His questions, were his only answers

Jams -  the saying " The older I get, the wiser my father becomes" applies to our dear departed principal or as we called him "princi" as well, for it is only now that we begin to appreciate the depth of the wisdom of this father figure that he was.

At the prayer meet last evening, I felt a deep sense of loss. Today, I am alone at home and so mind raced back to my golden childhood days in which JNS and it's fond memories occupy a huge space with obviously Rasikbhai our principal, being an integral part in it.

In school days I used to be teased by my JVPD Gujju Jam gang; they called me Socrates. It all started after this one incidence in which I questioned one of them on the futility of breaking a branch & then attempting to decide the love-fate by plucking one leaf at a time with alternating recitation of 'she loves me' & 'she loves me not' respectively. 

It is paradoxical, for I had earned my many moments of glory in school days by imitating & poking fun at our very own Socrates; who like the original, was a misunderstood personality - less because he was complex and more because he was simply simple. 

Among Rasikbhai's many behavioral traits, some that instantly & vividly come to my mind are his walking about the school foyers & hall ways like a wondering Buddhist monk by the country side. His hands would be clasped behind his back, his nodding without uttering to acknowledge the passing teachers' or students' greets. The bunking students, never feared him as they did of other suspicious teachers much lower in ranks, for their princi would never stop them in their tracks to inquire about where from they came or where of was their next destination class. 

Rasikbhai just quietly went about observing and taking mental notes. Maybe he was constantly assessing the pulse of the institution on which he sat at the very helm.

Or how about the time when he would be giving a speech, then pause to get an instant approval on his pointed points. He was always correct, he knew well. Hansaben still assured him he was also as right.

His other peculiarity was his habit of regularly pursing his lips shut, pressing them together to reduce them into just a thin line. The next moment we knew, we could accurately predict - he would now pass his neatly four times folded white kerchief over them, which he would remove from his non-fashionable lab coat styled off-white  un-tucked shirt's lower pocket with his right hand. Through all this, the other hand would remain unmoved, his 4 fingers buried in the adjacent lower pocket, only thumb visible. If the left hand fingers ever saw light, it was only momentarily to scratch his head with the nails of his bent fingers, as if he was trying to stir his million greys below his super short hair, to come up with the next set of points to ponder. 

When some of us famed naughty kids were dispatched to the principals' s office & when he would begin to recognize the regulars, much to our amusement and relief, his interrogation was with Qs of a different kind. A dreaded place as so reputed, the princi's office was actually a cake walk for some of us with lesser conscience and an unbearable one for a few with a heart. Princi was a man of equanimous mindset - the art of screaming had bypassed him completely & I bet, so had the science of laughing out loud. 

He was always at peace & the Zen master never gave correct answers nor directly showed the path to reform; he was all about asking the right questions and leaving the child to introspection. He would ask the naughty boys ( girls then had not yet fought their way down below to cross the lowest set bar for decency, what for some reason n is now strangely perceived by many as equality ) in front of him about their family background, which part of India their grandparents came from, what they did for a living - as if to decipher some meaning out of the family history. To our little minds, all this had absolutely nothing to do with the process or even vague connection with our crime for which we were sent to the highest office and merited the presence before a person beyond the foyer supervisor's or headmistress' title and aura. We know only now, he was attempting to make the teenagers realize their own past and somehow assist them to discover & understand the values, the cultural heritage & thoughts that need to be inherited by them by choice, before anything material by chance. 

Having demonstrated their genetic advantage to the kids, he would have hoped that the on-the-cusp adolescent fellows would have left his chamber rejuvenated & basking in positivity and wanting to leverage their legacy for creating a better future citizenship for themselves and very worthy of their family's name and expectation. 

That was about the lucky naughty boys. What about the vast majority of good boys and all the girls- when would they get a piece of his mind? 

Well he was clearly ahead of his times, for not withstanding the ICSE Board's requirements, he had the audacity to carve out a personalized curriculum, that of having a mandatory weekly connect, for 3 whole periods before the short break with all his children - in the main hall.

Here he did not teach any particular subject & yet we all unknowingly would have learned. What he spoke there, it was all from outside of the syllabus but still easy to understand at one level & yet difficult to grasp at another. It was so, not due to the complexity of the subject but rather the easy of it.

