Time to send our politicians for Spoken English classes?

You could easily guess what made me pick this particular topic to write on. Obviously, the vigor that provoked me to write this blog are the two recent budget presentations delivered in the Indian Parliament by two eminent figures of Indian politics. Let me be more precise about what I am hinting at. I am referring to the railway and finance budget speech delivered to the house by Ms. Mamta Banerjee and Mr. Pranab Mukharjee respectively.

Watching budget presentations is not a habit that I picked up long ago. The first budget presentation that I actually paid – if not close - real attention was the finance budget presented to the house in 2004 by the then finance minister Mr. P Chidambaram. Until then, budget presentations did not induce in me any kind of enthusiasm whatsoever. I was least bothered about what was being presented in a railway budget as I was not a frequent traveler in Indian Railways back then. I wasn’t very enthusiastic about finance budget presentations either. I think it was for the reason that I was just a student back then, and I was neither an employee nor an investor in the stock market to have any kind of interest in finance budget. But things changed since then and these days I am into both, and that makes me anxiously wait for the finance budget presentations every year.

Though budget presentations are an inveterate yearly routine in our country, considering the horrid condition our economy is in at this moment, I was expecting something out of ordinary from this year’s budget. The country was expecting a 1991-like budget that would help India ooze through this rough economic weather. But, sadly, both the budgets turned out to be anything but extraordinary. Experts say that it was a ‘mix bag of hits and misses’. However, after watching both the budget presentations, more than the content of the presentations, there was something else that stood out: the lack of quality in communication and style of presentation of both the presenters.

This year’s railway budget presentation, to me, looked more like an arid comedy show being telecasted from the Indian Parliament. While watching Mamta Banerjee’s railway budget presentation, for a moment I felt like I am living a couple of civilizations behind time. Let me put it bluntly. There was absolutely no class in the way she delivered her budget speech, and her English was awful.

The finance budget speech delivery by Mr. Pranab Mukharjee neither deserves any accolades. If style of presentation and lack of control over English was the problem with Mamta, Pranab failed in bring clarity to his communication. The country in general and the stock market in particular was more interested in hearing from the finance minister on critical issues like disinvestment, fiscal deficit, measures to recover from recession, etc., which are the primary cause of concern for the nation at this point in time. His speech, in fact, covered most of these issues, but, because of the lack of clarity in communication, it came out like these are issues of least concern for the government at this time.

The impact of this lack of clarity in communication was well predictable: stock market took a nose dive and closed 800 plus points down. Though the finance secretary and the deputy chairman of planning commission later appeared on television and made an attempt to elucidate to the world what they actually intend to do on the real issues that country faces today, it was too late and the damage was already made.

As I pointed out at the beginning of this blog, I don’t have many references to make when it comes to budget presentations. I only remember watching P. Chidambaram delivering his budget speeches, and I was truly impressed by his style of presentation. The content of the budget presented by him might be good or bad, but, his speech delivery was without doubt a class apart.

May be Chidambaram is an exception in this country. You could very well argue that majority of the politicians in our country come from the masses, and you can’t expect all of them to be Harvard educated like Chidambaram or Kapil Sibal. You could also ask why presentation delivery is significant, and all that should matter is the content of the budget that would be later put into action. I absolutely agree on these points. However, I feel, it is always desirable to have someone at the top who possess a decent communication skill, especially in English. I feel so, because we are not anymore the India of 1950s, where rest of the world didn’t even bother about how we lived or what we do for a living. We have come a long way, and we are on the verge of becoming a super power. The world around is watching us closely, and they are expecting us to lead the world into the future along with our eastern neighbor, China. So, our politicians are not just representing the masses in the parliament, they are also the brand ambassadors of a brand called India. The people representing a brand do play a major role in framing the perceptions that is built around a brand.

Relationships

By venturing into writing this blog on relationships I very well realize that I am asking for trouble. Relationship is one of the most talked about and debated topics among the people of my generation. Almost all the individuals belonging to this generation, whom I know, have an opinion to express about this topic and each of these opinions in some way or the other is often different from all the others. Considering the kind of diversity of opinion available on this topic, I thought it would be safer for me to begin this blog with a disclaimer:

“Statements and opinions expressed in this blog are my view on the subject of discussion. Readers have every right to disagree with my thoughts”

Relationship is a word that started hitting my ears very often ever since I joined my post graduation. Before then, especially during my graduation days in Trichur, I don’t recall people discussing much about relationships. Of course people used to fall in love, but relationship was not a topic that was discussed commonly. I think the reason for that is; the cultural framework in which I was living then was less westernized, where people preferred to keep their relationship as a complete private affair. Couples, who were in love those days usually did not discuss about their relationship even with their best friends.

