Are Online Retailers Going To Change Retailing In India ?

In the nineties when Amazon was launched during the first internet , I had a bet with a friend that the online stores would never get off the ground. I felt that people like to browse, touch and feel before they bought   and that Amazon was going to be bankrupt within a few years.

Boy was I wrong ? I lost the bet. Not only has it prospered and together with others in the online genre have totally changed not just the retail industry , but also had major impact on the publishing and music industry. Over the last few years it is now doing the same in India.

A few years ago I placed a order for a new computer for my home use,  from a  hardware vendor from whom we had been buying computers /printers for my small company. The computer was never delivered and to cut a long story short I had to write off the money which I had paid in advance. This is not the only bad experience I have had. It is always a case of once I have your money, you are at my mercy. However the online retailers are about to change all that.

This reminds me of the experience I lived through in Hong Kong. I arrived in Hong Kong in 1975. There were no retail chains and there was one major  upmarket department store. The service was terrible, particularly if you happened to be non-Chinese and even more if you were non-white.

However thing started to change with the arrival of a retail chain called Giordano, started by a maverick - Jimmy Lai, He stocked clothes which were well made at a reasonable price  and better still, staffed them with young cheerful polite staff. Gradually other chains emerged such as Join in, Espirit all with a similar service model and Hong Kong retail underwent a sea change. Of course it also helped that  since then the rest of Asia , including China, India ,Thailand etc all prospered and it was not just the Europeans and Americans tourists who had  fat pocket books.

In India, of  course money is not much of an issue but with some retailers honesty is. They will  take the advance payment and promise delivery by a certain date and rarely is it met. You have to keep chasing them and many times, it is of  sub-standard quality or not quite what was expected, but you really do not have a choice.

My daughter in New York is a big believer in ordering on-line and I could not understand why she did that.  Now after about three months of using the services of the online retailers in India,I can fully understand her preference. The first serious online retailer in India was Flipkart , now followed by slew of others including Amazon.

The best example is that of  buying books. I used to go to a book store in Delhi  and while the prices were reasonable and when physically there, the owner would provide keen service and flood me with suggestions , ninety percent of which were of no interest. However in a numbers of instances  I called his number to check about the availability of certain books and there would no response, and even where I left messages there would be no call backs. There where instances where he promised to deliver some books through his brother's store nearer where I lived and in spite of numerous calls and visits, never got the books. This in spite of the fact on every visit my family and I  would buy enough for him to stop attending to other customers and come to help us instead.

Now sitting at my desk I can order even a single book at a price almost at par, if not better delivered to my door stop on the basis of cash on delivery. If I had changed my mind about the purchase, I could return it, although I have never had to do that.

Unfortunately however  my experience of ordering an electronic item from one of the retailers from Amazon fulfillment was not a happy experience. Hopefully this is an aberration, but it would make me wary of ordering electronic items in the future.

As elsewhere Amazon is trying to break new grounds. It is reportedly  exploring delivery to the rural areas through the Indian Postal System. In the sixties the Postal System was superb, but like a lot of other institutions in India being part of the government with no accountability and life time employment, the services declined leading to a eco system of local and national couriers where people use them rather the post for normal deliveries . Perhaps if they do team up they will have to meet Amazon's delivery standard and we will see  the re-vitalization of  the Indian Post.

I wish Amazon, Flipkart, and the others all the very best  and hope they will all do a Giodarno in India. 

Is Aam Admi Going To Be The Change Catalyst In Indian Politics ?

In India it is not just start ups in IT which go viral within a short time. A new start up on the political scene the " Aam Admi Party" or the Common Man's Party which came into existence less than a year ago has shaken the political scene. It knocked out the venerable Indian Congress Party and crippled the efforts of the Bharatiya Janata Party 's to obtain a majority in the most important state politically - Delhi , the country's capital, where the Congress had hoped to make a return for the third time. Their seat tally was embarrassingly reduced to a single digit number. The impact of the Aam Admi Party is such that even the heir apparent of the Congress Party Rahul Gandhi  has gone on record that he would look at following their model. 

This just confirms what I said in  my blog of October 18th*  " Looking At India Through A Glass Half Full". I mentioned that I was beginning to feel a bit more optimistic that there were changes happening and that unlike the past I felt that these changes would be within my life time.Slightly over two years ago a social activist Anna Hazare went on a fast against corruption and aroused the imagination of the nation. All the young people from across the country rallied around him. His goal was for the Government to pass an anti-corruption bill. The government asked him to break his fast with  promises that they would bring the bill to Parliament as soon as possible. However with the tacit support of the opposition parties kept watering down the initial draft and  delaying the bill  which still  has not been  passed. This affected the movement's credibility and emboldened the politicians that none of these social activists would succeed, and that they  need  not change.

The other incident which  aroused the anger of the nation against the political and enforcement agencies was the violent rape in Delhi where the concerned authorities were initially  slow to respond and highlighted the weak law and order issue. However seeing the mood of the populace , they then fast tracked the persecution of the men charged with the crime.

Sensing that the general public, particularly the urban population was fed up with the refusal of the rulers regardless of their political affiliation,  to change their way of doing business no matter what, one of Anna's key aides a former bureaucrat Arvind Kejriwal ( a Magsaysay award winner for his social work) , recognized that he would not be able to change the system from the  outside. He decided to change the system from within by joining  with other similar minded people and forming the Aam Admi Party. Their elections symbol was the broom with the obvious message that their goal was to  sweep clean Indian politics.

While starting a party is nothing unusual , as in almost every state you have strong  regional parties.As a result increasingly at the national level, political parties are becoming dependent on them to rule at the center. What was different about Kejriwal's party was the manner he went about raising the party's profile , selecting the candidates and raising funding. During the course of the last year, together with his team,  he vocally and visibly supported and drew attention to issues such as an individual's plight, or some infrastructure which was badly in need of repair or the indifference of the politicians of bureaucrats to blatant corruption.This got him the attention of the media and the populace started rallying around him.

His timing is opportune as with the gradual shifting of the population from the rural to the urban, you are seeing a rise in the numbers in not just the  metro but also the second, third and fourth tier cities. With the increasing  middle class and the lower middle class, they are also becoming more aware of their rights and become more vocal and not afraid to walk the talk.

When he announced that his party would stand for election in Delhi, people flocked to him, not just from Delhi and the surrounding areas, but from all over India and  from overseas. They volunteered their time, skills and efforts. In the selection of candidates, he chose unknown  candidates but who had clean records and who were active in their respective communities.

Unlike other political parties whose funding has traditionally been opaque , the Aam Admi Party recorded the name and details of every single donor, including those from  overseas Indians. They  also set a target of Rs.200 million. Once they reached that target, they closed their books.

