Sunday Posts

A friend has recently forwarded me a quote from Lord Macaulay's speech in the British Parliament on 2nd February 1835. I reproduce the quote below: "I have traveled across the length and breadth of India and I have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief. Such wealth I have seen in this country, such high moral values, people of such calibre, that I do not think we would ever conquer this country, unless we break the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage, and, therefore, I propose that we replace her old and ancient education system, her culture, for if the Indians think that all that is foreign and English is good and greater than their own, they will lose their self-esteem, their native self-culture and they will become what we want them, a truly dominated nation." The email requested me to forward me to every indian I know. I was tempted, but there were two oddities about this quote. First, the language, which ...

Despite the euphoria in the Indian media, new-found confidence of the Indian businessmen and the sense of optimism on High Street, India remains a poor country. I am no less a patriot, trust me! I find Gordon Brown's condensing description of Britain's relationship with India as 'partnership of equals' full of colonial delusion. I feel offended when India's poverty was showcased on International Television without a reference to its ever-present dignity. I feel offended when, above all, we are lectured on the values of communal harmony by our erstwhile rulers, who spread and taught disharmony as a tool of their own commercial gain. But, despite my pride, I dont befool myself when reality knocks - corruption, poverty, lack of meritocracy, is plain for all to see! In many cases, our development is only trailing the development of commerce in other places - call it globalization, but our place in the value chain remains low. When we give a penny, we think the beggar fe...

The Economist cover story puts it aptly - Up in the air! After the first rounds, the party nominations for the presidential election in the United States is indeed up in the air. Mitt Romney can make it, so can Rudi Giuliani. John McCain has won New Hampshire. Mike Huckabee is reminding everyone of another upset candidate - Jimmy Carter - and the 'vocal' majority in the Republican party may still put him up. On the other side, Hilary Clinton's talk of experience - possibly electoral than administrative - has won New Hampshire. Barak Hussein Obama and his message of hope is still strong, and may carry the day. John Edwards is down, but not out yet. TIME magazine opines that the nomination can go two different ways - it can either become Clinton vs. Giuliani, which will be in the tradition of post-McCarthy american election, one dominated by the message of fear; Or, it can be a McCain vs. Obama, which will be true Post-Nixon election, one determined by hope, and reconciliatio...

I am writing this on a Sunday. After a long time, I must add. There are other peculiarities too. First, I am working. Well, I had to work on most Sundays in my life, but now I am compelled to, as I am in Dhaka. I am not sure why they work on Sundays. It is perhaps their way of saying that they have a different God. Second, as I said, I am in Dhaka - trying to work out a joint venture with a local business house. Third, I have to go in a few minutes - so this will be short. I just wanted to keep the habit. So far, my visit to Dhaka has been disappointing. I have not seen many changes. Except, of course, as I looked out of my hotel window, I could see a super-mall, one I saw being built up when I came first time to this city in 2000, and which, I assumed, I shall never see completed when I left the country in 2004. There is also a flyover, work on which went on forever, and I assumed that it would never get done. Unfortunately, this time my visit is too short and agenda too limited for m...

Benazir Bhutto is dead. She has been shot dead [most probably] in Rawalpindi, the garrison town of Pakistan. The world's leaders are shocked. They should not be - there was enough forewarning of this coming. Nawaz Sharif said - this is a sad day for Pakistan. Good of him. Prez Musharraf so far said nothing. It happened under his watch, in his city. Probably he knew it all along anyway. This is a sad day for Pakistan, indeed. But I fear - it is a sad day for the entire South Asia. May be, this will have an impact in shaping the world history. This makes the hopes of democracy and stability in Pakistan even more remote. This gives the madcap dictator Musharraf even more time. With a nuclear arsenal under his command, he is the most dangerous man in the world today. So, jail for the Justice Chowdhury, and bullets for Benazir. Sharif possibly does not count as he will do a deal. The present American administration indeed has a Pakistan policy, which is working no better than its Iraq o...

