Demonetization or Revolution...?

For those who follow cricket (including all Indian men [in blue] as India has only 3 passions Bollywood, Cricket and Devotion and one hobby – Politics over every aspect of life including these 3!) it would be a familiar fact that there are three departments, apart from sledging I mean, in cricket – Bowling, Batting and Fielding.

Then there are Umpires – 2 Field Umpires, a Third (DVR) umpire and a Fourth Umpire that you find only on Indian National Television wherein all the Cricket veterans (presumably) discuss how it could have been different and better than what they enjoyed and their envy of how cricket is glamorous nowadays than their good old times seemingly overshadows their expertise most of the time, but that’s not the point here! And above all there is the spectator ‘Audience’ of course!

Principally every element of this game has a specific anticipated job something like -

Bowler is out in the field to ‘Get the Wickets’.

Batsman is out there in the field to ‘Make as much runs as possible in the stipulated time’.

Fielders are out there in the field to ‘Restrict possibly every run and grab those catches that win matches’.

Umpires, both out in the field and on DVR are there to 'Keep it a Gentleman’s Game with fair decisions'.

Fourth Umpire is an element that, no matter what, would act as the Governor of the entire show.

And ‘Audience’ or ‘Spectators’ are supposedly the element for which everything is being put up.

Started as a ‘Gentleman’s Game’ by the British in their Colonies for self-indulgence and entertainment through ego-satisfaction, it soon became so popular and acquired such a fan-following all over the world that it has become a huge industry today with various brands and flagship products, IPL Twenty-20 being the latest block-buster.

There is something called a ‘Toss’ to start the game and the Toss winning captain chooses what his team would do first, batting or bowling. With a reducing time of Cricket matches owing to the short attention spans and lust for maximum entertainment of the audience, it is jokingly being said that the next format of Cricket game after 20-20 would be ‘T-T’ that is Toss-Toss, the captain winning the toss would be declared winner of the match without playing a single ball, but again, that’s not the point here!

Most of the time this winning captain chooses to bat first for taking advantage of the freshness of the players, pitch, atmosphere and many other factors that assumingly would support to put a huge total on the score-board that would be difficult, if not impossible, for the other team to chase.

Once the game starts, the tempo keeps building with every single ball bowled, every run scored, every catch grabbed and every boundary, over-boundary hit. If nothing of this sort happens and match gets in the sluggish mode with a ritual of a baller throwing the ball without excitement and batsman defending it to save the wicket without scoring runs, the audience starts getting bored, impatient and stops responding, some even decide to leave the unfinished game. If their team is doing well and putting up a paisa-vassol show, crowd supports it in full zeal and the energy in the stadium is something that one can literally feel.

In an otherwise situation, the audience who waited in queues to buy tickets, survived all the traffic and all the hassle to reach their seats, put up with all weather – Sun, Rain, shivering Cold and was looted by every agency they had to interact with right from parking to snacks and beverages; they start reacting vocally to the loathsome performance of their team. Few optimistic souls try to maintain calm and keep their fingers crossed for their team / player bettering the performance in short while.

With every passing (the batsman?) ball these optimists also start losing their philosophical posture and slowly turn vocal about their frustration. Sometimes the crowd gets uncontrollable and physical when it starts interfering the game by throwing plastic bottles and similar things on the field and hurting the fielders standing on the boundary. This definitely brings down everything – the spirit of the game, the moral of the players, the dignity and legacy of the Gentleman’s game. But, thankfully, this is temporary.

All the anguish, all the commotion, all the penance disappears the moment their favorite players puts a Century on the board in less than 70 balls in the next game. The name of the centurion could be heard miles from the stadium echoed in an almost melodious tone… Sachin… Sachin! Sachin himself, apart from all the records he sets or breaks and all the titles he wins for himself or his country, always longs to hear this shouting of his name as some mantra in every single match that he plays!

Now, what is right and who is wrong is not the question here, the thing is to understand the nature of this game and its integral aspect of overwhelming and expressive crowd in this part of the world. This is a culture here and people never complain their suffering unless they are pushed to their limits (of boredom?) and these are the same people who provide the loads of energy to the player by continuous loud cheering.