For each constituency they came out with a manifesto which dealt with local issues. They campaigned hard and used the social media to the fullest extent. Their technology team of volunteers were based in Bangalore.

Arvind Kejriwal also decided to challange Mrs.Shiela Dixit in her own constituency, one of the most up market areas of Delhi. Mrs. Dixit was the the three times Chief Minister and a close confidant of the Gandhi family. Embarrassingly for her, Kejriwal won with a majority of over 20,000 votes. Overall a humiliating defeat for " Shiela Aunty" as she is popularily known and for the Congress Party.

There was jubilation across the country. The victory was significant not because that it was a new party, but the manner in which it conducted itself. The selection and the fund raising was totally transparent. There were no candidates with criminal records.Through their manifesto, they clearly defined what their goals were, if elected. What was also interesting was that because Aam Admi Party declared upfront that they would not seek the help of other parties to form a coalition, nor entice some winning candidates to switch parties, the Bharitiya Janata Party was obliged to follow suit. In the past this would not have happened.

Regretfully they did not obtain the majority , but neither did the Bharitiya Janata Party and there is a good possibility of the elections being re-held.The party has also declared their intention to establish a countrywide footprint to fight the national election  due in the first half o 2014.

The stunning success of the  Aam Admi Party has woken up all the political parties that it was not going to be business as usual this time around . The country is getting fed up with their continued inability to deliver on the promises made during election times and their unwillingness to change their habits.

Hopefully this time around the Aam Admi Party will get the majority in Delhi  to be able to prove that they know not just that they are  able to to manage a good campaign, but also how to run a clean ,competent government.Expectations are that they will go national , at least in the key states and will also  have a voice in the Parliament to speak out loud and clear against the mis-deeds of the party in power.

India will be watching  !!!!


*( http://avib-randomthoughts.blogspot.in/2013/10/looking-at-india-through-glass-half-full.html)

Nelson Mandala - R.I.P

I would like to join the thousand of others to add my few words on Nelson Mandela - in my view the greatest leader I have seen in my lifetime.

To me the greatest thing about him was his vision of the society of the Rainbow Nation which could also be the blue print of the world in general. While there have been other leaders who have suffered long , severe prison sentences and  who have fought for independence there are very few who have been able to achieve what he has .

Perhaps it is the very composition of  the South African nation where you have people of all colors, races and religions which has lead to it  becoming  the cradle for two of the greatest inspirational leaders the world has seen in the last century- Gandhi and Mandela. Both leaders showed grace in not showing enmity toward their former captors at whose hand they suffered long terms of imprisonment.  

The difference between the two was that Gandhi used the satyagraha , non violent movement to help achieve independence for India. Unfortunately some fanatics put an end to his efforts to be the moral beacon to both the newly created nations.  Mandela on the other hand was not fighting for independence but for the right for society to be treated as equal regardless of color, race or religion.

While he helped India achieve independence, Gandhi unfortunately failed  in convincing his fellow Congress party colleagues  to keep India together and lead to the creation of two nations who are now enemies. Mandela on the other hand ensured that South Africa did not go down the path of other African nations such as Zimbabwe which lead to the path of destruction. His message  to the South African population was that everyone had a right to be a South African and should live in peace and harmony.The Rainbow  was an apt metaphor for  the world's society and  his vision is something the rest of the world should aspire to.
 
The mourning or should I say  the celebration of his life  not just among the entire South African population, but around the world,  regardless of race, religion and color,  shows the  regard and affection which they had for Nelson Mandela.

Also unlike other "leaders" who assume that because of the hardships they suffered, they should be rewarded by lifetime recognition and  appointed  life time Presidents , long outliving their sell by date. Nelson Mandela served one term as President and voluntarily stepped down.This should be a role model for other politicians, leaders and dictators.

I hope the present and upcoming leaders of South Africa will adhere to the Madiba's vision , although there are already signs among the younger crop who are beginning to exercise their " right of entitlement" . It will be sad to see his  vision being lost and South Africa going the same way as other countries .

In the meantime like thousand of others I could not but help shed tears at the passing away of the world's beloved Madiba.

Looking At India Through A Glass Half Full

 "Choose to be optimistic,it feels better"- The Dalai Lama 

Over the last few years, almost every day when you pick up the newspaper, you sigh in despair. Regardless of which aspect you look at whether its  political , economic,social,  communal, or defence you wonder whether we are deluding ourselves in thinking we are on the right track. Whether we will be able to reduce poverty, whether we will achieve our widely stated aspirational goal of becoming an economic super power. Looking at the head lines and the television screen you would say " lets stopping kidding ourselves".

Mine is probably a solitary view but if you look closely and not get clouded by the big picture, you will see isolated glimmers of hope emerging which when consolidated does not appear to be as bad , particularly if you look at it from a long term perspective.

Looking at the negatives, enough is being written and spoken so there is no need to list them.Let's look at the law makers, by which I mean the political parties. The only  difference between the  two dominant parties is that the Congress, in spite of what they say, appears to take a  dynastic approach in selecting its leaders and I am not just referring to the Nehru-Gandhi family.The Bharitiya Janata Party whose leaders are not  hereditary , has had its share of problems with aspersions cast against some of their leaders as well. So regardless of who comes into power do not expect major changes in policies. It is expected that in the next elections neither party will have enough seats to form a majority, but will have  to rely on the support of the regional parties, so you will continue to have the push and pull which will affect the implementation of policies .

Why then do I look at the Indian glass as being half full ?

First look at the economy and the  dynamics of economic decisions made in the country.This is done by the nexus between the politicians, the bureaucrats, and a few  major business houses. While I would not be as bold to say that this has been swept clean, there are indications of change, which I think will make the crony capitalists and the fixers a bit more careful and hopefully lead to a gradual  decline.With the reduction of these underhand deals, it forces the government to level the playing field.

Also the recent downturn in the economy and the decline of the Rupee, the government has realized it cannot  arbitrarily change the rules, (such as changing a law with retroactive effect going back to fifty years) and expecting it  not to  have any impact. This made both  the foreign and increasingly the honest  large Indian business houses nervous and all exercised their  the option to invest elsewhere.The rules are now being changed and the economic situation is now stabilizing.

The most visible and forceful impact on unearthing the  the links between the government andthe  business groups, has been the former Controller and Auditor General of India. Under the guidance of a career bureaucrat who was probably appointed to the job because the government probably thought he would be someone who would toe the line. Yet once he stepped into the  job, he highlighted the mis-deeds of the politicians, the bureaucrats and the business.With the help of the media a a series of "favored" deals were highlighted and the government was forced to take action. Where the government hesitated  or public interest groups or individuals such as Subramanium Swamy and Prashant Bhusan or a Non Governmental Organization stepped in and went to court. They are not afraid to take on the government and the courts have taken cognizance and pressurized the government to investigate the charges and report to the courts.  This would not have happened in the past. Things would have been swept under the carpet.

