We believe that the effort spent trying to hire five 10x developers is better spent building one 10x team. This is truly brilliant article http://bit.ly/sDYdwl
Friday, 16 December 2011
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Tie Chennai 2011 - Learnings from Mr. Suresh Krishna , Chairman & MD, Sundram Fasteners Ltd.
Choose to serve customers who will be unforgiving, they will help you to build great products and services.
Delegate with vengance, ppl will make mistakes and that is what helps them to discover themselves.
No strikes in TVS history. The secret, message should go directly from top to bottom without filtering
Communicate sincerely and directly to all employees with true facts, it helps to build trust.
Karma of entreprenur is to help people to realize their potential, elevate people and make them
realize much more is possible.
Thursday, 6 October 2011
Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. - Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Speech
This is a prepared text of the Commencement address delivered by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, on June 12, 2005. I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories. The first story is about connecting the dots. I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out? It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college. And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting. It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example: Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating. None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, it's likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later. Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life. My second story is about love and loss. I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating. I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over. I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life. During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together. I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle. My third story is about death. When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something. Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes. I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now. This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope it's the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept: No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true. Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions. Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. Thank you all very much. 'You've got to find what you love,' Jobs says
From: http://news.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html P.S: This is such an inspiring speech... Just wanted to make sure I can easily access it whenever I need some inspiration.
Thursday, 1 September 2011
The quit India moment...
We are all part of system irrespective of if we like it or not. Every system will have its own good and bad elements but when we accept the bad elements to be a part and parcel of our life it signals danger. As humans we fall in to temptation when there come situations where a Rs.50 bribe may seem to be a better way off than a Rs.500 fine or taking day off to stand in a que to get our job done seems to be expensive than a Rs.1000 note.
Over a period of time we have accepted bribe to be a norm of life. Today how many of us believe we can get a job done in the government department without bribe or get a contract without paying bribe. The word politics has been associated with rogue elements and more than 30% of our elected representatives have been charge sheeted for criminal activities. Today honesty in public life has become a paradox.
The Janlokapl movement by Anna Hazzare is a significant one as it shook the collective conscience of few people even if it lasted for less than a fortnight. It sent shivers into the leaders who had taken the people who elect them for granted. It has signalled a warning bell to the politicans about the dangers of the path they are treading on. It also have given hope to honest politicians that they do stand a chance to be heard.
Few wise men have questioned the wisdom of common man to challenge the system of constitution but the bigger question they need to ask is why are people questioning. What will happen if the same people were charmed by a leader who follows a system of not non-violence. When a system is perfect and without any scope for improvement it is a candidate to crash and vanish. Our democracy and constitution is just sixty years old, it is nothing compared to the legacy of our civilization. Democracy is new to us, there is lot of scope for improvement in the way we conduct it. The Janlokpal movement is just a way to breath that fresh thought into the system to ensure the purpose of democracy is put back in track.
Things will not change overnight, it needs sustained efforts to ensure those dreams are realized. Sometime in future looking back this might the quit india movement or the sepoy mutiny that sowed seeds for corruption free India.
Wednesday, 24 August 2011
Anna Hazzare... Hit them where it hurts hard...
Dear Mr. Anna Hazzare...
We had been looking for able leaders for decades now and everytime people whom we trusted have not failed to betray us. This country has a leadership crisis. How many people do you think will come in if Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh or Advani calls for a fast tomorrow.
There are very few men to whose voice the nation will rise as one. It will be a shame if they dont become leaders. It will be more shameful if these men were to loose to some third rated politicians because today all these bastards have joined together as they understood the perils of having a strong civil society. It is time to hit them where it hurts hard... it is time to speak in a language only which they will understand... it is time for politics.
For the first time politicans who have been behaving as if they are not accountable to anyone have shivered seeing this uprising. But they take peace from the fact that we dont have a choice but to choose from only a list of thieves. They have an unsigned pact wherein each of them will take turns to loot for five years and we have been given the mandate to elect who will loot us for next five years.
