Creating temples of modern India versus finding God in poverty

Amidst the charged debate on the land acquisition amendment bill and the state of agriculture in the country all political parties are jostling to claim the farmer friendly mantle. All parties to the debate on the land acquisition bill – political groups, civil society activists, and industry chambers, seem to be taking diametrically opposite views. It is either pro farmers or anti farmers - no meeting ground at all.

A key opposition leader suggested to the Prime Minister that he was choosing the wrong constituency by bringing this land acquisition amendment bill as 65% of voters are dependent on agriculture.

In my opinion the Prime Minister is actually making a very astute political choice. Let me tell you how.

Unfortunately no one seems to be seriously making the argument that this land bill in conjunction with the ‘Make in India’ campaign could unlock unprecedented economic opportunities for the country. It could help us obtain the elusive double digit GDP growth.

A basic understanding of the theory of modern economic growth will tell you that an economy with some 50% of labour force still involved in agriculture is far from eliminating poverty of its people. From 70% of labour in agriculture at the time of independence in 1947 to 50% now some 68 years hence is a reflection of the failure of our economic policies. It is also representative of the reasons of our continued poverty. A significant chunk of the labour force involved in agriculture is actually disguised unemployment. Disguised unemployment is an important reason for the continued poverty of this labour force – a small pie is shared with far too many people to make it sufficient even for one.

India needs, to take off, lots of jobs. To create jobs we need an enabling environment where it is easy to do business and where factors of production are abundantly accessible.

With this land bill if infrastructure can get a boost, and manufacturing gets a shot in arm it will create a virtuous cycle of economic growth.

Manufacturing is to be a very important component of India’s economic growth. The rise of manufacturing’s contribution to India’s growth is essential for it benefit from the so called demographic dividend. By creating jobs the Prime Minister is creating loyal voters. These jobs are not only going to prevent social unrest but are going to take the country out of this abject poverty. Our manufacturing prowess will strengthen our defense industrial complex and aid India’s world power aspirations.

Development of infrastructure will allow large sections of the society to access a better quality of life – better healthcare, better housing and education. This in itself will have a far reaching multiplier effect – creating jobs, increasing disposable income and improving standards of living.

However we must guard against a shoddy implementation of the proposed provisions. Crony capitalism will put paid to any creation of virtuous cycle of growth. Adequate safeguards for environment protection is also very important for the sustainability of any economic transformation. After all ‘We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children’

So let us get going with the land acquisition bill and start work to get labour reforms in place.

AAP’s enormous win – My two bits

In the recent Delhi assembly elections the upstart Aam Admi Party (AAP) managed to win 67 seats of the 70 available. The enormity of the win reminded us of those that you hear in ‘democratic’ dictatorships where the supreme leader gets say 95% of the popular votes. Such wins are rare in thriving democracies and more so in the cacophonous democracy called India.

 How did this come about?

In my view the primary reasons for this humungous win by Kejriwal and Co are the following.

Most important factor was the time AAP got to prepare for this election. A good 8 months of focused activity on the ground since the General elections of May 2014 allowed him to connect with the people, appreciate their issues and share his side of the story. With the benefit of time the other important factor that played out very well was Kejriwal’s acceptance of his failure to govern the last time around. His repeated apologies and humble acceptance not only helped him regain the favor of Delhi’s underclass it also endeared him to the educated talking classes. People appreciated the sincerity of his regret.

Much of this success can also be attributed to the machinations of the primary rival the BJP.

 BJPs juggernaut had looked invincible and with it came the swagger that reminded one of Tendulkar’s Sharjah swagger against the Australians. The arrogance and swagger helped people decide to bring the BJP a couple of notches down. The personal attacks on man considered by everyone as genuinely good back fired big time. Calling Kejriwal all sorts of names, much of this coming from the Prime Minister himself only strengthened people’s resolve to put BJP in its place. Remember Manmohan Singh in the general elections of 2009.

The next factor, but in no ways any less, was the other CM candidate Kiran Bedi. The bumbling Kiran Bedi just could not get her act together. Her choice caused a great deal of heartburn amongst the local leadership and dissonance amongst the numerous ordinary party workers was understandable. She didn’t realize that party workers are not police constables who can be asked to stand in a line in ‘attention’ or even ‘stand at ease’.

 Why were such mistakes made?

BJPs confidence, rather over confidence is one big reason. The delay in holding the election is also BJPs doing. While they wanted to avoid the headache of this election by cobbling together a majority and could have waited for more time. It is only when the Supreme Court forced a decision the elections as the way forward was announced.

With Congress on a decline, possibly terminal the BJP sees AAP as a viable opposition in the future. To nip this headache of the future it came out with all guns blazing – quite the Narendra Modi style of not leaving a viable opposition, and that led to the name calling and show of arrogance.

 What Next?

Either AAP picks up from where it left in its previous stint and couple of years down the line realizes that there is little money left and many more populist demands to meet or it governs well, evolves its policies of governance and goes beyond the rhetoric.

 I am hoping that they will choose the latter option and steadily fill the vacuum created by the fast disappearing Congress. I would like to see them as a key contender for power in the general election of 2019.

 On the other hand, Kiran Bedi will quit BJP over the next 12 – 18 months and the AAP government will accept her back and use expertise in an advisory capacity.

