Wisdom by Hindsight
I had reservations about my photograph and interview appearing in today’s newspaper. That is why, yesterday, I had said that if the interview appears in the paper, I shall publish it here.
It did and here is the photogrph of the item. Unfortunately, the page is not available on the web for me to give a link to and so the photograph. Please click on the image if necessary, to get a larger resolution and to read my comments,
My fellow 2 on 1 Friday blogger Shackman has suggested that we revisit this topic after a little over six years! It was nice going back to see the original post that I had written just as it was to read Shackman’s. We had taken completely different approaches to the topic then but, this time around, I suspect that we would be writing about our respective current political scenarios.
My take is very simple. “The 2019 Indian general election is scheduled to be held in 7 phases from 11 April 2019 to 19 May 2019 to constitute the 17th Lok Sabha. The counting of votes will be conducted on 23 May 2019 and on the same day the results will be declared. Wikipedia”
This time around, the battle lines are not yet clearly drawn but, indications are that there will most likely be three cornered fights in most states between the current coalition party in power, the Indian National Congress which has recently showed success in three state elections and local configurations of Regional Parties.
The common factor in all the three contenders’s manifesto is the doom and gloom that they forecast if the other contenders come to power. The ruling dispensation however has shown a more positive approach by highlighting their achievements and plans for the future in a slightly more positive note.
I am personally rooting for the current dispensation and am reasonably sure that it will form the next government again. As many of my friends suggest, when discussing politics, I have skin in the game as I have bet that my forecast comes true with some of my pension money! I am likely to bet some more closer to the elections when the odds improve or deteriorate as the case may be. I am also prepared to lose some friends of a different ideology but, am sure to gain a new acceptable government.
Another area where both Shackman and I are likely to converge when writing about the topic is to bring music in to the post and my choice is an old favourite by The Rolling Stones. Just look at the band and you can guess my age too!
And before you turn on the music, please do remember to visit Shackman’s blog to see what he has to say about the topic. Thank you.
Doom and Gloom
The Rolling Stones
I had a dream last night
That I was piloting a plane
And all the passengers were drunk and insane
I crash landed in a Louisiana swamp
Shot up a horde of zombies
But I come out on top
What’s it all about?
Guess it just reflects my mood
Sitting in the dirt
Feeling kind of hurt
When all I hear is doom and gloom
And all is darkness in my room
Through the light your face I see
Baby take a chance
Baby won’t you dance with me
Lost all that treasure in an overseas war
It just goes to show you, don’t get what you paid for
Battle to the rich and you worry about the poor
Put my feet up on the couch
And lock all the doors
Hear a funky noise
That’s the tightening of the screws
I’m feeling kind of hurt
Sitting in the dirt
All I hear is doom and gloom
But when those drums go boom boom boom
And through the night your face I see
Baby take a chance
Baby won’t you dance with me
Yeah
Baby won’t you dance with me
Ah yeah
Fracking deep for oil
But there’s nothing in the sump
There’s kids all picking
Ar the garbage dumb
I’m running out of water
So I better prime the pump
I’m trying to stay sober
But I end up drunk
We’ll be eating dirt
Living on the side of the road
There’s some food for thought
Kinda makes your head explode
Feeling kind of hurt
Yeah
But all I hear is doom and gloom
And all is darkness in my room
Through the night your face I see
Baby come on
Baby won’t you dance with me
Yeah
Yeah
Baby won’t you dance with me
I’m feeling kind of hurt
Baby won’t you dance with me
Yeah
Come on
Baby won’t you dance with me
I’m sitting in the dirt
Baby won’t you dance with me!
Songwriters: Keith Richards / Mick Jagger
Doom and Gloom lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Elections to various local bodies were held yesterday in many parts of our state.
Like I inevitably do, I voted too and here is proof!
To those who are unfamiliar, in India, people returning to vote more than once can happen and has happened in the past and so, a preventive measure is to apply an indelible ink mark on the left forefinger of the voter just before s/he enters the booth to register the vote.
Indians however are famous for their jugaad. A very innovative solution has been found to overcome the problem of the ink mark by this simple device!
A fellow alumnus Prakash Iyer, has written a management book worth its weight in gold. Here is an extract which I remember often and which came back to me earlier today.
“……………And another motivational guru. As I watched him pull out a five hundred rupee note and hold it up for all to see, I thought I knew what he was going to do next.
But he just asked a simple question. “How much is this worth?”
“Five Hundred rupees!” the crowd yelled in unison.
“Right,” said the speaker. He then took the note and crumpled it into a ball and asked “How much is it worth now?”
“Five Hundred rupees!” screamed the audience.
He then threw the note on the ground, stamped all over it and picked up the note and asked one more time: “And how much is it worth now?”
“Five Hundred rupees!” was the response.
“I want you to remember this,” said the speaker.
“Just because someone crumples it, or stamps on it, the value of the note does not diminish.
We should all be like the five hundred rupee note. In our lives, there will be times when we feel crushed, stamped over, beaten. But never let your self-worth diminish. Just because someone chooses to crush you — that doesn’t change your worth one bit! Don’t allow your self-worth to diminish because someone says something nasty — or does something dirty — to you.”
I went to see a movie, War Horse, this morning. I ended up seeing a remake of a Hindi movie that I had seen many years ago. Before the movie, I went to the Cafe Coffee Day for an espresso and though I expected to be alone at that time of the morning, there was this young lady already there sitting all by herself. I smiled at her and bid her good morning while I waited for the barista to come up to the counter. I ordered for the coffee which the barista said would be delivered to my table considering my elbow crutches, and went to a corner table to sit. The young lady, promptly moved over to the table where I sat and to cut a long story short, we became friends.
What has this got to do with a crumpled currency note?
Before I was forced to see the Hindi movie, I was given a run around by the staff at the multiplex who had changed the timings of the movies to different ones from what was advertised in the local papers in the morning. Since I was quite disappointed, having walked over a kilometer to see the movie, I was feeling quite low having depleted my emotional reservoir arguing with the staff. They were almost condescending in their attitude and passing the buck to some body in the management that I settled for an alternative that I normally would not have.
At the cafe, old habits die hard and the good morning to a stranger and her response and subsequent conversation with me, boosted my ego back up to what it must have been like twenty years ago!
On my way back after the movie, I went to the local chemist to get some medicines. I had forgotten to take my id card issued by that chain that entails me to a senior citizen discount and informed the clerk about that. She asked for my telephone number and got it crosschecked that I was indeed registered with them as a senior citizen. She then made me jump up with joy by asking for some other identification like a driving license to prove that I was over 60! When I asked her if my looks were not enough, she gave me a million rupee smile and said “No Sir!”, You look to be about 50!
I floated out of the shop and decided to cast my vote for the local municipal elections before heading for home for lunch. Nearer the election booth, I was mobbed by two candidates and one candidate’s wife, all wanting my precious vote!
Self worth? By this time I was feeling like the hero of the Bollywood film that I had seen in the morning.
Some of my readers in their comments on some of my posts have mentioned that they know little about my country, India. I have recently been posting about India, its electoral processes and some of the problems that we face here.
Indian democracy has survived for over six decades bar a short aberration when Indira Gandhi had declared a national emergency for almost two years between 26 June 1975 and 21 March 1977. Every five years, we have been electing a new Parliament, and each state and all local bodies too, have similar elections.
To sum up the entire process is beyond my capability, but I have just come across a very balanced article by Andrew Buncombe in the Independent which gives a panoramic view of the entire process and the mind boggling numbers. For those interested, I urge taking some time to read all about it.
I shall be writing more posts about some other aspects of our elections later and this should be the first in a series of them.
