Bollywood and Global warming

Over the Thanksgiving holiday I watched a Hindi movie on DVD that made me think of the impact of global warming on Bollywood. No, seriously… The impact of global warming was clear – heroines wearing really skimpy outfits because of the rise in temperatures. Then, no images of flowers touching each other in the breeze to cover the kissing – I am guessing the environmental destruction has made it cost prohibitive to find flowers. And, the lack of rains meant no more songs in the rain.

Desis and the Laxman Rekha

I was there at the Indian Consulate in Chicago today to get a visa for a friend. Boy, the place is like any other desi office – chairs strewn all over, staff ambling in well past 9 a.m., one person behind the window to accept the applications and people made to wait to submit their application. But, I did manage to get out there in 25 minutes with my sanity almost intact.

I had to return in the evening to collect the passport. The place was a mess. There were at least three lines and I had no idea why. I picked the longest line. Not that I love lines but years of standing in lines in India has helped me figure out that usually the longest one is the one that I should be in. There was so much jostling and confusion – three people at the window at the same time and everyone else right behind them. It made me wonder why desis can’t form a single line, stand behind the yellow line. Then it hit me – we have had this problem for eons. Had Sita stayed behind the line there would have been no Ramayana.

About time

BBC NEWS | South Asia | State's Muslim job quota quashed    

Finally… some sense prevails. WTF were they thinking? How about a level playing field for all? Nothing more and nothing else.

Selling it...

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Israel halts Indian conversions    

How is that this does not extend to the like of Benny Hinn and other marketers?

Ron Hira Ko Gussa Kyon Ata Hai *

* What Makes Albert Pinto Angry? (after, Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Ata Hai)

Dr. Ron Hira, is an Assistant Professor of Public Policy at Rochester Institute of Technology and IEEE-USA's chair on Career & workflow Policy. He is very vocal critic of outsourcing, offshoring and H1B. And, often gets quoted in articles regarding this issue. For a while I was surprised and angry with this guy of Indian origin for his stance on outsourcing and offshoring. But, I do realize that it is bad to form an opinion based on statements attributed to him in articles written by others.

So, the other day I listened to a conference hosted by Software  Development magazine featuring him. And, that made me realize that he is just doing his job. He is an office bearer of IEEE-USA (the US local chapter) and is concerned about fewer people choosing to become engineers. He is also concerned about the government not having a clear policy to handle the effects of offshoring. And, he is upset about the visa loopholes that are being abused by corporations – local and foreign. Fair enough…Hero Hira-lal!!!



    

A fresh blast of reality

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Deadly blasts hit Indian capital

So, there was a time after the Kashmir earthquake that both India and Pakistan were making statements as if the ground reality had changed due to the earthquake.

I was amused and alarmed at the various statements - amused at Mush's suggestion at throwing open the Line of Control border (which he does not recognize) after taking his own sweet time to get aid to Pakistan occupied Kashmir (probably wanted to make sure that there were no evidence of them helping the terrorists). Then, there were reports stating the terrorists camps may have been destroyed by nature. This, when the terrorists managed to kill over ten people immediately after the quake to prove that it is business as usual for them.

Now comes this co-ordinated blasts in Delhi around Diwali time - a reminder that fighting evil is not by turning the other cheek. Or, that in this case an eye for an eye can make people see things in a new light. Time to act rather than pussy foot peace.

Salad Bowl or Melting Pot... who cares?

washingtonpost.com: Myth of the Melting Pot: America's Racial and Ethnic Divides    

It has been a while since I updated my blog. And, it was a while back that my colleagues and I had this discussion over lunch. The topic of conversation was “American culture”. The guy from Russia felt that was an oxymoron. A few of us felt there are very little efforts made to reach out and understand other cultures. Of course, the Pakistani guy felt it was the best – “salad bowl” that is what he called it – take the best of different cultures and throw the worst. Wonder which culture gave him “scheme IKEA” and “share DirecTV receivers”.

Anyway, I wonder why we always get caught up with this mine is better than yours.  The Washington Post special is really good.

Sounds familiar

Chinese tourists getting a bad image

Flying from the US to India with fellow desis is always an experience. They form an orderly line to check in here at ORD. And, by the time they reboard in LON there is just a semblance of order. Once you get to India all order vanishes. It is difficult to believe it is the same set of people behaving this way.

It is as if the flight or cab will leave without them. Or, maybe the darwinian "survival of the fittest" that has been ingrained in them whhile growing up playing out.