 In my blog of July 16th, I had mentioned that on July 3rd the Supreme Court had ruled that convicted legislators should not be allowed to attend the state or central legislators. Recently there were two prominent politicians were expelled. This is a giant step as 1460 Members of Parliament  & Member of the State Legislative Assemblies have criminal cases against filed against them. The legal process being what it is in India, it took close to twenty years for these two politicians to be convicted and finally removed.Politicians from all parties tried hard to submit a ordinance to the President which would over ruled the judgement , but facing  a huge surge of public opinion against that, it was withdrawn. The impact of this is that convicted felons will no longer grace the halls of parliament and legislature. 

The second  significant event is the passing of the Right To Information Act. This was passed a few years ago.While not universally successful  throughout India, the common man is increasingly  using it to seek information from the the government as to why a particular service is not being delivered ( for example why is it taking six months for his passport to be issued ?). Also details about government expenditure and stories are emerging about the misuse of funds by politicians and bureaucrats and reported in the media. Using the results, in some cases public interest litigation is being filed against the culprits.

The other battle which  the government and the political parties are fighting is to keep political donations out of the ambit of the Right To Information by introducing a bill. It will be interesting to see if this eventually  gets passed or will the government be forced to withdraw it because of public opinion ?

The third significant  tool to root out corruption which is battling its way, with strong opposition is the Jan Lokpal Bill.or the Citizens Ombudsman Bill. It is effectively a  Anti-Corruption, Grievance Redressal And Whistleblower Protection Bill. Since 1963 attempts have been made to introduce this bill but is bitterly opposed or attempts are made to water it down so as to dilute its effectiveness. In my opinion it will be passed within the next political term.

The fourth item which is having an impact is the gradual  implementation of E-governance. Almost all of the states have started this initiative with Gujarat leading the way. This ranges from speedy delivery of public services to passport issuance to public sector tendering of projects to the issuance of bio-metric  Aadhaar cards which ensures that the needy have some identity  which enables them to claim the benefits and open bank accounts. While these are far from perfect and it will take some time to be truly effective, the Economic Times of 29th October reported that  over a billion  e-governance transactions have been consummated 

With the Supreme Court ruling, the Right to Information and the Jan Lokpal Bill ( once passed), the continued implementation of e-governance,  you will see the cleansing of the Indian system starting to happen.

On the political front, activist Arvind Kejriwal has launched his own party with its candidates being selected in a transparent manner and strictly adhering to the  Election Commissioners rules on expenditure. Having started less than a year ago, it has made substantial in-roads in the capital. Based on initial surveys it is expected that it might end up playing the role of a king maker. It will be an embarrassment to both the political parties.

As Gurcharan Das a management consultant and former head of Procter & Gamble India, had mentioned in one his presentation that when the middle class reaches close to fifty percent, they start playing an active role in demanding a change in the how the country is run. While we might have not reached that level yet, the middle class is becoming increasingly vocal and active in expressing their unhappiness, such as the recent rape cases in Delhi and Mumbai, 

The media is of course playing an active role in highlighting the crimes, the mis-deeds, but the bias appears to be towards the urbanized middle-class. Nevertheless even at the state level if the perpetrator is a politician, a relative of the politician or a high level bureaucrat, the media picks it up and this forces the police and the state to take action.In the past this would have not even be brought to light.

All this does not mean to say that we can expect better governance, better security, better services being provided  by the government departments  in the immediate future,  but as pressure is being put to make their operations more transparent, they will gradually have to start delivering. The change will be gradual, but the pace of change is going to start picking up.

In a recent book "The Party "  I am reading  about China the author mentions that in terms of economic development,what China has been able to achieve in thirty years,  it took the United Kingdom and the United States a century, but do we want to follow in China political model?

 Its bad enough having our own dynastic rulers, but shall we replace this with a non-transparent system which every decade or so,  foists some unknown party leader as our ruler - although even in China the dynastic approach seems to be seeping in through the appointment of sons and grandsons of Mao's closest comrades, commonly referred to as princelings, being appointed to senior positions.

While I did not anticipate some of these changes during my life time, I am a bit more optimistic now and feel that we will start  to see some of these happening  in my lifetime. After all I did see these radical changes happening over a period of two to three decades in the city of  states Hong Kong and Singapore where I lived. I recognize that India is on a different scale, but it has been more than fifty years since independence. All it takes is for good governance to start from the top and you will be amazed at how quickly it filters down I hope that I will live to see the day.

Is The United States Going To Have Another Golden Age ?

During the last fifty years or so, there have been at least  three periods when the world's crystal ball gazers ( including some of the Americans themselves ) have been writing about the decline about the United States.This time after visiting New York after almost two years since  my last visit in October 2011, I am even more convinced that these naysayers are wrong.  United States is going to have another golden period similar to the fifties and sixties, driven by its shale oil and gas and its new manufacturing techniques. 

The first time every one was talking about America's decline was in the early seventies when oil prices shot up from about three dollars to twelve dollars.This combined with President Jimmy Carter's fiasco in Tehran convinced everyone that it was the beginning of the end of America not just as economic power but as a super power. That was not the case. It restructured and bounced back.

Then in the late eighties the world started speculating that Japan was going to take over as the world largest economy. The Japanese banks and companies market values shot through the roof . The far sighted Americans insisted  their children study Japanese. The world oohed and aah-ed about Japanese manufacturing technique and its just in time logistics. Looking back you would think how could the world have believed that this tiny nation without any natural resources, which had lost a war a few decades earlier could be the cock of the hill, but it was the general feeling. However that feel good feeling for the Japanese lasted about a decade.

The new century saw the emergence of another burgeoning world economic power,China. This was a more plausible candidate considering a couple of century ago they were the world's largest economy. While it is too early too start speculating that it too will follow the Japanese path, what is interesting to see that towards the end of the first decade of the new century, the Chinese state owned companies were among the world's largest . Now five years later, nine out of the top ten world companies are again  American. Among the fifty largest companies in the world more than fifty percent are American.As has been written often enough the Chinese , in spite of its large population will have the same greying population. The leaders have been aware of this for some time , but appear to be unwilling to change their one child population. If this continues they will face the same issues as the Japanese where there will be a  relatively smaller percentage of the population supporting the older generation.The difference is the Japanese will be wealthier on a individual basis than the Chinese even if the Chinese economies overtakes the United States.

Over the last five years the dynamics of the American economy seem to be undergoing  a once in a lifetime change. After almost sixty years it has become energy independent. While New York might not be truly reflective of mainstream America, during my recent visit to New York it seemed that more than fifty  percent of the vehicles on the road were either SUV's, vans or large limousines. Apparently some of the trucking companies have started switching to gas to fuel their fleets. I would assume that it is a matter of time before the car manufacturers start churning out cars running on natural gas as well.

