Annual Shopping Pilgrimage

 

What was that? US Fiscal cliff, out of control National debt…what the heck, worries about the economy and fiscal austerity be damned. On Black Friday, consumers were ready to shop till they dropped…literally.

Hindus have Diwali, Christians have Christmas, Muslims have Ramadan, Jews have Chanukah and American Shoppers have Black Friday…the day after the Thanksgiving Thursday- a holiday when shoppers give thanks for bargain prices. It is the busiest shopping day of the year for the US retailers. (For my curious readers: Black in Black Friday indicates the point at which retailers begin to turn a profit or are ‘in the black’)

Just as a religious person will visit their holy land, the modern day consumer will make their annual pilgrimage to their sprawling and glittering neighborhood malls. Their annual pilgrimage begins soon after their Thanksgiving meals. They will very passionately and eagerly wait outside their temples of consumerism, which have different names- Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Target, Toys’ R Us just to name a few. They all serve the same purpose, to satisfy the hunger of a value hungry consumer.

                The parking lots become the most expensive real estate in the area. Cart & Cashiers, both of them are in abundance on any other day, but today they both are as scarce as plutonium. The temples of capitalism have taken full advantage of the consumer psyche. They provide what the consumer is looking for- ‘a deal’. Each and every soul who is waiting outside the mall in a freezing temperature is hoping to get his or her hand on a ‘once in a century deal’. Be it a 50 inch flat screen LED TV or an I-Phone/pod/pad or a Martha Stewart signature Bed in a bag or Paula Deen’s cooking set. The stores are full of hyper active consumers whose vision for that day is 20/20. There curious eyes always looking for the tags with the highest percentage off and also staring at their co-shoppers cart to figure out if they have missed anything. Cashiers, with no disrespect, are usually at the mercy of the consumers as consumers are always right. But today, is the day when the only people who are correct, are the cashiers. They can and will dictate the price, depending on the scanner of course. They are treated with the utmost respect, as they are the ones who will be approving the consumer’s catch(es) of the day. The priciest catch for today will be the empty shopping carts. No one will care if the wheels are squeaking or wobbly. The shoppers use the carts like knives to cut through the swarm of endless checkout lines and almost empty aisles.

                Having made almost six annual pilgrimages to the mecca of modern consumerism- the shopping malls, on the auspicious day of the Black Friday, one thing I have realized, at the end of the day it’s not about how much you saved, but how did you saved!!

Happy Thanksgiving and a Prosperous Black Friday.

21st century, the American century

 

One good thing that came out of Hurricane Sandy was I got some more time to think about some more things!!

                The reason I believe that the United States of America will survive the Great Recession is because I truly believe that America is a great country. I have always believed in the ‘America story’. But then why, precisely, is America so great?  And why will it still be a dominating force in the world?

                Freedom of speech, land of Opportunities, the Constitution and Equality are some of the popular answers to this question and I totally agree. But I wanted to be more real and precise. Hence, I came up with the following reasons:

·         Economically speaking, no country is as big as the United States of America. The second largest economy, China is a third of the size of the US economy. And given the current economic situation, the first spot on the economic ranking won’t change for quite some time.

·         I think more than the economic strength, it’s the military hegemony that will keep the U.S. as the most dominating force in the world. US spend almost $700B every year on defense and that total is more than the total spends of next 20 countries combine. Also, the largest and the most advanced defense companies are American.

·         Another major aspect which is often overlooked is its favorable geographic position. The huge arable land, best maritime transport system, oceans on east and west ends and politically and economically friendly countries on the north and south of the border.

·         US have a secret weapon to remain the most powerful country in the world; Code name- H1B. The H1B visas allow foreign workers in specialty occupations to work in the United States. The success of Silicon Valley is the prime example.

·         No country is as large and developed to even come close to challenge the US supremacy, both economically and militarily.

o   As long as Europe doesn’t speak one language it will never be a threat to American dominance. Plain and simple.  

o   China, I think will grow old before it becomes rich or gains military dominance. Thanks to its ‘one child’ policy and its ‘one party’ political system. One more thing to note here is that all of the prosperity of China is built on the willingness of the Americans and Europeans to buy its products.

                Time publisher, Henry Luce famously said, “20^th century, the American century”. I whole heartedly believe, “21^st century will be another American century”.

Let There Be Light...

This is it. The end of the world. The prophecy of Nostradamus has come true. The Armageddon has begun. The JJ Abrams show, “Revolution” (on NBC) has become a reality. The Mayan prediction of the end of the world has moved forward from December 21^st, 2012 to October 29^th.

The dark clouds have covered the sky. Winds have started to gain the momentum and are almost reaching the hurricane speed. Trees that withstood the test of Hurricane Irene have had enough and the roots have started to lose their strengths. The power lines are swinging like pendulum. The roads are getting deserted by each passing minute. The homes have lost power and more importantly we can’t watch TV. Well, we do have fully charged laptops, ipad’s and iPhone’s (well, who am I kidding, I am probably one of the few thousand who are still affiliated to the once prosperous, Scandinavian brand, Nokia) to survive for couple of hours, although without wi-fi and more importantly without Facebook, it’s going to be tough.