If you dream of a strong Lokpal to build a strong India than you dreams will remain dreams. Look at the people who are waiting in the wings to rule this country. Do you belive these are the jokers who have the leadership capabilities to take our nation forward.
For the first time the country has seen people who have been saying "nothing can be done here" hit upon the street wanting to do something they rightly deserve. There has been something that you have been able to arouse in the common man who otherwise is very much happy to live his 9 to 7 life.
We deserve better leaders and I dont see anyone in the nearest horizon. Maybe the time has come to groom a new set of leaders to take this country forward. It is time to give people more choice as to who needs to rule this country. In thousands they came with a dream and now dont let them experience the pain of someone snatching their dreams away. I have been praying for long that this should not become a political movement but remain a strong civil society, but now I fear the dangers of, if it does not. Who will be the leader of these ignited minds who have taken upon the street today?
Tuesday, 23 August 2011
Men who live on Air, Water and Vandhe Mataram...
As Anna Hazare's health was declared worrying by doctors my immediate concern were with the people who were fasting at LB road Adyar, Chennai for the past 8 days. I immediately went there, it was well past 9 pm but each of the volunteers were going through their job and people were still trickling in to have a glimpse of this movement that has caught the imagination of the world. Couple of girls who would have never picked brooms in their lifetime to clean even their houses were sweeping the entire premises and preparing the venue for the battle next day. These girls holding brooms are not those who make life out of this as a profession but some of the top notch MBA's and Engineers who have taken it upon themselves to sweep the epidemic of corruption.
I went in there and stood around observing. Seeing me standing alone couple of volunteers sitting next to me invited me to join them and one of them even went and got a chair for me. They were energetic bunch of guys and we were happily bantering about various things. It was only after half an hour or so I realized that few of these people were not just volunteers but men who had been fasting for the past 8 days along with Anna Hazare. Such was their energy level that it was tough to believe they have been living on just water for about 175 hours. My jaws just dropped...
I could not resist myself anymore, I asked them how is it that they are so energetic even after having been on fast for so loong... That is when they said something beautiful "We derive energy from you people, we derive energy whenever we see so many people coming here supporting this fight against corruption, we derive energy from the volunteers here who have been taking care of us very well, we derive energy with each and every chant of Vandhe Mataram..."
These people who came in as individuals totally unknown but today have become a family, they look after each other and take care of one another and derive strength from everyone around them. Such is the bonding that they have become one large family and also attract you to become a part of it. They were full of praise to the volunteers who ensure that every 30 minutes they are given water to drink and every two hours a medical checkup is done on them. A Sidha doctor hearing these people fasting came and checked the pulse of each and every one using the traditional nadi method, a reiki healer who came in and energized them with reiki, a yoga teacher who teaches them yoga and breathing techniques. They also said they were moved to see people older than their age come and massage their feet and head to relax and comfort them. People just come in and voluntarily pour in whatever bit and pieces of help they can do to help them.
It is not bed of roses out their for them, they have seen fellow fasters removed from the fasting arena due to dehydration, uneven blood pressure and sugar levels and some on suspiscion that their liver might be in danger if they continue fasting, but none of them showed any fear or concern about the danger that loomed large over them. The impasse and the lethargic response of the government has not made them weak but strong, their resolve grows stronger and stronger with every passing minute, these are warriors who are fighting for a cause they believe in and they dont seem to be the ones who are going to give up anytime soon.
They derive strength and courage from each one of us here who support them, make mockery of them or sit indifferently, because they have taken it upon themselves to fight for us too. People may have different opinion about the Lokpal bill but there can not be no two opinions about the honest intentions and spirit these men and women have displayed to wake up and shake up our conscience into a fight against corruption. I was proud to have spent couple of hours of my lifetime with this brave men and women who for the last 175 hours live on air, water and Vandhe Mataram.
Jai Hind.
P.S: In case you believe in their cause it will be wonderful if you can just send a sms congratulating them and encouraging them with your support... Name and number given in the image below...
Monday, 22 August 2011
Arundhathi Roy - God of small things or small minds...
