Go ahead and get 'tip-sy' !

Once upon a time... some school-days friends and yours truly went to this high-nosed, snob-end restaurant.

For starters, the first beer was served warm. I ignored it as it reluctantly sat on my table. It got annoyed & turned a bit cold on me... thankfully!

The waiter who took our order couldn’t recall who among us was vegetarian, non-vegetarian, or somewhere in-between - a gravy-tarian.

We inadvertently ordered more ‘uppams’ than we could ever eat-ems. He didn’t admonish us or tell us as he wasn’t trained to do so.

For the ender, the Bill finally arrived. It was actually a disguised Bush... and it made a huge deficit in our personal economy.

The “service charge” an euphemism for tips on it, is a trap. As the saying goes, “An innocent and his money are soon parted.”

Tips should be dispensed voluntarily by the king-ish customer, but it was extortion-ingly included in the invoice. That hurt my inner voice as much as it hurt my already diminishing regality :-(

Mustering courage, confidence, and conscience, I still proposed a 5% monetary tip... breaking away from my rather principled life stance of ‘better to reward the deserving, rather than help the needy.’ I would have actually liked to reward this guy with some advice on hospitality instead, which he so deserved. But I also know that waiters are paid less in lieu of the tips they receive.

That 5% was promptly deemed by my very own sons-of-a-batch school friends as either me being global-financial-crises stricken, or me having turned into a miser.

Did I say I know that waiters are paid less in lieu of tips?  

Yes.

The story behind the story:

I had discovered a university within a university.

The first paid job I ever did in my life was that of a part-time waiter.

I got an opportunity to work at a fine-dine restaurant called “Barons” at the University of Houston Hilton Hotel. It usually attracted high net-worth customers — corporate folks or parents of students visiting the university campus. That experience taught me more about business than perhaps any business school could have.

That exposure during my formative years helped me many years later in leading my company. There should be no growing-up without doing a job, no matter how menial or trivial. In strange ways, it unknowingly gives us an experience that benefits us many years later.

One of the key things I learned then was that I had to adjust and accommodate between the customer - the obvious target, the kitchen - the factory, and the bus boys - the support staff who clean and re-set the table once the customer leaves.

How different is it today for anyone at the helm?

At the time, the minimum wage in Houston, Texas was USD 4.35 per hour. But since it was assumed that customers would voluntarily tip servers, they could be paid less. The assumption was that gratuity would compensate for the shortfall.

So, for the job as a waiter, I earned USD 2.01/hr. Compressed between, or rather stretched apart by, the moods and tantrums of the chef (earning USD 9/hr), the bus boys (earning USD 4.35/hr), and the demanding customers - wealth usually brings its conjoined twin, arrogance. 

I used to feel my job wasn’t worth it. Well, it wasn’t, at least not in the beginning. But eventually it grew on me and became enriching.

As a server, I was actually just a messenger between what happens in front of the kitchen door and behind it. And yet I was expected to be the smiling face of the restaurant and maintain customer relationships so that they keep coming back. At first I thought it would be easy. Then I thought it was unfair. But much later, I realized how heavy that responsibility was, and that it was actually a fantastic opportunity.

I must explain that as a postman of sorts, a waiter often gets undeserved beatings from customers. The insipid cuisine created by the chef, or a missing fork by the careless bus boy, was not the waiter’s fault. But it was nevertheless always vented on him or her. A waiter has no authority, read luxury, to explain whose fault it is. He or she is simply expected to resolve the issue with a smile and a sorry to the customer.

‘Customer is the king’ was an axiom there. It was always perceived as the waiter’s fault. So as the visible face of the organization, I was expected to mollify the mood of His or Her Highness.

With the requirement to handle hard cash and credit card transactions, I was expected to be even more responsible than the chef or bus boy.

When the pressure was too much, I was expected to assist the chef by fetching condiments from the back-room shelf or even slicing lemons, etc.

Then, on selected days, I was to be a backup for usher-cum-cashier i.e., when the assigned person (earning USD 12.00/hr) had to suddenly rush to the restroom to fix his necktie, or take a small break to quickly comb his hair, just so that he or she looked impeccably presentable.

To add insult to injury, I even had to clean up if some kid knocked over daddy’s precious beer mug. I slowly learned to do that while smiling at the child’s mom, just to reassure the lady that the apple of her eye was still as adorable.

To add injury to insult, at times I was also expected to assist the bus boy, technically my junior in status and my assistant in clearing or joining tables if a huge party of unexpected guests showed up. Ouch!

And don’t forget, for all this I got paid a measly USD 2.01, i.e., below minimum wage, but still legal for waiters in the US, because waiters were expected, not guaranteed, to get tips. Frankly, that expectation may come from the government, but I knew that in the real world, I somehow had to ‘win’ the tips and earn my bread, even as I served it.

Not knowing the daily take-home, but keeping that challenge of somehow winning-the-tips in mind, I kept the job.

After about a year-plus of service, I slowly learned to move away from bearing the burden with a grin, to serving with a genuine smile. Some days I made just a little over USD 2.01/hr, and some days even USD 10/hr. But on most days, I called it a victory at USD 6.0.

