Favourite quotes from one of my favourite book

P. Sainath has written one of the most wonderful books on India. The book titled "Everybody loves a Good Drought" is a narrative of different problems in 4 of India's poorest districts. I would recommend the books to everyone, the lines that touched me the most have been compiled below.

Its important to focus on people than in numbers – In many studies, reports, analysis and then implementation, more importance on the statistics rather on qualitative data created problem.

“The propensity of the India elite- to discuss for hours if a glass of water is to be taken by right hand or left” Vivekananda

While implementing new methodology or plan do not scrap the existing system (however bad it is) first and then implement the new method.

Identify real needs first – before action

Very small problem need to be rectified at that point only before they grow too big or irreversible

“If the cost they (poor) bear are the price of development then the whole nation is having one endless free lunch” P.Sainath

Focus on solution for the whole process and do not just try to respond to events

When we talk

I was told of this once, in fact pin pointed that when I talk about an opinion or I am sharing something I have to use the proverb I. A lot of the times most of us replace the, I with we in making remarks. When told this it did strike me and for a while I was conscious. However in some time I came back to my routine way of replacing an I with a we. Also many more replacements would happen and I would do this as per my convenience.

However a recent thought brought back this idea. And I realized that there are reasons because of which I change the pronoun when I am talking. Mostly when I am talking of something good, strength, a good quality, a difficult habit that I have maintained, I would always use a personal pronoun (I or me for the uninitiated in grammar). Although there might be a very basic reason for this that when I am talking of these things they are unique abilities and hence I can only say it for myself. However the next conversation that crossed my mind made me wonder and pushed me to find out the real reasons of changing pronouns. I was thinking of a conversation when I was talking about some strength and a weakness. While talking of strength I was always using the pronoun I and when talking about weakness I was using you. I felt pathetic on retrospect as so easily I juxtaposed the strengths on myself and the weaknesses on the other. On further thought I realized that when I have to share thoughts, opinions, judgments, I would use the proverb we. This means that I am garnering support behind my idea even if there is none.

The real problem hence is only with me. Is it under-confidence or is it introverted ness? I am still figuring out. Or do I try to take an upper hand or show superiority or make my position stronger. But more that figuring the reasons out I have to work on my usage of proverb. I am sure once I force myself to use the correct pronoun the effect of that would be positive for me and the problem that I am figuring out would automatically get solved.

I am sure things will change, what I realize now is that in the latter half of this writing piece I have only used the correct pronoun. This is quite a bit of change as now when I look at the topic I realize that I have tried to generalize my problem and used the pronoun ‘we’, instead of I.

Social Workers - demystefied

Having been involved with development work and being opinionated the way I am, have made some erratic classification. A closer look however reveals it’s not so erratic (opinionated [sic]).

Note – This is a classification made by me with my bias and stereotypical mind intact. There are people (even personally I know many) who have defied the norms.

The High flyers – They visit a slum community for an hour on some random day. This hour is the best investment, in a lot of ways! The investment of 1 hour ensures fodder for chats stretching to 8 hours (800% return) cumulative in the week. Obviously the talks are accompanied by alchohol and filthy expensive food in an upscale pub in SoBo. They can be found in fundraising and charity dinners of expensive clubs and restaurants where the amount spend on food and drinks is much more than the charity money raised. They generally wear designer clothing that do not fit them.

The offshoots – (of the above types, many a times family) Took a step and committed themselves, maybe to a fellowship or a long term voluntary assignment. Get up everyday sulking that they have to do it again. Not realizing that they are doing more harm than good. But happy in the evening when they get to talk what they are doing (or supposed to do) to friends, dad’s business colleagues. Get tanned in the glory that they are changing the world. They can be either found with their high flyer type family members at expensive places or with friends with fake accent. Spotting them is easy as bags would have some trinket made by hand by some kid of an NGO not realizing that the kid had an exam next day when he was forced to make this for an art exhibition.