 

 

 

India as I see it

India gets its name from the Indus River, which also lends it name to religion of the people – Hindu and the land is therefore also called Hindustan, the country of the Hindus. This country of the Hindus is the land between the Hindukush mountains in the west, the Himalayas in the north, the Arakan mountains in the east and the oceans in the south.

While there is so much to write about India, its history, culture, people, diversity, economy etc the following adds to all this – India my motherland as I see it, and understand it.

I am not a historian or a sociologist or for that matter a political scientist but a layman applying his common sense to understand his world.


Religion

I am a Hindu and Hinduism to me is the greatest religion.

The genesis of the Hinduism’s greatness lies in the fact that it developed into a religion from what was essentially a way of life. It is also probably why there is no known founder of Hinduism and when exactly was it founded is also not known. Hinduism does not have a unified system of belief encoded in declaration of faith or a creed but it is rather an umbrella term comprising varied traditions of life.

As a Hindu there is no code of conduct for me. There is no defined time, place or frequency of worship, no defined dietary restrictions nor any constraints on going to someone else’s place of worship. I can do what I feel like and I continue to be as much a Hindu as one can be.

One cannot be converted out of Hinduism or converted into Hinduism. One has to be born a Hindu. The concept of apostasy or blasphemy doesn’t exist in Hinduism. It is only in modern times that the concept of reclaiming Hindus was devised by what is called the ‘suddhi’ or purification ritual.

Further, Hinduism did not spread by the virtue of the sword. There were no religious crusades carried out by Hindu rulers, it was traders and travelers who spread to Hinduism to most of South East Asia


Casteism

While the concept of caste is not unique to the land called India, but it is most prominent here.

This system of division of labour and power in the society continues to play an important role in the Indian society. While a clear distinction for the priestly and warrior classes has existing in all societies, the Indian concept of ‘shudras’ or untouchables is some what unique.

In my opinion, the genesis of this unique concept lies in the fact that the India we know is an Aryan civilization and not the Indus Valley civilization. Aryans, people of the Caucasian mountains conquered India after destroying the Indus Valley civilization.

Aryan features are as the name suggests Caucasian, while the Indus Valley Civilisation was that of a people who were of Negroid features. When the Aryans swept into the vast plains of the Indus and the Ganga, the original inhabitants of India – the Negroes were pushed southwards towards the peninsula and eastwards towards the mountains. The conquered people were forced into the menial tasks and this created the class of ‘shudras’.

As the Aryans pushed further into India, conquering the plains was easy because of the simpler terrain, and numerous rivers for navigation. South however was slightly more difficult as the Deccan plateau and Ghats created natural barriers.

Further, over hundreds and thousands of years, inter breeding took place between the conquerors and the conquered and this (when combined with the climatic conditions of the country in various parts) resulted in the current physical features of Indians.

The evidence of this theory is the following.....

a) People in North and North West India are of fairer skin and closer to the Caucasian looks and features.
b) People in Southern India normally have darker skin and are more likely to have Negroid features than those in North India.
c) People in Bangladesh, the eastern extent of the Aryan push in the plains of the Ganga and Brahamputra are more likely to have Negroid features than those in say Punjab or Kashmir.
d) Tribal societies, in all parts of India, may have seen far less or no inter breeding with the Aryans and hence often have very pronounced Negroid features – dark skin, thick lips, curly hair etc.
e) Lower castes or the current scheduled castes are more likely to have lesser Aryan features than say Brahmins, for example darker skin.

Isn’t it strange, the worst off sections of our society – tribal and lower castes are more Indians than the rest of other Indians?

Why Sushil ji is my hero?

Over the last few days we have witnessed, on prime time television, a phenomenon which has been showing up with increased frequency. This phenomenon of very ordinary people using varied platforms to transform their lives with sheer intelligence, knowledge and confidence. Sushil Kumar, the winner of this season’s Kaun Banega Crorepati typified this phenomenon as he transformed his and his family’s life beyond his imagination.

This Sushil Kumar is my hero, and let me tell you why.

His story is that of a true slumdog millionaire. From earning a salary of mere Rs6000 per month to winning Rs 5crores in one fine evening by the virtue of his knowledge, intelligence and confidence is nothing but stupendous. His ever smiling face did not give us even an iota of an idea of his difficult background.

Sushil‘s, rather Sushilji’s (quite like the way my fellow Bihari brethren are used to being addressed) simplicity was rather exotic, after all who on national television proclaims his difficulty in managing the pressure of nature’s call. Unwittingly he also taught us key lessons in quizzing – you don’t need to know all answers, you can provide correct answers by choosing by elimination and by intelligently guessing.

Sushilji’s values impressed me most. His reverence for his elder brothers, one of which appeared to be his father figure, is quite unheard of in our metropolitan lives. His yearning to learn and gain knowledge was noteworthy. His belief in the adage ‘where there is a will, there is a way’ and rest is a bahana – an excuse is heartwarming. Rarely had any participant thanked the ‘expert advisor’ as profusely as Sushilji did. His gratitude towards the ushers at the studio also stood out. The strong sense of patriotism kept surfacing when Sushilji and his brothers repeatedly told us how happy they were to have done their district and state proud.