Since the law of diminishing returns strikes fast with fast money, slowly even the tip factor began to diminish. I then ‘evolved’ to love my job, because it gave me an opportunity to be in my own element. Each new customer was a chance to meet a new person - be they good, bad, ugly, or mad. The everyday suspense and surprises in the earnings, and the learnings from ‘my’ customers, were a given.

I began to feel lucky. Each customer who came in meant more work for the chef and the bus boy. For me, it was a chance to serve, learn, and earn.

So I learned that good days and bad days are only in the mind, and shouldn’t be the only thing that determines the fate of my mood. Asserting mental stability in the face of various vagaries of life was important. It meant I had to engage with all three entities - the chef, the bus boy, and the customer. No matter which side of the kitchen door you’re on, status or hierarchy don’t count much. What counts is that they all should like you and smile back at you. Sure, any job can be tough or mundane, but why not make it challenging and interesting!

The tips eventually became a by-product, just one of the many reassuring indicators on my control panel.

The chef feeling ‘my’ pressure each time a customer was in a hurry, every bus boy wanting to be assigned to work ‘under’ me, and regular customers asking the usher to seat them in the section allocated to me; that was far more rewarding.

Some customers even shared an experience, a personal tragedy, an incident, or a joke with the ‘small’ person, a mere waiter. I was sometimes touched by what they shared, and sometimes I know I touched them. Dignity of labor does go a long way.

I realized through experience that people with high status are also emotional humans. And so am I. So we can connect, irrespective.

To rule the world, one must serve it!

Yes, go ahead and get ‘tip-sy’ i.e., don’t forget to tip those waiters, for they too give us tips, even as they serve!

World economy is not moving, needs a bit of de-oiling !

Economists are rattled as price has dropped from over USD 100 to below half that price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, in such a short time. The ponder is, where will it go from here?

Some may recall that the beautiful Columbian singer Shakira had sung a wonderful number during the 2010 FIFA world cup, the song was captioned Waka Waka. If she was to sing a theme song for the oil sector now, and trust me the industry can do with a bit of glamour, she would surely be chanting VUCA VUCA, instead of Waka Waka.

VUCA is an acronym for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity & Ambiguity !

The global churns have elevated, if I may, VUCA ( which has it's origins in the military ) to describe a difficult war strategy, to our peace time commercial world. It is used to describe the inability to cope with or predict almost anything in the context of global business & more so in the oil sector.

The past RBI Governor Dr. Y V Reddy had once said that "In India it is not only difficult to predict the future but it is also difficult to predict the past". That's because our data collection methods were always questionable then. However in the global context, in fact tables have turned & today India is at least seen somewhat as a stabilizing factor. On the other hand, the world outside of India has become difficult to predict, even in the present !

So did it all fall from the sky?

It is Einstein who once said that "The only reason for time, is so that everything doesn't happen at once".

It surely looks like it's all fallen out of place together, but in my humble opinion, the imbroglio was building up.

For the sudden drop in demand for oil & many other commodities, I am not referring to or addressing to the suspects like - the 8 year business cycle, the fuel efficient cars that have been entering the market, the soon to flow sanctions free Iranian oil or the challenge posed by the American Shale producers. Sure, they do add to the pain but I am going to list out the intangibles that have been silently building up that have led us here, to the sorry situation at hand.

The 5 factors that are undoing the global order are: 

A) De-globalization - It is said that before the global financial crises of 2008, oil was traded 30 times before reaching it's destination & price of oil which had reached it's peak then, was predicted to even cross USD 200 a barrel.

Since 2008, the world had never truly recovered. Data by CRISIL shows that trade used to grow at a speed, twice as fast as the GDP i.e. we had a frenzy economic activity and that dropped drastically vs. GDP in 2009 i.e. just after the infamous Lehman Brothers moment. Trade growth rose again briefly in 2010 due to the combined efforts by the leaders of G20 nations & yet again fell in 2011 to just match that of the GDP growth. Since then trade growth has retarded to just about keeping pace with GDP, from earlier being twice that of GDP.

It may be interpreted as the desire by most nations, not withstanding the promises made at the G20, to slowly shift inwards or sourcing more domestically to perhaps protect local jobs through imposition of both tariff & non-tariff trade barriers on imports. Also the losses in stock markets in that era may have led to a consumption behavior which was more need based & less speculative.

B)  Financial jugglery - Much of innovation had since last few years moved away from science & engineering & into finance. 

To keep up growth at any cost, practice of artificially low interest rates was followed by unbridled money printing as a reaction to the the financial crises. That had to bring in long term volatility. Today when the American Fed talks of increasing the the rates, it automatically infuses fear of money being sucked out from the global monetary system. Further, the US dollar also gets stronger & making it that much more difficult for say low margin oil producers to get finance. On the other side of the world, export dependant emerging economies have been engaged in competitive devaluations in currency, adding to the trust deficit.

On another level, country allocation are becoming less important & thus portfolio investments directed towards the BRICS nations lost interest in favour of huge unlisted companies or 'Unicorns'. Also disruptive technologies like the "FANG" or Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google took the shine away from the conventional industry !

