Deve Gowda, to me, is The Go(w)d…Ask me why ?

Deve, in all the languages I know of, means God …and Gowd sounds like God, albeit with a twist ….of course – with a Twist…So here is The God – with the twist….and what more he acts like one too.

So, The Go(w)d, as I lovingly call him, is beyond the realm of my understanding…When I hear this name the one thing that comes to my mind is his ardent love for sleep…It appears that he has been deprived of sleep throughout his life- a la Kumbhkarn ! Everywhere he went, every word he spoke, every step he took – he symbolized senility, boredom, sleepishness etc etc..How long can one sleep, by the way? ….I’ve not sneaked into his bedroom…nor have I ever dreamt of, but yes the question lingers.

Deve Gowda – Tussi Go(w)d ho!….I mean Go(wd) of Sleep

That was the image that I had about him till about a few years ago…

..And then began the power struggle in Karnataka. We know how the Dharam Singh government was toppled. Although they say, it wasn’t without his blessing – it is quite in the open how much The God loved his children just like any other man on earth. The children a.k.a  The Prince & His Anna (Read Kumaraswamy & Revanna) were a victim of his nepotistic tendencies..or rather beneficiaries, should I say?. ..And they say his party is called Janata Dal which means party for the people, where all the people are his family members.

Deve Gowda – Tussi Go(w)d ho!….Really!

…And did I mention about his aversion to anything that is remotely called “development”.  No, I  wasn’t going to speak on that…Today he proved me right, in front of the media – Showering his blessings for the CM – Haven’t seen yet ?  See it here.

Not that I am a big fan of Yeddy, but these kind of showers does help The God’s cause in  enhancing his image as the “Biggest” Go(w)d of his times. And if that is not enough, his son – erstwhile CM, emerges and supports his dad.

Jaisa Pita, Vaisa hi Putr…..Oops! Suputr!

Yeah right – you say that the CM is a Ba@$%@#d and say later, this was said because he was stressed. WTF ?  And we speak of moral standard for ourselves, our politicians and the society in general. Imagine the plight of the millions of kids who would be idolizing The God….oops, The Go(w)d.

What lessons?!..Wah bhai wah! …Tussi wakeyi Go(w)d ho ji!

Surprised that this has not caused a furore yet on the Twitterati or anywhere else…So here is my contribution to the twitter world – my first of sort. I am creating a hashtag called #TussiGowdHo…Similar Posts:

• Sumathi Vs Muthalik
• Fifth Front–The Game Changer?
• Manmohan Singh Wins The Confidence Vote
• What The Hell?
• Look At Our Laws!

• Dr. Manmohan – New-Clear Prime Minister Gets His Opposition Nuked
• Who Will Be India’s Hung Prime Minister ?

Well, that was  my Facebook status message a couple of days ago. Quite understably, no one understood why I put it out there and what was the context. Call it my overconfidence or pass it as yet another PJ (read Poor Joke), what I wanted to convey was this :

Will Jagan Mohan Reddy a.k.a Jagu-(a)-R replace our soft spoken septuagenarian Rosaiah a.k.a The Rose. I never imagined I’d have to explain my PJ all over again… Never mind – that gives me another subject to decipher..hehe!;)

It takes no brains to tell that I am talking of Andhra politcs. With the death of YSR, there is a sympathy wave amongst his loyal followers to make YSR’s son the next Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.

On one hand Mr. Rose has taken over as the care taker CM, for now. He very conveniently portrays an image – I am a loyal party soldier, I will do what “madam” or our high command says, I have no ambition and all that crap.  Hard to believe, but so far the 70+ something Mr.Rose has portrayed a decent “I am not too keen” kind of an image.

On the other hand, JMR a.k.a. The JaguaR (according to me), is playing it safe – It is an emotional time for him having lost his dad. The odds are in his favour to become the next Chief Minister of AP. That he doesn’t have the requisite experience in politics doesn’t hold much water for now with his loyal fanbase- they are going by the same Indira Gandhi-Rajiv Gandhi logic.

Will “madam” budge in to the pressure tactics by Jag’s fans ? Can Cong afford to have an inexperienced CM to rule a state like AP ? Will it be fair to veterans like Rosaiah, Jaipal Reddy etc. who have served the party for so many years ?

On the same coin, this might be a great opportunity to bring in a fresh new face and take advantage of the situation. That JMR is a successful businessman, an upcoming media tycoon will play well for him – only if he plays his cards right.

My bet is on long time Cong loyalist -Jaipal Reddy who is not only experienced at the Centre but also belong to the Reddy community which is a significant force in Andhra politics today (although I hate to see caste-based politics, the reality is that this is what moves India, today – look at the Maya Memsaab!).

Jaipal Reddy, for now, is keeping silent and staying away from any controversies. Is that part of a larger plan, by the way ?

Either ways – interesting time in Andhra politics. Can’t wait to see what’s next…

Image Credit: WikipediaSimilar Posts:

• Who Will Be India’s Hung Prime Minister ?
• Elections, Political Parties & Cheap Publicity
• The Cesspool Called Indian politics
• TRS Pulls The Plug On TDP!
• The Battle For South Bangalore

• Duvvuri Subbarao-Top Andhra IITian For The Top Indian Job
• Give The New Party Some Breathing Space

Apparently, several Indian actors in the past have been so called victims of racial profiling including Aamir Khan, Irfan Khan, John Abraham, Neil Nitin Mukesh et al….and more recently our Ex-President, Dr. Abdul Kalam.