These values and ideas probably belong to a different age. They are rather romantic when it comes from people without enough to eat or a proper house to call home.

Inspite of the humongous amount of money that Sushilji won, his aspirations remain simple. He wants to read many more books and become a writer. Not for him, setting up a business that will make him more money.

In various ways Sushilji embodies the state he comes from, Bihar - a place with large hearted people with simple aspirations. A people deeply endued in the romanticism of culture, history and values. However inherent in Sushilji’s encounter with national television was an outdated phenomenon of the youth aspiring for government jobs. This doesn’t seem to have changed yet in the fast changing Bihar.

For many more Sushilji’s to be discovered it will be important that the state creates avenues and provides appropriate platforms to the talented people of Bihar.

Congratulations and well done, Sushilji. I am your fan.

Whither Wealth Management in India

The following article was published in the Business World (4th April, 2011) as 'A Wealthy Experience'

http://www.businessworld.in/bw/2011_03_25_A_Wealthy_Experience.html



India's booming economy is leading to great changes in its financial markets. One such change is the emergence of numerous players in the booming Indian Wealth Management market place. The economic growth in India has led to significant rise in disposable incomes and the ranks of affluent household have been soaring like never before. This huge business opportunity calls for specialized wealth management companies and various companies with little to do with wealth management have stepped in. But how will these players create their space in this action packed market which is yet to break out of the structural constraints of yester years?

This industry operates in various segments – i) Mass Affluent, customers with invest-able surplus of some Rs30lakhs to upto Rs1crore; ii) Affluent, customers with invest-able surplus of approximately Rs1crore to upto Rs5crore; iii) High Networth Individuals (HNI), customers with invest-able surplus of more than 5crore.

While the Mass Affluent and Affluent customers are being serviced by preferred or priority banking divisions of the retails banks, HNIs by organizations which call their services ‘Private Banking’. The new entrants in the market have the affluent customer as their target segment. These independent Wealth Management (IWM) companies plan to address the more sophisticated requirements of the Affluent customer and also benefit from the sense of disillusionment against their existing Wealth Managers.

Investors across the spectrum suffered during the credit crisis because of the inherent shortcomings of the existing structures in the wealth management practice - product pushing, and absence of advice and portfolio churn. This and recent events such as the Citibank wealth management fraud has catalyzed action towards putting together comprehensive regulations for this business – not an easy task given involvement of multiple regulators.

IWM companies are trying to fill the space between private banking and preferred banking as Affluent customers are currently being served, rather very inadequately, by the preferred banking divisions.

The current regulatory structure doesn’t allow banks to offer a wide range of investment products or offer the advisory services the Affluent investor requires and increasingly expects. Further, changes in the mutual fund industry have reduced the existing margins dramatically – MF being the mainstay of the investment product offerings at preferred banking divisions. The regulations suggest that investors pay directly to advisors hence link revenue to quality of advice and service. This can be best done in an independent wealth management company structure.

The business model of an IWM revolves around the following factors
• Offer a very wide product suite which can help provide customized solutions for the investor.
• Offer advice which is independent, sophisticated and proactive.
• Have an enhanced level of service offering, using superior technology.
• Create a brand to which trust, credibility, integrity can be readily associated.

Affluent customers confront considerable complexity and vast opportunities in the financial markets. To help affluent customers navigate the market ups and downs and to take advantage of opportunities while paying close attention to their needs and factors that may affect individual circumstances, a sophisticated advisory process and a very wide product suite is required.

However the current offering from these IWM companies seems to be a copy of their preferred banking cousins. They are found wanting on all counts except with regards to their ability to offer a wider product suite. An IWM product suite normally comprises, besides the regular MF, PMS, VC Funds and deposits, high involvement products like real estate, trust services, and sophisticated structures. In other aspects too, when pitted against preferred banking business, IWM companies again fall short.

Products push approach, recommendations based on only quantitative variables and historic data characterize the advisory platforms of preferred banking divisions. And as IWM companies have hired most of their client facing team from the preferred banking space, their advisory platform too is hostage to these factors. Most such people are yet to develop an approach of listening to and understanding client needs, and proactively provide an up to date investment advice and designing wealth management solutions.

Further no IWM company has yet been able to create a brand to which trust, credibility, integrity can be readily associated. They are no match to the delightful service banks, especially MNC Banks offer to their preferred customers.

Hence for IWM companies to become significant players in the Indian wealth management industry a hard look at the existing structures is required. They will need to invest, in a big way, in their people. There is a pressing need for training and skill enhancements of the people so that they are well informed and can offer high quality advice to their customers. In the advisory proposition there is a need to include more sophisticated tools for asset allocation and model portfolios. Including concepts of dynamic asset allocation and qualitative factors in the advisory process, along with specialized research on Alternate Investment products will position themselves to offer products and services that affluent investors rightfully demand and expect.

A brand building exercise is also important as most of these IWM have been set up by equity broking companies and the equity broking companies in India have rarely commanded trust and respect. A respected and trustworthy brand will help IWM companies reach out to their rapidly increasing potential customer base, who might be currently being serviced by the private bank across the street.

Independent Wealth Management companies should offer end to end services from wealth creation, to wealth protection and estate planning and in the process form generation long relationships. It is only then that these independent wealth management companies will be able to come into their own.