C) Unprecedented wear & tear in democracy - All time high partisan politics among the democratic nations is not only slowing down even the most basic progress & reforms, but polarization across the aisles is leading to an unprecedented acrimony between political parties. The same haz been undermining the expected decorum in both national & international posturing & public discourse haz been finding new lows, hurting investor confidence that much more.

Of interest to those in the oil sector, so while out of sanctions Iran may soon be adding to the oil glut, 47 senators from the Republican party wrote an open letter last year to the Iranian leadership, that should they win, they might abrogate the deal made by the current Democratic party led US government & reverse the time clock.

Unable to demonstrate maturity through unity in the nation's functioning or policy making, the burden remains on respective governments to do growth spending, as even cash rich foreign & private sector investors remains weary. As if that was not enough, world over there is an anti-incumbency fever & so to retain power, populist trends have risen and financially prudent ones have taken a back seat, adding to the already stressed debt situation.

D) It's increasingly becoming a leaderless rudderless world - Over the last decade what we have seen is a financially bruised, war fatigued & morally drained America on one side & on the other side we saw a China - a supposed new rising leader, but with no followers. China began posturing aggressively with each of its so many neighbors it shares it's border with.

Notwithstanding the trade agreements, financial aids or sanctions that are arising more out of political compulsions rather than needs, even institutions like the United Nations, the IMF & the World Bank are being undermined. Thus today it is not only a multipolar world out there, but also a multiple opinionated world, with no acceptable leadership to set the tone right. 

Just note the unfolding of super complex relationships emanating from animosities or alliances in & among the different players like the Syrian Govt, the Shias, the Sunnis, the Kurds, the Saudis, the Arab league, Iran, Israel, Turkey, Russia, America, the Al Qaeda & now the ISIS - it would make any soap opera look pale. Most of the players are warring in hot or cold against or amongst each other with interests in & around the oil rich regions of the planet.

Even to the severest critics, all the chaos, at some level should make the OPEC unity of the past, appear more as an institution that waz made for stability rather than one that arose out of greed for petro-dollars. 

E) Last & the loudest is the free (mis)information age - it was JFK who once said that "The greater the knowledge we have, more our ignorance unfolds". He was referring to the space, but it seems, we are spaced out right here on planet earth. A recent PEW survey of leaders, on the 'Top 10 global trends' revealed that misinformation was among them & it is indeed a worrying trend. We will be entering our 5th year when about a 3rd of the rich nation youth now gets more information from the www that they tend to live in, rather than say from their parents, teachers, uncles & aunts.

Our opinions are becoming adulterated & popular trend driven & these then become pressure points on those that attempt to govern. It is said that if there is anything true about India, it's opposite is equally true. The same can be said about future market & pricing on oil, gas, refining & petrochemicals. All one needs to do, is to go on the web & the person will find plenty of editorials & opinions with adequate data points & seeming facts to predict that by the end of the year, oil will be at USD 20 a barrel on one side and USD 100 a barrel on the other side. 

The problems are not going to run away & definitely not in oil industry. In fact there is worry expressed by some, that just like the financial crises that had it's origins in sub prime real estate finance, the problems in the oil & gas industry could once again spill over into the financial sector.

To understand the pulse of the oil producing nations, just note that today the oil is trading at around USD 35 a barrel. A Rystad industry report says that the approximate break even for countries like Kuwait is USD 10, Saudi Arabia is USD 15, Iraq is at USD 20 & Iran at USD 25. Norway at USD 37 is on the edge. Russia & Venezuela are at around USD 50 are troubled & Nigeria which waz a rising star, has fallen as it needs USD 70 to stay buoyant.

The Indian economy is oil import dependant and so will benefit.

The Modi government's policy seems to be standing on 4 stable pillars 1) Make In India, 2) Invest in infrastructure, 3) Reduce subsidy or leaks in the system & 4) keep it clean. The savings in oil imports due to better roads & elimination of long transport vehicle queues due to GST at octroi collection booths or interstate check posts, will surely help some of that. The government haz already targeted to cut the oil import bill by 10% over the next few years. With the latest HELP or 'Hydrocarbon exploration licencing policy' on incentivising the exploration sector aggressively & in parallel raising the bar from BS4 to BS6 for emission norms, shows the government’s deep commitment, as much towards our energy search, as the environment.

Global oil & gas companies have all given a downward revision in investment & the mega players are likely to undershoot their capex by 15% but in India, ONGC has gone in the opposite direction which gives us a harbinger of things to come. In the short turn expect more brown field investments, shift towards down stream - those that can process high value Naphtha lighter products should gain. Refineries in Singapore & India's RIL with favorable Nelson Complexity Index are already benefiting immensely. LNG & so also regassification investments will rise. However in the long term, grass root plants will also come up.

Einstein had once philosophized that "A perfection of our means & confusion of ends seems to characterize our age" & on a global scale, that seems very much relevant today, with India being the exception.

