Month: August 2017

Infy: Ethics Or Pot Of Gold

 THE FIRST NEWS I READ AFTER A 10-DAY HOLIDAY  (NO WiFi, NO LAPTOP, NO BLOGS)

Murthy
N.R.Narayana Murthy. (Image:Google)

was about the crisis in Infosys which led to the CEO and MD of the company, Vishal Sikka, resigning, blaming the founder, N.R. Narayan Murthy for ‘personal attacks’.

 

Infosys is the most famous IT company of India. Infy and the first among  its founders, N. R. Narayana Murthy can be credited with pioneering India’s entry into outsourcing  and IT industry and determining its corporate culture. Murhty himself is known to be  a highly ethical visionary.

When I posted on the death of Om Puri, Prof. Yash Pal  and Dr. U.R. Rao, I took care not to write what is available in published obits and on Google, confining myself to personal contacts and what is known to me first-hand.  I hope this is NOT the obit of Infy, but still I will abide by that norm.

Vishal Sikka
Vishal Sikka (Image: Google)

It was almost two decades ago, when NRN was still the chairman of Infosys. A new batch of engineering recruits had joined and some of them were chatting at a coffee machine in the corridors of one of the many buildings in the beautiful campus. They looked  (and felt) like college (some even like senior school) students.

They saw NRN himself  walking  down the corridor  with some foreign guests. By now 

Continue reading Infy: Ethics Or Pot Of Gold

Great Talents Forgotten

 

Vinod Dua
Vinod  Dua

SUDDENLY AND FOR NO REASON AT ALL  I  recently remembered Vinod  Dua one of the earliest – perhaps the first- anchors of Indian television. equally articulate in Hindi and English.

 

Wondering what happened to him I surfed all top  TV channels at different times and did not find him there. I faintly recalled seeing him on a food programme a few years ago and thought “what a fall for one of the best political analysts and election anchors. Continue reading Great Talents Forgotten

Congress Ready To Break India?

state flag
Tomorrow’s Karnataka flag?

INDIA’S CONGRESS-RULED KARNATAKA STATE is readying to have a flag of its own. And it is not because of any newborn love for the state or its language.

It is because the Central (federal) government is ruled by a National Democratic Alliance (NDA)  coalition led by the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). Such a state flag was never sought when Congress was in power in Delhi. Continue reading Congress Ready To Break India?

What? Only Rs 300 million?

Laloo
Rags to riches story: Laloo Yadav in a peon’s quarters, 32 years ago

A FORMER PEON IN THE VETERINARY DEPARTMENT IN BIHAR BECOMES THE  CHIEF  Minister and makes his semi-literate wife a poxy CM to rule  the state from j:ail  when caught for fodder scandal.

DKShivkumar
DKS:Congress’ money & muscle

A minister becomes the defacto chief minister of the state through amassed wealth and muscle power to amass more wealth. An Income Tax probe initiated  against him  when his own party was in power gets mysteriously dropped , obviously with his own party’s top bosses  backing him. Equally strangely it is revived when the rivals come to power.

Rags to riches stories come from  all over the world and are always  interesting.  Stories of those who, with their innovative ideas,  inventive brains or hard work rise from humble beginnings to great heights can be inspiriting, and trend-setting. A peon, Laloo in 32 years as and a school teacher, Mayawati in an even shorter time becoming multi-millionaires is as commendable as an Ambani, once going around on a cycle to sell things, growing into a billionaire.

In India, however, almost all rags-to-riches stories are of politicians who used power to become rich overnight or businessmen backed by politicians who rose to the top through manipulation of stock markets, marketing  of fake goods or ‘ponzi schemes’ of finance rackets. Or in both cases,  through simple, plain corruption.

As wealth alone seems to matter more than the means used to earn it, there is no social stigma against taking  wrong path or shortcuts to  become rich. Still Narayana Murthys and Aziz Premjis are respected far more than politicos who turned rich overnight .

The effort by a politician to portray Murthy as a land-grabber simply  because of his caste or Premji being opposed by some other just because of his religion have cut no ince with aythe people, who still have higher regard for both than for politicians.  