While I sympathize  with anyone for having to go thru this ordeal, strip search is a common practice here in the US port of entry for anyone who they think is remotely suspicious and I kind of agree. No wonder US did not have another 9/11

A rule is a rule is a rule.

Whether you are a celebrity, or the President, the King or an ordinary man- why should you be given a special status because of what you have achieved. Aren’t the law of the land supposed to be the same for all ? Why blame the security guards or officers ?? They just followed the procedure & protocols. They don’t know their own celebrities, let alone Indians…..and why should they ?

Don’t we say – Equal right to every one, equal opportunity to every one and all that jazz ? Why discriminate when it comes to celebrity ?

What irked me more was the rants from our own Soni Kudi : Tit for Tat, saying ” You’ve done blah blah to our celebrities, so we will do it to yours”…

C’mon lady, don’t you think before you speak out ?…

Give me a break!!!  Why don’t you look at improving the security procedures in the backyard before spelling out your vendetta. Why don’t you ask  Chidu bhai not to spare anyone who is remotely suspicious. On one hand you keep ranting at every opportunity, at the same time you don’t do enough to tighten your own belt. Look at how your administration allowed a man to breeze thru security with guns. Learn some lessons!!!

Coming to the point – That SRK had to go thru this ordeal was his misfortune, but I guess the rule applies and should apply to everyone. Celebrities are no exception!

For once, I agree with Salman Khan – No big deal!!!Similar Posts:

• Shahrukh Khan- A Winning Star ?
• Is Asin Here To Stay After Ghajini?
• Billu Barber–A Complete Family Entertainment
• Yuvvraaj Music Review
• Salman Khan – Is He A Copycat?

• Dhoni Gets An All New Female Entourage
• Lost And Found

Hillary Clinton’s visit to India last week paved another path for bilateral ties. Defense deals, new trade agreements, joint ventures to fight climate change etc., are some of the key highlights of discussion during Hilary’s visit to India. Given the mandate that this election has thrown out coupled with Obama’s vision for India, the number of opportunities between India and US will only grow north.

If I were a business man and I had some innovative concepts or planning to expand my current footing, the first thing that I would do is to look at countries like India and China. Assuming I had a few million dollars to plan for a plethora of activities, my first few activities would include doing a survey, understanding the local requirements, hiring a team of experts locally, assigning them responsibilities, setting them targets and working with them to achieve my goals. Easier said than done, right ?

Now lets think practically – How many of us have a few million dollars to spare ? How many of us can afford to go to India often, stay there for a while and establish practically everything from scratch – A handful ?

A difficult proposition considering the effort required to set up your office, infrastructure, team etc., right ? So, what happens when you land in India – How will you be treated ? Will you be cheated ? How are the hotels ? Is everyone transparent enough ? What is your support level ? Who can you contact, in case you need help ? Do you need to take insurance ? How can you trust the doctors there ?

A million questions in your mind and you don’t have your answers. You wish there were answers to all these questions, so you could happily venture out in India without having to worry about individual and organizational credibility. You wish there was a helping hand to walk you through your road to success. You wish there was someone responsible who answered all your queries. You just wished !

Until about a few years ago, these wishes would have been mere wishes, with entrepreneurs and businessmen wading in the dark experimenting with the truth and reality of life in India. But now, things are different, way different than you can imagine.

A company called Entry India has made the life easier for Americans to start business in India. In their own words

Our Mission at Entry India is to Bring India Opportunities and US Businesses Closer.

The First Step towards this is to be aware of the ‘opportunity’. Our opportunity reports are specially designed for small businesses, start-up companies and investors to quickly size up the opportunity and get prepared to seize it. Our personalized approach to collect, organize, validate, and disseminate information is uniquely effective in overcoming entry barriers and ensuring successful outcomes for you.

India is beckoning U.S. companies. Let us take you there.

Entry India has recently completed their Delhi Travel Directory . Whether you are traveling to India for pleasure, business, study or medical care, the best way to ensure a successful and hassle free trip is to be thoroughly prepared for the trip. Delhi Travel Directory covers important information for planning your trip to Delhi and practical personal, business and government contact numbers and information you will need while in Delhi. It is a resource created by Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) for NRIs to make their endeavors in Delhi successful especially when they visit Delhi for personal or business purposes.

Like Delhi, there are plans to come up with Directories for Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai etc. What more? Each of the associates/address listed in this directory are handpicked and qualified by Entry India LLC. It can’t get better!

Dr. Mahendra Pratap, one of the partners with Entry India, presented ‘Doing Business in India’ at the 14th BMM Convention’s US-India Trade Fair/Expo on July 04th, 2009. Here is a glimpse of the presentation.

Still thinking ?Similar Posts:

• Immigration Issues In America – Blessing In Disguise For India ?
• My Vision for India- Bridge the “India-Bharat” divide
• Why India is Special
• Of IT, English And China
• 26/11-Kargil Version 2.0

• Can We Realize The Dream of Better Transport?
• Buying mutual fund units in India

More often than not the maids in India end up being the victims although there are times when they are on the erring side too. Sometimes they are accused of stealing petty household goods and at times they become cynosure of all eyes for all the wrongdoings. All said and done this so called “Maid In India” controversy doesn’t seem to die down.