Recent Publications

Two recent publications.

First in the Money Today, the personal finance magazine of the India Today Group. Guest Column in the September 2010 issue.

http://moneytoday.intoday.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&issueid=86&id=6355&Itemid=1&sectionid=106



Second in the Business Standard. 'Opinion' in the Saturday 2nd October, 2010 issue.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/manavendra-prasad-mutual-fundsstillbest-bet/409893/

Mumbai only for Mee

Ages ago, while I was working in Mumbai the Indian Express asked me to write some 500 words about being an outsider in Mumbai, for their end of the year special editions. This was in the backdrop of Raj Thackeray and his hooligans then as part of the Shiv Sena beating up students from UP & Bihar who had come to Maharashtra to write the entrance test for jobs in the Railways.

How the Indian Express reached is rather interesting. I had written a small article and with a desire to have it published took it to the newspaper. They didn't it like and rejected my contribution. I wrote another article, this time about Bihar. The local(Bombay) editorial team liked it and they sent it to their central editorial team in Delhi. A couple of days later I heard from them, to be told that they couldn't carry the article.

I asked, why?
They said, ' Who are you that we should publish the article?'
I was stumped, I always had been sure of my identity.

Then a month or say later they called to check if I was keen to write for their end of the year editions.

Pasted below is the said article I had sent to them. Further below is the link to what was actually published.

So that is how my second article was published in a newspaper. Though the editing left me very dissatisfied, I felt like a celebrity with the photographer from the newspaper spending half a day clicking pictures of me all over the city.


My Contribution

A European friend on his first trip to India was briefed by his consulate that Bombay was not India and yet all of India, but for me, fresh out of India’s irrepressible cow belt Bombay was and is what only India could be. Bombay is a microcosm of the whole of India – rich, diverse, tolerant and ‘shining’.

My encounter with the city initially was full of disappointments. Soon after I had arrived the city shut shop because it happened to have rained heavily the night before. The dividers on arterial roads were submerged under water and above all people didn’t think twice before wading across ankle or even knee deep mucky water. The only thing people seemed to eat were ‘pav’ and everything they said seemed to end with a ‘che’. People appeared to be mild to the extent of being sissy, and this was quite disconcerting for someone who had till then lived only in the pushy, and crass north.

Names of most fashionable stores written in Hindi, besides the usual English, albeit in small font was a peculiar sight. The Oval maidan and its cricketers in whites amidst the neo Gothic buildings gave it all an old world charm. The sensex indicator at Churchgate station appeared quite queer. No conversation being complete without discussing and predicting sensex levels felt a trifle too materialistic.

Live in Bombay for a couple of weeks and you see all the original notions of the city crashing one after another, and that sure happened with me too. From the initial fascination of the endless and rumbling sea to the kem cho’s the city simply grew on me. The mildness was better appreciated as the politeness and the civic sense of its citizens. The unusual spectacle of queues at bus stops and trains running by the minute and not by the quarter of the hour soon became routine. The city did not sleep and the freedom to go anywhere and at any hour without any fear or whatsoever gave me a sort of a heady feeling and I realized I was snugly falling in love with this city.

Though the on and off xenophobic violence under the ‘Mee Mumbaikar’ campaign raises some questions about the city’s large heart and its accommodating spirit, here too one needn’t despair for these incidences fall in the realm of politics for was it not the Tamils at the receiving end some years ago. These are for the voters’ consumption which we from Bihar and UP find it easy to appreciate given the disproportionately large public space we give to politics back home. Such incidences are against the spirit of Bombay for Bombay thrives on its cosmopolitan culture and has always accepted in her bosom anyone who has chosen to seek his fortune here.

Hence and not surprisingly, living in Bombay for the past few years has made me realize that living elsewhere now would be a difficult proposition.



The link to the published article


http://cities.expressindia.com/local-news/archivefullstory.php?newsid=71732&creation_date=2003-12-27"

A handy guide to marrying the girl of your choice

In this day and age when you are capable of having your own set of ideas and opinions for most things in life, very often you will manage to find someone of your choice who you think fits the bill of the right life partner.

So when you broach this with your folks you are, often, instantly met with disapproval. Your parents will tell you that, after all the smartness they credit you with, marriage decisions are best taken with the advice of elders. They will bring to fore logic and reasons from their own perspective. They will highlight the differences in family, culture, tradition, language, eating habits or even profession. In some cases they may be disparaging of the girl’s family or even the girl.

The way you respond to this situation is crucial for you to make any head way. You need to stay your ground and explain to your folks how their concerns are all surmountable and in today's metropolitan life, the difference in one's personality caused by one's family’s tradition or profession are largely mitigated if not negated.

In the next stage of this saga you will find your folks completely ignoring the idea of this girl in your life for that matter even the idea of your marriage. They do not mention it and will ignore or stonewall any discussion with regards to your marriage plans. They will be oblivious or pretend as if such an idea doesn’t exist.

Getting to the next stage will depend on your response. Foremost, you must not let your determination fray. Second, indicate to your folks that you are willing to go ahead with the marriage even without their involvement.

In this stage your folks will once again disapprove but will now cite a different set of reasons. They will now use sentimental or emotional pressure. They will talk about how they had been planning for your marriage since you were a kid etc.

