Uttarakhand Floods- People’s Tragedy, Politician’s Opportunity

                 A country like India which is seventh largest in terms of land mass and is home to over 1.2 billion Indians, is bound to face tragedies in one or more parts at any given time, especially when both the geography and the culture are so diverse. But what is also expected is that the lessons are learned from the prior disasters by government agencies. Alas, that seldom happens. Uttarakhand tragedy is the most recent example.

                We can’t stop natural calamities from occurring (well, according to environmentalist and geologist we can but that’s still debatable), but we can improve our response time, our coordination efforts and especially our communication systems. Consider the Uttarakhand tragedy, it’s been over a week since cloudbursts and flash-floods have left so many people dead and many more stranded, but none of the agencies have any clue as to how many people are dead or are stranded. Estimates range from one thousand to twenty thousand. It’s always the army that has to come to the rescue for domestic operations and coordinate the efforts.

                A calamity for the affected people is always life threating but for our political leaders it can be (political) life changing, for they are attracted to the calamities like bees to honey. Even though it may cut short their quarterly European retreats, the photo opportunity in local and national media outlets is too imperative to miss. This is always the case with India and its rotten political class. But there are exceptions. Some might see Gujarat chief minister’s presence in Dehradun as a political move but his actions to bring home stranded Guajarati’s in Uttarakhand was a sign of a true leader.

                Not surprisingly the chief minister of Uttarakhand in one of his rare press conferences post calamity announced a creation of an agency to see that this kind of tragedy doesn’t reprise. This has become a typical move by a political leader. This disaster might become one of the deadliest in India’s long list of disasters. But rest assured, natural or manmade, tragedy will repeat, bridges will be destroyed, buildings will collapse, people will be trapped for days, lives will be lost, children’s will become orphans, political blame game will start, aerial tours for politicians will begin, charity events will be organized, center will allocate funds of which pennies will reach the affected, and lastly the creation of a new agency will be announced!!

                A news article in one of the western dailies describing the Uttarakhand tragedy said, “Waking up when it's too late is a defining feature as far as Indians as a people are concerned”*. I was a little taken aback, but it seems so true.

* Daily Mail of UK

A Big round of applause for...Applause

                Now this might really be a strange topic to talk about but have you ever wondered how contagious clapping, applause, big hand is?

                No matter how exciting, entertaining, yawing, boring, torturing the setting is, it only takes one to start a movement…the crusade to applause!! It not only makes the excited ones to join the crusade but even the ones who are ‘on the border’-the ones who are still deciding if it is worth spending the energy to move their arms. They join in the band wagon rather reluctantly, but that doesn’t matter because just as when people become public, the claps become applause!!

                Becoming the part of the applause movement, is the classic example of herd mentality. But whatever case it may be, as humans we have learned to convey our heartfelt (well, most of the times) appreciation in form of claps. So what is the history of applause? (Relax, I know I have a little too much time on hand, so no need to smile, grin or smirk :) ). The story goes something like this…during the declining period of Roman Empire, the Roman emperor made plans to meet with the Barbarian king. To intimidate the king, the emperor couldn’t lean on the thin Roman army, so he turned to a group of non-army men. They were ordered to make noise by clapping of hands. Well, the clapping exercise didn’t bring any relief to the wounds of a bleeding empire but it gave the human society the gift of ‘applause’.

                Human beings have come a long way from thunderous clapping for acclamation to tweeting & likeing for commendation. But even in the current environment of f-friends and e-groups where tags and share has become the way of life, nothing comes close to the Big round of applause. The magic of obedient, polite, enthusiastic, tepid, thunderous, sympathetic and sometimes ironic applause is simply amazing.

                So guys lesson of the day, join the campaign of applause whenever and wherever possible and once in a while try to start the crusade, I am sure the fellow clappers will join. For nothing binds us human more than the Big round of Applause.

They story of Applause was adopted from  http://www.theatlantic.com

The Dreamer- Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani

                              “Think Big, Think Fast And Think Ahead. Ideas are no one’s monopoly”.