It’s been almost 2 hours, well so I thought. Habit prone, I looked at the cable box for time, alas, it was blacked out. I looked at my phone and it was only 15 minutes since we lost power. Life indeed comes to a standstill without power, both literally & figuratively. Literally being me and figuratively being Mr. Prime minister.

It’s been 2 hours for real now and I can’t take it anymore. I took Nyquil and passed out. The next morning was still dark. The leaves were off the branches. The black clouds were still overhead. The world was still quite and yes, the cable box was still not showing the time. I had it enough. I was almost on the verge of a nervous breakdown. To add salt to the wound, the overly advertised T-Mobile service was over and out. For some reason all my commercial brand affiliations are not so popular in the market today. Be it Nokia, T-mobile, HP, Long John Silver, Papa John’s or Adidas.

                I went to a friend’s place, which not-so-surprisingly was also without any power. Fortunately one of his outlets was working. So using our always alert, overly-leveraged, Desi(Indian)-minds, we plugged in the surge-protector and fed in all our battery-hungry e-devices. The GE 15 Watt (65W equivalent) Energy Smart Floodlight Dimmable R30 Light Bulb, never looked so bright and beautiful. We were all immersing in the golden light of the GE bulb that was lighting the one room that had power.

                And then I saw a glimmer of hope, literally. I saw one of the bedrooms light up, as if someone has said, “Let there be lights”. We all sprang up with joy- Yelling, praying, hugging, high-fiving, going berserk with joy. And as if the God of light, Apollo would have smiled, the blacked out cable box lite up again with the bright blue lights. More importantly it started showing the time again.

                Sorry Mayans, for now we have skipped the Armageddon. And our beautiful lives are back to normal, again.

The Master of Moments

“I will always make films on human relations, because it touches all walks of life and no two relationships are same”, so said the master, the storyteller, the filmmaker, the legend - Mr. Yash Chopra. The masterful storyteller, who made gems like SilSila, Chandni, Lamhe & DDLJ to name a few; The man who epitomized varied versions of human relations on the celluloid, made the viewer’s fall in love, all over again. 

He made human relations & situations a protagonist in his movies. Take the innocent love story of Kuwar Virendra Pratap Singh aka Kuwarji and Puja or the ever green love triangle between Amit, Shobha & Chandani. He was so good at reflecting the depth of human emotions on the silver screen, that his kind of cinema came to be known as Yash Chopra genre; a style to which each and every cine-goers will identify to.

For many of us who belong to either the Vijay generation or the Munna generation or the Rahul generation, Yash Raj films were binding us all. In the times of Dev D’s and Rathore’s and the new age Don’s, his was the genre that cut through the age, race, caste, creed, political and economic barrier. He was the one who brought back emotions or should I say, a little Indianess back to the Indian cinema.

The Yash Chopra story won’t be based on his life, but on his movies for that was his life…Jab Tak Hai Jaa!!

The Man, The Moments, The Movies—Yash Chopra.

All Is Well...

Down But Not Out

After a long hiatus, I am back…

So, Is America doomed?

Are the world renowned financiers, economists, journalists, historians correctly predicting the end of the Superpower that has shouldered the world’s economy since the beginning of the last century?  Marc Faber, Jim Rogers, Nouriel Roubini and countless other famed commentators (including my friends & colleagues), are they placing the right bet by shorting on the US economic future?

I for one don’t think so. US economy is hurt and a little down, but definitely not out. Let’s take it point by point:

Federal Spending

I definitely share their concern with regards to the debt burden and its unsustainability. But given the situation that we are in, I think this is the ‘only’ way out. I am not asking the federal government to expand the social welfare programs, NO. I only ask for investments in two sectors. I am hoping that the federal government’s spending goes towards infrastructure, which is much needed and with that you will have jobs for the people. Follow the lead of the most successful developed nation, Germany and invest in the workers training programs. Make them more efficient and educated so that they can face the ever changing world of technology. US can’t fight against the low cost labor, but they can always become more productive.

Austerity measures

I had said this in one of my blog’s last year. It’s about math. Consumer, Business & Government makes up the national GDP (for now don’t focus on EX-IM).  We are very well aware that Consumers and Businesses are going through a rough patch since last four years and it seems that the status quo will remain for couple more years. So, now if you ‘still’ want to grow, who do you think will have to take the lead? Right, the Government. Of course financing the future with Debt is not a prudent move, but as long as the world trust’s the all might dollar and falls heads over heals to buy the Treasuries, you do not need to worry. US have about $15 Trillion of debt (almost as much as GDP) and still the yields on Treasuries are at a historic low. Why? Because US is the best place in the worst neighborhood. UK had taken strict austerity measures couple of years back and look where it is now. It’s still teetering at 0 to 0.5% growth, add to it the increasing unemployment and a whole lot of other domestic issues.

