Sujavna 1:14

Giri at 1720 hrs on 29^th May 2011

A warm welcome to all those who have taken time to look at this week’s entry in what will be the 14^th edition of Sujavna. The monsoons in Mumbai are just lurking around the corner and I am eagerly looking forward to the first showers that always enthuse young and old alike in this metropolis.

PitterPatter...............PitterPatter

RimJim............................RimJim

Sounds that bring fond memories of childhood and youth that romanced the rainy season in ways that only they can!!

And yet, the same spells cause concern to many of the city’s inhabitants these days – will public transport continue to be reliable? will the roads be flooded due to the construction work that has left deep craters uncovered, exposed manholes and choked sewage lines and storm water channels?

Why should these worries continue to plague us year after year? Is this the price that we have to pay for being led to believe that our city is being transformed into a world-class one?

Which leads me to suggest: Can we not redesign our cities “lifescapes” to follow natural weather conditions? With technology to assist, can employers not encourage more “work-from-home” processes? Can educational and research institutions also use “study from home” methodologies? Can government departments have back-up offices in the hinterland, where data and communication systems are accessible to the public and second-level officials are available to manage these systems? Can we have a system of volunteering, recruitment and training for traffic police, fire services and outpatient-administration in hospitals that ensures that these services have no manpower deficit during the monsoons?

As you may have noticed, the carefree days of rim-jim, rim-jim, pitter-patter, pitter-patter are slowly being replaced by “watch-out here comes the rains!” Even as the dark skies gather in the sky, I am confidently looking forward to an exciting week ahead. And I hope that you too are! Until next Sunday, then......

Sujavna 1:13

Giri at 1000 hours on 23rd May 2011

Hello and welcome to a delayed posting of my blog, which has been necessitated because of my travel plans.

Thanks also to those readers who have been sending their comments by email to me. It would be great if you could pot your comments on the blog itself, as that would let other readers join in the conversations.

So what comes out on top of the charts this time round for inclusion in Sujavna? To me, undoubtedly, it is the International Fire and Security Exhibition and Conference (IFSEC) at Birmingham. More correctly, it is about the absence of the Indian industry at the show - Taiwan, China, USA, Japan, EU members, Argentina, Brazil, UAE were all there with a sizeable presence of exhibitors and delegates, yet there was just one small Bangalore-based video-analytics company from India. Does this tell a lot about an industry that is perceived to be a $1.2 billion and growing upwards of 10%.

Which brings me to my main theme for the week – should there not be a more-concerted India brand strategy for some of these potential sunrise commercial sectors? Can we use iconic brand ambassadors (such as Sachin Tendulkar and Shah Rukh Khan) to reinforce the strengths and attractiveness of these industries to global players?

Another interesting experience that I had this week (and which made me think more widely) was a BBC-One parody on the news that was. (Sample this: Vacancy / Job opening of the week – Chief Rapist at the IMF!). And I thought – how about getting all the main news readers of various Indian TV channels into a room once week, and ask them to read the breaking news that they had reported during the week, but using a different context and making a parody of the situation!. Would such a programme not “un-deify” our news readers, making them more human to TV viewers and also bring out excellence in humour (which Indian audiences surely need more of!)?

Signing off here, but wishing you a great week ahead.

Sujavna 1:12

Giri at 1400 hrs on 15^th May 2011

Welcome to yet another edition of Sujavna. I hope you all had a great week and that you are enjoying a wonderful weekend.

I am writing this from my hotel in Birmingham, UK, where I will be staying for the next 7 days, as I promote the Indian market opportunities for UK’s commercial security businesses. And, even as I began my first day (and probably the only day during my stay here, when I may perhaps have such a leisurely breakfast), I was caught on my backfoot when I read on the Sunday Mercury (local newspaper) an article about Clover Spa Hotel, the first Naturist hotel (read as the first Nudist) in Brimingham. The hotel is sandwiched between a residence and a nursery in the busy suburb if Erdington. Regular guests at the hotel and hotel managers aver that “shedding clothes in front of strangers boosts self-confidence”, “increases bonding as people realize that absence of clothes makes one vulnerable and hence you reach out to be more protective of each other”.