Dear Arundathi Roy, "Will the 830 million people living on Rs.20 a day really benefit from the strengthening of a set of policies that is impoverishing them and driving this country to civil war?"
You could say that the Maoists and the Jan Lokpal Bill have one thing in common — they both seek the overthrow of the Indian State. "
So if someone fights for a strong anti-corruption bill does it mean they seek to overthrow the state?
"The 24-hour channels have decided that there is no other news in the country worth reporting.
"Why blame the media??? They are covering what the nation is voicing. Didnt the media give coverage to the causes you fought for, or is it because you didnt get the kind of coverage that Anna is getting. "Who is he really, this new saint, this Voice of the People? Oddly enough we've heard him say nothing about things of urgent concern. Nothing about the farmer's suicides in his neighbourhood, or about Operation Green Hunt further away. Nothing about Singur, Nandigram, Lalgarh, nothing about Posco, about farmer's agitations or the blight of SEZs. He doesn't seem to have a view about the Government's plans to deploy the Indian Army in the forests of Central India." Why do you expect or want Anna Hazare to voice his concern for everything? "The Jan Lokpal Bill is a draconian, anti-corruption law, in which a panel of carefully chosen people will administer a giant bureaucracy, with thousands of employees, with the power to police everybody from the Prime Minister, the judiciary, members of Parliament, and all of the bureaucracy, down to the lowest government official. The Lokpal will have the powers of investigation, surveillance, and prosecution. Except for the fact that it won't have its own prisons, it will function as an independent administration, meant to counter the bloated, unaccountable, corrupt one that we already have. Two oligarchies, instead of just one." How does having an independent anti-corruption body account to oligarchy? There are many causes you have raised your voice for including separating Kashmir from India, India's Nuclear policy and even favored Naxals fight. While people respected you for whatever you fought in a peaceful manner irrespective of whether we agreed with you or not, why can't you give Anna the respect for a cause he is fighting against? Why do you want to sully his image? Does God of small things have a small mind or has she been sold for small things.
Saturday, 20 August 2011
20 reasons why Anna Hazare is wrong?
1) For more than 40 years we have been discussing lokpal but now all of a sudden Anna Hazare wants to implement them. If you have waited 40 years for the constitution to work, why can't you wait for another 40 years?
2) Anna Hazare has not involved any politicians in this cause. Without the view of those who are domain experts in corruption how do you expect to bring a strong anti-corruption bill. You make enemies of people who will pass the bill and you expect them to pass it...
3) Political parties have found it tough to organize a rally even with 1000 ppl despite all food and fluids to offer, but Anna Hazare look at you... Suspect Foriegn hand, Left Hand, Right Hand, Left leg, Right Leg...
4) Anna Hazare alone cannot hijack the anti-corruption bill, there are so many other members of civil society who will need a share in the pie, after all they also have been crusading for the last 40 years.
5) Anna Hazare is being equated to Gandhi, called God... As many theists exist, equal number of atheist exist so Anna Hazare is evil.
6) Anna Hazare is hijacking mindspace from other issues like Price rise, Poverty, Casteism, Electoral reforms, and even our cricket team look they just lost the status of Test champions. We need to fight all of them at one go and cant afford one at a time. Why dosent Anna Hazare?
7) You make a mockery of democracy and hold it to threat, when you demand work from those elected to work.For 65 years no one has dared to do so... How dare you now??? Kneel down before us, we are the constitution.
8) There cant be your way or my way option... You need to wait for up way, down way, his way, her way, their way, that way, sideway...
9) I just want your followers to stop bribing before they demand a system. If you dont give bribe you dont need a system, see it is that simple. While you may never get CWG contract or 2G spectrum license within a year or two you might be lucky to get a driving license. Let those who can afford to bribe give bribe and get their job done, what is your problem.
10) Politics and government jobs will not be lucrative anymore leading to unemployment and underemployment problems.
11) Lokpal will not end corruption overnight, we will wait for the magic wand.
12) Strong law will not end corruption, we need stronger proper to implement it and we dont have strong people. Now dont start a fast demanding strong people. Please allow us to live with weak law and weak people, there are hundreds of other methods by which corruption can be tackled.