And yet they elect these verty leaders because of their caste, cash or coercion the three pillar of Indian politics.

Congress leaders who cried themselves hoarse condemning BJP, were deafeningly silent on both CBI raids on Bihar Deputy CM Tejaswi Yadav or the Rs. 300 crores unearthed in Income Tax raid on D.K.Shivakumar  . Rahul Gandhi did not say a word on Tejashvi or DKS, the de facto chief minister when S.M. Krishna was heading the state  (perhaps with the tacit approval of the party bosses, which later made Krishna leave the party itself).

And joining hands with Congress wiped out all the sins of Tejaswi’s father, Bihar ex-CM Laloo Yadav whose daughter could buy property worth millions and son could have land deals of  90 million rupees “even before a moustache” sprouted on his face.

The BJP has its own share of such black sheep, though the top leaders have so fat kept off blatant corruption.  It talks of values while backing Nitish Kumar or admitting defectors who had no ideological affinity, like N.D.Tiwari or S.M.Krishna. Or  when raiding  people selectively. Tomorrow DKS having engaged a private tutor to teach him Sanskrit some years ago may endear him to BJP and facilitate his admission to that party. When  it is in power, all his sins would be forgiven. That’s  politics. – Indian style.

The normal reaction of those who commented online or spoke about raids on more than 30 premises all over the country connected with Shivkumar was  “What? Only  300 million rupees?”. And no one is surprised that he was raided just when he ‘hosted’ 44 Gujarat Congress MLA  at a luxury resort of Bangalore for a week

We, as a nation, are corrupt. We admire honest people but support the corrupt.

 

IAS ‘Cycle’ of Good And Bad

Sabarwals
Smita Sabharwal, IAS  and Akun Sabharwal, IPS  of Telagana – People’s Officers

INTERVIEWING THE EX-DIRECTOR OF LAL BAHADUR SHASTRI  ACADEMY OF  ADMINI- stration at Mussoorie, P.S. Appu,  just after he resingned  over differences  with the then Home Minister Gyani Zail Singh, I asked him about some IAS officers being inefficient or corrupt while some were committed and idealistic.

Appu

He told me there appeared to be a cycle – some batches at the Academy turned out excellent officers while others failed. It was, I felt, a subject that needed to be researched further, like the phenomenon of IAS officers’ sons or daughters joining IAS.

 

A brilliant ex-Chief Secretary of Bihar and one of the best directors the Academy ever had, the late Pappu felt there was nothing wrong, unless short-cuts and wrong means to do so. “Don’t doctors’ children become doctors and lawyers’ children follow their parents?”,  he asked

Continue reading IAS ‘Cycle’ of Good And Bad

Gandhi, Nehru And All That

Nehru

THE  MAIN GROUSE OF THE REGIME that came to power in India over three years ago –ending (temporarily?) the dynasty rule to which democracy was reduced– was that  the new  rulers did exactly what the British rulers did — distort history.

And now in power, they have allegedly set out to do the same.

“Did you see the UP Quiz Book on history? Jawaharlal Nehru (India’s first Prime Minister) is not even mentioned and Gandhji is grudgingly referred to in passing but Hindutva heroes get to hit the roof. What a tragedy that religion, a great divider of people and even nations, is getting the blessing of the Government. The secular fabric we have built over decades is being torn asunder”, a friend who hates the ‘rightist’ regime now in power, mailed to me.

Continue reading Gandhi, Nehru And All That

Think Before You Foward

IN A POST  ‘FORWARDED AS RECEIVED‘ (Feb.24, 2017) I wrote about many who keep forwarding WhatsApp posts “as received”, sometimes even without fully reading them, often  without verification.

So a young mother may get a forward about herself ‘missing’ as a schoolgirl, urging all to report is they saw her, posted years ago, but Continue reading Think Before You Foward

Politics Of Luxury Resorts

luxury-large-bangalore
LUXURY RESORTS’: The reward for ‘loyalty’ of legislatorsto ‘serve’ people

OVER 40 GUJARAT CONGRESS MLAs ARE BEING TREATED TO THE LUXURY OF A RESORT in Bangalore.  Earlier it was Anna DMK legislators who enjoyed the privilege.