China syndrome

Enough with the China scares. China needs us more than the other way round. China needs to keep Yuan undervalued, to keep the manufacturing sector running which in turn keeps the domestic population employed. 20 million Chinese move to the cities every year. They need to be employed. China’s economy unlike US is not based on consumers, but on exports to the ‘rich’ countries like US, EU & Japan. If they don’t keep their currencies undervalued, the trade favorability will increase the value of Yuan, which won’t be good for the manufacturing sector, which will lead to job cuts, which will lead to innumerable social and domestic issues for the Communist party.

The world might not like US government printing more Dollars, but they don’t have any other alternative. And this is what US should take the advantage of. Issue debt but make sure it’s ‘invested’ for the future.

Gujarati-American

So, this Labor Day weekend I attended the World Gujarati Conference in New Jersey. This Biennial 3 day event brings Gujarat to America. Not that we don’t have Gujaratism during the other 727 days, but this 3 days feels like we are ‘in’ the heartland of Gujarat.

Gujarat, Gujarati, Gujaratism…From the auto-rickshaws to the recreation of pols (small streets in old city areas), from stalls selling street foods to the hustle and bustle of Gujaratis bargaining for Chania choli, from the Ras Garbas to the Dayro’s, from Ubhi chavi, Aadi chaavi (crosswords) to the kakko Barakhadi (Gujarati alphabets). It was all there. And of course there were Gujarati celebrities, including astronaut Sunita Williams from International Space Station thru a live feed from NASA. Gujarat was in the air, here on planet Earth and in Space.

During one of the speeches (there weren’t a lot of them!!) I started thinking about my roots in Gujarat and my present in America.

Gujarat showed me how to create an opportunity, no matter how bad a situation may be.

America gave me the hope and promise.

My Gujarati parents and culture guided me to believe in myself and dare to dream.

America gave me the opportunities to make those dreams turn into reality.

Gujaratism taught me how to create my own identity with hard work and perseverance.

America taught me to be Proud and to standup for what I believe in and fight for it.

If we think about it, Gujarat and America are not that different, both believe in the power of people, freedom of speech, comingling of cultures, respecting history and creating future. They both strive to provide Equal opportunities for all, but don’t guarantee equal outcomes. This is what great societies and economies are built upon. To be there for needy ones and let the able ones operate on their ability. This is how a true market economy and great cultural societies can co-exist and create bright future for all its citizenries.  

I always thought myself as a proud Indian-American, but watching the shows and the history of the creation of a great state and the progress that it has made, for this three days, I felt more proud to be a Guajarati-American than and an Indian-American…  

Jai Jai Garvi Gujarati

India - Comingling of Contrasts

…and so here we are, India’s 66^th Independence Day.

No different than previous year and the year before and then the year before. More of the same: Out of control inflation, Increasing IPL popularity, Record breaking corruption scandals, Blockbuster Masala Bollywood movies, below par economic growth, emerging of one more ‘public leader’, ever increasing social issues. But no matter what, Indians will always find a way to smile and survive another day.

We Indians are like water, no matter how much the external environment changes, we always find a way to compromise. We strive to live our lives adjusting to the boundaries that we are confined to- Political boundaries, social boundaries, economic boundaries, cultural boundaries.

Not all is as bad as it sounds or looks. After all I am an Indian (and an American!!) and I always find the glass half full.

We have the highly educated and the best human being as our Prime minister,

But he is handicap by the corrupt political system.

Our IT industry is growing at a double digit growth rate, with over $100B in revenues,

But the economic bureaucracy and babuism is limiting there even higher growth potential.

Gujarat has become a symbol of political pluralism and economic capitalism,

But political party lines and muddled national political scene makes it harder for a few remaining political reformers to follow its example.

Indian cricket has become a global phenomenon thanks to IPL, (and BCCI!!)

But since cricket is hogging all the spot light and eyeballs, other sports are paying the price. No wonder our participation in Olympics is limited to 2-3 medals.

India’s film industry has spread India’s cultural reach to all the corners of the world,

But…can’t think of any ‘but’. Adore Indian movies…Bole to Ekdam Jhakaas!!

India is the largest democracy in the world,

But is it a ‘working’ democracy?

India’s most famous son, Mahatma Gandhi gave the world the gift of Nonviolence,

But over 30% of today’s ‘elected’ leaders have criminal cases registered against them.

India grew at a compounded rate of 6% since economic liberalization of 1991, to become the 10^th largest economy in the world,

But our per capita income is less than $1,500 and the poverty rate is still around 25%.

India telecom sector is the third largest in the world with over 900 million mobile users,

But are we connected with our fellow Indians from North-East?

(I bet most of us won’t be able to name the NE statesL)

We are building the world’s tallest residential building,

But also house the largest slums.

I guess this is the beauty of India, Comingling of Contrasts.

This is how our DNA’s are designed. We laugh at any opportunity we get for they are few and far in-between. We earn, we save and spend from what little remains. We take pride in every little thing for we have worked hard for it. Government for us is not a means of convenience, but a mode of disturbance. We accept that we do live in a caste system, but that is what makes our culture more vibrant and colorful.

Somehow we came this far and I am sure we will eventually see a better ‘tomorrow’. Or should I say a day will come when we all will talk about ‘today’ and for once not think about ‘tomorrow’.

Till then, for the better tomorrow…

Happy Birthday, India!!