13) 60% of people who want Anna's lokpal bill dont know what it means. 99% of people who are against Anna's lokpal bill dont know what it means. Wait till everyone knows everything.
14) This is a media generate hype. Nowhere in the world had media covered an uprising and all news on media has got the same kind of response like yours!!! hence this is farce. Moreever this is a middle class phenomena, we will have to wait for response from upper class, lower class, upper lower class, lower lower class.
15) Anna Hazare dont be so stubborn in your stand, please make a compromise, compromise is not corruption...
16) You have got so much media and people foucs on you, you got a cult status, i dont care what you stand for, I dont care what you are fighting for, whom you are fighting for. There got to be something wrong about you.
17) You are wrong... You are wrong... You are wrong... This is not the right way... No I didnt mean you are completely wrong, just part of you is wrong. Give me some time to figure out which part of you is wrong and what is the right way to fight sorry beg for an anti-corruption bill.
18) Just because you live in 10x10 room, uplifted an entire village, fought for 40 years against corruption does not make you an expert. So what if Shanthi Bushan Law Minister, who first introduced the Lokpal bill in 1977 is part of your team. I just googled and got all the answers
19) You want to record/televise the points of difference and sort it out. Dont you know the basic rule of corruption is not to leave a trace of what happened. We cant discuss steps against corruption with such an ignorant man. We are forming a standing committe, we dont want to be raped in public...
20) Mr.Anna Hazare last but not least "An independent anti-corruption agency in India means a parallel government." Dont you know government and corruption are synonyms.
The 22 point difference between Governments version of Lokpal bill and Anna Hazare's version of Lokpal bill and find for yourself who is wrong. http://2rams.posterous.com/lokpal-points-of-contention-between-anna-haza
Thursday, 18 August 2011
What is that it gives Anna Hazare the power to shake a government and bring it down to its knees?
What is that it gives Anna Hazare the power to shake a government and bring it down to its knees? Why is that people are flocking behind Anna Hazare and not Manmohan Singh and the government.
This movement is being called the second struggle for independence and Anna Hazare the new Gandhi. Gandhi represented the collective consciousness of a generation fighting for free India and today Anna Hazare has touched the same chord with people who want a nation free from corruption. Great leaders are born, when they become the symbol of a generation. It is this ability to collectively represent a generation that gives them the power to bring the opposition to knees, be it the British government or the government elected by the citizens.
Today Anna Hazare is not just another individual fighting corruption but representative of a billion souls. It is the same guy who pays a bribe for violating a traffic rule who gives Anna the power to fight corruption because deep inside everyone there is an element of honesty and Anna Hazare has been able to connect with it, wake it up and give it a voice to fight.
Anna Hazare today represents the collective consciousness of people and when you try to crush Anna Hazare with all those stupid measures you are trying to crush the conscience of a nation. When you deny Anna Hazare the right to protest you are denying my right to protest, when you are arresting Anna Hazare you are arresting me because today "I am Anna Hazare".
By showing a lack of intent to have a strong Lokpal bill the government has lost a golden opportunity to instill faith among people in the wake of succession of scams that had put the entire country to shame. Its childish attempts to kill this movement have naturally led to a question, unless you are corrupt why are you against a movement fighting corruption. What essentially began as a quest for a strong lokpal bill is slowly turing into a movement against the government and the current political set up, none except the government is to be blamed for this.
I dont think it will be easy to throttle this movement, even if the government succesfully does this, the current regime will not only be considered as the most corrupt but also a tyranical one that scuttled a movement against corruption and further lose the faith of people. The government is succesfully distancing itself from common man, a dangerous precedent is being set.
To all those who murmur why does not Anna Hazzare contest election and bring about change, let you be reminded that the current Prime Minister is not a directly elected representative but a member of Rajya Sabha. It is that difficult for Mr.Singh considered to be the most honest face in the Congress to win an election. So, while politicians are busy with politics let apolitical people without political intentions step forward to steer the nation in the right direction.