In conclusion, far from making our's the best world, we have made it into a problematic PEST i.e. the Political, Economical, Social & Technological variables that are thrown up due to the global vagaries, makes it difficult for one to know what information is reliably valuable & what is just trendily in vogue. India being the saving grace.

Having said so, the wise man had admonished us against jumping to conclusions & instead had advised "Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted" !

It's time to stop worrying about tomorrow. Shri Einstein also gave us a clue on how to deal with our future & like an Indian spiritual guru, had recommended "Don't think of the future - it comes soon enough."

Que Sera Sera !

Softies - get the hard truth right !

Beware - the ISIS knows it's enemy well !

Sadly the world's & in particular India's "Softies" ie the Left Liberals who feed the popular media, do not. 

Btw, the softies bestow the rather appealing to senses title of 'Moderates' - upon themselves. They would like you to believe that they are rationalists & balanced.

Sure they were balanced in a yesterday's world, but in view of the changing ground realities, rationality's center of gravity has shifted. Instead of recalibrating their position, the moderates are now living in the past & asserting a fool's equanimity in the present.

Recently an order was issued by the ISIS that the fighters must kill their parents esp. if they do not endorse their proclaimed caliphate & its mission.

To put meaning behind the madness, a militant man among them actually demonstrated it in public by killing his own hapless mother in full view of the hundreds of people gathered outside a post office in the Syrian city of Raqqa. That should have been repugnant to the senses of the so called moderates & woken them from their sweet dream world.

For any mother, her child is the most precious and would like to keep it away from harm's way. That very ideology - of preservation & nurture, which is fundamental to the society, is deemed harmful by the ISIS creed. They seem to know only too well who their enemy is - all who peddle the concept of a status quo society, including their own kith & kin, flesh & blood, unless of course they fall in line, else they simply fall.

In the meantime, the civilized world is found twiddling it's thumb on how to address them !

http://m.timesofindia.com/world/middle-east/ISIS-vs-Daesh-vs-ISIL-vs-Islamic-State-What-do-the-names-mean-and-why-are-there-so-many/articleshow/50070566.cms

It is time we all wake up to the reality that the enemy is motivated and fighting an asymmetrical ideological war, which will eventually get our children  ( if not us ), unless we mend our ways.

Let me explain :

* At the very core of military strategy is a belief that - self preservation is instinctive & so the enemy would like to kill you but save himself. Well, here the enemy does not mind being a suicide bombers. 

* The other assumption is that if you have not harmed him - why should he want to harm you? Understand, your mind is too soaked in sound sensibilities to even comprehend his clarity of thought, which in this instance is crystal clear - either you are with them or against them (neutral folks including). That is their defining call.

* Somebody else will take care of the 'war on terror', it's not in my backyard. You thought the same when the Kashmir problem started over 2 decades ago, didn't you? To quote Shashi Tharoor 'The fires in the Afghani caves eventually melted steel structures in New York'. These are indeed problems without passports.

And hello, all that happened before the disruptive advent of affordable omnipresent communication devices and consequently, the death of distance. They are already here on our soil & in our www world that we now live in & recruiting volunteers, drawn by their mesmerizing mayhem.

If a long journey begins with the first step; this one is miles ahead and advancing rapidly.

In a management class of young aspirants, if Vision, Mission & Goal setting is to be taught, that organization is a worthy case study.

Now I know with gratefulness that God has made us kind. But I also know that the kind God has not made us stupid.

While we may not possess the temperament to kill the wretched sons of mother killers, should we not at least ring fence ourselves in self-defense against those who believe that their peace resides at the knife's edge?  

Recently the Gujarat Terrorism & Organized Crime Act was once again struck down by the President of India much to the glee of the doves. Earlier it was introduced by the then CM Narendra Modi and it was deemed as an attempt at saffronization. 

We all know what happened to the NDA introduced Prevention Of Terrorism Act or POTA - it was killed by the so-called United Progressive Alliance saying it was anti-minority.

Really? 

Speaking realistically, it was pro-appeasement!

It is time that the softies get a grip on the ground realities and they be more 'right', if I may, and as correct, to support stringent anti-terror laws.

Not done, irrespective of one's faith, the only color that we all will eventually witnesses is a red one - that of blood on the streets below & a black ISIS flag with Arabic letters fluttering above.

Son - be an unabashed admirer of America, but always remain truly in romance with India

Son,

You are going to the US for your education just like your grandfather, and me! 

It takes me back to the day I left for America to study. Looking back, some things feel unchanged while others have changed completely.

I read a joke recently: a Cuban, a Russian, an American and an Indian met on the upper deck of a ship and began to show off. The Cuban threw away an expensive cigar after one puff and said, “No problem, plenty of cigars in my country.” The Russian tossed a bottle of vodka after one sip and said, “No problem, plenty of vodka in my country.” The American, at a loss for something to boast about, said, “Plenty of Indians in my country,” and pushed the Indian overboard. ;-) 

Plenty of Indians!

Indians are now everywhere in the USA, and far from being pushed out, they have entered the mainstream as professors, CEOs, entrepreneurs, senators, presidential candidates, even Hollywood stars!