 At the risk of repeating what I had said two years ago, the cheap energy is pulling back  not just some of the energy intensive industries such as fertilizers, steel, but according to the  Boston Consulting Group, other basic industries such as toys,automobile parts, bags and utensils. The increase in Chinese labor cost is pushing the re-shoring of the manufacturing back to America.

In addition with the economic situation stabilizing in Mexico, it together with the United States and Canada will be the largest free trade zone in the world. With Mexico providing the cheap labor,Canada and the US cheap energy, its  market for the products will once again provide  the economic engine for the rest of the world.The latest immigration statistics from Mexico shows that the immigration from and to the United States is balanced.

The above  together with its academic infrastructure and its  impending immigration policies welcoming students with background in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, will add to the further inflows of the best and the  brightest from around the world.

Finally the  catalyst to the growth is the availability of capital like no other in the world. The capital markets in the United States has deep pockets catering to different types of risks, funding social ventures.While the Wikipedia still ranks London as the top financial center, the Huffington Post quotes a study commissioned by the City of London and carried out by A/Yen Group,which ranks  New York as  number one.In my personal opinion, it  will be some time before London regains its top spot,if ever. 

In the meantime while the Republicans and the Democrats continue  their  one up-man ship, guised under political ideology, it is still the world's premier safe haven.United States Treasury securities continue to be the largest holdings of almost all  the reserves of sovereign nations.

With this capital flow combined with the change in reduction of oil imports and  manufactured goods,together with increased exports, and inflow of money finding a safe home,  I would be betting on the American economy and the dollar in the long term.


New York Random Observations - September 2013


This time again I spent about two weeks in New York, of which I spent almost five days in bed due to an infection. However during  the remaining period I walked the streets, read the newspapers, and generally observed New York, New York !!  While I have always been a huge fan of London, I am in the process of switching my loyalties to New York.Perhaps this subliminally switching is happening  because my daughter lives there and  I have not been to London for a few years, but I think it is more than that.

New York is booming . The streets, the restaurants, the stores, the museums, the supermarkets were all as crowded as last time.Tickets to the Broadway shows were almost impossible to get unless you had booked weeks in advance. The Apple store was as full as last time. I do not think there is any city in the world has as many eating places or the variety of cuisines as New York. Hong Kong might match in restaurants per capita but not in terms of variety. As an example one evening some friends decided to get some take away from a Pakistani restaurant. Since my friend was raving about the food, I decided to go along. Putting my hand on my heart, I could say that if you moved that entire place, including the clientele,  to a trucking stop in Punjab, India, it would fit right in. You would not have to make any change.  The only thing which would stand out would be one of  the Hispanic "chef", but even he could be mistaken for a north east Indian. In my personal opinion London falls behind.

On the real estate front having lagged behind other international cities such as London, Hong Kong, Singapore etc, on a relative basis , New York ( particularly Manhattan, and neighboring Brooklyn) is making up for lost time. Apartments put up for sale , particularly condominiums receive bids substantially more the asking price. Bidders are ready to pay cash rather than it be subject to availability of mortgage for fear of getting gazumped.In some parts of the city , prices appear to  have gone up almost twenty-thirty percent  in the last twelve to eighteen months. Put your money in New York !!



The above is based on my observations as a lay man without any serious research expect for reading newspapers and an occasional stab at Wikipedia. I last visited New York almost two years ago in October 2011.After my visits I wrote two blogs based on my observations.( See (1)  http://avib-randomthoughts.blogspot.in/2011/12/rumors-about-slow-death-of-united.html (2) http://avib-randomthoughts.blogspot.in/2011/11/new-york-random-observations.html )

You Dont Always Get What You Want !!!

In my blog of September 15th,2011, I had said "Be careful what you wished for " about the Middle- East.(http://avib-randomthoughts.blogspot.in/2011/09/be-careful-what-you-wish-for.html).

The West had always wanted change in that region. Now that change has come, perhaps this is not what they had anticipated. Unfortunately the real world rarely  works according to the plans laid out by America's political strategists.While some of the countries have been able to remove their dictators, they have been left  with anarchy and chaos.

Iraq has an elected government, but continues to be riven by sectarian violence, between  different religious groups and other vested interests. Libya is in a state of confusion. In Syria you have  had civil war for over  a year. Dislodging Assad has not been as simple a task as expected. There is no unified opposition. Assad is supported by his tribe members, the Hizbollah and  Iran, not to mention political support from Russia ( with arms ) and China. At of now, Assad seems far from ready to throw in the towel. If he survives, he is going to remember who his friends and foes were and could  retaliate.

Egypt might have gotten rid of Hosni Mubarak, but the elected government headed by the Muslim Brotherhood tried to enforce their grip too soon, and scared off the more secular sections of the populace, providing an opportunity for the Army to step in once again "in order to provide stability ". Daily killings  of hundreds of people are being reported, but the Muslim Brotherhood supporters are not backing off . How long this stalemate is going to last is unknown. In the meantime the West is wringing its hands, not knowing what to do. They wanted democracy. The country had free elections, however the party which came into power was not to their liking. Now they are back to square one again with the army in control. Do you get a feeling of  déjà vu ?


While most of the royal states have wisely kept their heads down, there are a few wealthy ones taking sides. They seem to  be treading on dangerous grounds. In the medium and long term, depending on how the cards stack up,there  could be  a back lash and you could have a situation when the Islamist's turn on them. The US has in the last few years become  less dependent on oil imports ( see my blog of September 2011 http://avib-randomthoughts.blogspot.in/2011/09/back-to-future.html ), and will have to decide which allies it is going to support with boots on the ground. The rest will have to fend for themselves. Do not be surprised if you see  more democratic countries emerging over the next couple of decades, after an initial period of turmoil. There is also the likelihood of further  sectarian violence as  the dominant sects  in some of these countries  play a repressive role  supported by their counterparts in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Iran and Iraq.

Over the next decade or so you will have countries in the  Middle East in a state of turmoil. Will it impact the oil prices ? Much  less than it would have a few years ago. Keep watching this space. 

America vs. India

I was just viewing the latest issue of the Economist ( August 10th)on my I phone, and looked at the section on The United States. Of the seven headers, except for one, I was amazed about how both countries were dealing with similar issues.

The first  "No  speaks", had a sub-heading of " Barrack Obama's patience runs short " and continued to talk about whether America can do business with Vladimir Putin ? Sounds like India's relationship with Pakistan , particularly with the recent killing by the Pakistan soldiers.Every time the Pakistan politicians make noises about wanting to mend fences, the Army puts a spanner in the works to make sure it does not happen.

The second "Just a little local difficulty " talks about the sexual misbehavior and the questionable business transactions by the Mayor of San Diego. You could pick many our local Municipal Corporation Heads or even the Chief Ministers and you probably would be able to levy the same charges.