The government needs to ask itself how a 73 year old man who was unknown to many till 4 months back has been able to capture the imagination of a nation than a party which has been ruling for more than 50 years and a prime minister who has been representing us for the last seven years. Why is that people are able to associate themself with Anna Hazare and not Manmohan Singh?
If this is a show of media how many issues projected by media have garnered this kind of support? Today Dridashtra is surrounded by Dridashtras to narrate this war against corruption. Why does not Rahul Gandhi who wants to associate with every people's movement come and see who these people coming in thousands to support Anna Hazare are. Personally to me it was a defining moment to see a 70 year old couple come and sit in for the protest, a 80 year old fragile man barely able to walk coming in support of Anna Hazare, children with school bags shouting slogans against corruption.
Read the governments version of Lokpal bill and Team Anna Hazare's version of Lokpal bill and you will know why the nation is behind Anna Hazare http://2rams.posterous.com/lokpal-points-of-contention-between-anna-haza. Anna Hazare has definitely shown more intent than the government in framing a strong law against corruption. If this is the level of intelligence politicians who frame our constitution have, the supremacy of government in lawmaking needs to undergo radical changes. It is time people who are knowledgable and concerned about the country be given a greater role in framing the constitution.
There is currently one man with a mission and a strategy to fight against corruption and the nation is united behind him. Lokpal may not be the solution to end corruption, but so was the salt sathyagraha movement. It is just a step that takes us close towards the end goal. There is only one way out for the government to come out of this mess i.e. to demonstrate something it currently lacks, HONEST intentions.
Wednesday, 17 August 2011
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
Squirrel, Cats and Me... Regrets and Lessons...
I was standing down at the car park and watching with interest a new born squirrel learning to climb. It was climbing on a piece of cable wire going two storey's top. It almost reached near the end of the wire and it finds itself in a catch 22 situation. It was not able to climb over the final distance and cross to the other side nor was it able to climb down, should have been pretty scared. I waited for a long time to see what it does next, but it just stood there hanging in the air unsure what to do next. The crows and eagles hovering above were also watching the entire drama with interest.
In the meantime a cat came running and jumped on to the motor room nearby and came out holding a little squirrel and ran away. I assume it should be part of the family of the little one hanging up there. I came back after 30 mts to see the same situation. Now the mother squirrel came running to teach it to climb up but the little one was not able to go the distance. It just got stuck there. After sometime its mother also went away. By now the cat came again for its second round of prey only to be shooed away, may be there were few more in the motor room.
By now couple of my friends joined me and I explained to them the situation. We planned to bring the little one down. The plan was to shake the wire and once it falls down catch hold of it in a bed spread. My friends held the bedspread below and I shook the wire, the little one fell off but sadly inches away from the bedspread and crashed on to the ground. Thankfully it did not seem hurt much but was visibly shaken and was recovering itself and crawling. All of a sudden from nowhere the cat came down pouncing on it and sprinted away holding it by the neck. It just happened in the blink of an eyelid.
One of my friend tried to chase the cat but to no avail. The cat had found its prey. Maybe the mother squirrel was lifting the little one up towards a shelter to safeguard from the cat and I pushed it down back to its predator. Shame on me. I just cant help feeling guilty for whatever i did. Life is strange... Sometime despite the best of your intentions, it just throws shit at you...
There seems to be few lessons from this incident and I am just trying to figure them out.
1) When you take a looong journey into the unknown make sure you are adequately backed up because once you near the top the heights will scare the shit out of you.
2) Once you reach the end of your journey, a sense of fear arises as to what is there at the end and if this is the right path, but don't be stuck there for too looong. Just keep traveling as the risks are far lesser than indecisiveness.
3) When someone is hanging at midpoint in a indecisive manner, they are just trying to get a grip of things before taking the final leap, better give them the space and time.
4) It is good to have a reliable partner who has traveled the distance and when you get one, better rely on them.
5) If you are taking some one to the top make sure you are there around till the end because it is when you are not around someone pushes them to the cat.
6) If you really want to help someone make sure to hold the bedspread pretty tight and be double sure to catch hold of the falling ones safely.
