You might have heard about 'Jasmine Revolution' or 'Tunisian Revolution' where citizens fed up the rule of corrupt and uncaring dictators revolted against the dictator Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, of Tunisia, and overthrew him. He was ruling them for the past 23 years. They changed the rules in their country such that they can continue ruling their country forever. But it was not to be, as the young people fed up of unemployment and no prospects of a better future took the matters in their hands. They had no leader. They organized among themselves with social media tools like Facebook and Twitter and the good old sms. With peaceful protests ( comparatively, though some people died), they were able to change the regime.
This news inspired me very much and I was not alone as the neighboring countries like Egypt and Yemen also drew inspiration and decided enough was enough and are protesting against their dictators. Especially in Egypt, the protests are still continuing. It has been six days and about a 100 people have become martyrs, but still the people are hopeful that Hosni Mubarak's 30 year regime is going to end. I really wish they are successful in bringing about change.
Both of these news have given me immense hope that the youth of India will revolt against the ever increasing corruption in India. I also wish that we all realize that it is not required that everyone has to go into dire conditions as people in Egypt are in now as we have the opportunity provided by democracy to vote a government out of power every 5 years. Its a pity that there are very few good candidates standing in the elections, but it is never too late to encourage good people into politics by voting and voting correctly, by demanding transparency and an end to corruption.
I hope the scent of Jasmine Revolution affect Indian citizens too. :)
I got my first car last week, an old Toyota Corolla car and I am just driving to and from office.This is not a new fact but the roads here are amazing. Once I get on the highway, there are very very few interruptions and I can drive straight without looking for anyone coming from other side and that is a far more pleasant experience.
Its so great that they were able to plan 50 yrs ahead in 1960 when these higways were built. They are still quite good. May be I seem too pessimistic, but roads are one area where we don't have much hope when the chairman of the NHAI says it is not completely clean. Ofcourse nobody expected it to be clean anyway but all this has to change. Ofcourse, logical arguments like these never convinced anyone and I will write another post on it soon.
"Idealism is what precedes experience, cynicism is what follows"
I am going to tell a story about how I became a cynic from an idealist. Now, the fact that we have a bad government is nothing new. So, when I came to know that Dr Jayaprakash Narayan, an honest IAS officer is going to start a new party, I became overjoyed. I was so excited that finally, after years of waiting, a credible, honest and knowledgeable person was coming into politics. His policies seemed so sound, so coherent that I started rallying behind him with posts cheering him here. Little did I know that I was setting up myself for bitter disappointment. As the results of the general elections 2009 were declared, all my hopes of a good government crashed. I was down but not out. Why - Because in Lok Sabha elections, the number of educated people who vote is very less. So I thought if educated people really voted and more people are educated about the policies of Lok Satta, then surely we will have a good government. That is why I was even more excited when there was a call for Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections. The percentage of educated people will be more in Hyderabad city. Moreover, Lok Satta launched a unique campaign in the elections, saying that they will pay fine to the people if they didn't resolve people's complaints within a posted resolution time. With this I thought they will surely win in the elections. And when the results were announced how many Loksatta candidates do you think won? Zero, nil, zich, no one...!!!! And that is when I became a cynic... If people fail to know what is right and what is wrong and when there is a chance for change also they will not utilize, then I didn't know how change can come...
And for a long time, I remained a cynic, convinced that no good change will come. The IPL fiasco, the CWG corruption only confirmed and made me more of a cynic regarding politics. Do you think I am peddling cynicism? No - and even I don't want to remain a cynic, but I didn't find a single hopeful thing to cling to then... But some things were happening around that again sort of gave me hope that all is not lost. So I am here not to make all of you cynics, but to show you rays of hope and ask you to reflect that.
The first thing that caught my attention was the website done by an NGO called Janaagraha, called http://ipaidabribe.com. Being a cynic, I was not at all convinced what change could a site like that where people who gave bribes were sharing their plight could change. Though I supported it whole heartedly, I was not hopeful of it changing anything. But I was pleasantly surprised by the success of the campaign. People started taking it seriously. One woman threatened a doctor who asked for bribe saying she will post his name in ipaidabribe.com and he backed down. More heartful news is that a transport commissioner gave show cause notices to twenty of the traffic commissioners whose name had surfaced in compliants on IPAB.