The latest on the list involves a tinch of Bollywood masala. Long story short, the recent Shiney Ahuja rape case – one which shocked the nation, convinced us there is quite a bit of villain among the heroes too. I might be prejudging the case, but going what has been reported in the news it seems likely that Shiney will stop shining for a while. The point is the maids have become a victim of their own circumstances, like most women, in front of their own heroes.

Brings me to the point-Will we, in India,  ever get to a stage where we rely on professional maids for our saaf-safaai ? Can this unorganized sector be made more organised so that crime of this sort can be rooted even before they occur ? Will we, the middle class Indians, can ever live without a maid ?

Well, quite possible…if the government wills. May be its time for the government to step in and regulate that unorganized market  and show a ray of hope to the poor and downtrodden by bringing in professionalism, accountability and most importantly security for the server and the served.

Food for thought ?

Image Credit: Ahron de LeeuwSimilar Posts:

• Driver Licence System In India–What Do I Want ?
• Driver License System In India – Let Experience Show You The Truth
• Is India Failing as a Civilized Society?
• Moral Policing In Modern India
• Foeticide in Liberated India?

• Let Us Celebrate “The Good Citizen’s” Day
• It’s All In The Mind

In contrast, Meera Sanyal’s campaign has caught my attention. Like many educated and urban politicians, Meera Sanyal seems to have succeeded in getting the right people in place for her campaign and it is showing results.

Look at her website – The site is updated with the latest that is happening with her campaign, her fans are getting daily updates in their mailboxes, facebook campaign is also gaining momentum. In a nutshell there seems to be lot of moving parts, which definitely is a sign of strength.

I just hope Meera Sanyal wins the South Mumbai constituency even if it is by a small margin. That would really bring a lot of cheer and hope for Mumbai, which the city always deserved.

Kudos to the team that is putting up the brave effort, selflessly. I am sure most of them are volunteers and are happy to give their time for doing the right thing, promoting the right candidate. It is very easy to go with the crowd but it takes courage to stand out from the crowd. What the volunteers are doing is nothing short of creating an independent movement of sorts and is worth applauding. Hope it pays!

My message to Mumbaikars

Think twice before you vote this time. What you have seen on 26/11 is proof enough that our current system has failed and failed miserably. What you need is a government that works and leaders that are effective, not those who sit on a pile of cash and promote their selfish interests. We, Indians, have seen the worst of politics and politicians. Time for a change. Meera is the change that you’ve been looking for. If you don’t see it now, it might be too late.

Mumbai – Vote for change. Vote for Meera!

Image Credit: WikiSimilar Posts:

• Elections, Political Parties & Cheap Publicity
• Slumboy Milllionaire For Lok Sabha
• To Vote Or Not To Vote?
• The Battle For South Bangalore
• Mr. Advani-Are You Listening?

• Meera Sanyal-The Hope For Mumbai
• General Elections-Get Your Thoughts Published!

The reason – Jarnail Singh, a senior journalist threw one of his shoes at the Home Minister of India, P Chidambaram. It seemed too good to be true.

But then it reminded me of the  Zaidi, a journalist who became a national icon in Iraq and neighboring countries for having thrown a shoe at George Bush. If that’s not all, there are people who offered incredible rewards to this pseudo hero included huge sums of cash, daughter for marriage, land, citizenship etc.

Similarly the so called representation of the Sikh community, the Youth Wing of The Shiromani Akali Dal, offered Jarnail singh Rs.2 lakhs and several others offering their support in some form or the other. This, in retaliation to the injustice meted to the Sikh community for having acquitted the likes of Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, who were supposedly involved in the massacre of the Sikhs after the Indira Gandhi assassination in 1984.

Now coming to my point of view on this whole episode of the Sikhs protesting and the government in a mode of silence over the entire issue.

This is definitely a blotch in an otherwise illustrious administration. Whether it is for the court to decide or not or if CBI has completely exonerated Mr. Jagdish Tytler, the Congress should have taken a stance that Tytler is in the center of all this harakiri and hence should not be an electoral candidate for them in the forthcoming elections. There is no denying the fact that the courts look at hard evidence and in this case they seem to have ruled out despite an NRI, Jasbir Singh, coming forward as an eye witness.

Whether justice has prevailed or not is a matter of contention and time will be a witness to that – as there are several faces to this coin, what has really shocked me is the level at which the journalistic standards have been stooping down, in recent times.

That Jarnail Singh apologised unconditionally, speaks high of him and his ethical standards but on the same coin, the incident should have never happened and this country should never have witnessed something like that. It is unforgettable and unforgivable by any standards.

Take the instance of Zaidi – The very next day he was taken into custody and put behind bars for 3 years (Now I hear his punishment has been reduced to a year) speaks high of the standards that even a wounded country like Iraq follows. And here we are, letting him off just because there is an emotional crowd backing him.