Partying like the infidels

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Huge alcohol seizure in Pakistan

Looks like Bin Laden's buddies love to party the way the infidels do. Whazzaup ... with that?

Rural riches

Poor rural India? It's a richer place

The IHT article is interesting and heart warming. I wonder how the picture will look if the government eliminates the subsidies like free electricity, free water and reserve prices.

Don't get me wrong. I think farmers in India have a tough time - mostly because of lack of access to capital and information. As for the subsidies those are usually lapped up by the rich farmers and in quite a few cases "farmers" on paper.

Look ma... its our neighbour

Names of Vanishing Companies,Dates of Incorporation,Names of Directors and

I came across this list. It was tucked in some article. The site is rather slow. But, hey I think these guys should get same amount of publicity as sexual predators and violent criminals.

So, if you find someone you know on this list call the cops.

Just another day in paradise

BBC NEWS | South Asia | 'Cruel joke' of India's relief effort  

So, I waited for someone to create one of those wonderful emails that does lot of chest thumping,  tells us how wonderful we are – like, the one that came after hurricane Katrina that compared US relief efforts after the hurricane with Indian relief effort after the Mumbai  rains. It never appeared. Wonder if the writer of the original email has gone into hiding.

I thought this would be a great opportunity to show our humanitarian side and also gain some much wanted political mileage out of it. But, it never happened. It is not just the government; even the NGOs did not seem to care. Search the web for Indian websites accepting donations for Kashmir earthquake, there is hardly any.

Hopes that the earthquake would dent the militancy were quashed very early. On the day of the earthquake they killed a few people. And, quickly followed up with more killings.

Most people think that militancy in Kashmir started immediately after Indian independence and the secession of Kashmir to India. They don’t realize that while the seeds of the problem were sown at the time of independence, militancy started only in the 80s after a series of rigged elections, absolutely no efforts at developing the local economy. In the early 90s I had a chance to share a train journey from Madras to Delhi with a Kashmiri couple. We played Antakshari and talked about a number of things. One of the things the man told me stuck with me – “when we have 3 hrs of electricity a day in winter and hardly any jobs it make it a little more easy for people to choose militancy.”

I bet if people had opportunities and were busy making money there would be less chance for militancy.

Can you walk with the devil to cross the bridge?

In the company of scoundrels

We all think that people who look like us, dress like and are educated like us (or, even better) will think like us. Sai falls into this trap. He is hoping that Dr. Singh and President Kalam would act as he thinks he would. I guess he fails to realize that both owe their current positions to the Indian political establishment.

President Kalam may be a great scientist but he is not a great politician. Einstein was smart when turned down the Israeli presidency. Same with Dr. Singh - he won't win an election in any place other than a "safe" constituency. The only guy living mentioned in the article who has been elected by the masses is Laloo. Love him or hate him but you can't deny that the guy can "connect" with his base.

I remembered something from an article - "He tried to change the system but the system changed him." The article was talking about Rajiv Gandhi but I guess same is true for a lot of actors in Indian politics - Dr. Singh and President Kalam are no exceptions.

Of Terrorists, Radicals and Nobel Peace

BBC NEWS | Europe | ElBaradei wins Nobel peace prize

There were two news items this week that made me take notice - the random coincidences that makes you wonder if it could have been any better had it been planned.

The first one was President Bush making yet another speech about "war on humanity" by "terrorists and other radicals" (wonder, if the far right falls in the other radicals group). And, even before I could figure this out came the news of IAEA winning the Nobel peace prize. Wasn't this the same organization that was being called ineffective by Bush? At times it looked as though he would go to war against ElBaradei. Now, he must be having the last laugh.

Unions = stupid herd

BBC NEWS | South Asia | India hit by strike over reforms

I have a pet theory - unions everywhere are stupid. Unions, pilots and cab drivers world over are the same.

I often wonder if the trade unions have always been so stupid or just evolved to be so stupid. World over they seem to do their best to make life miserable for everyone else other than themselves.

In India strikes called by unions and their political supporters (usually, the reds who live in delusion-land) is quite common. The people who are affected by these strikes by government and bank workers are the poorer people who have to work everyday to feed themselves. These daily wages folks are dependent on the public transport, public and private institutions to earn their living. They don't know entitlement - they don't know job security or government pay checks. I wish the government would have the balls to do what Dr. JJ did in Tamilnadu - she fired all striking government workers enmasse. The fired workers went to court and lost their case. The government does not owe you a paycheck. You bloody well work for it. And, if the market is chhanging be prepared to adapt to the changing market.