The second thing which showed that people are thinking about the problems and people are thinking of doing something when I heard the speech of Siddharth at TIE Connect 2009.
Though the speech was given in 2009, I saw it recently and was really impressed by the solutions he proposes.He talked about lot of things like the smaller attention span of our generation, the lack of ability of any person to make a difference, the lack of records of facts but what really hit me was the fact that we need to glamorize good government. We are in a time when it is very difficult to concentrate on one thing. We hve constants interruptions with twitter, facebook etc. So we have an attention deficit. Thats why we tend to forget quickly.Hence we need to keep the discussion going and keep this always in front of the people. The fact that people are talking about it and thinking of solutions makes me hopeful. And as he said media is wasting a golden opportunity by not taking the chance to lead from front for this.
And this brings me to the next thing that makes me hopeful of that. I saw someone implementing a suggestions given by Siddharth, one person using his glamour and influence to talk about problems facing India and how government is responsible for that which automatically leads to selection of better politicians. SS Rajamouli is a movie director who hasn't given an flop in the industry. And thats why he is the director with the most craze in the industry. When he talks about something, people in AP listen. And he is utilizing his influence and craze to talk about problems facing India and discussing the solutions for them. It is a program called 'Come On India' in Telugu. The links are here if you would like to watch it. In this episode he talks about the healthcare system in India. It is a fact that if we get any health problems in India, government hospitals are hopeless and private hospitals attach unknown diseases to us to get as much money as possible. So it is a very important issue. He talks about the better systems all around the world and what changes are required for improving the situation in our country and responsibility of everyone involved, the government, the doctors and citizens. I am sure whoever has watched it has understood how better it could be and how can we get that.
With all these changes happening around us, it is not difficult to be hopeful of better days isn't it. So will it magically happen? No, there is more responsibility on us to spread the awareness, talk about issues and take a strong stand wherever required. So however you can, facebook, twitter, blogs, movies, videos, short films, tv programmers whatever you want to make, whatever discussions you want to have, keep the discussions going and spread the word, I am sure, we will live to see days with better governments and a happier and developed India. Jai Hind.
The tags idea is to confess certain things about me. I can tell a lot of things but I will tell you some things which are on top of my mind now.
1. I am looking for ways in which I can make some difference with the skills, I have developed in the IT industry. Specifically, I am looking for ways to contribute to java based web or stand alone applications. It can be open-source or closed source. I know there are many ways to contribute to open source projects, but I am looking for a co-worker or a mentor, especially on android, google app engine and HTML 5.
2. I have a lot of dreams, and if you have read atleast three posts from my blog, surely you would have noticed it. So what is my current dream - dreaming of a machine called 'Omnitor' which is a self assembling vehicle which can run on land, water or air. This thought occured after reading about the deadly air plane crash in Islamabad, Pakistan. I feel it can be done and that some research should happen on this angle to make air-travel safer. I will write a post about it later.
3. I am also thinking about meeting a man who disconnected himself from the grid to live completely on solar energy. Yes, he generates solar energy during summer months and even stores that by electrolyzing water and storing the hydrogen. He then uses this hydrogen to generate electricity in winter months. He says he is net energy positive and there is no need for maintainence of the equipment. I see the future here. It costed a lot of money to set this up. So I was thinking of how to do that. Is this replicable. How to achieve this a lesser cost etc.
4. Ofcourse, this is nothing new in India but the pervasive corruption in Commonwealth Games organization again made me cringe.Also Rajesh's Jains new series 'Pretty Good Principles' for India also made me think of how to stop this corruption. I have heard that Singapore was able to eliminate corruption in one single generation. Read Atanu Dey's Lee Kuan Yew on India posts to understand the leader of Singapore. Hope India has one leader of that calibre.
5. I am reading the book Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus by John Gray and I am amazed by the revelations in that book. I find that patterns to be true. Following his suggestions has surely improved my way of correspondence with my wife and also made the relation even lovlier. You can catch the summaries at my book summary blog.