For example, in each session he advised us to keep the posture of our body correct by sitting crossed legged on the floor, keeping head up, chin straight, spine erect, hands on the knees, eyes shut and observe our own breathing. That to us obviously meant - ya-ya yipee yipee ya i.e. not doing anything & in line with every kids desire at school - a free period. Here the bonanza was 3 times longer and remarkable become astounding, as it was coming from the big guy himself ! Does he not realize that we are only fooling him? 

But how can even motionless in paradise ever be compatible with the restlessness of the raging teenagers' hormones that were brewing inside us ...and for what? What's the use of all this? Hey, it's a punishment on 2nd thought. 

Some of us facing him still felt obliged & so obeyed only to fight back or embrace sleep, as the case may be. Many pretended with half eyes shut and looked around from the corner of our eyes to check the sanity & status of others around us. Those tall fellows and late-to-school remarked ones in the rear rows would go unnoticed, so they asserted their bravery through disobedience. Some worked hard to get bored while few took the opportunity to partially volunteer and disclose the name of the girl they liked but had not yet gathered the courage to ask her out or even share the secret with their monthly best friend. They hesitantly passed the information, as they wrote the clues about her by pressing their fingers on the back of the person in front of them, asking that person to guess her name - half hoping that the person in the front gets it correctly & half not. If well guessed,  the person in front instantly became the lover boys new found best friend, not withstanding the fact that it's all still one sided with respect to the clue giver's love for her & best friendship bestowed upon him !

Princi was then preparing us to experience meditation, which we all now know, would be needed in stressful times to come. 

The man was a thought leader & he is no more. The best tribute we can offer him is to keep him in our prayers and imbibe in our lives, at least some of his subtle teachings.

There were plenty of people at the prayer meet but I was really disappointed, as there were hardly any students. I was in fact angry but then I realized; the expectations were all only mine, not his. If such emotions are out of respect for my princi, then I would be doing disservice to the very soul I was praying for. 

For I am sure, if I could somehow ask him "Sir, there was a poor show at your funeral - how unfair isn't it?"; I know he would not have replied with a correct answer - no that's not him. Instead,  in his inimitable style, the simpleton would have surely just gently smiled and asked me to ponder "Is there ever anything like a poor birth or a rich funeral for the really concerned?" !

May our princi's soul rest in peace. 

China-India - a see saw?

China's stock market recently fell by almost half, hurting many. Their economic growth rate is at a 2 decade low.

Is this India's time? 

Let us understand, it is not a zero sum game - loss of one is not others gain. Besides differing political system for governance, both nation's have different USP - India has law, China has order.

China had built its infrastructure at a time when oil was, for most part sub-$25 per barrel & with a powerful zeal of its united politburo gave it the desired the thrust. Thats a great advantage.

The other advantage it had was that its timing was perfect - at the very beginning of the globalization phase, over 25 plus years ago. It had no competition from any potential manufacturer base economy in the world & the rich western world was moving up the food chain, looking for avenues to source cheap finished low end products.

China is still in a good position - it is innovative, it has higher HDI ranking, has sound infrastructure, strong forex reserves & no demo-crazy related hurdles, if I may.

It is however severely bruised on many fronts & going forward from here may be with a limp  :

Today, there is a backlash to excessive globalization.

Jobs & protectionism is a mainstream discussion across geographic landscape, keeping politicians of every color employed with rhetoric on 'bring back employment' blah. 

To make matters worse, China made too many enemies over the last decade, which it did not have in the first 15 years of its growth. It has simply kissed every cheek that the western world has slapped - to get cheap raw materials from sanction affected nations. You can't be a leader with no followers. 

It's traditional customers in the West are also a wee bit poorer now. They are also angrier at it and so are on the natural hunt for an alternative - drifting away from it. 

It does not stop there. 

It has created a hostile neighborhood for itself by making expansionary claims on territories - India, Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam & Philippines dislike it.  Can't say same about Pakistan. Contrast that with Mexico, Canada and Puerto Rico for America.

China now has a sudden psychological uneasy to it.

Recently we saw that it still relies on devaluation of its currency for competitive-ness i.e. it has run out of super low wage & high productivity labor force.  

On the other hand, China is flexing its muscle & wants to create formidable alternative to the World Bank & have its currency at par with the American Dollar as a reserve currency for global trade. For that, it will have to make the Yuan fully convertible and tradable & thus exposing to the market vagaries, risking it's rise. A rising Yuan can be a sinking China.