If, now you do not budge from your point it could have two possible results.

A) This is the more common result. Congratulations, your folks have at last come around and they are now talking dates, ensuring enough time to be able to organize things properly.

B) They harden their stand and oppose it tooth and nail. Don’t despair, you go ahead and get married. Congratulations.

Remember time is a great healer and a grand child can melt the toughest of hearts. However, should you actually have made a wrong decision; do not be afraid to discuss this with your folks so that a possible resolution can be achieved.



Post Script

For Men
1)If you have doubts in the first stage itself, then may be you should reconsider your decision.
2)Folks, in some part of their head/ heart believe that this girl is only a passing fad and that is why they try to buy time and tend to ignore it.

For Women
1)If you don’t stand by your man, there is little he can do.
2)Trust you have chosen the right guy, for a vast majority of men chicken out in the second and third stage.

For parents
1)Try and show reason – real, logical reasons to your son.
2)Try and explain your point instead of ignoring or stonewalling it.
3)If the son fails to see the logical reasons and is making a bad decision then damn yourself for not giving your child enough common sense.

Philoshpher's Notes III

This too has taken quite some time to come, the third ‘philosopher’s’ notes, just as the second did. Having a diverse set of knowledgeable and intelligent friends has contributed in putting this together.


The language of love

A good childhood friend, now with a mission to spread happiness (www.lovingsilence.org) shared with me key elements of a happy relationship. One of the most important ideas was ones ability to understand your loved ones mode of expressing love and affection.

People express their affection in the following five ways, but each one has one or two of these as the preferred way.

• With words of affection
• By spending quality time
• With affectionate touch
• With gifts and presents
• By acts of service

Interestingly while getting to know each other one tends to express affection in all the five ways and as one settles in the relationship the preferred ways come to fore and in absence of clear understanding of the above one feels reduced affection and love.

So go ahead and figure out what is your loved one’s preferred way of expressing love, and you will know that love has not changed a wee bit.


Why marrying within your caste made sense, but doesn't any more.

In any marriage compatibility of the people involved is paramount and also important is the woman's ability to adjust and adapt to the new set up she moves into (given our current social norms/patriarchal society).

Caste often determined ones social mores, values and ideas about life and things in life - education, money, religion etc given that caste at one point was the basis of profession and social standing. Therefore for a successful union of two people one stuck to choosing within the same caste because it was most compatible, least disruptive for the woman. It basically made sense.

However in the current times when you live a metropolitan life you tend to rise about the original caste norms customs and views. One tends to be more independent and individualistic, forming independent ideas of life. Given that everyone lives in the same environment one has similar factors helping influencing the formation of these ideas. To desire compatibility in marriage only with people of the same caste seems illogical, and just doesn't make sense.


How bullying is often confused with shrewdness

It is extremely easy (if your conscience doesn’t come in the way) to cheat someone who is a) poor and uneducated or is b) a member of the family.

When you cheat someone who is poor and uneducated, you cheat basis your ability to bully him or rather his inability to get back at you. This is extremely easy to achieve. This is often assumed to be your smartness or shrewdness.

When you cheat someone from your family, you are doing it when they least expect it. You have used the emotional comfort to make them naïve or in other words you have emotionally bullied them. The reprimand for this rarely more than a heated exchange of words (which gets forgotten soon enough)

So if you are really intelligent, smart and hence possibly shrewd, go out there and fight your own size and don’t bully the weak.

Back from the States

It has been a year since I was in Patna last, taking advantage of the long weekend around Gandhi jayanti I was once again there.

This visit, I was pleasantly surprised to see smooth and widened roads almost everywhere in the city. They are laying a drainage network for even the smaller roads - Patna was at last trying to get out of its rusticity. Electricity was not an issue and there existed this general buzz of activity and action around everywhere.

However the traffic was a pain, and the constant honking was extremely irritating besides being harsh to the ear. Cycle rickshaws on the thoroughfares don't make a large city. Doubt if these rickshaws are going to go off the arterial roads in the near future, with assembly elections just a year away.

Travel in the city using public transport is relatively costly - Rs 40 for some 8 to 9 km and that too traveling in cycle rickshaws, and shared auto rickshaws. The local administration should introduce auto rickshaw taxis, and retool able cycle rickshaws drivers to drive shared auto rickshaws and get the cycle rickshaws off the important roads.

The irrepressible people of Bihar are known by different names in the rest of the country. Harry to Hariya is often used, depending on ones degree of separation from rusticity. The people of Bihar have always been considered unique in their own way. No wonder Bihar is often called the States that is United States of Bihar – a world apart.

After all the Bihari is a different species - extremely intelligent, hardworking (mainly if you have migrated out of Bihar), rustic, diffident, religious with strong identities about caste, region and trade. A Bihari's penchant to try and relate to another person basis his caste is unbeatable. This visit I was reminded of a dialogue I would often have with co travelers during my train trips to Patna during school and university days. It used to be fun once I got a hang of it - people trying to know my caste, it would go like this….

'Kya naam hai aapka? (What is your name?)'

Manavendra.

My first name doesn't give away my caste, hence the following question would be asked.

'Par naam kya hai aapka? (But what is your name?)'