I know, I know, these don't amount to confessions, but I feel 'real' confessions don't help anyone. They just rock a smooth sailing boat. So instead of that follow any of the above links and be transported into what my thinking is.
I ask Ketan, Srinivas and Vyshu to carry forward this tag. Also do let me know @thisisananth if you have any clues regarding the first one.
Tell me three good things about myself..and tag others. and notify them in their blogs to carry on the tag.
Tell seven things that nobody knows...and tag seven others and notify them..
So three good things about myself...
1. I always make a sincere effort at being honest. I don't like to cheat anyone even the government.
2. I will take life as it comes and accept whatever happens.. .
3. I generally live by the motto - 'sontha labham koncham manukoni porugu vadiki todu padavoyi' said by Gurujada Apparao - which means (We should sacrifice some of self-mindedness and help our neighbours in need)
Now seven things which others don't know about me... Not many if you see my profile, you will know all about them..but let me say them again.
1. I am a big dreamer.. I always dream of a place where all the people of the world live in co-operation, honestly . All the crime and this cheating in the world perishes. etc. Following these thoughts, I supported LokSatta which promised a just society. And I also introduced non-conventional ideas like single world govt and VenusProject here.
2. I believe that lack of proper education in values is the main reason for the current ills facing India. Hence education is one topic which is close to my heart. The current system of education doesn't really make use of the individual abilities and interests of the students. Many alternative approaches like homeschooling - (A homeschooling student was the youngest to clear IIT JEE this year.) and non-degree education are being practiced in the world. I have written extensively about it in Parikrama foundation profile, to this govt I vote. If you need a full perspective listen to this talk by Ken Robinson, about how schools kill creativity, and Atanu dey'sposts on education.
3. I am big supporter of Renewable energy production methods. You all know how the electricity situation is in India and hence exploring the sources of energy is important. I have written about how U.S govt is supporting them and written about the possible future here.
4. I love reading and I think in an average day I read atleast 20 different blog posts. And ofcourse I like music and movies too. I am a regular visitor of idlebrain, and moviebuff blogs I think there is ample proof of it in this blog ;)
5. I am a fan of Google and the way they have revolutionized the internet.I have publicly shown my love for them here and here. I am also a tech enthusiast. I regularly visit Techcrunch and Techmeme. Currently I am very much interested in Android and Android development.
6. Something critical of me: I think I am easily distracted and I am not practical enough. Ofcourse, seeing all the things above, you could have easily figured it out. But I am sure big dreams are required now. It might seem big for India at the present moment but I am sure this is possible and will be done someday. And for my part will have to stop living in dream world and come out to make those dreams a reality.
7. Lastly, I am an atheist and have arrived here with lot of thinking aloud. To know my reasoning read my arguments here and here.
Thanks to Sandy for tagging me. This has been a very good post, mostly summarizes the themes of this blog.
Now to tag people, I don't know anyone. All my followers don't have a blog and those who have already have been tagged. But I ask any of the commenters to carry this tag forward.
One of my friend was discussing with me about a leader who is viewed as the man of the masses. While people lionise him as a great leader who changed the face of A.P with many new water projects, insurance for the poor and free power and other doles. And now the new Chief minister has no option but to revert back all of those schemes, owing to the dire situation of finances in the state but still the old leader is one who is thought of a being a great leader. This is all ignorance of what happened really.India spends large part of its GDP for education of its people but the results are poor. Atanu forcefully argues that the government of India has a vested interest in keeping all the people uneducated. Thats why I feel that education is a must for a change of the future of India. And hence education is one topic which is close to me in relation to development of India and of every person.
With all the negative news around, listening to one Ted talk has made me feel hopeful.
It was the talk of Shukla Bose, the founder of Parikrma Humanity Foundation in Ted. She says how they have started a school for children of slumdwellers. They teach them from KG till PUC, so that they can build the future of each child without caring about the numbers. They will give them meals three times, they will help if there are any problems in the family of the student. If all that is not enough, they teach these people in English medium in ICSE syllabus, the best syllabus in India. What made me feel so happy was that the children speaking English so fluently better than what I could speak at that time. It gives me so much hope that if the mode successfully replicated can do a lot to improve education in India.