"Gifts galore", the third one talks about the Governor of Virginia accepting gifts from some questionable corporate head and that it was small beer compared to the corruption of  the governors of Illinois and Louisiana, who were serving jail time. The only difference in India is that none of the Chief Ministers would  be charged, leave alone serve time.

"No play , no pay", talks about the financial mess  the state of  Illinois is, with large unfunded pension liabilities among other things. In India present liabilities ( budget deficits ) does not prevent the Chief Ministers from handing out free electricity to farmers , free lap tops to students,subsidies for gas used for home cooking which is used primarily in the urban areas.

"We will get them next year" is about the rampant drug use in baseball. While there have been no incidents of drug use among Indian cricketers, the match fixing and misuse of the sporting bodies, continues to be a problem.

"Keeping the mighty honest" writes about how the concern that " the new wave of press barons should not allow newspapers to become niche products". India is one of the few countries where newspaper circulation continues to increase. However a few years ago, taped telephone conversations revealed the close nexus between prominent journalists and the politicians, and how mutual back scratching helped each other out.


 Is it any wonder that Indian do well in the United States ?
 

The Supreme Court Broom Cleans Up The Legislature

On July 3rd a bench of The Supreme Court of India decided that it was unconstitutional for  Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assembly at the state level to continue as lawmakers, and that they should be immediately barred from attending the House.

You would have thought that this was a oxymoron that a law breaker would be setting in the Assembly making laws, when he or she is convicted.However  in 1951, when Jawahar Lal Nehru was the first Prime Minister,  the lawmakers decided to include a clause,Section 8 (4) of the Representation of the People Act that allowed convicted lawmakers to continue  attending,  provided they filed an appeal  to the higher court within three months to get a stay of the conviction. As a result you had a situation where according to the Financial Times, you had 162 out of the 543 elected Members of Parliament had criminal cases against them. Similarly according to the Press Trust of India at the state legislative level you had 1,258 out of 4,032 sitting lawmaker facing criminal cases, roughly about 30 percent.

 According to the Economic Times of July 14-20,2013details of the cases against our so called "leaders" are as follows:

1460 MPs & MlAs who have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits submitted against themselves.

688 MPs & MLAs who have declared serious criminal cases against themselves

162 Lok Sabha MPs who face criminal cases

1,258 MLAs from all states assemblies who face criminal cases

74% share of MLAs of 2009 Jharkhand Assembly who face criminal cases , the highest in the country

31% share of MPs & MlAs or the Bharatia Janata Party who face criminal cases

 21%share of Congress MPs &  MLAs who face criminal cases

A concern is now being raised by the politicians that frivolous cases may be filed against them in friendly courts which would lead to their disbarment. Perhaps the lawmakers will now  better appreciate how the common public feels when they are faced by intimidation by the bureaucrats and  cases linger on for decades.

Hopefully the Supreme Court broom will continue on its mission to clean up the politics of the  country.

Does Urbanisation End Discrimination ?

Two recent reads made me think again how the United States and India are similar. " The Warmth of Other Suns" by Isabel Wilkerson which won the numerous awards ,is a fascinating book which tracks a few African Americans  who migrated from America's deep south to New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. Most of them were bright and educated but had to flee because of a lack of opportunities and constantly fearing fearing for their lives from the whites.  The other read was a  news item in the Hindu newspaper of June 24th, which mentioned about a boy from a lower caste who had passed the entrance examination for the Indian Institute of Technology- which has a lower acceptance rate than MIT or Harvard. The article quoted him as saying  “I am the only one in my neighborhood to study this far, but no one knows that I have cleared the IIT entrance. I have not made it known in my village, as life would be made difficult for me and my family by persons from the dominant caste " In both cases the superior " caste" wanted to ensure its economic status was not threatened even if it meant resorting to life threatening violence.

The race discrimination in America did not end with the Civil War when the slaves were emancipated. It took another century for it to formally end through legislation and through non-violent means. However prior to that with the growing urban developments of manufacturing and business hubs on the Northeast, West Coast and the Midwest, the smart , talented, educated and gifted blacks were provided an opportunity  to move to the cities where they were able to live free from fear. From the early 1900's to the 1970's approximately seven million blacks moved out of the South. While not totally free from discrimination, they were able to pursue jobs and careers which helped them climb the economic ladder. The case studies from the book track the life of a doctor, a train conductor and factory worker, and how they ended up with a better life than if they had stayed on in Mississippi or Florida or in other Southern States.

If Hitler had won the war we would have witnessed a global race/caste system in place with the "Aryans" at the top.In India, centuries ago some one with a similar mind set set up a caste system which still exists today.
There is a pyramid of castes with the Brahmins ( or the priestly caste) right at the top, followed by the Kshatriyas ( rulers/warriors), Vaisyas ( traders/merchants),Sudras (unskilled worker) and the Pariah/Dalits/Harijans ( untouchables) being at the bottom of the heap. According to a National Geographic article there were about 160 million " untouchables" in India. The discrimination they faced was no less  than that of the blacks in America. They lived and to some extent still do, " in constant fear of being publicly humiliated, paraded naked, beaten, and raped with impunity by upper-caste Hindus seeking to keep them in their place. Merely walking through an upper-caste neighborhood is a life-threatening offense". This occurs despite  the fact that untouchability is banned in India's constitution.

In a pattern similar to that of the United States, partly with the equivalent of the affirmative actions implemented by the government,  the smarter of the untouchables  like the successful IIT entrant , are using education to move out of the villages  to cities.With the growing urbanization , which has picked up pace over the last two decades and is likely to accelerate, there is starting to be a gradual shift of the "untouchables" to the urban areas where  discrimination is less of an issue. This in turn is leading to a shortage of cheap labor in the rural areas, where the upper caste is now forced to work in the fields, or pay the lower caste a higher salary and treat them with respect.

In America it took another fifty years after the legislation was passed  for an African American to be elected President, although some would argue that discrimination is not totally dead. In India even though  we have had a President K R Narayanan , a Dalit from Kerala , who served in the Indian Foreign Service,  discrimination  is still a problem, particularly in the rural areas. This after almost 50 years of  independence. Hopefully now as the country goes through rapid urbanization, we will see the decline of caste discrimination.

The Armidillo Indian

Indians are universally known  to be argumentative. Amartya Sen the Noble Prize winner has written a book called The Argumentative Indian.Since Independence we seem to have gone through a evolutionary process through which we have physically developed a thick skin where all criticism, insults , ridicule just bounce off . As a result , it would perhaps be appropriate to classify such Indians as the Armadillo Indian.