So what is the point I am trying to make here? Cricket is a game that has transformed into an industry alright, Sachin has retired long back we know and there is no dearth of Cricket experts in our country, in fact there would never be any short supply of experts (particularly channel experts) on any topic that you can think of in this Incredible India, so why I am taking pain to reiterate something that even a kid in India knows for sure. Well, if you remember some of my recent posts… it’s the analogy!

Now I am listing few thing below and let’s play 'Match the Pair'! Replace the original with the new matching element in the game and let’s see if we can find some insight(?), okay at least some sense, in anything above.

Assuming ‘Cricket’ as Gentleman’s game as it was considered in its glorious days, consider ‘Politics’ as ‘Social Work’ as it was in its evolving phase. ‘Toss’ is the Election in the Democracy and elected Government is the Toss-wining Captain who has the privilege to make some decisions that presumably would give him some advantage. If the Captain chooses to ‘Bat’, the other team automatically becomes the ‘Opposition’ who would do anything to get the wickets, restrict the runs and keep the score down.

Fielders are the elected representatives in opposition that support the baller and the wicket keeper to get wickets and trouble the batsman. Umpires are the President, Speaker of houses, Governors of States and all such ‘Governing’ elements who can pass the judgment but have little control over the situation. ‘Audience’ is the Spectator Common Man for whom the entire show is put up, definition of democracy says! And what we are left with are the experts in the Fourth Umpire played by the Fourth Pillar of Democracy – Media! Needless to say that it includes all the channel experts and pseudo-intellectuals.

Now, visualize a One-day match between India and Pakistan with a house full Eden Garden stadium. India has won the toss and elected to bat. Indian Captain Saurav Ganguly brings VVS Laxman with him for opening while Sachin Tendulkar and Virendra Sehwag wait their turn in the pavilion. The batting line-up says that Rahul Dravid will be batting next followed by Sachin Tendulkar and Virendra Sehwag will bat at no. 5. Suddenly everybody in the crowd turns a Cricket Expert who knows every aspect of cricket right from pitch condition to wind speed to slog overs and what not and starts criticizing Ganguly like anything.

Now, Ganguli knows for sure what he is doing and only time will tell what made him take such a decision and how it turns out. But meanwhile the spectators are expected to believe in their captain and support his decision no matter how impatiently they wait to shout… ‘Sachin… Sachin!’

Finally, do I need to tell you to replace ‘Ganguly’s decision to change the batting order’ with the move of ‘Exchange of old currency notes with new ones’ that is generally and wrongly referred to as Demonetization...?

If you get it… Go Cashless as far as you can and if that seems impossibly difficult, try Less Cash! I am not the person to assure you that you will get the opportunity to cheer 'Sachin... Sachin!' but who else could…?

Be an Optimist, Have Faith and Believe wholeheartedly that ‘Best is yet to come’!

Way to go…

CAD...?

CAD seems to have become my destiny. I explored my-‘self’ through my practice as CAD professional for more than 10 years. It was 'Computer Aided Design' that time. When I learned about my mother’s medical condition, it was 'Coronary Artery Disease' and when I deliberate any matter of national policy or any strong decisions by the PMO regarding the economy it turns out to be the 'Current Account Deficit', one more CAD - a very familiar and close to my heart term from self-experience. Now I am waiting for one last CAD in my life when it will be Comprehensive Awareness Drive…!

My mother has undergone one bypass surgery and one angioplasty for about 80 to 90% blockages in her coronary arteries. Whenever I find an unexplored area of life, it has become a ritual for me to get into the deepest possible detail to learn more about it. This time it being a seriously grave concern for everybody involved and with respect to those two procedures I witnessed as an ‘insider’, I tried to collect, analyse and contemplate on all the material I can find for a deeper understanding of this CAD as well, obviously for its implications that might be imminent.

