors unfortunately feel they belong to a more exalted, different universe, where rules don't apply to them. Unfortunately too, both categories provide for extremely poor role models and it is going to get worse unless the Indian state decides that the penalty is going to be stronger than just a rap on the knuckles.....

Cricketing Diversity!

The recent Ranji Trophy triumph by the Karnataka cricket team was an awesome achievement for the young group. Even as the Indian National Team was receiving a pasting in New Zealand, the Karnataka team was making national news. What came out was that the team had excellent spirit and celebrated one another's success on and off the field. The mark of all successful teams. It was also interesting to see, Vinay Kumar, the captain who hails from the tiny town of Davengere, marshaling his troops with aplomb. Incidentally his father is an auto rickshaw driver who went through enormous sacrifice in letting his son pursue his cricketing dreams. However what was not evident was the diversity that this team had. A laundry list: Karun Nair - A Malyalee, Amit Verma - Ethnic UP, Manish Pandey - Ethnic UP, Shreyas Gopal - Tamil, Abhimanyu Mithun - Telugu, Stuart Binny - Anglo Indian, Abrar Kazi - Muslim, This is brilliant indeed and while the rest of the team may comprise native Kannadigas, the diversity is pleasing to see in an India that is starting to get increasingly connected.Bangalore is like a magnet that attracts the brightest and the best and is an extremely inclusive city. It is this that marks the city out as an outstanding one and causes it to be a beacon for the future. It is becoming increasingly evident that inclusive diversity is the path to the future and narrow parochial considerations have little space in a flat world.

Pragmatism vs. Romanticism

There is much consternation with what is called the increasing vigilantism by the AAM Admi party in the state of Delhi. The one’s whining about it are mostly the different hued politicians from mature political parties that dot the landscape of India. The angst is understandable considering the fact that well established practices of corruption and poor service are now being questioned by the poor badgered Delhiwallah’s. The latest has been the initiation of a hotline for complaints on corruption and apparently it has been an instant hit with the phone lines being choked by callers. Group’s from the AAM Admi Party scour the countryside and visit hospitals and schools at random to check on the service or lack of it. This is a romantic new beginning and has caught the imagination of the common man. While the whole idea may lack pragmatism, it certainly is romantic and who can win, at least in the short term in the face of romance. The people of Delhi and their Government are still honeymooning and during the honeymoon all faults are swept under the carpet, even poorly articulated ideas like that of Prashanth Bhushan who seems to think that a referendum needs to take place, in Kashmir on whether the Indian Army needs to stay or go. Now with all due respect, this might best be left to the honchos in the relevant ministry’s to decide. This particular snafu takes me back to my days in the middle-east. Invariably I would hop on to a cab, driven by a gent from Pakistan, whose interest would rise the moment he realized I was from ‘Hindustan’. I would gingerly say that I hailed from the state of Karnataka and the connection to ‘Tipu Sultan – the Tiger of Mysore’ would be instantaneous. It goes to probably, show that our neighbour’s know their history well. The next topic of discussion would be Kashmir and the hackles would rise, with both of us taking extreme positions. As corruption is, Kashmir is just as emotive an issue with the AAM Admi and political parties mature or otherwise would be well advised to remember that.

In the Land of Equals?

Culturally, societies may be Achievement Oriented or Ascription Oriented. To cut to the chase the former is a society where meritocracy is the order of the day and your family lineage does not matter, while the latter does take into account, who your parents were or for that matter one's social standing is crucial to gain entry into elite institutions. The front runner's for India's political future are Narendra Modi,Rahul Gandhi with the new kid on the block Arvind Kejriwal a distant prospect. While that might be the case, both Modi & the scion of the Gandhi family cannot aspire to be alumni of an Indian Institute of Technology though they could aspire to be the Prime Minister of India. That honor lies only with Kejriwal. Well that's India. The United Kingdom, is in the midst of an interesting debate as Prince William heads off to Cambridge University, to pursue a ten week course on Agriculture. Normally this would have required top grades but apparently in an egalitarian England, the Prince with far inferior grades gets a place in the midst of some of England's brightest and best. Why is this happening? Well simply because he is a future King and third in line to the British throne. The Guardian's columnist, recent Cambridge grad Melissa Berrill, wrote that admitting the third-in-line to the throne is "an insult to every student, whatever their background, who got into Cambridge by getting the required A-level or degree results." Cambridge has adjusted its admissions standards in recent years to recruit students based on merit and not just class or family connections, she wrote. "I can no longer insist that 'it's not like the old days any more,' because the heir to the throne is about to be let in for no other reason than who his father is," she wrote. While this might be a case of the extraordinary,the name of the game in today's complicated world is that generalization's are made at one's own peril and would not stand a test on the ground. It would be of immense interest to me as to how the Prince performs at his academic tryst at Cambridge University and what grades he garners. Will this too be based on his family connections or will meritocracy prevail in the land of equals?

The story of an Indian behemoth!

One could not wish for a worse and more gruesome death than being burnt to cinders in a railway compartment. This unfortunately has been the fate of some of my fellow countrymen over the last few months, in a series of train mishaps. Particularly horrendous is the panic and confusion that ensues post a train in motion catching fire and hapless passengers running helter and skelter to escape pursuing flames, suffocating smoke and raising heat in the steel bogie. Post Godhra in 2002, the Indian Railways has had numerous instances of trains catching fire resulting in deaths to countless passengers. What invariably follow’s is news chats, breast beating, finger pointing and distribution of funds to the effected by the Honorable Railway Minister. Herein lie two pertinent questions: 1. Has the cause of the fire been ascertained, the fault fixed and the responsible nailed? 2. From what fund, is the tax payer’s money distributed? While I deeply sympathize with those that have suffered and do agree that they need succour, it is painful to see incompetence accepted , the guilty getting away, people dying and the tax payer made to pay, while the those guilty in this bumbling, bungling behemoth called the Indian Railways stumble onto the next calamity and the vicious cycle plays out again and again. That the railways are in bad shape and need urgent attention is there for all to see, except possibly those in the system. The passenger is at high risk and maybe it is worth their while to insurance themselves for a journey akin to air passengers. I clearly remember a picture in my school history book, of Akbar, the Mughal Emperor perched on an elephant and distributing alms to the poor. Times of not changed much, since then, except that the elephant is gone. Or has it really? The Indian railway’s which to me looks like an old infirm rouge elephant, needs serious urgent reforms, if it is to stop killing innocents by the bushels. It is an enduring joke that Laloo Yadav was feted as the supposedly greatest Rail Minister that we have had and this was lent credence by the IIM's inviting him for talk shows and various other random bodies singing praises to him. Well, Laloo's legacy if there was ever one has gone The poor Indian needs to stop dying simply because somebody who was incompetent was on watch!