The most important decision by US

Elections have always fascinated me. On the eve of Election Day 2016 in the US, I am more than excited. I have not much reason to be, but I just am. I remember the day in May 2014 when I called work to say 'I was sick' to stay at home and watch election results of the Indian Lok Sabha polls. I celebrated it like a festival and Mr. P had no idea what was going on with me. I was happy that Narendra Modi won, but I was happier that democracy won. The voter turn-out was a whopping 66.38% . Two thirds of the 1.2 billion Indian people actually got out and voted.

The very concept of election fascinated me right from childhood. We were introduced to it by an erudite and pragmatic teacher of History during our class representative, or as we called them Prefects, elections in the 3rd or 4th grade. Very hesitant, I stood for the elections in 3rd grade and every time a vote was read in my favour, I was elated, overjoyed to the extent of being sick wth excitement. This went on throughout my school life and I was always part of the 'class cabinet'. However, more that this what's important is how much I enjoyed the process of voting. The serious ones like me would put thought into who we were voting for and what or what not he/she could bring to the table.

I am out of touch of what schools teach about democracy today. But I truly wish that children are taught the power of vote and franchise. Its the most powerful weapon we all wield and the funny thing is- we dont realise it. Every single person we put up on the Lok Sabha, the Senate, the House of Commons, makes a difference- even if they do nothing during their tenure. Yes, even if they do nothing. Because most of the times, doing nothing, counts.

Coming back to the US Presidential Elections, yes, the Americans are choosing lesser of the two evils today. God give them strength and God give them prudence. It's their responsibility not only for themselves but for billions worldwide because of the power that the US wields.

Here's hoping that the unworthy are TRUMPed by a HILLARious turn of events.

Allah Hafiz and Bharat Mata ki Jai

So I read this sort of a proverb/saying on one of the walls, Facebook, not real. It said " I was Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, Rajasthani as far as I was in India, I became Indian only after I left India". What a poignant thought, I said to myself. I started indulging in past events when I exhibited any such behaviour of being state-specific when asked "Kahan se ho aap?" (Where are you from). And yes, while I was in India, I always said Gujarat. Never once did it occur to me to say "Main wahin se hu jahan se app hain" (I am from where you are).

So I sulked for my naivety of the past and wondered how I could make amends. However, whats important for this post is that now I am in a foreign land and how proud I feel each day to say that I am from India. Whats even more important for this post is the interactions I have had from people of Pakistan and how much love and respect I have developed for them in few short months of my stay in Paris.

Few weeks back there was a terrorist attack on Uri Military camp where 18 of our brave soldiers laid their lives. The social media was filled with hatred for Pakistan and it seemed that each Indian, if given a chance, would wield a sword and kill atleast one Pakistani. There were messages with appeal to the Prime Minister to destroy Pakistan, throw our nukes at them, have a war and obliterate the very existence of this lovely country which was my country's integral part not very long ago.

I often meet Pakistani people in the train, bus, shops and my university. With each meeting my love and respect for them only grows stronger. Yes sometimes I agree that Pakistan is a rogue state, but Pakistanis are not rogue at all- they are far from it. They are the most polite, loving and cheerful people I have met in Paris. And I am terribly sorry to say but I have not felt the warmth from fellow Indians. Their faces light up when I speak in Hindi and some broken Punjabi. And when I am leaving and bid "Allah Hafiz" to them, although I cant see it with my back turned, I know they are smiling and sending only good thoughts. I have no hesitation in saying "Allah Hafiz" just as I have no hesitation in saying "Bharat Mata ki Jai". And no matter what happens, I will always say it. Taking the name of God purifies us, no matter if its Ram or Allah.

I wanted to share how delighted I am to have had the opportunity to meet people from Pakistan and how much I will cherish this relationship in years to come.