Leading the pack are the politicians. Over the last five years, almost every week, the print media and the twenty four television new channels  have been full of the scandal of the week. They are  about politicians caught womanising ( a mid- eighties figure with three women in bed),politicians  caught on tape having sexual relations, politicians and bureaucrats flashed across screens accepting money or  inciting riots. Yet when confronted, they  blandly deny that it was them, that the tapes have been doctored or they have been mis-quoted. The media plays it up for a few days and then drops it . The politicians continue as if nothing has happened.

Unfortunately it is not just limited to the politicians. Of late sport administrators ( who probably have never played any sport in their lives ,but now control all sporting associations ) in addition to politicians ,including  former bureaucrats, influential business men, all seem to have developed a armadillo type leathery armor shell. The Commonwealth Games threw up its fair share of administrators ,who in spite of intense coverage and actually spending time in jail, refused to resign .

The latest is  the head of the cricket administration  for India , which has a strong influence on cricket world wide, now refusing to resign. This in spite of the intense coverage in print and television and people from all walks of life asking him to go. The executive committee members which include prominent politicians who do not hesitate to cast personal insults and demand the resignation of the Prime Minister, kept quiet. They then say that the best solution was to  gently nudge the individual concerned to temporarily step aside for a short period. The interim administrator who  has been brought back in to manage the shop was apparently  previously expelled from the cricket board for embezzlement.

This reminds me of a scandal from the sixties in the United Kingdom. The then British Secretary of  State for War, John Profumo  was named in a sex scandal.. While he initially tried to brazen it out, he ultimately resigned. According to Wikipedia , he then spent the next few decades cleaning toilets at Tonybee Hall , a charity in East End of London He was ultimately rehabilitated and recognized.

I wonder how many of our politicians, bureaucrats, business men would voluntarily suffer such a penance ?
Probably none,because their armadillo shell ensures that all criticism just bounces off and nothing affects them.  

Will The Elephant Dance With The Dragon And The Lion (Tiger) In The Year Of The Snake ?

April was a good month for India from a neighborly relationship point of view. Its two difficult neighbors both went through a change of governments.  In China  after a  decade, a change of leaders happened in late 2012. Xi Jinping was elected as President and Li Keqiang  as Prime Minister. In Pakistan for the first time in its history, a duly elected government served its full term and a new Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was elected. Will this mean that India's relationship with China and Pakistan turn over a new leaf ? The initial signs seem encouraging.

Li Keqiqng  made India his  first overseas stop. Apparently this is to stress the importance which China lays on its relationship with its giant neighbor. Li had previously been to India as part of a youth delegation and had pleasant memories. Unlike other Chinese leaders ( and our own Prime Minister ) Prime Minister Li  came across as approachable, and made an effort to cultivate the Indians and the media. He said all the right things, about wanting to expand the relationships between the two ancient civilizations. At the same time he acknowledged that history had left behind certain issues which had to be dealt with.

On the other side of the border, the newly elected Nawaz Sharif during his election campaign and after, spoke repeatedly about his desire to improve Pakistan's relationship with India. The Indian Prime Minister Manmmohan Singh suitably  blew him  kisses across the border. Ironically, Nawaz Sharif family was from the Amritsar district and went across the border. Manmohan Singh's family on the other hand came across from Pakistan and settled in Amritsar.

While friendly comments are made by all parties, there are skeptics in India with long memories  who would advise Manmohan Singh to tread with caution. Just about a month before Li's visit, a contingent of the  Peoples Liberation Army  crossed  eighteen kilometers  into Indian territory, pitched their tents and refused to go back. They finally did  just a few days before the Prime Minister's visit and after India apparently  dismantled " a few tin sheds". Inexplicably the Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid made some comments comparing India to Muhamad Ali - I assume  in its ability to " float like a butterfly and sting like a bee." Will the lumbering elephant be able to float like a butterfly ?However in  the sixties, while the Indian Prime Minister was chanting Hindi-Chini bhai bhai, it was the dragon who flew across and landed  a knock out  punch to the elephant.

Similarly Prime Minister Vajpayee visited Pakistan and had a love fest with  Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. In the mean time unbeknownst to Sharif, the Pakistan Army Chief then decided to launch a military expedition against India which almost brought both countries to war.

Will all these positive noises now being  made by India's neighbor lead to better relationships ? Tongue in cheek, and perhaps stretching an analogy, I would say it might be possible.India's birth as a Republic was on the Twenty Sixth of January which was the Year of the Ox.. According to the Chinese Zodiac signs those born under the OX sign will have a good year in the Year of the Snake. So perhaps this will be the year where India's neighbors will make more of an effort to develop a broader relationship with us.Certainly based on previous responses there will be no hesitation on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's part .This is the only remaining chance for him to leave behind a positive legacy and at least be remembered as the person who made peace with Pakistan and China. That itself would be quite an achievement and who knows might yet win him a Noble Peace Prize nomination !!!

The Indian Dream

Today's Financial Times had a column on how China is loosing a virtual propaganda war.Apparently the bloggers ,the  columnists and the twitterati are doing takes on the new  President Xi Jinping "political strapline" of his  Chinese dream.

It quoted a popular columnist Pan Caifu who wrote " I have a dream that one day I will be able to breathe fresh air, drink water and eat vegetables that aren't poisioned" ... " But these are biological necessities and they are also the most basic rights of human, if we have to "dream" about having to these things, then talking about a China Dream is just a joke"

When ever we have a discussion  about India and China, invariably the retort is that but we are a democracy or that India has law and China has order.

My dream is that I wish it were true. Yes we have the law on the books, and we do have the highest court which operates diligently. However for the majority of the people, the law of "might is right " prevails. When the police refuse to register the cases, or in some cases are the law breakers themselves,or where it might take a life time of frequent visits to the courts,  it is difficult to believe that the justice system works.

We have come a long way economically and regardless of the constant harping, there is economic prosperity and on a daily basis I see examples of trickle down effects ( probably not so much in the rural areas). It is now important that we move to  the next level. 

While no country is perfect and certainly China is not necessarily my role model, I dream of a India

• where the common citizen is treated on par with the rich and  with the politician, 
• where he is able to get the numerous  necessary regulatory approvals without having to continuously grease palms, 
• where he is able to drive on a road which is not pot holed
• where he is not just continously reminded by full page advertisements to pay his taxes, but in turn can   have round the clock  electricity  and water  without having to resort to generators or bore wells
• where he does not have to hire his own security guards
•  where he is not constantly worried whether his  wife, daughter , sister will come home safely
• where there will be enough schools, universities for students who have the ability and desire to get a   a good education

When these things happen I will know that my dream has come true. If not, I certainly  hope and pray that  my children and grand children will see the Indian dream.  

India - Back To The Future !!!!