2007 is over, well, almost. We are left with a few more days. Those can still be the defining few more days. Something truely momentus can still happen, which defines the year - for me, for you or may even be for the world. But as Christmas sets in and offices close, my work-year is over and time for reflection has started. So, how was it overall? For me, it was not a bad year. Remember, 2006 was terrible for me, everything went wrong. It got better in 2007. Some wounds healed, some new grounds were broken. Professionally, a new opportunity opened up. Life became a lot less secure, but a lot more certain. A lot more fulfilling. So, another year less to count, and one more to remember. Yes, I guess that's defining - I finally got old. My thoughts changed from aspirations to legacy, from profits to property. I thought about money, and realised how careless I have been so far. I regretted buying so many books and not one 'company paper' in my life. It showed me I am no entrepr...

Holidays! For me, nothing changes though. No special visits, no special shopping agenda, not many social engagements. This is what the last two crazy years done to my social presence - I was never there, and so I was struck off from many lists. Pity! But there goes my first New Year resolution. Anyway, it is fairly cold outside. Let's be honest - it is very cold. Colder than the last season, perhaps, though no one talks about these things with any certainty. It is breezy and cold, and I noticed black ice on Thursday afternoon. One of my colleagues explained to me that global warming is not just about warming, it is about making weathers more extreme. So, a warmer July and a colder February is what we are bracing for. Almighty God, why have we forgotten you? The shops are busy. I took a lot longer than usual to buy some of those last minute gift items. I was expecting a lot less crowd, given the recent headlines about recession. Did I think that there were less number of shoppers th...

I am back from India - yes, yet again - and all ready for Christmas. The lovely weather is helping, the phones have become less busy and work hours less gruelling. Not shopped much this year - a bit down as my brother cancelled his visit to England rather last minute and since I have made no other plans, I am in for a rather boring christmas sitting at home. However, I recovered my reading habits, and made a pre-mature new year pledge not to lose it again. What I just read is 'Fashion Babylon' - a story by Imogen Edward-Jones about a woman fashion designer based in London. Well, whatever the critics say about it, I found it engrossing - not just because I read it cover to cover in two days after such a long time. Not also because it has lots of stories, gossips, about the Fashion Industry and the assorted celebrities [I must admit that one take-away for me is a kinder view of Kate Moss], which probably is the reason lots of people will read it. I liked the human story, the entr...

Budhdhadev Bhattacharya , the Chief Minister of West Bengal, commented upon the recent violence of Nandigram - 'they have been paid back by their own coins' - commenting upon his party-workers' recent assault on Nandigram , an unremarkable village in West Bengal where an unique people's resistance movement to the Government's land acquisition took form. The resisting few had outside help - from an assortment of opposition parties and left-wing guerrillas - and they have fought for their corner. They managed to cut off the roads, and embarrassed and terrorised police, who managed to torture and fire upon innocent civilians in some cases. Then came the CPIM Cadres, armed and facilitated by the state machinery , while police stood by and in fact blocked everyone else from reaching the village. The Governor of the state lodged a protest, but CPIM created a huge ruckus on his comments. The cadres invaded Nandigram and flushed out the resistance - while scores of c...

I read this novel by Mohsin Hamid non-stop, over a few hours this Sunday. It is written in a witty, engaging, conversational style, telling the story of a Pakistani boy who studied in Princeton and worked for a highly esteemed financial services company, only to find himself at odds with America in the wake of the tension of India-Pakistan stand off after the attack on Indian Parliament, 9/11 and the tragic turn in his love life. There is a lot to like this novel. It is easy to identify yourself with the central character, the ambitions, constraints and reservations very familiar. Its style is engaging, and wit, disarming. The novel contains a subtle description of life in Lahore, its oldness, its markets and its people. It depicts New York too, may be with less conviction, but with no less love. However, it suffers from - in my view - one crucial drawback. Conviction. It remains difficult to fathom why Changiz - the central character - does what he does. There is a certain unreasonabl...