It will have to begin privatization of its PSUs as they are artificially pumped up. 

Moving from conventional to high technology industries will require it to be interdependent on some of the advanced nations it annoyed & competes with. 

It has over invested in industrial towns,  some now dubbed as 'ghost towns' as further urbanization has halted. Property prices may be a bubble waiting to go bust. Construction activities have slowed & steel is already in the drain hole. 

It has polluted itself and closing some mega industries is going to hurt it so.

It will now have to transition from the government spending model to a population consuming economy and that is difficult in any place esp where there is a citizens' trust deficit with its government & no social security for the aged. The problem is further compounded as they are running out of young people & it is ageing due to years of one child only rule.

Its population was always more literate than India but is now more educated as well; recall they had closed almost all universities for a decade from 66-76 during their cultural revolution ! They are also more wealthier now ( but not rich enough ) & so not just comprising of  peasant class. An evolved population is an involved one too by default. That makes them more politically demanding, a hurdle & challenge for any government to rule over. 

Our incredible India has some of the above & much more deeper problems ( a noisy democracy being the worst ) but it is likely to pose a serious competition to China in the future esp. if a pro-business & governance efficiency seeking Modi gets both houses by 2017. Such a parliamentary control would be historic for India.

A low oil & commodity prices will be a bonus for a nation like India, which is at the cusp of building infrastructure.

Unlike China, India is a natural ally of the free world and that is its strongest intangible asset with Modi adding to the aura. 

Due to his personal stamp on foreign policy, the direct rapport with world leaders and ambition to engage nations across the spectrum, he has put India on the 'To do list' for most of the world's political & business leaders. In the very early years, he travelled to the widest variety of countries, be they big or small like... America, Bhutan, Brazil, China, Germany, Japan, Kyrgystan, Myanmar, Mongolia, Russia, Seychelles, UAE, Uzbekistan to name a few !. He enjoys an unprecedented popularity among the rich, famous & influential non resident Indians & foreign business leaders at large.

With a bit of luck, India could be that destination in few years time, that - even a blind, mute & deaf Christopher Columbus can't give a miss !

I rank the chance of both, that of stagnation of China and rise of India from here at 50:50 but with a very favorable bias towards India !

Be an optimist. Bolo Bharat Mata Ki ....Jai OK Please !

The almost illiberal me

As an undergraduate engineering student in a very democratic America, I a foreigner, was yet "forced" to learn American history !

I am an unabashed admirer & critic of America today.

Talking of history, the 1971 war "victory" over India was recently celebrated in Pakistan.

Now, we all know the result of that war - an entire chapter in history needs to be dedicated to it, not just for the military establishment to relive but also be taught in schools & colleges. The enemy had far better American weaponry & first move advantage. India was a 3 legged horse, not worthy of a bet. The movie Border is not fiction, we won that war so convincingly that it would be hard for anyone today to believe the same.

A similar one I read about on a flight in a Singapore news paper - was the Battle of Kohima. It was fought in the far eastern corner of India at Nagaland against the Japanese invasion. The British knew they were ill prepared & so put the Indian jawans on the forefront as sacrificial lambs.

It is voted by the National Army Museum in London as "Britain's Greatest Battle" in recorded history, where the lost-for-sure verdict turned upside down. The Indians, were out numbered in all respects but they prevailed. It ended with so much bloodshed that in the end, the last 20 odd men on both sides faced each other on a tennis court, killing each other with bare hands, wrestling !

This British war, was fought entirely by Indian men.

I believe it is George Orwell who once said that "If you want to control the future, you must control the past. To control the past, you must control the present " !

So now you know why the Paki establishment does such things with their history. If you teach of the glory of past to the children, you are more likely to produce real men, defenders of the motherland in future.

Their problem is that it's now a www that we all live in and so a lie is more likely to be exposed than ever before. Ours is a very different problem. We in India were not told lies, we were unfortunately told someone else's truth.

On our side, while the Doordarshan showcased the glory of the 1971 war, the popular commercial minded media was occupied in a different ideological war with a vested interest. And not having any emotional umbilical chord to the 1971 war, I am sure that during the telecast, most urban Indians had their eyes shut and mouths open in a yawn.