Though only about 1.5% of the U.S. population, Indian-Americans have become a model immigrant community.

They show stable family structures, low rates of violent crime, and comparatively negligible psychological problems. As a result, they’re producing national spelling bee champions and among those aged 25 and older, about 75% hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, versus roughly 35% nationally. They hold about 10% of U.S. patents and a striking share of successful start-ups, including unicorns. Their median household income tops over every other group at over USD 150,000, and they contribute nearly 6% of U.S. taxes.

In my day we had none of that. 

In Iowa, where I spent my freshman year, I was the first Indian anyone there had met. An inquisitive woman asked whether I was “a white guy with a great tan or a black guy with straight hair!”

What hasn’t changed is how, as an Indian teenager, I longed to imitate those “cool Americans.” Nike shoes, Coca-Cola, video games, Wrigley gum, dancing at discos, and visiting Disneyland and Hollywood all captured my imagination. That was, and to a large extent still is - the soft power of America.

For India’s sake, I want you to explore that soft power while you’re there. Ask: how does a country attract so many people for so long? 

What is its secret sauce?

Harvard’s Dr. Joseph Nye defines soft power as the intangible appeal that attracts others and can change their behavior. A teen adopting American jeans, food, music, or accent to seem “cool” is a simple example of soft power. Unlike sticks or carrots, soft power is inexpensive and effective long-term.

Dr. Nye says a nation’s soft power grows when:

1) Its dominant culture aligns with global trends (democracy, open trade, fair judiciary, women’s empowerment, pluralism).

2) Its grand culture is clearly communicated.

3) It delivers visible results that uplift citizens.

Ideas whose time has come cannot be stopped by armies. I believe India’s time has come. When you’re in the U.S., be an ambassador for India. 

When people ask about our country, speak of things that matter - the traits that are distinctly Indian.

Shashi Tharoor’s Pax Indica notes we rank high: GDP by PPP, growth rates, army size, nuclear and space programs, IT, entertainment, and media. 

But tangibles aren’t everything. As Einstein said, not everything that counts can be counted.

Our soft power is this: despite many cultures, languages, and religions pulling in different directions, we still function as one nation. At the time of independence, even when Pakistan partitioned away, barring a few, we stitched together 560 princely states without a battle to form the Union of India, something unique in the world. That unity has let us punch above our economic weight. If the world doesn’t fully appreciate the tiger's earned stripes, it’s because they're preoccupied in their preconceived notions. 

It is time we tell our story effectively.

We are also the wise elephant!

After Independence, we didn’t nurse grudges against the British; we forged trade ties. Unlike Pakistan, which defined itself in opposition of India, India remained a culturally secular and democratic republic. Our DNA is accommodating. 

When the US president George W. Bush introduced Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to his wife, he reportedly noted that India remained free of Al-Qaeda despite having over 150 million Muslims - a comment meant to highlight our pluralism.

We work with friends like Israel in agriculture and defense, yet we vote our conscience at the UN when we disagree on Palestine. 

That is so even when many Muslim nations vote unfairly on Kashmir, yet we decide on merits, not expedience. We also have no history of anti-Semitism but have in fact given refuge to some Jews when they were escaping Hitler reign. 

During the Cold War we stayed nonaligned. We shifted slightly after the US supported Pakistan’s attack on India but we still kept our sovereign choices open, seeking security arrangements from the Soviets and trade with the U.S. Our politicians visited Moscow, our business community went to New York.

We stayed largely self-reliant, so that sanctions don't work on India. After Pokhran, U.S. sanctions came and went because they discovered they had more to lose. Over time, without signing the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), we convinced the world to accept our nuclear program and cooperate with us. We adopted a “No First Use” stance and stuck to it.

That resolve was tested after Kargil, when Pakistan’s military misadventure strained relations. Even then, India offered peace and invited their leader Musharraf later to the Agra Summit - we choose peace when possible. 

In the Gulf war, India stayed out of the US lead coalition and pushed for talks. Today, after the global pockets of skirmishes and wars, such restraint looks prescient.

We have not annexed any neighbors. Bhutan has remained independent and close to India by choice. Tibet’s monks have seen India as refuge; we have supported them out of kindness rather than political gain. Our aid to Afghan refugees and reconstruction is another example.

At the WTO we stood against the world to defend our food-security needs and the right to stockpile foodgrain in case of monsoon failure. We asserted our priorities and ultimately attracted India-centric investment because strength commands respect.

Prime Minister Modi’s visits to Washington & Moscow, Tehran & Riyadh, Jerusalem & Ramallah - all warring with each other by hot or cold, still warmly received him, shows how India can engage diverse partners. 

Some call India a “soft state,” but I see a sovereign nation that decides independently for the long term and often chooses humanity over politics. India has therefore been recognized as the first responder nation in case of any natural calamity in any part of the world. 

Christopher Columbus searched for India but found America. Like your grandfather, I went to America drawn by its soft power, and from afar, rediscovered what India means to me.

Once away, the things I’d taken for granted became precious: masala chai, masaledar snacks, the street vendors’ cries. 