So much for summers

I d like to believe that ‘life is a box of chocolates’. It is very hard to tell exactly what you are going to get without first opening the box and trying few flavors. Going into the summer, most interns’ worst fear is to return to school with nothing more to add to one’s résumé than a couple lines about PowerPoint-building, coffee-fetching, and note-taking efficiency. Well, fortunately that was not how it was for us at IIT Kanpur with all being placed in companies of their choice and with desired profiles. A hot debate in management student circles is: how much a short internship of two months can actually teach you? I believe it’s all about perception. If one believes in learning, it can happen in a day, in a week, in a month or year and if it is not to, then it might not happen in a life-time.

Working for developmental organisations bears lots of points of parity and differentiation with working in corporate houses. One can’t say that they are as different as chalk and cheese but yes they do have a distinction which essentially is a reflection of the nature of work that is executed in these organisations. Three of us were placed with United Nations Development Organisation (UNIDO) for its cluster development programme. It’s intimidating to be associated with a UN allied organisation as it brings huge responsibility in terms of sincerity towards work, immense significance attached to knowledge and a high emotional quotient to be able to understand the problems afflicting a small scale industry. With this onerous task on our shoulders we set out to explore the lush terrains of Punjab in the scorching but welcoming (antithesis to its limit) heat of Jalandhar, Punjab. It felt nice to be in the midst of people from the Jalandhar Sports Goods Industry. These were stalwarts who braved the turbulence of partition to establish one of world’s most respected Sporting goods manufacturer’s agglomerate. Jalandhar is synonymous with quality sports goods and the very reason behind that is the courage, endearing spirit and unending zeal in these men many of who are septuagenarian now. The next generation of entrepreneurs has done wonders in bringing glory to the businesses established by their predecessors but they struggle with many more issues like Government apathy and flawed policies. In spite of all these limitations we witnessed the generous and warm spirit of people of Punjab who leave no stones unturned to treat guests royally, even if they are interns.

Interns by day became geeks by night when long hours were spent in discussing methodologies (a favourite word in the UNIDO circles) and intervention plans (another favourite). Plans made by night were altered to extents that the original idea was not even close to documentation. But that is the fun of working in developmental organisations where everything is so fluid that you are bound to say ‘Change is the only constant’. And as we may have it ‘Change increases the Range of success’, most ideas, which otherwise would have gathered dust in elaborate reports, were implemented. Sadly, we were not around to see the results but the feeling that we innovated something brought the much needed satisfaction.

So, what did we get from this intern experience? We learnt the responsibility of engineers and their tremendous value. We learnt the greater responsibility of managers and how they also bear responsibility to the people they work with and the client. Ultimately, whatever managers work on, their product is providing a needed service to a portion of humanity.

M for Modi…M for Money?

A conclusive Modi victory has certainly created an upheaval within his party. The average BJP voter is certain to demand that he assume a larger national responsibility. The RSS believes Modi’s approach is too personalised and will contribute to a personality cult-based politics. Yet, even the RSS knows it can’t resist the tide for too long. For the moment, he is likely to resist enlarging his political sphere but in the long run, Modi’s transition to the national stage may well be inevitable.

Seldom has a state assembly election in India generated as much interest among the Indian Americans (NRG- Non Resident Gujarati) as the Gujarat polls have this time. Many of the Modi-supporters and members of pro-Hindutva groups in the US had gone to Gujarat to campaign for the BJP this time, while a group of NRIs had launched a pro-Modi campaign from the US by sending mass emails, booking full-page advertisements in newspapers and making mass telephone calls to their friends and relatives in Gujarat. The NRGs are ready to adopt villages and give funds to the state government, but they demand voting rights in parliamentary and assembly elections and they believe Modi will fight for them. Commercial capital is wary to enter a state governed by a man ‘seemingly’ prone to create social instability for political and ideological gain. Gujarat is desperate for this source of capital inflow, banking on positive feelings of NRGs on the fronts of good governance and development. Many NRGs realise this and did expect a change in Government based on anti-incumbency, but these were very few in number. It is this urge of the government to project itself as Business friendly, investor friendly, that gave rise to the Vibrant Gujarat summits concluded in 2003, 2005 and 2007.