The CV builders – Great academics, great test scores still not getting admission to the desired MBA course in an Ivy League College! Baba Act I do good for others ke paas hai samadhan. Baba suggests, to add weight to your CV you have to do social work (for others?) and this also adds uniqueness to your application. Hence enroll to volunteer or work full-time as per what you think would be most suited to increase your admission chances. Can find them everywhere from year long fellowships to 1 day random acts of kindness session. On the internet if an intersection is formed of the members of the mailing groups: US MBA applicants and Indian youth doing social work, all of them would be there. Attire wise has a special affinity towards kurtas but only from fabindia.

The lost clean soul – The typical struggling chap who wants to make a difference, wants to do something good and feels strongly about it. Finally he takes the plunge and deep dives into doing something. Gives full effort. For him time is at premium because the pressure from home is high to do something more meaningful (ironical!). Can be found talking animatedly with friends about his work. Is found using the words “real calling in life”, “do what I enjoy doing”, “do meaningful work” and the likes. Would travel by trains and give a second glance to the half naked kid playing on the street corner. Would definitely have read a book or two on Gandhi, contemplated or done Vipassana, have motivational, inspiring movies in favourites list.

The real men – Took the plunge, defied norms and ready to stick to it. Left career, job, or made this work their life. Went against their families and faced peer pressure. Did amazing work right from the word go because of deep passion and conviction. Will continue doing it and continue inspiring and attracting. They are idols for the lost clean soul kinds. Working with the conviction that change is possible. Only purity of actions and thought is required to achieve everything. Can be found wherever good work is being done. Will be hard to notice as humility rightly is their last name. This country needs more people like them.

The Buddha’s – I would not be doing justice to them by writing. The one word description that I have chosen to describe them says enough about them. The world needs more people like these.

It’s a strong case

It’s the cricket world cup again! To the uninitiated in cricket it seems the world cup is played twice each year. Not their fault as there are so many different cricket formats and their respective world cups plus the IPL. Yes IPL is related to cricket, it’s not just about money and bribes. Back to where I started, the Cricket world Cup is back to the sub-continent after 14 years. Amidst much heat there is something missing in the world cup this time. Excitement. The hype is not high enough and the controversies not very controversial. The good news is the better half of the scheduled matches are left to play and the excitement is building on.

There is a card up the sleeve of this world cup, if played it can give a massive boost to the prospects of this version of the game. The history of the game has had big rivalries from the erstwhile West Indies and Australia to the ever green Australia-England and off late India-Australia. Keeping Australia and its rivalries aside the greatest rivalry is between India and Pakistan. Of course the rivalry is much bigger than cricket but the pitch acts as a medium of war.

So will this world cup give the spectators a chance to see the mother of all cricket battles? Will there be a showcase of the greatest cricket battle fought in Mumbai on 2^nd April. I think it would be and the reason is not my wishful thinking alone. Here are 8 reasons that are making the case stronger:

1. One-day cricket needs revival – With T-20s becoming popular, IPL raking in the moolah, one-day crickets popularity is on the downhill slope. Despite efforts to revive it by awarding the hosting rights out of turn to the sub-continent, the world cups popularity is still low. The world cup has not been able to come back from the troughs it reached in 2007. This is of serious concern to the authorities and a big final can certainly turn things around and set the ball rolling. Again.

2. Revenue – The sheer thought of and India Pakistan final would make the T.V. and other rights holder ecstatic. The advertisement rates of the final would be 2.5 times the rate of league matches. If one of the team from subcontinent plays the final the rates would get doubled, i.e. make it 5 times. If India plays then rates would get double again and if the opponent is Pakistan then the resulting double figure makes the revenue 20 times as compared to a normal league match. The rights had been issued at exorbitant rates and the companies want a handsome ROI.

3. Betting – Just like the T.V. moguls the betting syndicates’ revenues would increase umpteen times in case of an India Pakistan final. These 2 countries account for 90% revenue in the illegal betting circuit. People would love to bet on this final. And in all betting circuits it’s only the people who run the bets who laugh their way to the (swiss) bank.

4. Fixtures – India is like to finish 2^nd in their group in the league stages. Hence they will play the 3^rd placed team of group B in the quarter finals. Pakistan is likely to finish 4^th in their group and hence will play the winners of group A. In case this happening, the likelihood also being high the teams will play in grounds where they have strong support. The quarterfinals of India would be in Ahmedabad and of Pakistans in Mirpur where they would feel like home. So it’s not just the fixtures but the venue too!