Over the week end of 16th March, Nitish Kumar , the Chief Minister of Bihar and the leader of Janata Dal (United), held a huge rally to flex his muscles and to show that he had no less a clout than his perceived rival , Narendra Modi of the Bharitiya Janata Party . The latter is the perceived  leading candidate for the Prime Minister's role, in the event that the Opposition were to gain more votes than the ruling Congress Party.In his speech, Nitish Kumar made a point that there if any party wanted  to rule at the national level, they would have to depend on the regional dominant parties who rule Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal.

Prior to the entry of the British , Mughal India which extended from Afghanistan to almost Myanmar, the overlords were the Mughals, but they relied on alliances with the smaller kingdoms of the Maharaja's to control and ensure that no one stepped out of line. In turn, these nobles were rewarded by increased estates or alliances sealed by marriage. This was constantly a fluid situation as at various times, ambitious satraps tried to break away and extend their territories . The Emperor would then send his troops which would be supported by the smaller kingdom who would provide the logistical and manpower support to put down these upstarts.Alliances were made and broken and re-made depending upon the circumstances.

After India gained independence, the Congress Party was the dominant  national ruling party until the seventies. Since then it has been a roller coaster ride with Congress increasingly becoming dependent on regional parties to be able to rule at the National level. Even within the regional parties, you have caste,community or provincial overlords who play in a strong role in the decisions and policies.

In turn for supporting the Congress ( or the BJP) at the center,  these  regional parties are rewarded by plum ministries where there is considerable opportunity to extend their influence , financially and otherwise because  they control   large expenditure budgets and where "leakages"of large amounts occur. The ruling party in the meantime had the exclusive control over certain areas, such as defence, national security, and foreign policy.

However , of recent the Congress seems to be loosing their grip even on such matters. You had Mamta Banerjee putting the government in a embarrassing position by staying away from a meeting with the Bangladesh head of state and refusing to be part of a water sharing agreement. At present you have the politicians from Tamil Nadu influencing the government from voting in a matter which is in the national interest to please their own state constituency. Similarly you have the state government and in some cases, not even the state government , but a regional party threatening to disrupt sporting and cultural events if these included Sri Lankan and Pakistani participants. While these might be private events , it nevertheless has a ripple effect on the relationship with the neighbors, which China and Pakistan are quick to exploit. 

Unfortunately it does not appear that going forward the situation is going to get any better. Looks like we will be back to the Mughal days, where the central government will continue to depend on the regional satraps to be able to rule. The days of single national political parties are sadly over.

Mea Maxima Culpa

In my blog of  February  twenty seventh, Getting Addicted To Food, I had pointed fingers to the parents for being responsible for not preventing the children from eating food which was unhealthy. Someone who is more knowledgeable about this matters than I am, pointed out that it is not quite as simple as that. A lot depends on the socio-economic factors. While one can berate the middle class, the lower middle class and the working class , where the obesity levels are higher ,is due to the need to fill your stomach at the cheapest cost.

In the United States, in the slums, the ghettos and the barrio's, you do not see the full range supermarkets where you can buy your balance meal of carbohydrates, vegetables , and proteins. You rely on the mom and pop convenience stores, which do not store perishables. Or you go to the neighborhood fast food joints. You can get your fill at a relatively low cost, whereas the balanced meal which has to be cooked would add up to much more.

This is increasingly the case even in the emerging market countries such as India, where there is a  influx of people to the urban areas. Increasingly both the husband and wife work and if you are in the lower end of the socio - economic spectrum , you will look for stomach fillers, such as deep fried samosas or fried spicy battered  bread fritters or kulchas, the Indian equivalent of a burger bun. Eating this day after day, you are bound to put on weight and develop numerous health ailments.

I therefore have to limit my critical comments to those parents who can afford , but who still allow the children to go for the type of food which they  know are not healthy. Finally , I also have to close with my mea maxima culpa . I plead guilty to  having allowed  my children to have sugared cereal, and the bi-monthly ( and sometimes more) outings to the fast food outlets. Perhaps I will be able to influence my grandchildren - if their parents allow me.

My Work Does Not Mean A Damn Thing !

In my blog on Writing About Art ( August 28th,2012) I wrote about the catalog of an artist who was having an exhibition in  Mumbai . In it ,the artist and a couple of critics wrote about the fantastic visions which she had while painting .It was amusing.

While reading the Financial Times of January 27th, I read a article about a American artist Carl Andre - who in 1965 created a buzz in the art world "by laying his sculpture flat on the floor.  The act of reorienting sculpture on the horizontal and inviting viewers to walk on it allowed “people to enter the space of the sculpture, not just look at it,” according to  Sarah Martin,  who is curating his present show Carl Andre: Mass & Matter, Turner Contemporary in Kent".

What I found interesting in the article were his comments on art and I quote a couple .

“I wasn’t inclined toward useful construction. I was inclined toward useless construction, which is what sculpture is.”

“My work doesn’t mean a damn thing. There’s nothing hiding under those plates.” talking about his sculpture.

Apparently he was "inspired" by a visit to Kyoto about 40 years ago and I quote from the article

" He is recounting a day spent in Kyoto with his fellow minimalist pioneer Sol Lewitt .... They roamed from temple to temple and listened to monks explain the  symbolism of each themed garden, before coming to a Zen Buddhist shrine. There, a monk advised the the two artists,  " This garden has no meaning whatsoever. It is only beautiful".

A contrast to the pages of visions and interpretation of works by most artists.

Getting Addicted To Food !!!

The New York Times of February 21st  had two articles which caught my attention.  The first one was "Children in U.S. Are Eating Fewer Calories , Study Finds ". The other one was " The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food ". Normally when you think of obesity you think of fast food and soft drinks and when you think of addiction , you think of drugs , cigarettes, or alcohol. You would not associate addiction with food produced by companies such as Nestle, General Mills, General Foods and  Kraft . However  the article talked about the great length these companies go to include ingredients which are not just unhealthy , but which make you crave for more. My intention is not to berate any of companies, because at the end of the day, as an adult you are responsible for what you eat or drink. As one of the CEO's in the article said of the consumer  " But most often,  people bought what they liked, and they liked what tasted good".

As far as drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin ,ice are concerned, the suppliers use the same argument as the heads of the multinational food companies " we are  giving the customers what they want ". The response of many of the South American countries to the United States is that they should kill the demand. Unfortunately based on certain legislation, it appears that steps are being taken to go in the opposite direction - legalizing it , first the soft drugs and then perhaps the others. Will this help solve the problem. I doubt it. If you look at the examples of legalized addictive products.

In most cases with tobacco and alcohol we start off as teenagers, not because we like their taste , but it makes us look or feel grown up and sophisticated and then gradually develop a liking for it.( I remember the first  and last time  tasting beer, I almost threw up). This then develops into a liking for it and while most of us are able to limit  it to  social drinking, there are others who exceed their limits. Similarly for tobacco, most smokers are aware of the consequences. If not, they must be illiterate. Increasingly in most countries, the packet clearly spells out in bold letters "Smoking Kills " or its equivalent , and in some countries have graphic images of diseased lungs.Similarly for alcohol.