One is expected to give his complete name, that is, with the family name. Once I got wiser I would once again say ' Manavendra' therefore the next question would follow.

Pitaji ka naam kya hai? (What is your father's name?)'

Shri J S Prasad

So there you are, the surname has been conveyed. In these times of changing/adopted family names the next question was to be surer about ones inference.

Kahan ghar hua aapka? (Where is home for you? This actually meant which part of the state your ancestral home is in?)'

I would say ' Patna' if I wanted to be cheeky else would say Chapra as the answer to the intended question.

Every region of the state has predominance of one or two castes for example Chapra is suppose to have large number of Rajputs, Yadavs and Kayasthas. Patna being a large city, the dominance doesn't truly hold though Kayasthas are the numerically dominant community in the city. The caste along with the region of your ancestral home nearly confirms your caste but yet you will be asked.

To aap log kayastha hain? (So, you are from the Kayastha community)'

Incidentally in Bihar the caste name or the family name is called 'title' and you realise how important that surname is.

Bihar inspite its eccentricities has been central to the idea India for all its history save some 700 – 800 years in the last millennium and it is these people that are once again going to enable India to occupy its rightful place in the comity of nations.

Randomly Speaking II

Childhood values & teachings juxtaposed with real life situations make one, often, realize that…….

Hard work is the surest way to success, but not the only way

Philosopher's Notes II

This has taken quite some time to come, the second ‘philosopher's’ notes. Evaluating relationships and cherishing each one of those that I have has enabled me to put this together.

Advantages of having only a select few friends.

A friend in need is a friend indeed, is an age old adage but our understanding of the same has been lost in our inability to go beyond perceptions.

This adage has always had two qualifiers, the first is about a friend in need who are essentially what we call good friends and the second implies a select few friends. Therefore if you have too many friends, you essentially have no friend in deed.

The first advantage of having a limited number of good friends is that they are indeed friends in deed. With select few you are not spreading yourself too thin, and have a far greater bond. This short list has been basis a good degree of vetting and has been tested by time and hence is more durable and reliable. The best part of it all is that much of the trash around don’t bother you. They stay away, don’t waste your time and but for calling you names like snooty.

It’s worth it, quality friends command a premium. Your friends will feel lucky to have you as a good friend.


Why love at first sight doesn’t last?

You can be mesmerized, left speechless by someone’s beauty. But is that love. If it is something basis the first sight, will it last, for the premise, in this case - beauty, doesn’t last forever.

All such cases, methinks are mere infatuations. When you come to mother earth from the rarefied air of the infatuation, friction develops only to break it down soon thereafter. Relationships are built with the test of time and with the understanding of each other.

Look around, how many of such speed commitments have lasted the test of time.

Does your wife share a lot with your mother?

Sophocles' protagonist, a Greek mythical character Oedipus unwittingly murders his father and marries his mother and Freud with his sexually enriched psychoanalytical theory calls it the Oedipal Complex.

The Oedipal complex in simpler words is the attraction between a son and his mother or for that matter a woman in his immediate family who forms an important part of his life, possibly a sister. This attraction, outside Freud's world - which it mostly is, is not necessarily sexual. This connect is so inherent and hence natural that the man is easily attracted to women in whom he can see characteristics, habits, temperament etc of his mother/sister. Men often have a wife who reflects this attraction between a man and his mother/sister and by logical extension are sexually attracted to such women.

There is a female equivalent, known as the Electra complex

Then isn't Freud right after all?

Randomly Speaking

A couple of months ago, while over loaded with work I developed the following scale to measure the progress of tasks at hand.......

1. Zilch
2. Scratch
3. Intermediate
4. Nigh
5. Virtually
6. Eureka

Till then....

It has been such a long time, almost 3 months, that I wrote here.
Am happy that I don't come back to this to write, to keep myself busy.

Will resume writing regularly once there is a sense of fulfillment and completeness.


Till then......

Undying love....

I had been away from home for good one week, traveling to places which are supposed to be home – place of birth, home town, land of my forefathers etc.

I travel to Patna at least once a year, but rarely for whole seven days. Traveling to Patna is rather easy with an overnight express train without any stops along the entire 1004km.

Patna can be a frustrating experience. The sorry state of roads has been worsened with the excessive rain washing away the top black layer. The slow moving traffic and the constant honking can be maddening. However I believe local travel in the city can improve dramatically by two simple changes – a) build roads that last & b) remove the slow moving cycle rickshaws off the main thoroughfares, at least from Bailey Road, Fraser Road, Exhibition Road, Boring Road and Ashok Rajpath and around Gandhi Maidan.

A friend’s father lent me his car for use during the stay in Patna. It was rather very thoughtful of him. With the car I was able to finish the tasks in hand quite comfortably. But driving around in Patna was a test of patience. I was jostling for space with cycle rickshaws and pedestrians, even in the central business district of the city. When did I knock off both the front indicators, I just don’t know.

Patna seemed to have an optimistic buzz which I hadn’t seen in the last few years. The city is gripped with a whole lot of activity with a brand new IIT at last, a new national law university, and a much hyped business school and a couple of new engineering colleges. Patna had not seen such an effort at institutional building for a very long time. Property prices have gone up, the city has various flyovers under construction, and people seem to be generally making more money. Things at last are changing for the better.