Here in the US, I was amused by United airlines attendants threatening wildcat strikes to protest against United axing the pension. United had to axe the pension because they are in financial trouble - partly because of the strike they had in summer of 2000, the world economy after 9/11 and general managerial incompetence. The attendants are lucky they have a job and the airline is still flying. So, how does going on strike help them keep their job or improve the airline's financial situation.

Uh-ho! What happened to the Big O?

I never have had issues with Overstock. But, this time it is different. They screwed up and screwed up big. I ordered “Business and its Environment”, 5th Edition on 9/9. The product was supposed to be in stock. And, ever since then the order status shows “In Process”.  Last Thursday I called them regarding the ship date and was told by the Customer Service Agent that it would be shipped end of day. And, when I did not get a shipping notification on Friday, I called them again. This time I was told that the agent do not know if the order had been shipped. She said she will send a message to the warehouse to get an update on the order and that the turn around time from the warehouse is 3-4 days. Imagine a 3-4 day turnaround on order update. Anyway, I told her to include in the message that if they had not shipped the order they should cancel it. She promised that I would get an update from the warehouse in 3-4 days. So, when I had not heard anything from them, I called them again today. This time the agent told me that their order tracking system is down for an upgrade but she “thinks” that my order “would have been shipped”. Still waiting on an order placed on 9/9.

"It seemed like the entire country was for sale."

BBC NEWS | South Asia | KGB book claims spark India row

Yes, we always knew that capitalistic ideology was rife among the politicians - it was always sell to the highest bidder. The high school books teach that the Brits looted India and made it a shell of its former self. Wonder how much have our own politicians looted in the last 50 odd years. It would be an interesting analysis.

Don't know what to make of this

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Pakistanis 'put religion first'

My first thought after reading this news article is that Pakis are atleast honest while Indians have started believing in the lie - the lie of secularism. Now, I won't be surprised by that. Afterall, we have been at it for so long that I would be surprised if we did not "believe" that we are "secular". The reality is still the same - you have different civil laws depending on your religion, holidays for every single religion and get better government handouts if you are part of a "minority". Note that "minority" as defined by the government of india is not necessarily the numerical minority.

BTW, I also noticed that the sample size of the survey is different across India and Pakistan. Next, they going to tell me that they did the Pakistani survey at Madrasa in NWFP on a Friday afternoon and the Indian survey at the Parliament house in Delhi.

Tragedies: How two nations count...

Having been in India and US for a numbber of years and seen how the two nations report tragedies I could not escape noticing the difference.

In early 2001, I remember my American colleague telling me in grave tone that there had been a strong earthquake in Gujarat and about 1000 people were dead. My nonchalance irked him. I told him I would be really happy if the death toll was just 1000. As it turned out it was about 20000 according to estimates.

Then in Spetember of that year I had a chance to see how US reacts and reports tragedies. The first reports regarding the attack on Pentagon said over a few thousand had died and over the next few days it kept dropping to a few hundreds to finally somewhere over 200.

I have seen the same being repeated when the Tsunami hit India and Hurricane Katrina hit the US.

I am not sure which style of reporting is better. The Indian way downplays the tragedy while the American one blows it out of proportion. Maybe, blowing it out of proportion allows to mobilize action and get aid. But, I would rather have something closer to the actual.

Vain gestures

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Tsunami victims still on the streets  

The last week I read this article. And, around the same time I heard that India was sending relief supplies for Hurricane Katrina. Then came the obligatory email comparing Indian response to the Mumbai rains to US government response to Hurricane Katrina. Of course, if hadn’t guessed it, it was lot of chest thumping and how better we are. We Indians are very good at symbolic gestures and chest thumping that generate nothing more than an ego surge.

One year after the Tsunami we have loads of people still living on the streets. I could not miss the irony – the tent colony is called Kargil Nagar, after the Indo-Pak Kargil skirmish. I guess it is their way of showing their patriotism to a nation that has pretty much forgotten them. And, if this is the state of affairs in Tamilnadu, I bet things are worse in Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

So, before we use unimportant statistics to show how  better we are lets ask ourselves if we are so better why is it that in pretty much  economic/ quality of comparisons Americans  are ahead of us. And, before you send relief supplies to the US ask if there are folks back home that are in need of them. Finally, the government and the agencies here would have done a lot more for the people affected in the next year than you can expect to happen there in the next decade.