These respective quarterfinal winners will play in different semi-finals and on winning will proceed to meet in the finals. Yes it’s that obvious.

5. Historically – The world cup finals has been played between the favourite team and the team that was the 4^th – 5^th favourite at the beginning of the world cup. Australia has been the favourite for the past 3 editions but has never played the final against the 2^nd favourites. This time India is a clear favourite to win the cup. The chances of Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Pakistan followed in that order. Going by the past trend the final clearly tilts towards India (favourites) and Pakistan encounter.

6. Indian & Pakistani governments – The 26/11 attacks though not yet forgotten, but time has interspaced memory of the attacks. The sinusoidal nature of the relation of the Indian and Pakistan government continues. With the troughs phase passing the governments are looking for crest like events. This final of course would be one of the highest crests. Both the government would be using the platform to re-open talks and rebuild relations.

7. USA – Can a list of reasons be complete without the mention of Uncle Sam? Of course USA wants an Indo-Pak final. Obama would watch the opening ball of the match and make his case stronger to bid for Nobel peace prize again. CIA also has it's reasons, they will only be spoken about by their official PR agency: "WikiLeaks". And of course the US based MNCs want this final to increase their revenues.

8. Shiv Sena – The tiger has not roared since a long time. The finals are in Mumbai, the BMC elections are slated next year, Sena’s popularity is not very high, and votes would get split with MNS. This is a perfect opportunity for Mr. Thakrey Sr. to reek out a loud roar. The effects of it would be the party’s ideology getting media attention, back door meetings in the corridors of power, some political arrangements made between the Maratha (who also is president of ICC) and the ailing tiger.

If these are not enough there are plenty of other reasons to have this final. Tendulkar’s final frontier, the crowds return on investment, Pakistani team that wants to come out of allegations, and the list goes on.

This might be a whimsical idea right now but the probability of it coming alive is getting bigger every moment.

Go India. Go Pakistan.

Feelings and the premium attached

Of late I have realized that feelings are some things that all of us have. Some of us are more conscious to be aware of them, some even though aware ignore them and some are not even aware of their own feelings or only realize it much slowly.

There are advantages in being each kind and with that there are disadvantages as well. Personally I feel that the one type I mentioned in the middle is able to use its feelings to its own, maximum benefit. However that part of the spectrum is very narrow and difficult to stay in.

What I think is that feelings are one of the most personal things to us. They are so very personal that their ownership is completely ours and nobody can have any sort of claim on them. Since generation of feelings is also a very personal experience then should we not attach a very high premium to this experience? This I say so because the feelings affect us in so many ways. They affect us in the shorter as well as the longer term. They can actually break us apart or guide us through an unimaginably difficult situation, safely.

In spite of the high value of the feeling, when we chose to experience them, the premium that we attach to having this experience is very low. We do not take control to decide that If we want to experience this or not. We just swim with the flow of thoughts that are gushing in the mind. We act as if we have no control in generating these feelings.

What we really seek to experience is dependent on the external factors. However this dependency is over-rated and the constant in the direct proportion has very less value. In reality what we choose to experience is something that we can manufacture.

The words say enough “choose to experience”. The words say enough on how the life of a person would be shaped. Choices are pervasive, it’s a matter of being aware and making the right ones.

Postal Service

Letters and postcards that I received recently and a post card project for my students enticed me to write this. I have not been much of a writer all my life. Hence buying stamps, sealing envelopes and posting letters has hardly been part of my memory.

However the recent turn of events has made me realise how beautiful this means of communication is. The letters I feel are like wine, they only get precious the longer they are kept. And the taste can be savoured by re-reading.

Unfortunately in todays times the only interesting fact I know about the Indian Postal Service is that the post offices were the oldest banks in India. More unfortunately they are still trying to maintain record in that style!

Graham Bell ensured that we are connected at the speed of light, Dhirubhai Ambani ensured that we are not just connected to everyone but it is the cheapest means possible. When he was unable to further reduce the price of the call he made the government increase the price of a postcard. Technology is just killing this art form.