Shri Arun Jaitley hass hit out at the "liberal" folk for creating a wrong impression of India in the popular media. What caught my eye in particular, was him saying "Perpetrators of this propaganda never allowed an alternative viewpoint  ( i.e. one that belonged to the conservative majority ) to grow in academic institutions or cultural bodies they have controlled".

Please note that conservatives outnumber the liberals in India ( & most countries ) & yet they have the smallest voice everywhere, as traditionalists are boring people. It is the liberal non-conformists that the media plays ball to.

It got me thinking :

I was born to upper middle class family & so went to an English medium school, the best in the Mumbai city at the time and a very liberal one at it. I had almost entire Bollywood's kids as fellow students. It was multicultural & I grew up with a feeling of superiority & at some level, looked down at that guy in my building who studied in a Gujarati medium school.

I recall predicting that vernacular schools will close down. I was sadly right.

It is now coming to the forefront that, if the language of instruction at school is in a language different than the only one spoken at home, it is possible that a child might lag in studies. Not because the child is weak, but because there is a micro second processing lag in the brain. The child might have to put extra effort to keep up or catch up.

Coming back, I recall that we had learned about Romulus & Remus & even the Mughal Empire in depth. However, the Indian political history & the most significant part - India's Freedom Struggle, had completely bypassed us. The "cultural history" was taught to us from the lens of a westerner, as seen in the National Geography channel - romanticism with 'mystical Indiyeah' i.e. the on-the-surface architectural beauty of the monuments, but not truly the why-behind-the-what part.

If I over time, had I not learned to question myself, I too would be that make-believe liberal : the elite who controls the media & lives in 'Indiyeah', unaware of the ways of the majority, who live in that Bharat & who went to vernacular medium schools.

Can any developing nation afford to have a school as prestigious as mine, that churned out students,  bereft of real Indian history & yet call itself a truly liberal center of excellence? Should such a school & it's incomplete curriculum even be allowed to operate in a nation that is truly free - I ponder? Even as late as in 1985, the year I passed out, my school did not have the freedom to set its curriculum - the long shadow of Cambridge board did.

Now don't get me wrong, all my batch mates know my love for my alma mater & I would give my right arm to go there again. Both my kids are products of the same school. Thankfully, the curriculum is a wee bit better now, but still much is desired.

We in India are going through a tremendous churn. The Indian, marginalized till recently vernacular conservative have become a bit more vociferous & wealthy over time and are not willing to forget their glorious past, even as they assert their stake in the future.

They want it all to be a very : of,  by & for Indians. To them, a true education is one that is rooted in the past & wedded to the future. They want to set it right.

This has spooked the liberals, who say that freedom is now being taken away & educational saffronization is at play.

Social liberals bolo "Ganpati-bapa moriya" !

Here's a wonderful incident that I once experienced first hand.

Many years ago, an American fellow from a company that I worked with had come to India. On one of the evenings, we were headed through Bandra, in Mumbai for dinner.

We came across one of the many Ganpati pandals by the roadside. 

He wanted me to stop at one such sarvajanik one. He was curious. There was this colossal statue staring at us invitingly, with lights and decorations to beckon. The majestic setup looked empowering with many people that were seated before it.

We entered the make-shift mini temple like structure, much to the amusement of the local crowd. I asked the American to observe respect for tradition & remove shoes, hold up hands in an Indian namaste style, shut eyes and pray to his "own God” or simply observe short silence. He looked around in amazement & then did as I had instructed.

Soon he was lost in a trance, longer than my expectation. 

When he opened his eyes, a very cute child offered him & me a banana each, as prasad. I explained that it is was a spiritual ambrosia of sorts. We left & went back to the car. I could tell, he was overwhelmed.

Suddenly as I drove on, his eyes welled up & he began to weep out huge tear drops.

I was in utter disbelief.

He said "America has lost community living. Look at all these people, they have so much of it!"

In that moment, I realized how wealthy we Indians are ....as I held back my own tears.

Even when I,  as an urban fellow, do not practice religion or traditions with the kind of zeal most folks do, I do believe religious traditions have an immense soft power. My point is narrow i.e. keeping only India and Indian-ness in mind.

Let us accept that India lives in her villages. And we have heard that religion divides.