Being away from home for such a long time, brought about certain new realizations - A simple call asking ‘what’s happening’ twice - thrice a day meant quite a lot to my mother; I was missing someone much more than I thought I should have; I could talk like an equal and sometimes more than that amongst my relatives; & most importantly that I still love Patna.

Asking her out…..

This is about my close friend; - dude my chance to publicly laugh at you. He is rather a sweet friend, naive to tell me about how he made an ass of himself during this evening out with this pretty girl he knows.

Dude, I promise not to give away your name.


Let me tell you all, what happened.

There is this sweet girl he has got to know, let us call her Akanksha, over the last couple of months. He tells me, Akanksha is beautiful (this I will vouch for, he had had me introduced) and has been rather nice to him. He tells me, he is fond of her and when I ask him if there is more to it, he dismisses it by saying 'more' doesn’t seem logical and plus it can’t be one sided. A proud gentleman that he is.

Okay, let’s forget the girl and how nice this friend is (but don’t forget the equation that they share). Let me tell you about his weekend.

He asked Akanksha out, for a play. She agreed, but actually went out after postponing it for 2 weekends. So obviously my friend was actually looking forward to it this time when they froze the time etc.

On the D-day a few minutes before the appointed hour our friend was at Akanksha’s building. Just as he was trying to call to ask her to step out, Akanksha called to complain that he had made her wait. (Guess Akanksha was looking forward to this outing too).

Nothing after that went right for my friend.

They couldn’t find the venue, he was supposed to know his way around.

Akanksha didn’t quite like the play, for that matter our friend didn’t like it too. Akanksha wanted to step out mid way, fortunately he managed to make her stay put.

Soon it was time for dinner. Our friend thought, he had it all worked out but fate had decided to make an ass of this normally intelligent friend of mine.

So they drove to Connaught Place. Dinner, it was decided would be at his clubby joint called DV8.

Now listen carefully…….DV8, had closed some months ago, and Akanksha of course did not like the place that had opened in its stead.

So the next port of call it was decided was going to be Agni at the Park. Cover charges of 2k didn’t quite make sense for a dinner that would last not more than 45 minutes given Akanksha’s deadline to reach home.

When you can’t take a girl to a decent place and you her make her walk when she is so delicately dressed, my friend you don’t quite deserve to ask a girl out.

Let me not be harsh, and tell you what happened next.

Walking back, still deciding where dinner could be, Akanksha noticed Kwality. The famous Kwality of the 70s-80s now frequented only by fat Punjabi aunties and over the hill Uncle-jis.

So dinner at Kwality, it was.

Imagine, the upper end boarding school upbringing, the sophistication and the gentleman in my friend were all in vain. He couldn’t find a proper restaurant for dinner, when he was out with this girl for the first time.

When I heard this first I could not help guffawing, but then my advice to my friend was – Dude, if you are clueless, leave it to her. She will any way enjoy being the boss.

Guys join me in saying a little prayer, that may Akanksha give my friend another chance to go out with her.

He really wants to go out with her again.

Becoming Musical

This is not about Rock Hudson, but only about music.

At an interview I was once asked, “Do you like music?”

“Sir, movies and music, I do not understand.”

“What barbaric tastes you have, you do not like movies or music but are interested in politics.” Earlier in the conversation, I had proudly told the interview panel that I find politics very exciting.

Barbaric, it is, not to be able to appreciate music. You are not a gentleman if you do not enjoy music, ideally you should be able to play a musical instrument.

I can bet on it that there is some genetic musical switch in ones DNA construct. You are lucky if you were born with the switch ‘on’ for I have made numerous attempts to get that going.

Interestingly I was part of the school choir till may be grade IV or V, but then as I grew up I probably stayed away from music for in a boarding school ( that too all boys) only sissies participated in music.

Efforts at appreciating the santoor, tabla or the sitar at the SPIC MACAY programs at school didn’t yield much. Probably the only achievement was some ability to discern when a completely extraordinary note was being played.

School obviously had its own brand of music. We Will Rock You, Another Brick in Wall and the likes topped the popularity charts, wouldn’t be surprised if they still do. Songs like Ice Ice Baby, Queen’s I Want To Break Free or Roxette’s The Look were also very popular.

How can I forget the ever popular, without copyrights, compilation called ‘Sexology’. With its racy title it was a must have for every individual at school. Sexology dished out songs, tamer than its name, like Lets Talk About Sex etc.

I have come a long way since then. In the last 6 months I have seen music really grow on me.

Bob Dylan was the trigger, Living Next Door To Alice reminded me of yester years. Don McLean’s American Pie and Vincent got me hooked to soft rock. And John Denver is another of the favorites.

And oft heart broken Micheal Learns to Rock’s I Wanna Dance tugs at my heart.

One of the coolest songs I have ever heard is Jesus He Knows Me by Genesis.

However I still get a feeling of incompleteness for I still can’t hum any of these songs. The day I can, hum even one song, I will be convinced that the musical switch has at last been activated.

If music be the food of love, play on, Give me excess of it.

Late Evenings at Work

I have many a times sat late at work.

While I was in Bombay, it was so many times to merely avoid the traffic on the way back home. The latest I have done is being in office upto almost 0130 hours, trying to give the final okay to a film created for the annual conference.