                What bonds Indians together besides cricket is there admiration for the Ambani family, more specifically, the late founder of the Reliance empire, Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani. The classic rags to riches story of Dhirubhai have become mythical. ‘Tata-Birla’ has always been synonyms with wealth and power in India. Thanks to Dhirubhai’s enormous success, Tata-Birla became ‘Tata-Birla- Ambani’. Colloquially it came to be known as TBA.

                Dhirubhai Ambani was an establishment- a spectacle of our times who influenced the psyche and life of millions of Indians. There have been countless articles, white papers, books, blogs and documentaries about Dhirbhai Ambani’s vision, his business acumen, his boldness, and also some criticisms of manipulating the system. A popular joke was making rounds during Dhirubhai era which started with a question: Which is the most powerful political party in India? Answer: the Reliance Party of India. Well, if you think about it, this was his flair. Dhirubhai was, after all, as much a product of his times as he was one who recognized and exploited the opportunities those times offered. He astutely understood the Indian political and bureaucratic system and navigated the power corridors to his advantage. He had a unique ability to manage the system.

                Dhirubhai (and now his son, Mukesh) will always be blamed for meddling politics with business but was he really to be blamed for country’s ineffectual government and bureaucracy? I think India’s bureaucracy and political system is a level playing field for all other industrialists. They all play the system in their own capacity.

                I have been an avid admirer of Dhirubhai Ambani (and Mukesh). Being an outsider to the Bombay club, his success has always drawn controversies. I won't pass any judgment on him as I will be too biased. But if you ask me, Dhirubhai was the biggest dreamer the country had since our first PM Jawaharlal Nehru. Praising Dhirubhai doesn’t mean that other industrialists during that era weren’t successful. Rahul Bajaj, RP Goenka, Ratan Tata, AV Birla, BM Khaitan to name a few, all excelled in their respective fields. But Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani was the first generation entrepreneur, with no family name to lean upon. We can’t say the same for the above great individuals.

                The most important thing Dhirubhai did was that he lived his dreams. His great achievement was that he showed an aam admi (average Indian) what was possible. Coming from a moderate background, with no professional degree and no family capital, he achieved what the then establishments in conjunction with the Sahibs of New Delhi could not- he built a futuristic, lucrative, global enterprise…in India.

Rain!! Rain!!

 

                When was the last time you intentionally got wet in rain? When was the last time you actually enjoyed the rain while getting drenched? When was the last time you relished those wet moments? Being a grownup has many advantages, but when did we become so uptight that we couldn’t truly experience the rain anymore?

                Rain!! Rain!! You see some with a blissful smile, some with that lost silly grin and some with that wistful look…Of all the great things I adore about America and AmericansJ, One thing I don’t comprehend is how ‘rain’ is not relished, in fact it’s loathed upon. People complain about it ruining the summer.  It’s true that during the sunny days when sun is shining bright, we are all energized by its warmth and promise of outdoor activities. We soak up heavy doses of Vitamin-D during these splendid sunny days. We get a little hyper thinking of all the things we can do. Sun is our good friend, it energizes us…it motivates us. Sun, makes us Do More!!

But does this make rain appalling?

                When I tell people that I love sky filled with grey clouds and rainy weather, they look at me, puzzled. They don’t usually ask me why, they just say, “huh”. It’s been a while for me, but the fun of getting drenched in the first rain of the season is simply mesmerizing. I love the sound of heavy rain, how it makes everything smell earthy and fresh. I don’t ever want Ashvy to learn the song, “Rain, rain, go away” alas it’s too lateL. She is with the ‘Sun Loving and Rain Loathing’ majority. Rain never makes me gloomy, or ruins my plans, or spoils my day. In fact the one time I enjoy traffic is during the rain. Rain is just plain childhood fun at any age. If you think about it, Rain can be an energizer and motivator because Rain makes you live in the moment. It inspires you to seat back and relax. Rain makes you Do Less!!

                Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet. Enjoy the cycle of Nature for if it wasn’t for rain, we won’t appreciate the Sunny days either. So the next time when it rains, rather than running for cover or cursing, take a second glance. Watch the rain, Smell the freshness of air, Listen to the sound and Appreciate the Moment.