Things were drastically different when I joined my post graduation. Students from all nukes and corners of the country were present in one single batch. I must say the cultural framework there was much more westernized than what it was in Trichur. The course started, and within a matter of few days, there were at least ten couples in the campus. I am yet to understand how someone could fall in love with a person in such a short time! As time made its strides, the number of couples in the campus also multiplied. I stopped keeping track of the exact number after sometime (I wasn’t that jobless).

People in the campus discussed a lot about relationships: “What you ought to do in a relationship?” “What you shouldn’t do in a relationship?” “What are the ground rules for being in a relationship?”, and there is a long list of similar questions that you would come across in a typical discussion on relationships. I also learned from the so called ‘relationship experts’ that there are certain ‘theories’ and ‘thumb rules’ that one has to internalize before getting into a relationship.

The main difference, I find, between the two cultural frameworks that I mentioned above is; in the case of former, i.e. during my graduation days, couples seldom discussed among themselves about how they plan to go ahead with their relationship. They seldom discussed among themselves about the ‘theories’ and ‘thumb rules’ of relationship. Am sure not many couples would have set any kind of expectations about each other at the beginning of their relationship. It all came so naturally to them. They never felt there was a need to plan the road map for their relationship.

In contrast to this, in the other cultural framework that I spoke about, i.e. during my post graduation days, couples had a clear idea about how their relationship should progress into the future. They set the expectations right in the beginning of the relationship, and they were well aware of the ‘theories’ and ‘thumb rules’ of relationship that would help them in nurturing the relationship. But, in this case, I always felt that the element of naturality was missing.

I am not a proponent of any one form of relationship. I believe that both these forms of relationship have its own advantages and disadvantages. But, there is one particular fact that bothers me. Of the 15 or so couples who were following the second form of relationship that I mentioned, only 3 of them got married. Rest of the couples is no more together. But, most of the couples who were following the first form of relationship are now happily married. What do you think the reason for this contrast must be? I like to believe that it is mere coincidence. Or am I doing something terribly wrong by using marriage as a tool to measure the success of a relationship?

Early morning phone calls

I usually love it when my cell phone rings. For a physically isolated sole like me living in Mangalore, separated from friends and family by distance, these phone calls often come as a sigh of relief from boredom. Especially during weekends, phone calls are my way of killing time. However, there is one particular genus of calls that I am not very keen on receiving: the ones that knock at my cell phone early in the mornings. These early morning calls usually comes when least expected, carrying a horrifying message along with it.

Almost a year back, I received one such call at around four in the morning. With my half opened eyes, i tried to read the caller's name in the display. It was one of my friends from Bangalore. She called to infrom me about the sad demise of one of our friend’s father. He suffered from a heart attack the previous night. Though he was taken to the hospital without any delay after the stroke, doctor's couldn't do much. That message came like a bolt from the blue for both me and my roommate. We rushed to our friend’s house right away, and the entire day was spent at his house and at the funeral.

That was a year back. It was time again for an early morning phone call. My phone started ringing once again on a wintry morning in January. It was a weekend, and I crashed into my bed really late after watching two movies in a row. I checked the time in my watch, and it was only five in the morning. I immediately realized that it is a harbinger of doom. I picked up the call with a prayer in my mind, and this time it was my younger brother who is on the line. His trembling voice informed me that our father suffered from a heart attack an hour back, and he is hospitalized.

That message struck me like an electric shock, and I couldn’t move from my bed for some time. I didn’t know what to do next. I only knew that I wanted to reach home immediately. I went online and tried to book the next flight to Cochin. But, unfortunately, the flight was available only at seven in the evening. The next option open to me was the railways. But, that option too didn’t help me as the next train was scheduled to leave only after 3 hours. I was damn certain that I wouldn’t be able to wait patiently for so long. So I ordered for a cab immediately and started for home.

By the time I reached the hospital in which my father was admitted, it was already six in the evening. My brother and relatives were waiting for me near the hospital entrance. My eyes searched for my mother. She was sitting near the intensive care unit along with my aunts. I went near her, and when she saw me, she collapsed into tears. I spoke to her for a minute, consoled her, and rushed to the doctor’s cabin.