You may wonder as to why I am reporting on this article from a local newspaper about a naturist spa! To me this article and the comments by various guests reveal several interesting possibilities for innovative social experiments. For instance:

• How about a spa-retreat where guests are actively encouraged to play the roles of their alter-egos? This may help individuals realize the extent of goodness (or otherwise) in their current ego states as well as in their latent alter-ego states.
• How about a compulsory stint in a naturist camp for all aspiring politicians, civil-rights activists and global business leaders? Would such an experience make them empathise with others of their ilk (but from competing ideologies and organisations) better and understand their own weaknesses? Should the WEF have such a session in the future?

Well, any takers?

Signing off here. I have to prepare for my business meetings and presentations for at IFSEC 2011 and hopefully still get enough tie to walk around and imbibe the city’s sights and sounds in the afternoon. I will flying most of next Sunday, so I intend to publish my next blog on Saturday 21^st May itself.

Sujavna1:11

Giri at 1700 hours on 08th May 2011

What does one write about at the end of a week that saw round-the-clock coverage of the killing of Mr Osama Bin Laden? Has justice been done to avenge the dastardly killings of thousands in New York about 10 years back? Is the world going to be safer now?

Is there a lesson in this for politicians, government bureaucrats, military strategists, intelligence establishments, terrorists, and perhaps, all of civil society interest groups across the world? I firmly believe that there are indeed several lessons, but lessons can be learnt only if there is humility in accepting (by most members of these groups) that ignorance and arrogance still permeate their thoughts and actions. If such humility does exist, then, I do have a vision for a probable outcome of such lessons:

Can we think of creating a NUN (a New United Nations) who can guide the destinies towards prosperity of the vast majority of the world through a multilateral system of sharing opinions, aspirations for fair justice, human and environmental rights, religious and cultural tolerance, shared opportunities for creation, distribution and enjoying the fruits of wealth? Can we have the forethought to ensure that this NUN is young and gender-balanced (to reflect the realities of the world’s population), has equal representations of not just countries with established borders and governments, but also of regions that have seen chronic geo-political struggles and of regions that are facing the gravest problems of extinction because of climate change? Can we have the courage and the equanimity to equip this NUN with a year-round programme of active-debates, research, international people-people engagement and a very strong influential (veto power) strength over the decisions that the current UN body takes? The NUN will need to live “her life” under the public glare of the media who will also help the NUN shape up the annual programme agenda.

Are there takers for my NUN? I look forward to reporting on this next Sunday. Till then, cheers.

Sujavna 1:10

Giri at 1725 hrs on 01^st May 2011

Hello and welcome to yet another post on Sujavna.

It is very tempting for me to write about the most-commented event of the week that went by – the wedding of 2 Britons, who, in terms of their achievements are not singularly exceptional, yet were subjected to worldwide adulation and gossip because of an innate trait amongst most of humankind to fantasise and live a vicarious royal lifestyle. An entire industry spanning the media, public relations, fashion, government departments, religion, charities, history and tourism seems to have assiduously built a multi-million dollar business out of showcasing the private, personal and public lives of British royalty.

So is there a case for some light bulbs to switch on, from these columns of Sujavna, as Kate and William begin their new innings as husband and wife? You bet my answer is a certain Yes!

For starters, it would have been great to see some real British innovations at work as the world watched the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge go through the notions of saying “I do”. Britain is hard pressed to encourage big-ticket overseas investment into the country and has been touting itself as an Innovation Economy and a Creative Economy. Could the royal wedding have been used as a platform to drive home the message with visible demonstrations of how Innovation and Creativity has been helping a commoner as much as they have helped the Royals?

Or perhaps, Kate and William could have been persuaded by the UK government to constitute (in their newly-appointed roles as the Duke and Duchesss of Cambridge) a Royal Chair of Healthcare Innovation in Cambridge University (which is already acknowledged as a leading Centre of Innovation Excellence) that will focus on investing in collaborative applied research into innovative healthcare management with overseas healthcare investors from Asian and African countries (perhaps from the Commonwealth group).

It must be an heady feeling when you are in your twenties to be the darling of the masses, but I am sure it would be an even greater exuberance that Kate and William would feel ten years down their lives to know that a few initiatives that they masterminded around the time of their wedding (it’s okay if these are done even immediately after their wedding!!!) drove wealth-generation for Britain and prosperity through innovation and creativity across the world.

Signing off now, as I go forward to live life as it will turn out the next week. So until next Sunday....