I am surprised that Jarnail Singh has not been booked under any charges. I definitely understand the sentiments of the Sikhs and I respect that. Having said that, Jarnail Singh, to me is an Indian first and a journalist next…nothing beyond that. This whole episode has been so much politicized that bad behavior went unnoticed which indirectly is a sign of encouragement. I will not be surprised if very soon you would see others too resorting to such cheap tactics without the fear of being punished

If Indian media and those who manage the law and order in the country do not resort to punishing the guilty when there is ample evidence, it will only further wreck the already weakened judiciary system of our country.

Understood he was emotional, his adrenalin was pumping and that he cares for his community. But then who doesn’t ? Ask the friends and relatives of the scores of Hindus or Muslims who died in communal riots or the Godhra incidents, weren’t they emotional too.

A majority of the criminals are also a victim of high level of adrenalin rush…If they can be punished, why should Jarnail Singh be spared?

Whatever said and done, the bottom line is that in India the standards of journalism has decreased significantly in recent times. We have seen in the case of the 26/11 coverage, some failed and pseudo sting operations and now this. Not sure if it was ever like this or is it coming to limelight only now.

True journalism seems to have paved way for neo journalism or better still call it Jarnailism, for the lack of a better word. They are definitely condemnable and sometimes punishable, too. What say you ?

Image Credit: DubswedeSimilar Posts:

• Two Singhs Join Hands To Sing For Terrorists, Embarasses Dr. Singh
• Is India Failing as a Civilized Society?
• Media – Whose Side Are You?
• Professional Code Of Conduct -A Must For Indian Politicians
• It is NOT Hindu Vs. Muslims!

• Media – Whose Side Are You?
• Has America really created history?

Transparency, Accountability, Humility, Democracy, Respect for each other, Knowledge, Wisdom, Solutions?…Well, there are far too many qualities that we expect out of a political party, but trying to see everything in one may be being foolhardy.

It is a no brainer that the current political parties in India are a consortium of the good, the bad and the ugly with the latter taking an active role and deciding the fate of billions. It has almost become a standing rule that every party in India has to have criminals in their party.

Criminalisation of Politics is THE buzz word, in Indian politics these days. Apparently, the 14^th Lok Sabha will see more criminals than ever before.

During these times, citizens like you and me look for HOPE somewhere, dreaming of a resurgent India where Indian politicians are respected all around the world. Well, some say it is a distant reality, some think it is a childish joke and some call the height of optimism.

I couldn’t have agreed more until a few days ago, when one of my friends told me about a particular party that was working at the grass root levels. I decided to delve more into what was seemingly a utopian concept initially but after doing my bit of research, I changed my mind.

As a result, I wrote my first article on this political party which is envisioning to change the complete electoral image of the country.

The party in contention is Lok Satta which is led by one of the most able and admirable administrators of our time – Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, a Physician turned Civil Servant turned Social Activist turned Politician.

Lok Satta promises Transparency, Accountability, Humility, Democracy, Respect for each other, Knowledge, Wisdom, Solutions and much more – all that you would dream of an ideal political party.

Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan seems to preach and practice all of that. What started as a concept in 1996, has transpired into a political storm, a movement of sorts in Andhra Pradesh with the party spreading its wings to neighboring Maharashtra and Karnataka and with tens of thousands of people supporting him, his ideals and his way of tackling issues.

Finally, there seems to be a glimmer of HOPE in India. More of Lok Satta, Dr. JP, his vision, strategies etc in my next article.

Change in Indian Politics is definitely on its way…

Image Credit:WikimediaSimilar Posts:

• Indian Politics–Change Is Coming Soon!
• Slumboy Milllionaire For Lok Sabha
• To Vote Or Not To Vote?
• Election Democracy-For The Vote, By The Poll, To The People
• Wondering Why…

• Indian Politics–Change Is Coming Soon!
• Wondering Why…

Some of the big names who made headlines for the wrong reasons, are Jaswant Singh, Varun Gandhi, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Jaya Prada, Govinda et al. (Click on the link to read the full story) Which party do they represent ? BJP, Congress, SP etc. The regional parties are also not behind – some are offering color TVs in exchange of votes.

What do they tell you ?

They are promoting bribery, corruption, materialism for votes. This is only the beginning, wait for the elections and you will see parties indulging in horse trading, offering crores and crores for MPs who are willing to sell themselves for support to the government. We have seen in the past and there is no reason to believe that this will be repeated.

Where do these money come from ?

They can’t be legitimate – right ? They are all black money pouring in from various corners of the country – This money is generated either through illegal source or businesses most of which are never accounted for..I will not be surprised, if there are plenty of havala transactions involved too..

How do these politicians or their sycophants make so much money ? Most of us know but we never express…I can get into the details, but leave it for some other day.

There are several of these issues that need to be tackled – corruption,  lack of transparency and accountability, caste politics, communalism, social discrimination etc. The list is endless. Indian politics is a quagmire of all the possible evils that you can think of. Yes there are exceptions and exceptions are always rare..Aren’t they ?

In this cesspool, we Indians are looking for HOPE. The same HOPE that became a symbol of change for the US. If US, can bring about positive changes, there is absolutely no reason why we can’t do the same in India too.

What we need is a political party with a will. A will to change, a will to defy the status quo, a will to fight all evil forces, a will to lead by example, a will to transform a society that is so much neck deep in corruption, communalism, pseudo secularism etc. What we need is a party that stands for what is RIGHT. It might be ages before we see the result, but we will see the result…….most definitely.