The doctor in charge took me inside the intensive care unit and showed me the angiogram test result on a computer screen and explained me the reason for the stroke. He then told me that my father’s situation is not getting any better with time. He also informed me that an angioplasty or a by-pass surgery is inevitable, and had to be performed immediately to save my father’s life. I gave my consent to the doctor to take whatever action he thought was appropriate at that moment.

A few minutes later doctor called me inside again and shared me that good news: my father has started recovering. But, an angioplasty or by-pass surgery was inevitable, and had to be performed within the next few days. I immediately got an appointment in one of the best hospitals in Cochin, through an uncle of mine, and made all the necessary arrangements to shift my father to that hospital. We shifted him the same night, and an angioplasty was performed on him the very next day. The procedure was a complete success and it gave my father a new lease on life.

Five months has passed since then, and now my father is back to his routine.

When all this was happening, my phone kept giving me rings. I was happy to answer those calls that carried the voice of my friends and family. Those calls carried voice of concern and support.

I still love when my cell phone rings. But, I would never want to receive another call early in the morning.

Inclusive Hindutva! Seriously?

I am habituated to browse through the CNN IBN website once in every two or three hours when I am at work. With so much happening in economy, politics and sports in my country, it is beyond the bounds of possibility for me to resist myself from opening Internet Explorer once in a while and typing in ‘ibnlive.com’ in it.

On one such day, recently, a news article that appeared in IBN LIVE caught my complete attention. The article was titled “BJP frames new party line: inclusive Hindutva”, which talked about BJP’s plan to overhaul its current Hindutva ideology, and the party’s plan to move towards an 'Inclusive Hindutva’.

After completing the article, I couldn’t help but laugh. It sounded to me like the Catholic Church on a fine day is making a proclamation to the whole world that it is no more going to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. Hindutva is the rock on which BJP is built. And they are now deliberating up on drifting away from Hindutva!!

We all know how BJP assumed a stature of national party during early 90s. Until the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992, nobody imagined of a national level party whose ideology would be based on a religion, that too in a secularist nation like ours. The demolition of Babri Masjid and the riots that followed across the length and breadth of the country helped BJP in penetrating into the Indian Hindu masses. Ever since, Hindutva was the core ideology on which the party functioned. Hindutva helped BJP to win few general elections, and with the support of various regional parties, they formed a BPJ led government at the center twice. But, how long can they continue to flutter the flag of Hindutva when there are numerous other issues that are of higher priority for the Indian voters?

The 2009 General Election, however, has turned out to be an eye-opener for BJP. After the second defeat in a row, they have gradually started realizing that they cannot survive in this country for long only by scratching the religious sentiments of Indian voters.

‘Inclusive Hindutva’ sounds a better idea to me than actualizing another version of Babri Masjid.

Religion: What it means to me?

Somewhere in my childhood days I picked up the idea that religion can do only ill to mankind. I still can’t figure out why such a belief (or rather perception) got into my head. A possible reason I could think of is; I realized that the quality of some religions to separate people and bring in animosity among them is more prominent than any of its other qualities, at least that holds true in my country.

In 1992, I was just 7 years old when that frightful incident happened in Ayodhya. A group of violent Hindu nationalists demolished the Babri Masjid. That incident was only the beginning of brutality that was about to unfold all over my country. Those days I was yet to pick up the habit of reading newspapers, and the demolition of Babri Masjid had very little aftereffects on my state in general, and my village in particular since it was a Hindu dominated village. Hence, i never got to know about such an incident.

Years passed, but, December 6 remained a nightmare for everyone in my family. We children were not allowed to go to the nearby city on that day unless accompanied by an elder member of the family. First few times we just followed the instruction and never bothered to find out the reason behind the concern. This continued year after year and slowly I started realizing the reason for the concern. Religion for my family meant more of fear than belief, and so for me. From then on I never wanted myself to be associated with any religion, and whenever someone asked which religion I belong to, I always replied “I do not belong to any religion”. It was my lack of knowledge about religion that made me say that. I realize that now.

Abraham Lincoln once wrote: “Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren’t new after all.” The various books and columns that I read about religion, which expressed author’s opinion about religion, made me realize that the impression I was carrying with me about religion was not completely accurate. One such author who influenced me was Swami Vivekananda. His definition of religion made me realize that religion is not all about identity and there is lot more to it.

Now, for me, religion is not about an identity it stamps on me. Religion is a way of life. It is about the customs and traditions that you follow in your day to day life and it is about the believes that you uphold. If that is true, then I must be a Hindu who follows Hinduism.