America felt comfortable, like a supermarket. India felt like home - a wonderfully chaotic, bubbling bazaar.

Education should be rooted in culture and wedded to growth. The country that nourished your roots will strengthen your future. As you spread branches, remember: deeper roots yield sweeter fruits. 

While you’ll be America’s student, remain a soldier of India and be there with a learner's curiosity. 

Be an unabashed admirer of America, but stay forever in love with India.

All the very best.

Love,

Dadzi Pop

Of facts, fiction, frogz & fun !

@ Home

Before I had gone soft spoken in voice, I recall it had gotten hoarse & that's when my tale had begun. 

I recall vividly, my wife had given me that look & said in that all too infamous old wives' tone "You're not like before".

Oh-o now what? - I had thought.

I had raced my mind to figure out my next old husbands' move. As a response, should I put on that 'Hey, what  are you talking about?' child-like innocent look OR should I just confess?

Well, eventually I'll anyway be found out- I recall I had concluded.

I had decided to own up.

Boys aspire to look like their dads but that day, I had reversed the order, just to borrow my sons innocent looking face.

I had taken a deep breath, shut my eyes & opened my mouth to tell it all with a : "Ahm...actually....er...you know...I umm ...no honey I umn". Hen pecked that I was, I had found myself completely speechless.

Before my 2nd attempt, my son had interjected "Yes dad you are not like before - your voice sounds like a croaking frog" !

FROG? I had pondered with an inverted-u-smile.

Phew, anyway topic had got changed .....or had it?

Anyway, I had lived to tell a another tale. 

---

@ Work

You all well knew that slowly my voice had gone from croaking like a frog, to that sound of a teenaged tadpole.

And so since over a month, each of you had been escaping my screaming & shouting - no matter how much indiscipline you had put on display.

As if that was not enough, I had been further troubled by the fact that when some of you came to my office & I spoke softly to you, you also had respond back to me softly.

Why?

I had wondered if you were also having a problem with your vocal chords or was mine a contagious disease or to add insult to injury - you were making fun of me by imitating me. To add ouch to my agony, when I was in excruciating pain & couldn't even speak softly, I was compelled to just whisper. The response I had got was a soft counter whisper - forcing me to ask "What...what?". 

I had suspected that maybe I also had an ear problem.

When I used to write on a note pad, your answers were also in writing - just because your handwriting is better than mine eh?

Anyway, I had lived to tell a another tale.

---

@ Doctor's

I had gone for a check-up & had told the doc my problem in a very faint voice. He, in an equally whispery soft voice had responded back "You can't speak?". 

No kidding! I remember, I was fuming at being made fun of by this so called noble profession guy.

Sensing that I was getting upset, my wife had taken over and she had explained my 'case of the disappearing voice'. I think he looked a wee bit extra delighted as she had narrated the events.

The doctor had eventually understood that I was a patient loosing patience.

Finally, he had began his business with his standard operating procedure.

"Any history of blood pressure or diabetes or heart problem?" he had asked without any emotions of sympathy. I recall I had shook my head into a no-no-no, as I had remembered Akbar, Chandragupta Maurya & Mrs. Sita Kumar my history teacher in school.

Then after the expected "aye, ee, ii, oo, uu, ... ahhh" that the doctor had made me do with my tongue completely out ( pls try it right now - it's fun ) he had looked at the nurse from Kerela and used big big medical words. I knew about these nurses from south of India, I was told they believe that - doing service to mankind is doing service to God. I had indeed felt safe as she had nodded an Indian nod ( shaking head side to side-wala ). But then the Doc had looked at me and uttered the the great grandfather of big words that made me feel unsafe - "We need to do a nasolaryngo-scopy on you".

I had also nodded without any understanding, resembling that nurse and turning instantly Hindu, as they have 86 lakh ( +/- 10% ) Gods & I had prayed to all of them at once. I waz as half scared as half excited :

Scared as that grandpa of a big word had just confirmed to me that - invoice to recover a lost voice, would be huge  :-(

The exciting part was, maybe once this 'Go Larry's-nose go' thing was done, we could put that in our company profile, in the 'Management Leadership' section under my name as a qualification passed :-)

He had then asked me to lie down on the couch & had dropped a few drops into my nose. I recall well that I was tickled & spooked - "Problem is in my throat sir, not nose" I had said loudly, almost. The doctor had got startled at the sudden awaking of my voice and had shhhh-ed me into a silence. After a few seconds, I had felt that I was not breathing at all and was bewildered as to how I was still alive?

To confirm, I had asked.

The Doc had ignored me; the kind God's nurse had explained that he had just administered local anesthesia & as the drops trickled down my nose and reached my throat, they left behind a trail of numbness. Dumbness I had thought - at least he should inform me before doing this to me. Indian Doc that he was, his eloquence was in his stern silence.

Anyway, he had then pulled out a tube camera to insert into my left nostril.

I remember, I had posed.

He had slowly pushed it in, much to my horror ( though I was not embarrassed, there were no road blocks ) and slowly the tube must have reached my voice box, deep in my throat. After about 20 second he had removed the tube and watched the movie that he had recorded ... sans any popcorn.