 

Almost every political party in India tried “resort politics”  at some time or the other — keeping their legislators almost under house arrest in a far away luxurious resort under the pretext that their rivals were trying to “poach” the MLAs – i.e. engineer defections.

These included Rajasthan BJP, Telugu Desam, JD (S),  Ramakrishna Hegde’s Janata Party and AIADMK, besides Congress.

Firstly it reduces the legislators to purchasable commodities who can be sold out for a few  millions of rupees. They call it horse-trading, though some think they are donkeys.

Secondly  the ‘poaching’ claim equates them to wild animals which are usually poached and not  tail-wagging  dogs  ‘loyal’ to the leaders that throw crumbs of power at them.

It also shows the parties in poor light – that their appeal is not ideological and that they chose such low-grade candidates  who could defect and  get them elected using  caste, cash and coercion.

Try to stay in a resort for a day and you would know how costly it is. They have to be flown there. As they are not there for tourism they have to be kept ‘entertrained, wined and dined’.  And provided other allurements (you can guess)  to be kept busy,.

All this costs several hundred million rupees. In Mahatma Gandhi’s time one had to pay “four annas: (one-fourth of a rupee – also called chavanni). to join  Congress. Gandhi himself, it is said  was not a chavanni member of the Congress but many millions were. They financed the party. Many leaders were leading lawyers who gave up all property for the freedom movement (Rajendra Prasad, T. Prakasam, K.M.Munshi).

Now I have not so far met any common man who paid a few rupees to become a party member. None,except perhaps BJP and the  Communists are cadre-based parties ,

There are big businessmen who give  millions as donations but would not talk about it. They certainly do not believe in charity or noble causes. It is an investment for them to get returns. They certainly are not  idealistic fools.

And these donations could not be enough to run the party – which includes maintaining ‘leaders’ who had never worked or earned anything for generations.

So where does the huge fund for the resort politics comes from, if not from corruption and kickbacks? 

It is a point to ponder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes I Am  Forwarding!

THE NUISANCECE YOU FACE FOR BEING ON A GROUP, EITHER ON W-APP OR YAHOO IS wading though score of forwards every day and deleting what you are not interested in. And when they have attachments of pictures or videos, this may take a lot of time –  as well  as cost of data downloading. 

Sometimes you get masterpieces, like the one on growing up and wonder who wrote them, In almolst all cases it is not the sender – he or she just forwarded it (only yesterday I wrote a post on forwarding “as recived;, without thinking or veirication.). Butonly the sender’s name appears  and not of the writer. With almost all writing available online, it may even be copyright material and the sender may be infringing on property rights.

But some are so good that you cannot help forwarding them, even at the risk of violating copyright law. (It is time the legal aspects are clarified.). He is one of them:-

Days slip into weeks, weeks turn into months and months transform into years. Calendars are changing and so am I.

Yes, I  am changing. In certain things age has mellowed me down, in others I have become more aggressive.  Sometimes I find myself acting very wisely and sometimes I just go crazy. Certain issues will have me speaking vociferously whereas at other issues I just shrug and remain silent.

Yes, I  am changing!  After loving my parents, my siblings, my spouse, my children, my friends, now I have started loving myself.

Yes, I  am changing. I just realised that I am not “ Atlas ” and the world does not rest on my shoulders.

Yes, I  am changing. I have now stopped bargaining with the poor vegetable and fruit vendors. After all, a few rupees more is not going to burn a hole in my pocket but it might help the poor fellow save for his daughter’s school fees.

Yes, I  am changing. I pay the auto wallah / cab wallah and walk away without waiting for the change.The extra money might bring a smile on his face.After all he is toiling much harder for a living than me.

Yes, I  am changing. I have stopped telling the elderly that they have already narrated that story many a times.After  all, the story makes them walk down the memory lane and relive the past.

