The Budget and the elephant

It's budget time again. 

Fuel prices are set to go up. Grrr...ok, we know it is inevitable. All the newspapers and news channels worth their salt are abuzz with the recent Budget. Extensive analysis, sectorwise impact analysis of who will benefit and who will crib...the usual stuff. It looks like yet again, our FM has delivered a neatly balanced budget.

But, this post is not about nuances of the budget.

This time around, the guys at Times of India have done an amazing job of presenting the budget. There were lot of tidbits, interesting stories, images from all over the world, lot of images, comparison with economies of the world and even cases filed by people demanding exemption from paying taxes. It was a pleasure to read their coverage. Great job!

The part I liked most was the way they compared Indian economy to an elephant. The front page story reads:

The elephant has been synonymous with India from time immemorial, through history, mythology and belief. For decades, the Indian economy, too, came to be likened to an elephant, but in a pejorative, lumbering sense. Today, as the balance of global power shifts to the East, and India is regarded with awe for weathering the financial storm better than most, the elephant analogy is back – but with the positive attributes of size, stability, solidity and strength. With our economy projected to become the second largest in the world, after China and ahead of even the US, there’s a growing sense that we’re riding a quiet but powerful giant, one that needs to be taken care of if we want it to travel far and carry over a billion people on its back. Just as the elephant-god is worshipped by millions as remover of obstacles and bearer of good fortune, our Budgets are awaited with a prayer that they will lead us to a better tomorrow. Will this Budget make a difference to our lives, will it help the elephant dance?
Shankar Raghuraman | TIMES NEWS NETWORK

To support this theme, the paper had different images of elephants in different settings with appropriate captions.

All said and done, it's time to start working harder. 

You know, we have to earn more to pay to the taxman.

 

More images

Republic Day - India at 60

Once again...India displayed its military might and cultural heritage on 26th January...once again amidst tight security. 

There were reports of firing from across the border. The same newspaper that carried images and reports of Aman ki Asha also carried images of a fence cut open and the report talked about possible infiltration of terrorists with an aim to destabilise the nation. Tensions from the auctioning of players are still echoing across cricketing nations. Concerts are being organised to reinstate faith in harmony and peace....

We got to see a refurbished, remixed version of 'mile sur mera tumhara' dominated by film personalities and playback singers...TV channels aired movies throughout the day. The list of Padma awardees look like a list of film industry achievers with a name here and there for people from other streams almost as an afterthought....We learnt that a crater in moon will be named after one Mr.Shahrukh Khan who wants another crater named after Mr. Amitabh Bhachhan...

We got one day off from work...and watched all these on TV.

We are a nation full of people craving for hope and faith!

Jai Hind....or should it be Jai ho?

Moving around

Throughout May, I had a great time going around a lot. Starting with Ahmedabad, I moved on to Chandigarh, Delhi, Kolkata, Guwahati, Hyderabad and finally ending up at Bangalore. It's only when one travels to such diverse locations within a short time that one could really appreciate the diversity in culture, language and almost everything we experience. The bonding is so immense.

There were many moments of interaction with people and their unique ways of responding are really interesting. The most common situation of asking someone for directions...it brings out so many unique behavioural traits. The underlying tendency to help someone who is asking for directions is universal. Needless to say, responses for directions at Kolkata were the most friendly and colourful; elaborate explanations and so much more additional information that made me smile on a number of occasions. Genuinely lovely people out there!

Today on the TV, there was lot of bad news; Air France flight's crash, incidents involving Indian students in Australia and such things. But, the news of 3 trains being burnt in Bihar by angry mobs was so shocking.

On NDTV Prannoy Roy was asking pertinent questions about this incidence to Kiran Bedi and Laluji. What a contrasting set of people! KB was in her element when she pointed out that the people who created this situation in the past and the people who changed it now acted only to gain political mileage for them and should be held accountable for the damages caused now. Laser sharp, really. I agree with Prannoy's comment that India needs people like her now. The most repeated statement during the program was "India is a punishment free country". Sadly so.