I want to support it though. Difficult to find its place in mainstream communication but it is such a pleasing way of communication. I am sure that I am going to make myself happy (while writing) and someone else happy by sending them postcards and letters.

And the irony is that I am writing this on an electronic blog but would now hit post!

Happiness sans gratification

The month of May gone by was wonderful for me to say the least. Unlike most May's of my life that I have spent getting baked in the sweltering Delhi heat, this one was spent in the middle of mountains in a tiny village in Himachal Pradesh.

I was left with enough time and energy to think about life, more so because I was getting acquainted with Buddhist philosophy, meeting great people, learning meditation. First time in my life I was able to understand the real meaning of happiness. Until then for me happiness was merely gratification. Either material or sense but for me the supposed state of happiness was achieved only by gratification. The experience of true happiness of or rather just glimpses of it made it clear that how shallow happiness though gratification is.

I buy a pair of shows, I am happy and as soon as I have worn them for the first time the happiness vanishes!

Whereas the state of happiness is so easier to achieve and so much more blissful. I can close my eyes, concentrate on my breath and I am happy! I am now able to be more happy in adversity than earlier I would be in tranquility.

I love this line from Dan Gilbert's TED talk "..our longings and our worries are both to some degree overblown, because we have within us the capacity to manufacture the very commodity we are constantly chasing when we choose experience."

And I am not having second thoughts about my choice :)

In a few days it would be 17 months since I have shifted base to Mumbai. I came with a whimsical liking to the city. Here are some things of the city that I just love

1. Local trains - when empty or I am against the traffic!

2. Street Food

3. Roads of South Mumbai

4. Old houses

5. Sound of bhajans from a train crossing by.

6. Weekend getaways

7. People - Modest, easy going, passionate

8. No power cuts

9. Safety

10. No invasion of privacy

More to come..

63 years behind..

The verdict of the Ayodhya dispute was declared today. Albeit a lot of tension and apprehensions of violence and riots the verdict was taken well by most of the people. The verdict is simple. It follows the basic principal to divide the pie for which the fight exists.

Unfortunately the verdict also follows the policy which was adopted by the foreign rulers 63 years ago.Divide the land based on religion. The division of the disputed land of Ayodhya is not just a solution but in my opinion its is an endorsement that Hindus and Muslims cannot co-exist. And we all know how untrue is this myth. We all have heard stories from our parents and grand-parents that how in the time of adversity the two communities have only strengthened their bonds. How untrue these stories seem in times like this.

India is growing at a phenomenal rate. Rapid industrialisation, policies to implement compulsory education, reduction in unemployment are in place. However what I was left wondering is that culturally no progress made by this country. Are our minds so fragile that they can be divided on the basis that were true 63 years ago.

I do not see this verdict as a step forward. In fact it is a step backward. It might be a solution to 'a' problem but it is a problem to many solutions that the modern Indian is trying to work out. The court has taken 20 years to deliver the verdict however I feel that in one day we have moved 63 years behind.

Turkish Delight!!

Being an avid traveler and ensuring adventure on my travels I have come across some interesting things at the places I visit. One common feature of most of the big cities is the notorious crooks. The ones in Vegas and Atlanta are known world over but there are thousands of smaller scams running every where.

One of the interesting and common scams in Istanbul is related to men, women and drinks. The turks have interesting ways of striking a conversation with you. Mostly you are delighted as you generally do not meet a turk who is articulate in English. They invite you to some place where 'local' drinks are served. Its all so spontaneous and pleasant that you go to the bar with the guy (unless you have read this post!). After a few drinks a girl comes to accompany you on the table. Obviously you do not want to do anything but your friend suggests that she would be harmless. Your chivalry suggests that you buy drinks for the girl. You realise after some time that she is down 4 drinks already while your 1st one is going on. Thats ok. You are made to believe. Until the bill comes!

The uncovering of the scam starts now. The drinks that you had obliged the girl with cost 4-5 times the normal drink. And as she has had 4-5 drinks you end up paying for 20 drinks! The biggest loss would be that the effect of only one you had also would wear off while you are paying the bill!