Sunday Posts

As I stand with Prometheus, My hero, Who stole God's fire and gave it to men- I am forced to ponder Why was God so angry, Is he not as merciful as newspapers claim? Was fire like WMD And the power to unleash harm God hated to let go? Or was it an IPR That he transgressed And let the secrets men know? Yet one knows, He did not profit And gave it away to us! Yet, he was chained and pained, Without access to justice, Probably in Cuba, alas! And, then, God sent us gifts - Illness, Greed and Lust, To keep us forever poor and lost! Oh! We still have our Pandoras, Fair-minded but naïve, Who keep unlocking His box. And, yes, there was Hope in this package too, Called The Market, Or did Adam invent the term? We earnestly believed There will be deliverance And did ourselves harm. So, as I stand, Oh Prometheus! Be unbound and let us free! God is angry, But watching us keen, He is frightened, as you see!

I was reading L N Mittal's interview on NDTV and surprised to learn this : NDTV: Tell me something Mr Mittal, you are saying that lets keep emotions out. But there is an entire country lobbying behind you. And some people have debated why India is so interested? Why the Indian government has stepped in? Let me ask you the emotional question right off before you put emotions out of the way. What made you decide to keep your Indian passport in an age where most NRIs go out and make it big, they acquire the citizenship of those countries? Mittal: I am proud to be an Indian. I have always said that the whole family has Indian passports. And I can't change my allegiance to my country. It is not the business, it is my allegiance. I was born here, I grew up here, my roots are here. It is very important for me to keep my passport.

I am talking about President Kalam's speech at NASSCOM. This is no ordinary politician's speech. Oh yes, I agree, Dr. Kalam is no ordinary president. He makes a simple proposition, befitting a visionary entrepreneur. NASSCOM-McKINSEY has already come up with a detailed analysis of Indian IT's future projections, and talked about an 'addressable' market size of $300 billion, and a projected revenue of $60 billion in 2010. While this will still represent a very high level of achievement, Dr. Kalam turned the pitch and started with - "what about making it $200 billion?" and then comes up with a strategy to make it. Yes, a real strategy - not a politician's speech. And that is exactly what is so impressive about it. The key to his strategy is two fold - one, turn addressable market into achievable market, and two, increase the size of addressable market. Simple, and a set of to-do-s to achieve these goals. Let's run through his agenda before commenting...

David Cameron's decision to take paternity leave gave Tony Blair something of a headache as William Hague stood in for his boss at Prime Minister's Questions and delivered the week’s best insult by far. Facing his old adversary over the despatch box for the first time since 2001, Hague greeted Blair with the remark, "It's probably the first time in the history of Question Time that all three parties have been represented by a stand-in for the real leader." Note just in case you missed the point : Liberal Democrats are waiting to elect a new leader on the wake of resignation of Charles Kennedy and being led by Sir Menzis Campbell at this time.

Here is my best Calcutta moment - the usual, but distinct in every appearance. I had a nightmare of a trip in Calcutta, running from meeting to meeting - but did eventually succeed in doing what i wanted to do - discover my priorities. 

Scott Fitzerald once said – There is no second coming in America. He could have as well said that about life in general, where second comings are rare and outright difficult. I, however, still yawn for a second coming. Well, I am actually planning for it. It is always difficult because we are what we are – a set of opinions, beliefs, ways of life and seeing. It is also difficult because people evaluate us by a set of attributes, education, experience etc, things that are difficult to change and re-start. But, then, there is one thing, which makes second coming easier than expected. Failure. That is the key to reinvention of self. If I have failed to realize my true potential, what value is my current baggage – beliefs, values and opinions! Lots of people fail to accept failure in a positive sense, but not me – I can see that this is crucial for me to know that I have failed, and try for a ‘second coming’. Once I have done that, the job remains to alter my external image. I have alread...

As I plan to go to India today, the over-riding concern that is top of my mind today is the strikes that are affecting airport terminals, specially in Calcutta [Oh yes, as a friend reminded me – the name has changed, the place has changed too – but let me live with my old flame!] I am hassled, and confused. Hassled, because I don’t know what awaits me. Confused, because I do believe that workers are getting marginalised in most cases and they do have a right to strike. But, do they have the right to disrupt public services, block the roads, and harass people? NO. This is precisely the problem in the ‘left’ thinking and this is why they are losing the battle. As in everything, the battle today is for the mind – and the mind refers to the mind of the uninitiated. And, creating trouble is not very helpful in winning minds. Let’s give an example. Ask anyone on street why this current strike is happening, and you will get the answer that the workers are striking against the modernisation of...

I am going to India – well not exactly on holiday, but for a last ditch attempt to salvage my project for English Learning! God permitting [and also striking Airport workers permitting], I shall reach Calcutta on the 3rd – and meet a few business investors who can help me get this off the ground. I am back to usual desk on 15th Feb again. So, this holiday notice before I disappear. What we are trying to do is to set up a chain of English Learning centres in South Asia [i.e., India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and other smaller countries]. This will be unique, because the training delivery will be bi-lingual, and will be backed by a very comprehensive, multi-lingual and multimedia courseware. The idea is to go beyond English training, and integrate a full range of assisted learning products in IT, soft skills and also in education over a period of time. But, given the regional realities, we wanted to start with English, because it is such a huge economic driver in these countries. I...