Post Elections 2006 - What did HE say?

Elections are over, one set of people are partying while the others are hiding their humiliation. In Tamil, there is a saying "Ooru rendu pattaa kuthaadiku thaan kondaattam". Who could be kuthaadi in this case? Any guesses? I feel it is the news channel. Most of the news channels brought the charismatic leaders of both the winning and the losing parties to analyze the results. While the winning side could speak anything, even nonsense, which would not be scrutinized, the losing side has to find the best words because the show anchor as well as the winning parties are going to pass comments if they blabbered. Thus, the entire day passed with no boredom.
But one interesting comment that I heard was from a leader, who is also a very eminent economist. He said that the results were a victory to the secular forces. I was left wondering as to what he meant exactly. Look at this scenario: In West Bengal, the Communist party won the election against Congress, which came second. In Kerala also, it was the victory for the communists over the Congress party. Assam was an exception where Congress emerged as the single largest party. In Tamil Nadu, the DPA coalition won against AIADMK's coalition. In all the states, there was absolutely no talk about secularism or communalism. In West Bengal and Kerala, if one were to interpret our leader's statement, could we say that the Left party is secular and Congress is communal? In Tamil Nadu, no one could term AIADMK as communal. So, what prompted our leader to say those words. Well, I do not have an answer to it. But all I could say is that the minds of certain section of people in this country is strongly affected by the agenda of the parties affiliated to hindutva. If the perceived agenda is real or imagined is for people to think!

Elections 2006!

Election results are out and it is in sync with the expectations. In Kerela, Congress loses; Tamil Nadu - DPA wins; West Bengal - Left SWEEPS and in Assam - Congress combine wins!But the most talked about elections were those of Tamil Nadu's. People never thought that the DPA would sweep elections even though the exit polls predicted a majority for DPA. This proves the changing political scenario in the country. From a single major national party to coalitions, India has come a long way. The state of Tamil Nadu now has to come to terms with the realities.
But the results make me ponder over the reasons for the defeat of the incumbent government. Many people I have interacted with narrated the merits of the government and yet they lost! The same happened in the case of NDA government. This shows that the benefits enjoyed by the urban voters are not getting down to the lowest possible levels. This reasoning is supported by the fact that the AIADMK has won about 8 out of the 12 seats from Chennai, a traditional DMK bastion.
Now that the verdit is out, one needs to watch the moves of the new government. According to me, much needs to be done on the infrastructure side. Also, the poilicies should get more friendly in order attract investements. At the same time, let there be enough concern for the needy. Let one not hear stories about starvation deaths, stories about farmer suicides, stories about robberies, stories about fraud.
Best wishes to the winning party to propel Tamil Nadu into a higher level. And also to the opposition for having given a brave fight!

Unsustainable Urbanisation

While man runs after money, scriptures prescribe a ceiling on desires. How great would it be if each and every Indian desired just for one house, one vehicle, abundant greenery, temperate consumption of food and a continuous flow of money to charities. Our country would have progressed faster and the Sensex would have touched 15000 in 1995 itself. Unfortunately, the state of affairs is pathetic.
Today, as I parked my bike in a narrow lane in Chennai, I glanced around the place. How crowded the place was. The lane is filled with multi storeyed apartments on either side. The apartments clearly are not constructed as per the guidelines which necessitates ample parking and recreation space. As a result, a road which is about 14 feet wide gets narrower because of parking space and pedestrians. And children do not have any place to play outdoor games. This forces them to watch TV or play video games. As a result, the young talent is getting wasted......I do not say that watching TV or playing games are too bad but I definitely believe that playing outdoor games increases one's creativity, mental strength and physical strength. It is not surprising that many children wear spectacle even before they reach their 10 the standard.
Who is accountable for this? Not one person or organization but the entire society at large.
When I was a kid, I watched a science fiction where the earth's natural resources are totally exhausted. As a result, men live underground and they roam around wearing a safety jacket. I feel such a scenario is very much likely unless we change our path.

Indian in a foreign land!

Going by some statistics, we wonder if India still has a long way to go to become a developed nation. That may be true. But, I feel that the disposable income has tremendously increased among Indians. As a result, one finds an exploding traffic, burgeoning real estate market and increasing service sector market. There is one more interesting point about Indians. Indians are increasingly exploring the lands outside India. I have seen this myself. Go to any place in Europe and you would find a sizeable population of Indian tourists. Once, when I had been to Swiss, I was surprised to see about 400 Indians on a very famous mountain peak. The point to be noted is that there was an Indian restaurant there, at a height of about 10000 feet....tennnn thousand feet !!!!!!
While this is a good indicator about India's success story, there is one more interesting aspect about Indians visiting other countries. You know how an Indian plans a trip?First he gets his ticket booked with a tourist operator who would take him through out Europe for the least price. Remember, it is important for him to increase the number countries that he has visited irrespective of whether he gets time to explore each and every place. Next he would take great pains to find an Indian restaurant where he would be ready to pay 12 euros for a dosa. Remember, he has prioritised this over a meal in Mc D... where he would get a Mac, fries and a doughnut for 5 euros! Once energised, he gets hold of a map and spots the most important places that he could visit. Take for example a place like Rome. Rome is a place where one needs to walk a lot to visit places. So, our guy takes great pains to cover as many places as possible....but what does he do once he gets to the destination....he searches for a strategic place..for what??? of course to take a pic...and once it is done..he heads off to the next place. Siginificance of Spanish steps (Rome) or Colosseum does not really matter to him...all he needs is a pic there. Thus, he finishes a wonderful trip and heads back home. Once at home it is a head ache for others...why??? Obviously, our hero has taken more than 500 pics on his newly bought Canon digicam.....and its the duty of others to patiently browse through the photos. I am fine with browsing through the 500 fotos..but please..let our hero not sit beside me to explain the PHOTO!!!
Someone refuting my story?????

Can politicians make good Marketing Managers?

It is election time in Tamil Nadu. And the limelight has switched to Madras. I am quit surprised to see some special shows being aired in some of the leading news channels. The topic ranges from the poll survey to the conservatism of Tamil Nadu. But the main question is whether the population is getting allured by the freebies being offered by the parties. So far not a single poll has been conducted to record the response of the public with regard to the freebies on offer.
But going by my interactions with the people I know, it looks like the real issue has been missed. When it comes to voting, many people think about factors like - safety of people, economic and infrastructue growth, basic amenties and a good standard of living.
How come the expectations of the people and the attractions projected by the parties are not in sync? The answer the parties give is that only a part of their manifesto is being talked about while the rest is ignored. Even though I do not buy this argument, I feel politicians can definitely become better brand managers than marketing managers going by the way their words find the headlines!