Indian Politics will see a change and that change is coming soon. Here is a political party that represents just what is right for Indians. This party will change the rules of the game soon. I say it with confidence because I have done an extensive research on this party.

So, wondering which party are we talking about ?

Well, I don’t want to spill the cat out of the bag so soon. You will have to wait for my next article to know who I am talking about. But I do want to show you a glimpse of the many changes that this party is proposing to bring about. Here they are, in their own words

• Eliminating all forms of discrimination by birth through ensuring opportunities for quality education, healthcare, skills and employment.
• Enhancing incomes in agriculture and other traditional occupations.
• Improving quality of life by creating basic amenities in all rural and urban settlements.
• Establishing truly empowered and effective district and local governments and decentralizing power.
• Promoting full transparency and accountability at all levels of governance.
• Establishing rule of law and ensuring that all people are treated equally without favoritism or discrimination.
• Ensuring social justice by building a new society in which a child’s future is not determined by birth, caste, family, region, religion or wealth.
• Utilizing public resources fully and properly.
• Eliminating corruption.

This political party in contention, stands for what is good for the country. We at India Special will support every step that is in the right direction,unconditionally while we continue to analyze and present the various strategies of this party and others alike.

We are looking for your support in spreading the word in whatever possible way you can..

Image Credit: APDKSimilar Posts:

• Lok Satta-Powered By People, Driven By Actions
• Elections, Political Parties & Cheap Publicity
• The Cesspool Called Indian politics
• The Battle For South Bangalore
• Wondering Why…

• Lok Satta-Powered By People, Driven By Actions
• To Vote Or Not To Vote?

This time around, Congress is facing an anti-incumbency factor in many of the states which it ruled – more so in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. In both these places people have been tired of politics, the associated corruption and the countless instances of crime that was witnessed in the last year. Be it the Satyam saga, or the Nagarjuna Finance issue or the Siris Pharmaceutical case in AP or the Mumbai massacre in Mumbai towards the later part of the year, few of the Congress governed states have had extremely poor governance. This coupled with the fact that the economy is in a recession, will only add salt to the wounds of an already bleeding Congress. It will take a miracle for Congress to be reinstated to run the government and Dr. Manmohan Singh as India’s Prime Minister

BJP on the other hand had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. And in 2009, just when it needed to put in all the efforts to show a non-communal face and gulp up as many allies (or strategic partners so to say), it seemed to be going all wrong for the BJP- The month of January saw a BJP ruled state i.e Karnataka facing the wrath of the public when a few radical Hindu fundamentalists, closer to the Sangh Parivar, led by Pramod Muthalik attacked innocent women in a pub. BJP tried to distance itself from this party, but the effort did not seem to have paid off due to the Sangh Parivar connections.

Roll over to March, just when BJP needed all the support from its past allies, BJD (Biju Janata Dal) seems to have backtracked from its alliance – that will be a huge setback for this party considering the ambitious goals it had set for itself in Orissa. Advani’s dreams of becoming India’s Prime Minister at a young age of 82 seem to be a distant reality, unless some of the allies flip their wings in the opposite direction post elections.

That leaves us with an option called the Third Front. The followers of Lenin and the preachers of Marx had often called for a government that is Non Congress and Non BJP. While that seems to be the ideal thought, it might be wishful thinking for CPI or its namesake CPI(M) to form the government with the support of its regional allies.

This is an era of alliance and one man who knows how to play it at the right time is our erstwhile sleeping Prime Minister a.k.a Deve Gowda. He seems to be an extremely serious contender given the fact that he was instrumental in announcing The Third Front along with some regional superpowers including TDP, TRS, CPI, CPI(M), JDU, BJD, Forward Bloc etc.

Will he stand a chance ? Not unless Mayawati, Bhajan Lal, Nitish Kumar et al gives up their claim to Prime Ministership.

Speaking of Mayawati and her ambition of India’s first Dalit Woman Prime Minister could soon be a reality. is someone who knows how to play the caste card very well and whether you like it or not, Mayawati and her identity politics is a thorn in The Third Front’s nest. She could very well be the dark horse waiting and watching.

With a hung parliament in the offing, India’s Prime Ministerial candidate too seems to be hung .

It will be an interesting few months to watch the Indian political scenario turning topsy turvy with every passing day. The question still remains – Who will be India’s Hung Prime Minister ?

What’s your prediction ?

Image Credit: AlykatSimilar Posts:

• The Cesspool Called Indian politics
• TRS Pulls The Plug On TDP!
• The Battle For South Bangalore
• Mr. Advani-Are You Listening?
• Elections 2009-Poll Predictions

• Will Manmohan Singh Win The Confidence Vote?
• Manmohan Singh Wins The Confidence Vote

Perhaps not – may be because you are not aware of some of the big names in the banking industry…or may be you are too tied up in your own world…Don’t worry…

Wait before I tell you who she is, and what she stands for….I am pretty sure you will establish a connection like many of us, by the time you finish reading this..

Meera is a professional banker with over 25 years of experience. Currently the Chairperson and Country Executive of the erstwhile ABN Amro Bank (now RBS). She probably one of the few corporate citizens to  enter the electoral foray.