7) Have a plan to get the squirrel back to the top, because that is where they are safe from the cats.
8) Watch out for the cats when the fall happens, because the fall might only leave bruises but it is the cats waiting to prey that go for the kill and more often you will not even notice them coming.
9) There are things you can change and things you cant, so don't fret over it. Just do what you feel is right and leave it to that.
Wednesday, 13 April 2011
Inky... Pinky... Ponky... and Political Reforms...
It is the election time again, this time for state looters. Given the current political scenario, the option is to choose better of the worst. But the moment they assume power they start competing for the title “Who is the worst devil?”. Honestly it is disgusting to go to the polling booth thinking “Mera Neta Chor Hai...”
The option 49-O is a cruel reminder that we don't have choice of eligible leaders to choose from. I had cast it in the last election and didn't seem to have much choice this time too. To me 49-O was a way to express my angst against the current political system.
As I went near the polling booth my thoughts changed since 49-O is not going to make any difference to the result. The one with most number of votes is still going to win and my vote is as good as an invalid one. It is like scoring runs in a cricket match but your runs do not stand counted.
That is when I thought about the fringe players, the independent candidates not affiliated to any political parties. Maybe they can breath in fresh air, they are not bogged down by party compulsions. I didn't know much about who was contesting, hence I voted one of them by playing inky-pinky-ponky from the list of independent candidates. As stupid it may sound, I think it was the best decision given the circumstances.
This was an instantaneous decision triggered by the flip a coin theory. The theory states when there is not enough data to justify a decision take one with the flip of a coin. Quoting Seth Godins blog "By refusing to lie to yourself, by not telling yourself a fable to make the decision easier, you'll understand quite clearly when you're winging it".
While the decision was instantaneous it was culmination of the mockery political parties have made of our system. It was a way of showing my finger to all those political parties who spend obscene amount of money on elections and later loot.
But give a thought, are political parties alone to be blamed for this. It is no joke to run a party, it is a complex, complicated and risky business. The amount of resources invested both in terms money and manpower is humongous.
To run such a vast setup they need funds, they need to keep their party members happy with fancy posts, titles, contracts and each one of these element ensures that they are caught in the vicious circle of corruption, favoritism and nepotism.
Neoptism... Now what is wrong with that. How many will give away the ownership of the enterprise created with sweat, blood and tears to some strangers. What do founders of companies do when it comes to passing on the bastion? Isn't it passed on to the kith and kin. In a more professional set up CEO's are appointed to meet the whims and fancies of the shareholders. But in the end who owns the company, relatives, friends and all those with vested interest.
So what is wrong with political parties passing on the ownership rights to wives, sons, daughters, relatives. It is after all cut throat politics and they do need someone on whom they can rely on, Fair right!
Hence democracy to us means Nehru ---> Indra ---> Rajiv---> Sonia---> and it shouldn't be tough to guess who will be next on the list??? This is just a sample, look around and you will find it everywhere.
Unfortunately politics is a game of power hence ownership and control cant be with two different people. Experiments are being made in this area too, with one Mr.Singh as scapegoat.
These parties have invested huge resources in building a brand image ensuring loyal voters irrespective of the candidate or their performance. Someone who has not even spent a full week in a constituency during the last twenty, thirty years can still represent it. Thanks to the solid vote banks. Take a moment and think, how many days have Karunanidhi or Jayalalitha spent in the constituencies they are contesting in during the last 10 years?
There is a glaring need for huge electoral reforms to ensure we are represented by real leaders.
All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to be silent. And why are the good men silent, because honestly they cant do much. They don't have the resources to take on the financial and muscle power of political parties. There may be exceptions but end result does not vary much.
I think we need a solution that will change the equilibrium of politics and wipes out whatever plagues the current system. A simple but daring solution will be to abolish all political parties, abolish them all. Let there be only independent candidates contesting in election. Voters elect which independent candidate should lead the constituency and who should lead the state.
Before dismissing it as ridiculous, look at the big picture. This means anyone who stands in an election has an equal chance to win purely based on their past performance. It is no more based on the arithmetic's as to which party has how much vote bank or which caste has how much vote bank.