Declaring to the world that i follow Hinduism doesn't make me any indifferent towards other religions. I equally respect all other religions, and an individual's right to practice any religion that he chooses to. It also does not guarantee that now I believe in a set of supposedly Hindu gods. I like to see religion and belief in god as two differnt things. I now know for sure that I follow Hinduism, but not yet sure whether I believe in any god. In that respect I am still an agnostic.

Coffee in Corporate

The amount of time I am spending on coffee breaks in the last couple of months has considerably gone up. Thanks to the recession hit IT industry that definitely guarantees lot of leisure time for its employees, if not a hike in their remuneration. Adding to this is the fact that I am the only sole working from offshore for my project, which means there is no one dancing on my head trying to ‘Manage’ me. This is a rare opportunity that one gets in her/his lifetime in the IT industry. So I decided to make full use of this opportunity to bum around. To hell with my employer's initiatives to improve employee productivity!

Initially these coffee breaks were meant to pull back the falling eyelids with the help of some caffeine. And obviously to checkout the cute girls from other project who comes to the cafeteria for coffee break. If my employer decides to give an award for working in maximum number of project in the shortest time span possible, i would definitely be a leadrunner for winning that award. Inspite of working in so many projects, i was not lucky enough to have pretty girls in any of those projects. Hence coffee breaks were the only opportunity I got to checkout girls.

As time passed, more and more colleagues started joining me for the extra long coffee breaks. I bet they also had the same reasons as me for hanging out in the cafeteria for coffee breaks. With more people becoming interested in the idea of long coffee breaks, we decided to make it a more organized and professional activity. After all we are professionals. We ought to do it professionally. We decided to create a ‘Coffee Group’ mailing list, and a recurring reminder was send to all the member of this mailing list reminding them to attend the coffee break. How I wish my employer keeps me a ‘paid unemployed’ like this forever!!

Now, for us, these coffee breaks are also a platform to discuss and debate about various topics. Nature of these topics usually ranges from international diplomatic issues like Uncle Sam’s foreign policies against the Asian ‘Tigers’ and ‘Elephants’ to silliest of issues like Salman Khan’s innumerable breakups with ‘Babes’ and ‘Princesses’ of Bollywood. These discussions and debates are often entertaining and, believe me, sometimes informative too. Usually I am one of the active participants in these discussions, unless someone starts discussing anything related to work. I prefer to take the backseat in that case, pretending to listen to the discussion. That is when girls come to save you. You know what I mean!!

I am definitely enjoying this countless coffee breaks and lazing around. But, while driving back home after a days work (work?) in office, there is someone at the back of my mind asking me: ‘Is this what you dreamt of doing in a corporate world in your MBA days?’ After a few minutes of taught I had to reply: ‘No, it’s not’. Then I sadly realize that the colors of those dreams are fading slowly.

After a sound sleep in the night, I am back to office next day to follow my routine and the whole process is reiterated. God knows for how long!

An Introduction

Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth. ~Oscar Wilde

Reciting a self introduction to others is an exercise that has pestered me all my life. Everytime a new teacher joined my class, the first thing that i was forcefully made to do is: introduce myself to the new teacher. The frequency of this exercise multiplied when I joined my higher studies. I was asked to give an introduction to almost every professor on the campus, with very few exceptions who believed that the whole exerceise was a sheer waste of time since they very well realized that it is absolutely impossible for them to remember even the name of the students, let alone the bio data that you recite to them. Everytime a company visited our campus for recruitment, this is one question all the interviewee had to answer to the interview panels: “Tell me something about yourself?" And this exercise continues even today in my corporate life. So, let me do that task here as well.

I come from a middle class family in Poochatty, a village in the cultural capital of Kerala (Trichur). Born as the eldest son of my parents, P.K Babu and Geetha Babu, I lived a major portion of my life in Thrissur.

I went for schooling in Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Vidya Mandir in Thrissur. That is where I spent 14 long years of my academic life. After completing my schooling in 2002, I joined Sri Kerala Varma College in Thrissur to do my Bachelors in Commerce. I decided to pursue my higher studies in management after completing the graduation in 2005. Given the fact that there were not many institutions in Kerala that offered quality education in the field of management at that time, I was forced to move out of the state and join SDM-Institute for Management Development in Mysore to do my Masters in Business Administration.

I graduated from SDM-IMD in 2007 and joined as an IT Consultant in one of India’s leading IT services companies, which still is my employer.

The introduction that I jotted above is a template that I usually apply in those situations were I have to give an introduction about myself. Hope my blogs can give a better portrait about me than what my introduction template gave. These blogs are my effort to wear the mask that let me be what I am. (If I am not already what I am)