At least he had finally found his voice again "Ahhh" he had exclaimed. Not fair, I thought ... he had taken a short cut to good luck, as he had skipped the other vowels that he had made me utter.

"There is a problem" the pleased Doc had said. He then had explained to me at length without big words but had still managed to scare me "Imagine a two door window. To shut it tight, we must close both the doors. However in monsoon, sometimes we experience that the wood gets swollen and then the window does not shut but remains ajar. Same has happened to your vocal chords that act like the two doors of a window; one of them is swollen for some reason". 

I had reasoned myself to never keep my mouth open in any future monsoons.

He had said that he could laser-cut my swelling and fit it all back to size. I was scared of operations, so I had asked him if he knew of any alternative methods. 

Bewildered the Doc had asked "Like what"?

My turn. I had happily dispensed advise to the doctor "You know no cutting fitting, why not do like just how those tantric fellows do - they make the patient chant some chants & its sorted"

"Chant" the angry Doc had said in a loud voice ( much to my jealousy ) & had continued "No tantric, the only trick - is to shut up ... & be that way as much as possible" as he had walked out of the room.

I had promised myself to never see him again. Well destiny had other plans for me. 

Nevertheless, I had left from there. ..quietly of course.

Anyway, I had lived to tell a another tale.

---

@ Being silenced

During that frustratingly quiet period of no talking, by chance, I met myself a bit more intimately. I had actually realized what it was to be a handicap - sure makes me a more sensitive person now.

When in a group, I am regularly that guy that rants at the top of hiz voice, seeking and soaking in disproportionate attention.

But due to my forced silence, I had actually begun to wait for an accidental eye contact with someone to signal my message, as I was being ignored in a group. Alternatively, I would take advantage of that sudden and unplanned momentary hush that tends to just happen every once in a while between humans in conversation. That pregnant pause, that occurs between talks for no apparent reason, would make a 'normal' persons feel a bit awkward, but to me, it was 'my moment' to grab & whisper out a short message in between.

In a world where 'survival of the fittest' is a mantra, it must be heart wrenching for some, to be just a mute spectators.

Anyway, I had lived to tell a another tale.
 

---

@ The dead of the night

Well, I had then learned of a freak advantage in that indisposed state.

In agony & unable to take it any longer, I had gone to the same doctor's late one night. Surprisingly, hiz wife saw me from the window, I had inquired in the softest of voice "Is the doctor home?"

She it seems had taken me a wee bit too seriously. She excitedly looked around to see if any of the neighbors were watching. On confirmation that none were, in a hush hush voice had replied with a mischief in one eye & a wink in the other, as if to beckon me invitingly inside her abode & said with a smile "No he is not" !

Just then, the doctor had returned home ....damn.

Anyway, I had lived to tell a another tale.

---

 @ God knows where

I came, I saw & they put me to sleep.

I was in a timeless zone. However, I could still see them all peering over me. They were examining me. They would touch me but I could not feel them.

Some looking at me in awe and some thought me to be awful. Some nervous, some pretending to not be and yet some genuinely interested. Some were fearful of me. However, I felt no glee nor glum, no emotions at all. Just then someone got out a dissection blade. 

I woke up, I saw and I came to my senses.

Anyway, I had lived to tell a another tale.

---

@ Being me again

What? ...I was not a frog in a bio lab being examined by students ! I am a patient just operated upon for my vocal chord nodules. My general anesthesia had just worn off.

I could still see them all peering over me, they were doctors; including my favorite one !

It was 15th Nov 2014. The operation had gone off well, thank you.

I had instantly realized that I shall soon be able to speak normally once again i.e. humanly ... until my darling gives me that next dose, in that old wives' tone & makes me speechless again !

Bolo Bharat Mata Ki Jai Indeed !

It is said that - 'If there is anything ever true about India, its opposite is also true'. Thus, India with it's vagaries and complexities & over the years bloated bureaucracy, is a very difficult country to govern. Yet within just 18 months under Narendra Modi, things have changed for the better. 

India is supposed to be a thriving democracy & yet like in a monarchy, most of the political parties that operate here are like family owned private limited enterprises. On assuming power, one of the 1^st thing that Mr. Modi had done or rather undone was, he disallowed for more than one family member from holding a position of power in his government.

Before I give my assessment on Mr. Modi, it would be appropriate for me to tell you a bit on the kind of world that we live in.

The 5 things that are undoing the global order & society at large are: 

1) De-globalization i.e. due to the global recession, once again the self-centric trade agreements, imposition of non-tariff barriers and political & ideological alignments among nations is undermining institutions like WTO, UN & even the relatively newly formed G20.

2) Partisan political stalemate & acrimony is preventing even basic progress in many Democratic nations. 

3) Innovation in finance & monetary policy like Quantitative Easing in developed nations & artificially kept low interest rates, brings with it an expected long term volatility in the markets. 

4) China is slowly becoming a leader with no followers, rise of the ISIS brand of terrorism & it's asymmetrical ways of war and the American political fatigue gives no real direction to the community of nations. 