As per her website

As an Investment banker she has worked both in India and within the Asian region on a number of Project Finance and Advisory and M&A mandates. In 2001, she set up ACES, ABN AMRO’s Global Shared Services company, which currently employs over 5,000 staff and provides banking operations, research, global finance, and HR shared services to 40 countries. ACES has consistently recorded both high client satisfaction and high employee engagement scores and is one of the most highly certified BPOs in India today.

An area very dear to her has been ABN AMRO’s Corporate Social Responsibility activities. The bank has financed over 7,00,000 women who live below the poverty line in rural India. Through the activities of their Foundation, which Meera chairs, they have undertaken several projects that aim both to alleviate poverty and conserve biodiversity (especially in endangered tiger habitats), as well as promote watersheds and sequester carbon through working with tribals and marginal farmers in degraded land areas.

Meera served on the Board of Trustees of an asset management company, and is currently on the National Advisory Board of AIESEC, an international students’ organization. She also chairs the boards of various bank subsidiaries in India.

Let me be honest, I knew Meera only by her name and some news clippings on various websites and today after going through her website, I feel comfortable that at last there are corporate citizens who too think that Indian politics has to change and change for the better. She has given me renewed hope that Mumbai will once again be resurgent, a city that lost its reputation for all the wrong reasons. I hope that South Mumbai will vote for a fresh, energetic and result oriented face.

Oh! By the way, did I tell you Meera Sanyal is contesting for Lok Sabha elections as an independent candidate from South Mumbai.

Independent Candidate ???

That’s what I thought too when she initially decided to stand for election, as I did not think she would stand a chance. But I happened to read this webpage from her site and I know now how wrong I was. She has taken the right decision to stand as an independent candidate from South Mumbai and I can’t agree more with her decision, keeping in mind the no. of corrupt and criminal politicians that we have in our country.

I was also enamored what her Facebook fans had to say about her. Read this and I am sure why you will like what you read..

When Meera will enter the Lok Sabha in June this year, she will bring to the Parliament grace, intelligence, soundness, smartness, and wit, and her astute thoughts will lend an impartiality the House has lacked.

In an election field that already has, on one hand, an incumbent who has inherited his father’s parliamentary seat in a way that does not reflect the market-driven meritocracy of this city, and on the other, a challenger whose party prefers our city to be less inclusive and more sectarian, looking less than itself, Meera offers the freshness, brilliance, verve, and bold ideas that can transform the nature of our politics and reclaim the country’s most cosmopolitan constituency for its residents.

This would mean South Mumbai, which leads India in every area except politics, would now be able to lead in political thinking and action, too. Meera is not beholden to any political party or creeds that cannot be challenged; she does not have to rush to a high command for clearance before speaking her mind, nor to a fortress in the middle of our bustling city from where editorials pour forth condemning Indians its prejudiced leaders don’t like.

I looked at what she had to offer for Mumbai and I must admit her plan to elevate Mumbai to amazing levels are simply superb. Her five point agenda, popularly called as Punch-A-Mantra talks of

• More Investment for Infrastructure in Mumbai
• A Radically Improved Public Transport System
• Stronger Security
• Systemic Reforms Through the Nagara Raj Bill…
• Directly Elected and Empowered Mayor

This agenda is covered in her Master Plan for Mumbai, which can be downloaded here

If you are living in South Mumbai and you think India needs a new generation of politicians, then go out and vote for people like Meera Sanyal. For once, understand who your true leaders are and vote for them. Meera Sanyal certainly seems to have the leadership qualities and the capabilities to take Mumbai to unseen levels…after all she has been the country head for one of the largest banks in the world.

Meera Sanyal is most definitely my Hope for Mumbai!

Image Credit: WikimediaSimilar Posts:

• Hope At 60…
• The Importance Of Being Earnest In Politics
• Shashi Tharoor–A New Beginning?
• Fifth Front–The Game Changer?
• General Elections-Get Your Thoughts Published!

• Mumbai-Go For Meera Sanyal!
• General Elections-Get Your Thoughts Published!

I always had a different idea about this statement until recently. My thoughts revolved around the fact that it is always to be on the side of the err than to be not on any side. Likewise, my father always preached and practiced this adage “Wrong decisions are always better than indecisions”.

Many a times in life you’d have across some incidents that changes your perspective about certain way of living. Sometimes you defy the common, sometimes you follow the herd and sometimes you are in a world of your own.

Mr. Vincent wrote an article on elections being bawdy carnival . In the article he focused more on Varun Gandhi and his histrionics, sometimes reminding India of the grim past that it had during election seasons – from Advani’s Rath Yatra to VP Singh’s Mandal Commission, from Gujarat Riots to Pilibhit, the hatred of politics and the politics of hatred growing in tandem, competing with each other and defying the youth of our country a chance to dream of a democratic and secular sovereign .

What Varun Gandhi said was totally unacceptable by any means. Even his so called claim that the video has been doctored, although, seems a bit too clichéd his latest stunt as he surrendered to the law enforcement agencies is nothing sort of a melodrama, causing a near riot and a few clashes of the saffron men with the local police.

I chanced upon an article in Indian Express, which further vindicated my thoughts on this Gandhi.

Apparently, in his writ petition Varun Gandhi submitted

“That the petitioner is a well-educated and peace-loving citizen and has done his BSc Economics from the London School of Economics in the year 1999 till 2002, and thereafter went on to do his MSc in public policy at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, in the year 2002-2004.”