Go watch the video here
They teach arts, music and sports too. There is a report done by Neilsen saying that the students have done a lot better compared to normal students in other government schools.
Their model is end to end education with emphasis on circle of life, education, healthcare, family care and nutrition. Not only regular teachers, but professors and other countries and universities like Stanford also give guest lectures here. Due to this the students grow in confidence that they are no way underprivileged compared to students in other schools. Also their activities are supported by many Corporates but I am sure, they could use your donations. To teach their method to other schools, they have started an Education Transformation Center. I wish them all the best and just imagine if there are more schools like this all over the country. If you are interested in contributing to a better India, surely this would be a great avenue.
Head over here to contribute. Parikrma has made India a lot better by educating just 'one child at a time.'
This is another step in the direction where real leaders will be hailed and people who earn hundreds of crores illegally and splash a crore on various populist schemes will be rightly nailed. Long way to go but a step in the right direction... Long live parikrma
I have recently traveled from India to US. My friends and well wishers have told me many things which have been very helpful to me here. There are some other things which I found helpful here. So here is the list for winter.
1. The coolness in US like nothing you have seen in India. Here you cannot even stay for two minutes. So you should have things to cover you from head to toe. So get a good jacket, cap or scarf, gloves and shoes.
2. Next if you wear one layer of clothes is not sufficient to beat the cold here. There are thermal clothes available in Hosiery. Get them.
3. Next here you shouldn't wash clothes in your home. You should by mandate go only to the washers and get them washed. So don't get any soaps from India as you will not use it here.
4. The body soaps which we use in India are not useful here. They take all the moisture from our face and body. So only Dove can be used here.
5. Here transportation is not cheap. So always try to stay where you have to travel to most i.e your workplace.
6. If you have to stay for a long time, get your International driving permit from India only as it is cheap there and life is difficult without a car in US. More about here.
7. Get rice, pulses and tamarind from India. And if you have an Indian grocery nearby, you can get some frozen parathas which are good but rice, pulses and oil is costly. But oil might not be allowed to be brought so get the other things.
8.Don't buy sports shoes from India. They cost the same here or there. So you are better off buying them here.
9. Milk and Curd are relatively affordable. So you can have cornflakes for breakfast.
10. After settling here, go to Walmart and Costco once to get the other important things.
This list is a work in progress.. If any of our readers can add anything, please comment or send an email to me.
You have to build credit history before you can get legitimacy in U.S. I will write about the credit centered society in US and how to build a credit history in my next post. Stay tuned.
I and my wife were taking a long walk on the beautiful road from Gachibowli to Lingampally near the HCU campus. The road along the length of HCU campus is very beautiful with flower trees on both sides of the road. After passing that, she saw some slum dwellers and began telling me that people who make more money like movie stars to should do something to help the slum dwellers.
I tried to explain my philosophy to her which is as below.
It is a good thought that we have to give money to the poor, the story doesn't end there. Because by giving money without expecting anything in return, i.e by giving doles, we don't make it any better. Though it is government's responsibility to improve the standard of living of those people, it should be their own responsibility to come out of poverty.
And in India everyone says what does the government do when he himself could have done something. This it is someone's responsibility to do something. I feel a committed person with no or less funds can do better than a person with no committment but lot of money.
I think we would do well here to remember the famous quote of Gandhi - 'Be the Change You Want to see in the world.'
A case in point is Nirmaan an NGO whose history states that it started in usual discussions we youth have regarding development of India
Nirmaan, which was initially known as My INDIA is a thought emerged from the usual discussions on national issues that used to take place in the bhawans of BITS, Pilani. During one such usual discussion, few participants put up a thought that the idea of every citizen working towards a common goal of making India a developed Nation can alone solve the problems that the nation is facing. That powerful thought gave the birth for our organisation which is now called Nirmaan.
In fact every NGO would have started from this vision, it is not the funds that matter but committment to the idea that matters.