The days that exposed us

Last week could easily be the worst week for India.

I was in Pune at that time and the tremors of events unfolding could be felt in every corner of the city. The numerous stories and rumours devastated all our faith and beliefs built up over many years.

The policemen did what they were supposed to do; even with jammed .303 enfield rifles (World War II?) even physically hanging onto the automatic weapon of one of the attackers, taking all the bullets onto his body...an ultimate act of courage and patriotism.
The Marine commandos did their part
The NSG acted in a way that will be admired by the world for a long time.
The media risked their lives to bring us the latest

We got to see exactly who can save us.

Today, the thousands of people who took to the streets in Mumbai with posters and candles expressed one language - loss of faith in the Leaders. The anger on them was more evident than the anger on the attackers because every lacuna stands exposed today.

Come on, India. It's at times like these that a nation's true grit is tested. This is the time to drive all the resources to the maximum possible and bring out the real powers behind the devastation. Whoever it is, deserves to be treated as a criminal. Expose the real people for what they are...

This is the time to redeem all the inaction and wrong things we collectively did so far.
This is the chance for our leaders to do what they have been there for all these years.
What is the use of a bright tomorrow when we can't live peacefully today?

We look up to you, beloved Leaders...even now.

Show us NOW, why you deserve to Lead us.

Strong @ Sixty One

A great moment for India. My country. Our country. Number of years, as such, do not enhance or diminish the importance but an occasion arrives to celebrate and one just relishes getting mixed up in a lot of emotions associated with the day.


This August 15 was one such day when individuals, by default, have to take a backseat against thousand others who made this journey a worthwhile one. Great sacrifices, great efforts and amazing resilience by millions of people...there can be no substitute to the feeling of pride and belonging.


Right now, it's really a mixed feeling. There are thousand great things brightening up. There is something for everyone here to feel proud.


And then, sadly, there are also few things that we could do much much better.


The economy, of course. I am no expert on this, but the rising costs, sudden black out of certain essential commodities, the mad rush for petrol & diesel we faced recently, for example...these things clearly indicate a gaping hole in our system. The worst part is that other than making statements on issues, we haven't seen any real action from the empowered leaders. If we cannot assure certain basic things to our people, then what have we done with the 61 years of our lives as a country? This is an area of real concern. Has the exercise of choosing our own governments not ensured a steady movement towards a better system, however incremental whatsoever, over all these years?


The chain of events that have rolled out in the last one month where common man was targeted through a series of blasts speaks of the mess we are right now in.


Independence days are clearly marked as terror-targeted days. We see more check posts and restrictions on such days. Sadly, individuals with limited options and powers are trapped in these situations and cannot do much about these things other than thanking one's stars for reaching home safely every day.



Whenever a catastrophe strikes a city there are reports praising the resilience of 'the common man' who bounces back. Frankly, do we have a choice to do anything else?

Looking at the medal tally in the Olympics brings a lot of comparative revealations among the countries of the world. Much smaller and much younger countries are sweeping the stakes while we are struggling. We win one gold but then we understand that it was won despite our system.

The scarcity, the prices, threat to peace could all be taken care by an effective system put in place and nurtured by effective Governance.

Abhinav had to build his own practice range at home and had to go out of the country for his training. And at last, he earns his gold but there are stories - real or fictitious, they have done enough damage already - of attempt to sabotage his rifle. And then, we complain that he did not display enough pride and patriotism at the podium while receiving the medal.


Is it enough just to praise our past? Is it enough to just say we are the biggest democracy in the world? I have no idea what it takes. Like the Spidey says...with great powers come great responsibility. Let's hope that the people with power realise this.

At 61, there is no doubt that our country is strong... but we could have been even STRONGER.

I hope and pray that at 62 we get a bit more stronger.

Sydney replied @ Perth

Just a blog earlier, I quoted Sanjay Manjrekar that the Indian team should "play and defeat them at their own game" rather than bowing to sensationalised public opinion that they cancel the tour and come back.