Fortunately my previous supervisor couldn't work late without a drink, so if something had to be urgently discussed it was at a pub or a restaurant. And not without his reiterating that he would have not hired me if he knew I was a teetotaller.

Working at odd hours and odd days, I believe normally don't yield much. One such meeting was at the restaurant right outside the Bombay airport. The boss was coming back from Delhi on a Saturday after an extremely successful meeting with a key business partner on the previous day. It was time to get into execution immediately, hence the meeting at the airport. (Fortunately we weren't meeting at the office in downtown Bombay, which would have been more than an hours drive from my home in the suburbs.)

Another such meeting, this time on a non working day in the middle of the week was at the Cricket Club of India in south Bombay. We, rather the boss, decided that the best place to discuss the matter at hand was by the poolside at CCI. With a beer in his hand we 'analyzed' women in pool besides the work at hand. The boss did much of the analyzing, after all I was facing him with my back to the pool. Lunch after the analyses was rather sumptuous at the restaurant at CCI. Don't remember if we achieved much that day.

These late evenings, normally low on productivity, are some times quite fulfilling. You are ready for the important meeting/presentation the next day or have merely covered a great deal of pending work. On such a day you drive back home with a sense of contentment, and generally feeling nice about yourself inspite of the physical and mental tiredness.

The other side of the story are numerous irritants that plague you in these late evening sessions. Especially if you are not enjoying what you are doing, hunger becomes unbearable, numerous people suddenly start remembering you and you are busy promising to call back. And not to forget home, they will obviously start calling every 10 -15 minutes wanting to know how much longer before you leave for home.

Today promised to be another evening like that, when I decided it would be more productive to write this post. The pleasant drive back home did compensate.

Philosopher's Notes I

This is the first of, hopefully, numerous ‘philosopher's’ notes.

My efforts at understanding people, knowing the reasons for their actions and reactions or more ambitiously inferring their value system from observing them has enabled me to put this together.

These notes in no way attempt at being sexist, while they appear to be so on many occasions. This has come about because of this being only my, a guy’s, perspective and also because my understanding of women, inspite of numerous efforts, is limited.


Good looking guys & not so good looking girls

Good looking men end up with not so pretty women. And all beautiful women land themselves not so handsome men.

Look around, and you will agree with this principle, framed empirically over a few months at the canteen of the haloed Delhi School of Economics by yours truly in collaboration with a close friend. Extreme situations and exceptions only prove the rule.




Why are second choice women first to find boyfriends or how come second rate guys are first to find girlfriends?

Guys in a hurry to land themselves a girlfriend, too soon on joining college, end up with second rate girls. In other words girls in haste to acquire a boyfriend, too soon on joining college, land themselves second rate boyfriends.

Second choice women are the first to land themselves boyfriends at a new college or second choice guys are first to acquire a girlfriend.


Guys, for earliest fulfillment of the boast of a girlfriend manage to make too many compromises to land with second choice women. These relationships are rather very sticky – the guy needs to be very mean to take corrective measures. Guys who take their time, hook the best women.



How Neil Bohr’s atomic theory and the theory of friendship are quite similar.

Simply put, Bohr says that electrons revolve around the nucleus in different energy levels. For an electron to move from one energy level to another, a great deal of energy is released/required. Closer the energy level/orbit that the electron moves in, greater is the strength of the bond between the electron and the nucleus, therefore greater energy will be required to break the bond.

Now put yourself as the nucleus and your friends as electrons revolving around you in different energy levels or degrees of closeness or strength of bond, almost like in concentric circles. For friend to move from a outer orbit to a closer or inner orbit energy or likeability is required. This likeability is achieved by greater understanding of each other and testing of the friendship over time. Breaking a bond or to snap a friendship will require an action or incident. This action or incident will be more drastic if the closeness or bond is greater – more energy is required if the electron has a closer bond.

Excessively or Simply

Somebody has been calling me finicky, a first amongst the various adjectives used for me - rude, brash, arrogant, snooty, eccentric etc.

The Merriam Webster says finicky : extremely or excessively particular, exacting, or meticulous in taste or standards


But am I really finicky or just particular? To be finicky I need to be excessively particular.

Talking about food, guess I am quite particular about the food I eat. Too much greens is not really acceptable. My taste buds are yet to be properly attuned to continental or for that matter Oriental food. What that leaves me with, is to choose from Mughlai or home made food and of course mostly non vegetarian.

Clothes, am hardly particular about. With my appalling sense of dressing, and the colour combination challenge I live with there is no way I can be finicky about the way I dress.


What I am particular (finicky if you wish) about is my language. Want to be able to always use the correct language while talking or writing. This idea has come about mainly with the belief that to be able to write well is an art. The play of words - spoken or written - is an art. Wit is derived quite a bit from the command over the language. Shakespeare's play of words make his simple stories classics, Churchill's wit is legendary. Wit is close to intelligence.

It is also this desire to achieve a high degree of command over the language makes me very particular about it. Just as I try to be particular about the title of my blog posts.

I am proud of my small collection of books. I do not lend books to any one I suspect might not use it properly. In that way I am very particular about my books too.

Anything else that I am particular about, you tell me.

So am I excessively particular or plain particular.