Both LSE and SOAS have now said Gandhi’s claim is not accurate. This, if found true, would mean that Gandhi lied under oath and the court can initiate contempt proceedings as well as perjury charges which could lead upto 7 years behind bars. Phew!

If that’s not all, Varun Gandhi has been booked under National Security Act, attempt to murder and for inciting communal riots. This would mean a detention of at least one year.

The last couple of weeks Gandhi has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. If he was in his sane mind, he would never have gotten into something as rotten as this. Such are the times, you do one bad deed and you knowingly or unknowingly get into the habit of doing bad deeds – one after the other and the end doesn’t seem to be in the horizon.

This is definitely a lesson for the youth of this country. It is also a message to the political sycophants of the communal minded that the politics of the hatred will soon see an end in the resurgent India. For once, the UP government has done the right thing. And all my kudos to Mayawati for not succumbing to political pressures. Some might call the arrest of Varun Gandhi as a political vendetta and others might call it being opportunistic.

Whatever said and done, what Varun Gandhi has displayed is the height of futility …an epitome of foolhardiness!

Now, I know why sometimes “Silence is Golden” Similar Posts:

• From Ayodhya to Pilibhit to Delhi?
• Experience How Mumbai Dabbawalas Epitomize Six Sigma
• Modi-fying Gujarat–Is Narendra Modi leading by example?
• US Elections- An Indian Perspective
• Please Do Not Make It An Issue of Religion

• Please Do Not Make It An Issue of Religion
• Indian Politics–Change Is Coming Soon!

Like most of us Indians, I did not know Jade Goody until Shilpa Shetty became as star in UK. Luckily, I was in the UK, when this whole episode of Celebrity Big Brother was being telecasted. Shilpa Shetty, a celebrity in her own right, wasn’t bagging any lucrative projects for her survival in Bollywood when Celebrity Big Brother happened to her. She was one of the wild card entries along with Jermaine Jackson, Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd, Jack Tweed et al.

In the weeks that followed, Jade and Shilpa were at each other – one showing the nasty side of her character and the other, character of tolerance, patience and humility. The show took a nasty turn when Jade snubbed Shilpa with remarks that were soon made out to be racial. What followed was a spate of controversies with Jade becoming increasingly unpopular amongst British tabloids and the public in general.  On the contrary, Shilpa Shetty became more of a household name in the UK.

While Jade Goody lost most of her commercial contracts, Shilpa went on to gather many more. Rubbing salt to the wounds, Shilpa was portrayed as the symbol of resilience, tolerance and mental strength while Jade Goody was set as an example of overdose of fame and familiarity gone awry.

Well, that was my impression until a year ago

Now, with Jade counting her days on this planet and fighting every minute to see more of this world , she has suddenly become an inspiration to many. One who lived life to the fullest extent, in the limited time that she is blessed on this earth. She is hardly 27 years old and in the last five years she probably has lived more than anyone imagine

She has brought a new definition to Reality TV. For all you know, she probably might be called the Queen of Reality too.

Jade Goody who was a dental nurse from Bermondsey in London before the Big Brother craze struck her and she came into the spotlight in the 2002 season of Big Brother. Although she stood at 4th place in that place, Jade went on to become one of the most successful reality TV stars doing several Reality TV shows, shooting many fitness DVDs, launching her own Perfume line called “Sshhhh…Jade”…which was once the third best selling perfume after Kylie Minogue and Victoria Beckham and so on.

Jade Goody has apparently appeared in 4 seasons of Big Brother – Big Brother, Celebrity Big Brother, Big Brother Panto and the very desi version a.k.a Big Boss, albeit for a short period until she flew back to London following the news of her cervical cancer.

With every passing day, she is moving closer to death and even in these hours of extreme difficulty and privacy, she wanted the camera clicking. Her marriage to Jack Tweed post her chemotherapy sessions, will probably be remembered for a long time as one of the most celebrated marriages in recent years. Her final days are being recorded by Living TV which is expected to rake in millions of pounds for telecasting her death, part of which would go to Jade’s two kids. If that’s not all, there is this OK! magazine which ran a Tribute Week in memory of Jade from 1981-2009 even before her death.

All this, apparently, with the permission of Jade who even in her last days wants to be the Queen who lived and breathed Reality TV. Replacing her stature as the undisputed Queen of Reality TV will be a humongous task for the next in line. Sounds like the death of reality, for some time !

What say you ?

Image Credit: WikimediaSimilar Posts:

• Of Bollywood, Indian Cricket And The Spectators
• My Name Is Khan-Big Deal ?!!
• Is Asin Here To Stay After Ghajini?
• Bollywood – Take Edge On Hollywood
• Reality Bytes-Let’s Have A Break, Let’s Have A Chit Chat

• Of Bollywood, Indian Cricket And The Spectators
• Reality Bytes-Let’s Have A Break, Let’s Have A Chit Chat

The following article might sound absurd but this is a startling revelation found by a leading Kerala daily, Kerala Kaumudi

A few days back, I received a mail from one of my relatives in Kerala about a new form of Jehad called Love Jehad. Initially, I thought he was trying to play pranks on me or may be he was trying to write an article and couldn’t get the right words and hence came up with this term. Quite like me, I totally ignored it. Since I live outside of India, my only connection to India and in particular Kerala is through some online news and a few updates from my friends and relatives, back in India. I usually give it a pass if I find there is no substance in the argument. This time I was mistaken

On Feb 27th, I again received another mail on Love Jehad – This time as a part of Yahoo Groups subscription. By now, I was hearing it from different sources which prompted me to do some googling.  Here is what I found

Project Name

Love Jehad

Objective of the group :

Trapping non-Muslim (mostly Hindus) girls in the name of love, promising them a dream life, converting them into Islam and giving birth to at least 4 to 5 children.