...India record one of their most amazing victory overseas...

Stay back, they did. What an amazing reply they gave the Aussies! That too in a pitch supposed to be the happy hunting ground of the Aussies, a pitch where they predicted that India wouldn't last three days.

Stop them from bullyimg, intimidating and sledging the opponents and stop the umpires from giving them unbiased support from ageing umpires and immediately their 'invincibility' gets questioned. Well, that statement was a bit strong. Rather, a 16 time champion should not be discussed in such a way but then the team's behaviour at Sydney actually removed all sympathy towards them, even if they deserved any.

May be their burden of the world record was too heavy for the Aussies. May be the acrimonious events of the Sydney Test ate into their conscience but a well deserved world record of 17th straight win was spoilt. Even the one individual who led the team for the last 12 straight wins, Ricky, could not do any more than watch his dream go in tatters.

But what followed the win was a great spoiler for the ardent fans back in India - dropping Sourav, Laxman & Dravid for the ODIs.

Now the great Indian public wants the selctors to be sacked. Earlier they wanted and actually got one umpire removed from the series and now the fans want the players to be in the team.

Guess its not any different in Australia either as they too polled their opinion to sack Ricky for cheating in player's verdict for a catch taken.

It's a consumer's market, by all means!

A promise is a promise

They said it's impossible. Many laughed at the idea itself. Some went into analytical mode and said it just cannot be done. Some wanted the project to be scrapped. Some wanted to ban it. One man's dream and his commitment to a promise made five years back took the entire world by surprise - the 'Nano' which by any means is not an apology of a car as many had expected.

It's sheer engineering excellence. The specs indicate a courageous act of breaking all barriers and limitations to deliver a car which promises much more than any one expected, applying multitudes of skills and knowledge to reach technology to common man.

In delivering the dream, the Tatas have lifted India to great heights and made the worldwide biggies wonder, "how on the earth did they do it?"

Just look at the reactions:

We cannot make a cheaper car. We don’t know how to make a 1 lakh car unless we sacrifice something. We won’t go below the 800 in our product line-up. Shinzo Nakanishi MD, MARUTI SUZUKI, INDIA BEFORE THE NANO LAUNCH

We have been considering the possibility of a mass car. So far, even our feeling was that such a car can’t be made, but we'll take a closer look at this and explore all possible ways. Arvind Saxena SENIOR VP, MARKETING & SALES, HYUNDAI

I haven't seen the car yet, but there must be something for us to learn from the viewpoint of manufacturing technology and costcutting measures. M Takedagawa PRESIDENT & CEO, HONDA SIEL CARS INDIA

Here is the brilliance of it.

- Dealer price of just one lakh, almost half the price of currently available cheapest car making it the world's cheapest car

- Addressing all safety concerns, they have come out with an all sheet-metal body, with safety features such as crumple zones, intrusion-resistant doors, seat-belts, strong seats with the rear tailgate glass bonded to the body. As if these were not enough, they have added tubeless tyres which have also reduced the overall weight of the car..

-Environmental concerns: The nano promises to bring emission performances exceeding current regulatory requirements with an expected fuel efficiency (20 km/litre) along with low carbon dioxide emissions.

- Over hundered vendors had worked with the team for 3 years to make this a reality

This is COMMITMENT to deliver on a promise made. The value of the impact can only be undestood by counting the number of people who said it is not possible! In fact, it was almost a forgone conclusion that even if some one from Tatas had actually announced that the project will be kept in cold storage, every one would have understood and left it at that. But rely on the Tatas to deliver through engineering excellence and above all they have shown the real meaning of commitment, value & shown the world what it takes to keep a promise.

This could very well be the achievement of the millennium. India salutes. The world looks at him in awe. And, as if all these were his daily routine, the great man has quietly changed gears and has his sights firmly on the other end of cars with Ford.

A well kept promise that will change the way a nation drives.

'...A promise is a promise' Chairman Ratan Tata said as he announced the Tata Nano at a dealer price of one lakh rupees