Religious conflict, is not new to the world but is not really a thing of the small villages but more of an urban phenomenon. Almost all religious riots in India are in or around tier 1 or tier 2 cities of India, perhaps either with a bit of instigation by the politics of the day or wild spread of misinformation by our overtly zealous & TRP-seeking media. Social media now is the kerosene in the flame.

In fact, I would say it is religion that has kept the deprived rural Indians to cope with adversity born out of village poverty. Sure, the different village communities will not intermingle in marriage, but they have learned to live in harmony.

At times, I feel that we in city are more trained to exercise our rights at the cost of learning how to exercise judgment. Demanding a tiny gain by asserting one's right rather than accommodating & letting it go for sake of peace, leads to territorial conflicts in mind space. Religion then becomes the excuse, not the cause. 

Sacrifice - what is that? 

I would like to believe that the things that us city folks so rationally seem to profess, namely "live & let live," is often just lip service. In fact, they the rural folks, who actually practice it.

Religion and the associated traditions are far more a blessing than most urban citizens realize - it is the ultimate cling-on-to thing for those facing the abyss. 

When we drive through the heart of India, I am sure many would have felt & realized, that the people there are not really law fearing as law simply does not have a reach there. However, there is something beyond the normal expectation that is at work - why else won't they rob us even when the financial gap between them & us is so wide & appalling?

Faith is a fact beyond the realms of proof or reasoning. For them it's an omnipresent entity. 

They seem to possess a Dharmic sense, to let things just be or some sort of a human responsibility i.e. duty towards fellow beings, the nature & society at large.

They don't question their own or others.

With this understanding of Dharma, I may go on to add that in my personal observation, the most intolerant of the lot, are the pseudo-intellectuals, those following the Scoratic Mehod as inquirers of everything. These are financially secure socially loose liberals who look down upon all ancient traditions or beliefs as something that is superstitious and an expired product being peddled in the modern world. They question every tradition with hard logic and utility value, not realizing that they seek correct answers with wrong questions.

And yes, they question but provide zero answers.

These social-ethnocides are nothing but selfish hippies, demanding freedom from traditional values and not providing any responsibility in exchange. Notice how angry are.

They are of course the popular media's favorite, who go about shouting & setting their agenda & opinion during prime time. Even in instances when they are right to ask, their methodology is not correct. 

Coming back, traditions by themselves don't do anything at one level except for argument sake, offer restrictions. And yet on the other side it gives one pride & connect to one's past, a sense of belonging in the present day and continuity into the future - the essence of human race, its survival & inspiration to thrive in unity. Deeper the roots, sweeter the fruits. Sadly, that bonding is becoming so scarce in our cities.

Without deep tradition, one is a, if I may - a kati patang .

Gandhi had opposed the tradition of the practice of sati and untouchability & had sought reform, was himself a super traditionalist & pushed for a philosophy that meant - each one must always swim with ( & not against ) currents of his or her tradition, so long as one doesn't drown in it !

Thus, I am not for once saying all blind practices or traditions are good, sure reform is needed. However it is only traditions that keeps a unit of people closely intact & content.

Who decided to put Feta in our salad?

Greece - a soap opera, was building up since few years & is now finally the first page headline in all mainstream Indian newspapers.

We learned that the earlier 'No' referendum of Greece, was akin to just a lady's sulk for not being allowed to spend; she actually just wanted more attention & not a divorce. Had the German-man actually left her alone after the 'dead'-line, he too would have gone wife-less life-less & hit a self goal, with the possibility of triggering a financial meltdown Part -2 ( recall Lehman Brothers scripted the 1st one).

What German-man and the other chief global village elders ( namely the troika comprising of - European Central Bank, International Monetary Fund & European Union ) came out as a compromise instead is, that Madam Greece can live in the same Euro-house, but her spending habits will be severely curtailed and controlled, including her credit card limits. She will now go to her mom's home i.e. the Greek parliament for approval, and he too, to gain confidence will go seek an okay from those in his dad's mansion i.e. the German parliament.

It is likely that family members of both will agree & then unhappily they will live thereafter, till the next mood swings happen. That's when the status will get elevated from being just unhappy, to unhealthy - speaking financially. The gloom shall then spread across the global village.

The manner in which the compromise between the players happened, is noteworthy and gives us great insight into decision making. 