On many social occasions you have friends " stepping out for some fresh air" when it is the opposite. The saving grace is that unlike a decade or so ago, it is not considered politically correct to smoke inside , unless it is your own house.  In both cases  taxes from  these products provide among the highest revenues, particularly for state governments in India. Concurrently the cost incurred in treating lung cancer (both in state and private hospitals ) probably offsets the revenue . The gainers are the shareholders of the companies. (Disclosure - I have shares in a tobacco company in India).

The irony of the whole situation is that while in tobacco, liquor and drugs the parents are totally against it , until most of us reach adulthood and decide for our selves, in the case of food it is the parents who are culpable. They feed the children food which they know is not necessarily healthy - starting off with sugared cereal and then moving them on fast food . The New York Times has an example of how Kraft created a whole market when its survey showed that Mothers were most busy in the morning and had little time in making lunch for the children to take to school. They created "lunchables" which was processed food and kept adding other items including dessert. In addition, the food companies advertisements are aimed at the younger children who pester their parents .Unless you are a strong willed parent, you give in, knowing full well that is is unhealthy.

 The school cafeteria added to list of unhealthy food for the children. This has resulted in almost forty percent of the population in the United States now being classified as obese. Leaders such as Mayor Bloomberg have taken radical steps in forcing restaurants to cut back on  the use of trans-fat in their cooking. Also on super sized food and soft drinks helpings.There now  appears to be some early signs that people are becoming more aware and perhaps the tide is beginning to turn, but it is too early to declare victory.

Unfortunately the unhealthy eating is not just restricted to the United States. It is now becoming univesal. We are all aware how the Pacific Islanders in countries such as Samoa and Fiji are becoming obese , but it is now spreading to countries which you traditionally did not associate with overweight people such as those in South East Asia, China and India.

In India, traditionally dairy based sugary  sweet deserts have been the norm for centuries, but now with the increased prosperity, this combined  with the western fast food and the fried snacks is leading to the age group of diabetes  and hyper tension suffers being lowered.  Public health is becoming a bigger burden and a increasing lucrative industry.

Looking at it dispassionately, one can say this is a easy problem to solve, particularly the issue of food. If the parents cut back on food items which we all know are harmful, it will set an example, but regretfully it is difficult for them to do so since they themselves enjoy it.

At  this point I have to confess my own personal addiction - a particular brand of peanut brittle made in Punjab"Swami chikee" made with peanut and raw sugar  from freshly harvested sugar cane. I have tried peanut brittle in the United States , in Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, but this brand from Punjab beats them  hands down.When I occasionally  do manage to get hold of f a few packets occasionally, I hoard them  and refuse to share it. Fortunately the season lasts from November to January and it is difficult to get stock after that. I have toyed with the idea of filling  up the refrigerator, but unfortunately ( or fortunately )  my wife puts her foot down, so every February I  go cold turkey.

The Land of Contradictions -2

In my blog of December 29th, I made the point that making laws was not enough , they needed to be enforced.

“It’s not enough to change the law. We also need cops on the beat to enforce the law" President Obama 

( New York Times January 24th,2013).

Now if only our senior  politicians ,bureaucrats and police were to send out the same message  !!!!

Coming Together at Phuket !!!

In December my wife and I attended a Indian wedding hosted in Phuket , Thailand. The Indian  bride groom attended  a  Hong Kong International school. and then went to a Ivy League college. He works for a top private equity firm. The bride is an American who works as a analyst for a large American bank. While the wedding was lavishly hosted, with every thing being well thought and taken care of, what fascinated me most was the mix of young people and their ability/willingness to participate and enjoy the functions without any hesitation or awkwardness. What particularly brought them together was the music. Every evening  there was a party which lasted till the early hours of the morning.

The young guests were a mixture of Indian,Pakistanis, Americans,Chinese,Koreans, Japanese and numerous other nationalities. Most of the girls were dressed in saris and many of the boys in kurta  pyjamas. They all appeared well at ease with their attire. The evenings started off with top well known singers from Bollywood which were then followed by djs.The singers all sang Bollywood numbers and Punjabi bhangra  - all of them with a pounding beat. The dance floor was packed solid with people dancing Bhangra. Surprisingly the Asians , who normally tend to be more self conscious, had no problem at all adapting to the " Bhale Bhale " of the bhangra with the shrugging shoulder movements and the adaptation of both fore fingers in the air ala John Travolata in Saturday Night Fever ,with legs kicking and pounding  Cossack style and circles being formed in the manner of the Jewish " Hava Nagela " . Of course no party  these days would be complete with a Gangam style, including a version of Gangam " Punjabi  " style - the Punjabi's should certainly teach  the Gangam residents a thing or two about extravagance ! The stars of the show one evening were two Korean pre-teen brothers  who outdid the bhangra boys with their vigorous version of Gangam style horse riding performance.

The djs played a mix of Bollywood item numbers and rave and other club music about which I know very little, but  people on the floor were doing the combination of bhangra, gangam style or whatever went with the beat. It was incredible seeing the mixed group and the fusion  of music and dance  with a common objective of having a good time. It was a pleasure to see the intermingling of the young ( and older people like me) and their willingness to adapt and adopt the different cultures.

They all attended  the Sikh wedding ceremony sitting cross legged on the floor and the vegetarian food afterwards, as if they did this every day. 

I have thought about it further to understand what was it which pulled this diverse group together and come to the conclusion that it  was America. Yes of course an international city such as Hong Kong  played a role , but it was the American thread which pulled it all together. The people all were from America, or had studied in America or worked for American firms.While this might be stretching it and  sound like  the words of an Americanophile ( which to some extent I am ), I cannot think of any country including the United Kingdom which impacts the people and universalizes them as America does. Being a nation of immigrants it absorbs all cultures and " Americanizes " them,  to the extent there is something common to which they can all  relate to , while still retaining their own culture.

I have worked for a large American international banking institution and a large British international banking institution ( for a much shorter time). I left the American institution almost twelve years ago , but there is a common bond  among the the former employees  which enables you to  link up and you get talking about individuals or events which might have happened decades ago. This is certainly not the case with the British institution. I have friends who have worked with European ,or Asian  institutions,companies where the camaraderie is even less or non-existent. As a non-French or non-German, or a non-Japanese , you are in different category. There are institutions which are changing - Standard Chartered is probably one of the most prominent and was one of the first to have Indian Chief Executive, but then Standard Chartered is now more of a  international institution which just happens to have its head office in London.

 If only the world could always come together and work towards  a common goal of living happily, and not worry about race or religion, it would  truly be a wonderful place.