Mr Modi, hailed as “Vikas Purush” has a few cards in his kitty to attract NRGs and investors for a long time.

• The new agriculture policy is designated to be innovative and modern.
• The 11 new ports expected to come up during the Eleventh Five-Year Plan period are expected to boost the economy further.
• The power plants in the pipeline will make Gujarat self-sufficient in this sector.
• The Modi Government’s steps like annual summer campaigns to enrol girl children to school, and a drive against female foeticide, besides the budgetary provisions to open employment exchanges exclusively for women.
• The Modi Government’s steps like annual summer campaigns to enrol girl children to school, and a drive against female foeticide, besides the budgetary provisions to open employment exchanges exclusively for women.
• Mr Modi organised nearly 20 women’s conventions across the State and a series of “Krishi Mahotsavas” (Agro-Festivals).
• He also initiated special English coaching facilities to make the Gujarati educated youth employable.

So we see that Modi is playing his cards well. Both for the resident Gujarati and the NRG.
Although Gujarat has always been business-friendly State, it was during the Modi regime that the fruits of the policies of economic liberalisation and globalisation became visible. Top companies such as Reliance, Adani and Essar have set up base in the state. Allowing corporate houses to set up projects even before clearing paper work has worked wonders. A recent RBI report said Gujarat ranked first in India with the proposed investments of $17.8 billion in 86 projects, comprising 25.8 per cent of the total investments of $69 billion received during 2007. More investments are likely to pour into the state if one considers the report prepared by Deutsche Bank recently that stated Gujarat offers the best investment potential among all the states and union territories in the country.

The gross domestic product growth in the state is 10.33 per cent, compared with 9 per cent for India as whole.
Industrial growth in India is a mere 11 per cent, while Gujarat has galloped ahead to 15 per cent.
Unlike growth rate of agriculture in other States at three to four per cent, Gujarat had a growth rate of more than 10 per cent in this sector.

As the most industrialized state Gujarat accounts for 20 per cent of the industrial output, 25 per cent of its textile production, 40 per cent of its pharmaceutical production and 47 per cent of its petrochemical production and 21 per cent of India's exports.
With these laurels to his side there are many down-sides to Modi’s mode of governance. Apart from the constant criticism he receives for being a mass murderer and communalist, there are flaws drawn out in the developmental model of Gujarat.

Gujarat's Total Debt is 24 BILLION dollars which is about 3 times the state's annual tax receipts. The annual interest on these debts alone is 25 % of the state's annual revenue. In the last 5 years the debt accrued is equal to what was accrued in the previous 50 years.
Narendrabhai Modi’s victory will be comforting news for the SEZ chapter as he plans to make Gujarat the SEZ capital of India and ensure that the state maintains a steady 12 per cent growth rate for the next five years. Farmers' protest against Reliance Special Economic Zones, have been tactically suppressed making the road smoother for 33 of the SEZ proposals in the state.
For the business-minded Gujarati M for Modi might be M for Money but we sure hope it does not turn into M for Menace and Misery!

Poem-Green Payjamas

This poem is for you Sam.... my best friend....

I wear them night i wear them day...
You cant separate them from me in any way
I like them red, i like them blue... but green is the colour thats the best hue.
Lets get cranky, lets get smart..
The arrow is not always suppose to hit the dart...
Let it fly.. fly away from where it was supposed to be...
That way i like it cause it is flying like me.
The Beatles come and buzz right on my nose...
While i was expecting a handsome guy to come with a rose...
But true love will come at its own sweet paceI ll wait for that..
my life's not a race.If it would be i d still run with payjamas green..
I dont need to tell everyone always what i mean.
Lets get nerdy, lets get geeked...
Its not always I who is supposed to be freaked.
I ll wear them nite, i ll waer them day...
If u want to stop me you ll have to go the other way.