5) Last & the loudest - aggressive media, including social media today allows fastest distribution of misinformation & wrong influence and so compounds some of the above issues even more. Media, supposedly the 4^th pillar of Democracy is severely compromised. Today it no longer reports, it takes sides. Let us understand this, it has transmuted into a profit making business, hence doesn’t deserve nobility. The "No news is good news" axiom was never more appropriate, than now.

Now coming back to Mr. Modi, for his supporters, I think - Mr. Modi is more of a metaphor for 'change' than a person.

As a student of leaders, I can say with conviction that Mr. Modi has made himself the national agenda, an entire government has been personified & rechristened after him i.e. now dubbed as Modi Sarkar. He still attracts the Indian diaspora crowds in different corners of the world, inspiring & energizing them to not only receive him with an unprecedented pomp & also spontaneously erupting into a ‘Modi-Modi’ chant in chorus.

All this, even when he belongs to the "lowest pedigree" i.e. is a politician vs. being a star in the field of sports, cinema or music. Mr. Modi is a rock star !

Suddenly India has arrived on the world stage & now every world leader is found to be accommodating to Mr. Modi's agenda !

His rise is half the story, where he started from, gives the true picture & I am not even talking of the fact that he is the son of road-side tea seller.

His vilification by the Indian media, including by reputed international & otherwise sanguine sounding magazines like The Economist, who did not endorse him - had an unprecedented impact. They painted Mr. Modi as an Islamophobic individual & that even influenced the mighty America - who wrongly banned an elected representative, untried in any court, the Chief Minister of an important state of India from entering into America ( for the record, Mr. Modi is now found cent percent innocent ). The national & regional parties that were traditionally opposed to each other, had singled him out & had launched a united front against this man.

Today the Modi-man is on the top of the world & screaming - Bharat Mata Ki Jai.

As if being led by the conductor of an orchestra - the rating agencies, the IMF & World Bank are all echoing his words in unison. They are viewing India as an upward moving nation. Obama penned a note on the Modi-man, in the world famous TIME magazine.

Till 2008, 114 nations were growing at a rate of 5% plus, today less than a one handful are. With such strong head winds, India turning around as a country with the highest large-nation growth rate, is a miracle in itself.

GDP growth which was retarding for last 5 years & is now moving in the opposite direction - inflation is tamed, including on non-oil dependent items; fiscal deficit is brought under control; forex reserves have risen to an all time high & balance of payment situation is comfortable; unlike most currencies that have tumbled against the American dollar, the Indian rupee has relatively held ground; natural assets are being sold through auction in the most transparent manner & are fetching higher than expected revenue; there is direct transfer of cash to the account of the qualified poor; e-Governance is finally taking shape to reduce procedures, hurdles & middle men; and among other things, corruption as a national menace, has been dealt with a severe blow !

There is an expectation from the Modi-fied government & managing that can be a deemed 'problem of the plenty'. However, contrast that with the fact that, till recently, most felt that they must attempt to grow in spite of & not because of the government.

It is sad that the media is focusing more of what is yet to be done, rather than the wonderful work in progress. The focus of the media is also so naive.

Are the foreign trips' duration important or what he achieved in those trips more important?  Besides huge FDI investment line up, MOUs for unfettered uranium supply, technology to make fighter planes & nuclear reactor in India are just some of the achievements that Mr. Modi made. In fact, he has done more than what any expert commentator had predicted before the trip & still remains absolutely unpredictable - his suddenly landing in Pakistan to wish the PM there on his birthday, being the latest coup.

The media accuses Mr. Modi of being a one-man-band who chokes his ministers. In the UPAs scam era, we had so many self-appointed PMs that called their own shots in contempt of the PMO and the real PM himself was one remote controlled mute spectator. Now when I listen to the likes of say, Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Suresh Prabhu, Venkaiah Naidu, Piyush Goyal, Smriti Irani, Ravi Shankar Prasad, etc, they talk of Mr. Modi with so much reverence - I wonder on the media's motive. 

While business balance sheets were already too stressed from past era's permission pains & delays & so many projects are stalled. Banks are not in a position to lend them more due to past defaults. Here too, the government is trying to resolve the issues. Mr. Modi's handicap is that he does not have the numbers in the Rajya Sabha to pass bills & Congress has fallen so low, that it has nothing to lose. It has coalesced with former enemies to block the most essential GST & Land Acquisition bills, both required for new jobs to go on the ground & foreign investments to go off the ground. The same too shall be resolved as such unity among opposition members for a poor cause seldom lasts.

Finally, contrary to the RaGa-baba's claim & backed by media created perception that it's a "suit boot ki sarkar"; the cash rich business houses, are learning to go through the slow but sure due diligence process by this regime, as under table "speed money" is becoming worthless.

Have faith, be patient - India under Mr. Modi will do you proud. Not one or two years, Modi Sarkar is working for the next decade.

BTW, not withstanding the media's adulterated agenda, Mr. Modi is still among the most popular world leaders and according to a recent survey, he enjoys over 70 % popular rating within India.

Bolo Bharat Mata Ki Jai Indeed !