My company is conducting a competion on 'My Vote goes to' ... As the readers of the blog know, development of our country being one of my passions, I decided to submit an entry.
This is what I am planning to submit
My government is one which doesn’t make me worry about security, terrorism, power cuts or bad infrastructure but provides a healthy environment where I can mind my own business.
My government is one which doesn’t fragment the society based on caste, religion or region but recognizes all are created equal and provides a level playing field for equitable development.
My government is one which doesn’t stop with providing temporary relief like handouts when calamities strike but work towards eliminating the root of the problem to provide permanent solutions.
My government is one which doesn’t stunt growth through reservations and quotas but gives everyone the confidence and empowerment to break the shackles and grow in the world.
My government is one which doesn’t make availing basic government services a dreadful thing but makes it a pleasure by eliminating corruption and automating processes.
My government is one where the disabled or people unable to work are not made to feel that world is a bad place to live but are given confidence that they can not only live with dignity but serve uniquely.
My government is one which works more to provide better education, livelihood, healthcare, security and faster justice to its people than thinking of each as a business to make money.
My government is one which doesn’t get caught up in petty religious or personal issues, but work on promoting sustainable livelihood and world peace.
My government is one which has grand vision for the county and is willing to lead the citizens towards it by encouraging research and innovation.
We all dream of a great India, an India where there is no corruption, an India which is united, an India which is happy, an India where everyone is safe, an India where everyone is educated and is in control of his life.
And luckily we are free, we are not being ruled by some foreign power or a ruthless dictator. Yes I do accept that we have criminals as our leaders, we have people without right values as our leaders.
And we all have dreamt of changing these things…And when elections come, seeing the way people get elected by distributing money and liquor etc , we are disheartened. We feel this is never going to change…We often feel that our vote is not going to make a difference… And sadly it seems to be true too
This is from Ramesh Ramanathan, the founder of Janaagraha, an organization which works to increase political awareness among the people says
On the politician front: many politicians have told me over the years that the urban middle class is irrelevant. Politicians are market players, they react to the signals they receive from the people. So, this observation is not a value judgement, it’s a statement of reality.
Politics in India is still substantially driven by identities of caste, subcaste, subcommunity within that. Elections are like chess games, with each major party watching whom the others are nominating in each constituency like hawks and then working to break the numbers: getting relatives from the opposition candidate’s family to stand, incentivizing some independent candidates to step up, buying off others who could swing key blocks. With each move, the calculated aim is to splinter the electoral math and nudge the needle by the barest minimum margin for victory.
But its not the right thing just to fold hands and sit… We have to make our voice felt and our vote count.
Rajesh Jain, the person who started the famous MyToday service, says (Read the post here)
We are 400 million of us. We may not have one voice, but we have a common dream - of an India with more economic freedom, of an India with more personal freedom, of an India where education matters, of an India where good governance is the norm rather than the exception.
What can we do? If its 400 million of us, then surely it should make a difference. But it will make a difference only if we vote, if each of us votes.. We should leave our indifference and apathy and get ready to vote. Most of us think, we dont require anything from the government and hence it doesnt affect us think otherwise…
Think of the Mumbai attacks - are you sure you are safe?
Think of any thing you wanted to get from a government office - Is the experience great? Do we want it to continue?
If the answer you get to any of the questions is no, then you can have a shot at improving it or changing it by using the power to vote and selecting leaders with good values…
So do you have the prerequisite for voting? Have you registered yourself? Do you have a Voter ID card? Even I didnt have it till recently but I have got one myself. Dont be lazy to get it. The people at jaagore have made it even easier to register yourself. You just have to fill a form and submit at your muncipal office. They will even give you the address of the place you have to submit the form. Lets not lose this chance to improve India and ourselves.
Rediff has an interesting article "Open Letter to Ratan Tata" . Very valid questions are raised in that article about infrastructure problems, socio-economic problems. He has asked Tatas to reconsider their opinion on it. The suggestions he has given make lot of sense (private - public partnership for development of roads & improvement of Telecom services). But are these sufficient deterrents to stop the production of the car.
I feel it should be manufactured and released and steps will be taken after there is no other go but to make the roads better..
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