Success Rate:

Already about 4000 girls have been trapped and converted to Islam

Project Plan

Identifying the girl – 2 weeks

Converting to Islam and Nikah – 6 months

Target girls – Naive non-Muslim girls, who are either college going or working girls.

If the target seems tough, the youth are instructed to move onto another target after trying for the first 2 weeks.

Incentives for Success

If the project is successful, the youth is rewarded Rs.1 lakh (which in Kerala, is a substantial amount to live with). During the course of the project the youth is also given bikes, free mobile phones and dresses as tools to accomplish the task given

You might think where the funding is coming from and who has that kind of money to pay every youth who fathers so many kids…Well the answer is simple – Gulf.

For long, Kerala has been a safe haven for cheap labour to the Middle East. Most of those who go there are typically uneducated Muslims who don’t have any better source of income. Some of them become radical and return to their native with a different mission altogether. What happens after that is anybody’s guess

Apparently each district in Kerala has a Chairman who oversees this mission and is believed to be an organised crime in the making.

There are two issues here..

One is the radicalisation of a vast majority of Muslim population in Kerala which soon might turn out to be the safe haven for home grown terrorists …and the other, exploitation of the youth of Kerala, who in the lure of money are submitting themselves to crimes, unknowingly.

This, if not controlled, might soon well be an unstoppable mess that Kerala or India can not deal with. We do not know whether these children will have a normal upbringing or they, too, will end up going to radicalised madrassas and become another Kasab.

Goes without saying that the proponents of this breeding culture will have a lot to dig from their religious books and show the world what they are doing is correct, there is no way that one can be prove the intent of these people who are actually masterminding such a reproductive terrorism. The local government especially at the panchayat levels should be equipped to handle this form of non-violent, futuristic so called “Love Jehad”.

I have lived enough in Kerala to understand what goes on in the minds of the innocent Malayalees and to find another form of terrorism in God’s Own Country is the last thing that the natives want. Hope the CBI, CID, NIA led by Chidambaram are listening.

Image Credit: Tinou BaoSimilar Posts:

• Where Is The Spirit Of India?
• Yeast Of The National Flour
• Political upmanship in the middle of a terror crisis
• When Will These Atrocities End?
• Action Is The Need Of The Hour

• Fat, Hot And Fit !!!
• Browser Wars! IE8 vs Firefox vs Chrome vs Safari vs Opera

Given the quantum of bad news floating around, it is only natural that you are a part of it. And asking one to be happy during these times, may be even considered silly.

I am a regular viewer of Nightly News with Brian Williams at MSNBC. A few days back he made a casual remark that there is so much of bad news around that he was reporting, he wanted to give it a break and asked the audience to share any good news that they have come across and that the same would be broadcasted in MSNBC.

What ended as a casual remark turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Brian. He received over a thousand stories that conveyed the feel good factor. As per their website MSNBC.,

One of his viewers recently wrote to urge Williams to begin and end each broadcast with some “good news” to lift people’s spirits. He can’t make any promises about the top of the newscast.

“We can get half of that right,” he said. “We can give her half of her wish.”

The point that I am trying to make is that it is so important to be happy during these days. If not for anything else, the mental strength that you gain by being happy is unimaginable. As someone said, the key to happiness is keeping things in perspective when the time gets tough. Happiness is all about controlling one’s emotions, keeping the right state of mind without overly getting affected.

While it is important to worry about extremely important things in life, it is equally important to keep ourselves reminded of the good things that we have done and the memorable times that we’ve shared with our loved ones.

So, the key question is – are you happy ?

If you are still clueless about your state of mind, I’d suggest that you take an Authentic Happiness Inventory Questionnaire at AuthenticHappiness.org, an initiative promoted by the University of Pennsylvania (a.k.a. UPenn). It is a questionnaire with 24 very interesting questions. ( Unfortunately, you will have to register with them to get access to)

Can a questionnaire tell you how unhappy you are what you’ve never been able to find out yourselves ? Well, there is nothing wrong in trying and more so, if it is from an authentic source. Many eminent psychologists also concur. After all, maintaining the balance is the key to not feeling anxious and overwhelmed by disturbing news, time and again.

As Albert Schweitzer, the famous physician, philosopher, theologian and the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize winner, once said

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory.

Now, I stick to my original statement-Don’t Worry, Be Happy!

Image Credit: ScionDriverSimilar Posts:

• Is Impatience Really A Virtue Now?
• In Pursuit Of Happiness
• The Gods Must Be Crazy!
• Buying Things That you Don’t Need? Then…
• A Choice Called Happiness

• In Pursuit Of Happiness
• A Choice Called Happiness