For being an outsider to the medical and health sector, I didn’t understand all those medical terms that have inscrutably long spellings and tongue-twister pronunciations which only those learned doctors can say; I am keeping my observations to a layman’s perspective and their relevance to what is prevalent subject of concern and consideration for past couple of days on a national level. I would follow my standard pattern of listing out things to present this subject to make it as simple as possible. What I learnt from the entire synthesis of my mother’s condition, which I am also prone to under the-always-dreadful-trait-of ‘History’, I have compiled in following lessons –

1. Although Blood is same in all humans, it has different tendencies depending upon a variety of attributes of an individual including his/her genes, addictions – physiological as well as psychological, long-term diet pattern, overall psyche and functioning of mind. Phew…! I know, my reaction was not different either…!

2. No matter how thick, thin, dark or light the blood is, it must Flow to keep your metabolism active and, more importantly, keep you alive. Whenever this blood (either pure or impure) thickens because of any reason, it hampers the smooth flow and disrupts the process of purification as well taking a toll on every monitory aspect of health like blood pressure, heart beat, pulse and respiration.

3. The next stage is forming of plaques those results in clot of bloods blocking its smooth flow to and from the heart, the main mechanism responsible for the purification and controlling the flow of blood to keep functioning of all the body parts unhampered.

4. The only treatment in such a condition is to remove those clots of blood and facilitate the smooth flow of blood in its normal condition. This can be done either by cutting the damaged part of the artery and replacing it by an equivalent and compatible tube from any other healthy part of human body like thigh (Bypass surgery) or by flushing the blockage and draining the clots to clear the path of artery and put some stents in place to avoid its contraction in future (Angioplasty).

5. Both these procedures are ‘Temporary’ operations that help keep the patient alive for few more days and it could NEVER EVER BE THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION FOR THE TENDENCY OF BLOOD TO CLOT. It needs to be done every time there is a clot / obstruction / plaque of blood in its natural flow. So what could be a permanent remedy to counter this condition…?

As stated earlier, I am not even remotely related to the medical field except for completing the course of medication advised by my Doctor friends and hence I might have put it in a very crude, unprofessional and nontechnical manner, but that’s how I perceived it. I will wait my Doctor friend's comments and correction in the above narration, if any.

Coming to the ‘Solution’ part of it, Doctors say that CAD majorly is a condition prevalent in specific patients and it cannot be termed as a ‘Disease’ itself. If the conditions are altered there remains no reason for this tendency to reappear. And to remove those conditions what you are supposed to do is to change your lifestyle… on all three levels – Physical, Psychological and Spiritual!

OK, enough of the Gyan about the most dreadful CAD of all, what is the point of wasting a Sunday on it? I know you might be feeling little clueless and more irritated by trying to figure it out and find some sense, if not moral, in the word-pour above. Let us play a game once again as we played at the end of one previous post, ‘Dream’.

Replace the Blood Flow with the Cash Flow, Black Money with the Blood Clot, Heart with the RBI, Surgeon with the Government… you are getting the picture, aren’t you?

‘Demonetisation’ is the Bypass Surgery (not even the Angioplasty that puts some stents to avoid contraction in near future) to drain out the clots and regulate the smooth flow. It might offer some relief and extra period to the ailing patient; it cannot cure the condition permanently. Now for the last thing, replace the ‘life Style’ with the mindset of generating black money at all three stages – transaction, accounting, audit – and bingo… you will hit the bull’s eye!

Earn Honestly and Spend Generously but Book Religiously...!

Way to go…

A Trump Card…!

What happened in US elections and how it ended the way it did would remain a major topic of debate, discussions and deliberations for many more days (if not months) to come. In spite many of the World Citizens expressing their disappointment and concern about the US People’s Verdict, openly or not so publicly, it remains the historical fact that the Trump card has worked in whatever way it did and the tortoise has not only reached the top of the (White House) post but it has also made a base there to settle for a while, at least.