Yes, I am changing. I have learnt not to correct  people even when I know they are wrong. After all ,the onus of making everyone perfect is not on me.Peace is more precious than perfection.

Yes, I  am changing.  I give compliments freely and generously now . After all its  a mood enhancer not only for the recipient but also for me.

Yes, I  am changing.I have learnt not to bother about my creased shirt or mismatched dupatta. After all, personality speaks louder than appearances.

Yes, I  am changing. Nowadays I don’t bother  if my eyebrows are not done or fine lines are showing on my forehead.  After all beauty of my soul outshines the beauty of my face.

Yes, I  am changing. I am learning not to let others make me feel incompetent. After all I am not only what they see in me. I might not be good at certain things but excellent at others. 

Yes, I  am changing. I walk  away from people who don’t value me.  After all, they might not know my worth, but I do.

Yes, I  am changing. I remain cool when someone plays dirty politics to outrun me in the rat race. After all I am not a rat and neither am I in any race.

Yes, I  am changing. I am learning not to be embarrassed by my emotions.  After all it’s my emotions that make me human.

Yes, I  am changing. I now tell  people if I like them. After all, there is nothing wrong in liking someone.

Yes, I  am changing. I have learnt that it’s better to drop the ego than to break a relationship.  After all, my ego will keep me aloof, whereas with relationships I will never be alone.

Yes, I  am changing.   I demand   whatever  is due to me.  After all, accepting injustice is almost as bad as doing injustice.

Yes, I am changing. I have learnt to live each day as if it were the last. After all, it might be the last.

Yes, I  am changing. I am doing what makes me happy.  After all, I am responsible for my happiness, and I owe it to me.

And I am  loving the new me! 

Dirty ‘Devout’ Minds

Kalam statue
Pettty minds fight over great books

ARE MINDS THAT CREATE CONFLICT OVER RELIGION REALLY DEVOUT?  ARE THOSE who want to shed blood in the name of religion really religious?

A controversy has erupted due to an engraved ‘Bhagavadgeeta’ (the sacred Hindu epic)  near the statue the late president, Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam at his recently inaugurated memorial.  His wise Muslim family quickly ended the row by also placing copies of  the Quran and the Bible near the statue.

There motive behind keeping only the Geeta there was obviously ulterior. Dr. Kalam’s family at least had the good sense of neutralize the mischief, but raising a controversy on the issue is equally malicious.

No controversy has been raised over the way Sai Baba, who had lived in a mosque as a fakir in Shirdi, is worshipped with all rituals and huge statues of his with costly crowns set up in lavish temples.

No controversy arose over huge temples built for Shiva who was an ascetic.

No controversy has been raised about noisy ‘matadi jagarans’ (all night singing of songs in praise of a Goddess) with extremely loud amplifiers by those who object to Azan, the call for namaz (Islamic prayer) over loudspeakers in a Masjid at odd hours.

No controversy has been raised by most Muslim intellectuals over the communal politics in Kashmir and the killing of Hindu Pandits there.

And yet a Bhagavadgeeta in a memorial for Dr Kalam is an issue for a controversy

Dr Kalam, undoubtedly the best President India ever had, could quote from the sacred Tamil epic, Thirukkural, and never made a fetish about being a Muslim. For him the Bhagavadgeeta was as sacred as the Holy Quran.

He never made an issue of the Hindutva (pro-Hindu) stand of the BJP which was then in power . So the Congress opposed a second term for him and gave the country’s most exalted post to a woman whose only qualification was subservience (more than just loyalty) to the dynasty and Indira Gandhi.

A controversy was raised when, as President, he went to Ahmedabad just after the unfortunate Gujarat anti-Mulsim riots, touched off when a train carrying Hindus working for  building a Ram temple at Ayodhya was set on fire. Few cared to know that he went there for the centenary of his guru and mentor, Dr. Vikaram Sarabhai who pioneered Indian space science. Dr Kalam’s reverence  for teachers is touching.

Some people just want controversy and tension for their ulterior political ends.