The saga of the Greek tragedy had been going on for so long & yet when the time came ... again, the European leaders met for 9 long hours on the Saturday before Monday D-day and found no solution on Greece, as if the Greek problem fell from the sky, suddenly. Sunday, they resumed the closed door huddle and continued through the night. Then they came out with a just-in-time 'solution'; which is exactly opposite of a great bargain - all parties returned home feeling less satisfied. How long thiz lasts, is to be seen.

This got me thinking - why?

I start with a ponder - is Status Quo, the other name for God?

  

For it seems to me that at the very kernel of all big decisions, there is either greed or fear. For Greek one, they have certainly acted out of fear of failure & not through courage of conviction.

Decision making is complex & thus esoteric in nature & so one cannot hope to resolve it with a committee of stakeholders. The reason is, all big decision are precedence setting & likely to become future citation and reference points and so even when problems are born today, their proposed solutions could have far reaching consequences in the future. This requires that such problem solving decisions be taken by the visionary, who are willing to let go the immediate gain for future security.

 

Oppz.. Democracy often strikes where it hurts the most. And then, who is to decide on who are the enlightened ones?

The easiest answer is, all stakeholders must decide. Greek imbroglio disproves that - disproportionately so. Stakeholders can be the beneficiaries, not benevolent decision makers.

Getting the desired decision, when all stakeholders are consulted, for most part, remains elusive - be it politics or business. Typically, a committee decides to not decide.

A committee is a group of people who individually can do nothing, but who, as a group, can meet and decide that nothing can be done - Fred Allen

Not all persons are Mahatmas. Much of 'decision by concensus' is found only in management books, a theory made popular by western academic fellows, citing the more surer Japanese way of doing things. The college professors say it works.

Doze it?

Well, it is more of romanticism than a fact, besides the Japanese innate culture of severe discipline is a prerequisite, not found easily elsewhere in the world. Here I mean, the cultural discipline of not speaking out of turn, no matter what & the unlimited capacity to suffer from abundance of politeness, if I may.

Having said so, the Japanese parliamentarians have in the past got down to blows & fists and Japanese economy today has one of the highest debt to GDP ratio in the world - over 300 % !  The Greek ratio is only 175 %, but unlike the Japanese, they have no control on printing of the Euro currency notes. Further, the Japanese politicians of the last 2 decade, are infamous of stitching up governments that run more on coalition of convenience than those that produce projects of purpose.

The Japanese economy has been in a state of funk since the 90s bubble burst.

The problem with democracy - long dubbed the least evil form of governance & not the best, is that it is in direct conflict with human nature.

Let us, for argument sake forget the evil side of the human nature & it's possibility of becoming corrupted.

People by nature, tend to "take a stand where they sit" i.e. they simply won't  budge from a previously publicly stated position. That is because it is one's psychic, genetic and environmental-istic make up that is summoned upon when one has to decide and that is too deep and different for each individual. Worse, if they do change, say after a better wisdom dawns upon them, they are seen as - weak, fickle, wavering or defector by a certain camp. Pressing the " un-do" button is just that much more difficult. Still worse, most won't easily admit that they have no opinion or not enough research at their disposal to make an informed vote. They let the interpersonal relationships get in the way and side the, let's just say - the friendly side.

With all equals in the room, once any mouth in the room opens & speaks, entropy is unleashed.

Majority can never win, as mediocrity loses in the long-term. Only the brave and the enlightened few can produce anything beautiful but unfortunately lose out in the numbers game of democratic voting, be it elections, law making or board room.

For all its flaws, empires lasted for centuries and so did the caste system through generations without any stigma. Even professions and business as we know today, went from great grandparents to great grandchildren. Then there was no law, only order. Many were called upon to consult but all knew who decided.

Today, we have law but not necessarily order.

After a little over a few decades, since the concept of 'management by consensus' took shape, joint irresponsibility is on public display & almost every nation and mega institution is stressed.

Today, if a company lasts for 40 years (working life of a healthy human - start to retirement ) in it's original form, it will be considered as an achievement rather than the expected norm. The less said about parliamentary consensus, the better.

We cannot turn the clock backwards, but I certainly know that what we have now is a recipe for many more Greek tragedies.

Ah Globalization !

Looking at the current global circumstances, India looks like a safe haven.

Bolo Bharat Mata Ki ..Jai Only Please !