A candidate contesting from a constituency he doesn't belong to, without knowing the issues of the place, without knowing the people, without doing some real good service to the society will stand very little chance to be elected. Contestants cant win an election without any agenda or just with sole agenda to benefit themselves and those around them.
If independent candidates not affiliated to any parties are elected, there is a lesser chance of corruption as there will not be any political backing for their misdeeds. Even if there is corruption, they can not get away as they are no more a herd now. They are individuals who can be singled out and taken to task for their misdeeds. A herd of representatives caught in the web of corruption is what plagues the current system.
If elected representative of a constituency does not perform the head of state can take action and if head of state does not perform elected representatives can take action. Everyone becomes accountable to people who voted. This also means there will not be any opposition party who mindlessly oppose any action of the ruling party because now everyone is part of the government. Stalling of parliament and assembly will be replaced with healthy debates on issues and policies.
Maybe we too will get a chance to elect good leaders and can proudly say “Mera Neta Chor Nahin Hai...” . As with any system this might have its flip side too and may be if more people put their thoughts in we might come up with a better system, a system where we are represented by leaders and not the current class of politicians.
Friday, 8 April 2011
Chennai joins the Janlokpal bill rally...
Back from Marina beach Gandhi statue... Felt good to be among few hundred people giving more energy to JanLokpal bill. Unfortunately had to come back. Will be there tomorrow till the end. You need to be there to see the movement, Amazing... Met a friend who said "I have never screamed Vande Matram before for my country, Feels good to be here cheering for the country" That sums it all.
It was filled with people from all ages of life... From seven years old kid to seventy year old person. Young men and women, middle aged men and women, old aged men and women. All with a single desire to see a corruption free India. A true peoples movement. Picture of the day - A mother bringing along her seven year old child with flag in hand.
Be there tomorrow April 9, 2011, Saturday at 5 p.m
A Nation defined....
A nation is defined by the moment it gets inspired, those moments it comes together in one single voice. For long if there has been one thing that has held and inspired this country together it is this game called cricket. For a change one person who is not a cricketer is inspiring a country invoking the passions of people across all strata to fight against corruption. Can you believe people are not talking about the famous world cup victory and not about the IPL that is scheduled to begin today all because of one name.
The name is Anna Hazare, a 73 year old veteran leading a movement which can be equated to the second war of Independence, independence from corruption. Yesterday night, inspired by Anna Hazare I pledged to skip a meal as an symbolic gesture to support a man who is shaking establishments and giving voice to collective conscience of a nation and a message to the corrupt class. I went to sleep believing it should be a should be a simple task, just one meal in a day.
I woke up late in the morning and said to my mom I dont want my breakfast today, I am going to skip a meal in support of Anna Hazare. She smiled and said I have made your favorite Idiyappam. What a timing...
It was her own way to celebrate my sisters birthday. I am yet to figure out how the Idiyappam made here will fill my sister who is thousands of miles away but when love knows no boundaries... (Note to self: In future before taking such decisions keep mom informed in advance)
My parents have had to live with some of the most incredible decisions that I have made and today was one such moment. I prepared myself for another sermon. As I got ready to leave my mom realized that I was serious and I will not be eating those yummy looking idiyappam which looked more yummier today. My mom further tempted me saying this was the best she had ever done but I did not yield in.
My mom in a confused tone looked at my dad and said he is leaving without having his breakfast in support of Anna Hazare. My dad who was glued to the television set, as a matter of fact he has been so for the last three days, shot back let him go. When a 72 year old man is fasting to death, skipping a meal will do him no harm. The tone, the mood, summed up everything.
More than 131 people have pledged to skip a meal here http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=122862107789973
P.S
Here is a comparision of the Janlokpal bill proposed by government and that of the civil society http://scr.bi/f65uWM
And if you still have doubt read this article about CBI report on 2G scam http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mindboggling/entry/cbi-s-2g-chargesheet-explains-why-anna-hazare-is-on-fast-unto-death
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