US being the presumed superpower in many walks of life, money and might dominating the list, and the fact that World is strategically conditioned to US policing for issues of anybody’s concern; the crucial question at this point of time for the entire humanity on this planet should not be ‘what’ or ‘how’ it happened but ‘WHY’ this happened? Being the vanguard of the ‘Advancement’ and ‘Development’ as it is perceived in the new set of values, ethics and principles; US automatically assumes the role of being the ‘Role Model’ for the developing as well as underdeveloped countries. US Lifestyle and Diplomacy provides for all new aspirations, not only to Asia or Africa but also to some parts of Europe and Middle-east, if not all, which makes this US choice peculiar in the circumstances.

The newly emerging trends in the collective wisdom of the species and in entire human cognizance are clearly indicative of a dogmatism that is imminent, certainly not a good sign for integrated harmonious living for a sustainable and inclusive development as envisaged by our forefathers in the early civilizations and settlement years. Right from the hunters-gatherers stage, we humans were striving for holistic development and common good, the history of evolution points out. Just before the rise of the ‘Class’ system based on number of factors, religion being the paramount, no human craved to rule another but the process was of purely and genuinely ‘Leading’ the way. Even the selection of leader was a natural process that had a logical reasoning of experience, ability, resilience and vision!

This makes it imperative to consider the outcome of this US election from the perspective of ‘Our Common Future’, title of a report of the World Commission on Environment and Development, in which it states, ‘This Commission believes that people can build a future that is more prosperous, more just, and more secure…’ and further adds, ‘But the Commission's hope for the future is conditional on decisive political action now to begin managing environmental resources to ensure both sustainable human progress and human survival…’ Given to the background and reputation of the newly elected President of America and people’s expectations from him, it poses a serious threat to this vision of the WCED, we fear!

Finally, the most alarming and dreadful fact which is evident from this result would be the logical and philosophical conclusion of this write-up – emergence and development of such behavioral traits imbibed through pseudo schools of thoughts all around is the light at the end of the tunnel… the only thing is it is mounted on the engine of the fast approaching Bullet Train that will run over everything in its way and there is no stopping of this train in sight as the travelers boarding this train themselves want it to go faster and faster and in the direction they want. A wise insight here might come handy – Looking inwards doesn’t mean being more and more self-centered and levelling the scores should not necessarily mean ‘Eye for an eye!’

Rosalynn Carter, wife of the 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter, was a leading advocate for numerous causes, perhaps most prominently for mental health research. She was politically active during her White House years, sitting in on Cabinet and policy meetings as well as serving as her husband's closest adviser. To make justice to all above narration, it would be apt to quote Rosalynn Carter here –

“A leader takes people where they want to go.
A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be…!”

Way to go...

Festival of Lights...!

Let There Be Light...!

It's the Festival of LIGHTS, not noise and pollution!
It's high time we learn the real intent of our Festivals
And get a closer look into the Spirit of Celebration... isn't it?

Let there be light all around and in our Minds as well... Way to go!

Non-violence...!

My National Prayer...!

The grand Scene of birth of Independent India: 

In that mid-night, the flag of the ruler of two centuries lowered; 
The tri-color Indian flag flaps in the Red Fort in the midst of National Anthem.

The first vision of Independent India was dawned.

The rejoice everywhere, happiness all around,

There was a tender cry: where is the father of the nation? 

The white clothed soul walking in the midst of sorrows and pain,

Injected by hatred and ego, the result of communal violence.

The father of the nation, Mahatma, walking bare footed

In the streets of Bengal for peace and harmony

With the strength of blessed soul of Mahatma 

I pray the Almighty: When will be the dawn of second vision?

Create thoughts in the minds of my people,

And transform those thoughts into action. 

Embed the thought of Nation being bigger than 

The individual, in the minds of leaders and people.

Help all the leaders of my country to give strength

And bless the nation with peace and prosperity.

Give strength to all my religious leaders to bring 

'Unity of Minds' among all our billion people 

Oh Almighty, bless all my people to work and transform

Our country from a developing into a developed nation. 

Let this second vision be born out of sweat of my people,

And bless our youth to live in Developed India. 

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam