Sujavna 1:23

Giri at 1630 hours on 31^st July 2011

There have been voluminous columns that the Indian print media and the tweeting world have devoted during the past week in commenting on the young Pakistani foreign minister and her visit to India that I dare add more on the same. What I do want to comment upon is the lost opportunity for youth in India to have impressed upon her (and indeed the Indian Establishment) the need for a series of “Indo-Pakistan Youth Forum” exchanges as part of the confidence building measures. Why are young politicians, young businessmen and young media-commentators from both sides of the birder seldom seen to be engaged in any bilateral G2G initiatives? What paradigm shifts on the engagement terms are needed for both countries to ensure mutually-reinforcing and sustainable confidence building measures?

As we enter into August, and as much of the world is eagerly looking out to see how the lawmakers in the USA decide in managing their deficits and avoid defaults, as the emerging fiscal environments that many European economies are being forced to grapple with, as emerging economies such as India and China contemplate on how to sustain the growth momentum, I am reminded of a very simple Tamil song that captures the essence of economic wisdom (I am sure every other culture has a similar saying) –

Varavu Ettanna (50p of income)

Selavu Pathanna (63p of expense)

Athigam Rendanna (13p is profligacy)

Kadaissiyil Kunthanna (leaves one impoverished permanently)

Why do our bankers, wealth-managers, economists and lawmakers forget these simple home-truths?

Wishing you a great week ahead. Will connect with you next Sunday.

Sujavna 1:22

Giri at 1700 hrs on 24^th July 2011

If wishes were horses, fools would ride on them gladly. The tragic events in Norway last week, remind us that there are many riders amongst us who frequently mount horses that only cause despair, agony and destruction. To most of us, the state of human existence in many urban centres has, unfortunately, reached a state of helplessness.

Will our sense of survival as a human species and our innate ingenuity deliver us from the inexorable mess that we seem to have landed ourselves in? How can we pull together a genuinely-effective, international cooperation and partnerships to rid the world of this scourge of terrorism (be it ideology-based or otherwise)? How can governments and law and order agencies be made more accountable on their responsibilities to prevent acts of terrorism? Is there a case for PPP initiatives for homeland security? If so what forms can these initiatives take?

Have we reached an inflexion point in the existence of our cities wherein we need to re-design and socially-engineer them in order to ensure that they deliver maximum economic and lifestyle benefits to their citizens in a safe environment? Do we need to de-clutter our cities in a way that each city is symbiotically linked to a couple of other (neighbouring and distant) cities, yet the symbiosis is a naturally-evolving one? How will this impact on the total carbon footprints of the cities in question? What constitutional, legal, jurisdictional and administrative innovations will these efforts need?

I have to admit that I have too many questions and no ideas on how to move forward. Can you help me?

With my fingers crossed that next week will see a better world, I am signing off for now. Looking forward to interacting with you next Sunday.

Sujavna 1:21

Giri at 1700 hours on 17^th July 2011

Skinning a frog alive, and relishing it as a delicacy. Eating fruit-eating bats, nibbling on their wings and body first followed by munching of their heads in a mouthful all at one go, as another bizarre food option for those seeking adventure. Killing over 20 people and maiming another 120 with three bombs that were blasted in crowded urban centres. Do these three provoke the same levels of reactions in you?

All three were images that were broadcast last week on television; the first two were part of a travel and living channel while the third was news from Mumbai. And I thought that each portrays the psychological degradation and mindless insensitivity that human beings are capable of.

While I will probably comment on the first two in some future column of Sujavna, I would like to comment on the Mumbai blasts here, in this column. The media, and most commentators, have been incessantly commenting on the fact that the police and anti-terrorism agencies have not progressed substantially in their investigations as to who the perpetrators are. “72 hours after, no leads” cry the headlines. I strongly feel, that this is a misdirected enthusiasm that bodes no good for the future of public security and law and order management in India.

What if there are good leads that the investigators are quietly pursuing to ensure that they end up into solid cases for the prosecution? Why do we not give them the professional space and freedom to do their investigative jobs? What will we achieve by pressurising them to show some half-baked investigative results within 72 hours, if those results do not end up in appropriate prosecution or add to the overall intelligence of the terrorist networks that have colluded or plan to collude?

So my idea for this week’s Sujavna is for news agencies and the general media to give the police and investigative agencies at least 1 week notice period before asking them to share the outcomes of their investigation; perhaps the police could mandatorily have a press conference on the progress of their investigations at least once in 72 hours and for as long as the investigation is active. This will promote a healthy balance between the twin objectives of professional investigations of crime and citizen’s need to be informed and assured that the cases are being investigated.

I hope that the week ahead will be more positive and will see more instances of human kindness and love. Wishing you all a lovely week ahead. Till next Sunday......

Sujavna 1:20

Giri at 1200 noon on 9^th July 2011

To those of you who are wondering what happened to my promise of following up on just two of the many ideas that have featured in Sujavna columns – namely, Hug-A-Friend network of centres and NUN, - I admit that I have not really found the time in this intervening period to crystallise my thoughts on how to make these ideas into realities. So I sincerely request for more time.

The week that went by was quixotic, from my perspective; accompanying a boss on business, with no specific tangible outcomes aimed for, and having discussions with interlocutors who were themselves unsure of what they were meeting up with us fo,r did have its interesting moments that called for “smart thinking on one’s feet”, and perhaps has only resulted in adding to my organisation’s carbon footprints. Hopefully this negative outcome will be negated by some future business prospects fructifying soon.

The weekend also brought into focus a passionate debate within the global print and AV media on the ethics of hacking into voicemails as was done by the NoTW, and the media rat race that seems to justify the means to the end. This brings back into focus the idea that was featured in Sujavna’s post of 23^rd May 2011 - 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!. – Perhaps this is something that news editors and media businesses the world over have to immediately implement, so that there is a self-regulated and entertaining mechanism to effect mid-course corrections to non-ethical and illegal processes being employed.

My week ahead looks like a busy one with preparatory business meetings aimed to help me cope with a busy August and September, while finding the right balance for pursuing my home life and personal interests and obligations. I am optimistic that this will prove to be very satisfying and I wish you also a very interesting and satisfying week ahead.

Until the 17^th of July.......

Sujavna 1:19

Giri at 1630hrs on 2^nd July 2011

Firstly apologies for missing my 26^th June tryst with Sujavna. Hope that the weeks that went by brought a lot of positive and refreshing experiences for you. I have to say that they did indeed for me, so much so that the poet in me has been inspired to post this week’s blog in verse form. Hope you enjoy the following:

My heart’s on fire............With many a desire

How do I quell this inferno..........Is what I earnestly seek to know

What efforts do I need to take..........So that my sleeping desires do indeed wake

For them to soar and rise as successful ventures.......I must turn them into eagles, not into vultures

Powered by ideas that act as their wings

Supported by insightful research that make up their eyes

Anchored by smart business plans for talons

And a delivery expertise that whets their beaks.

My heart’s on fire............With many a desire

Can I hope to blow my bugles..........With my own army of eagles?

Wishing you a wonderful weekend and a great week ahead. Till next Sunday, then..........