The world of binaries...

Political positions are a world of binaries. The current political discourse in India broadly categorizes politicians and politics into the left and right. There is little scope for the grey. But the reality of life is that there are always shades of grey in human affairs. If for instance, I were to define my positions, the following they would be..

- A proud hindu.
- Lean to the economic right.
- Lean to the political center.
- Not nationalistic.
- More proud of being a tamil than being an Indian.
- Accept socially liberal norms.
- A student of every religion.
- I don't hate pakistan.
- While afghanis may be political friends today, historically they were the principal invaders of the current indian land mass
- Believes that politics + religion (any) is a recipe for disaster.
- I think Mahabharatha and Ramayana are historical events. Later , religious orders used them to spread their beliefs.
- Krishna/Ram were perhaps great humans who set foot on this land. Nothing more.
- Support affirmation policy..

By conventional definitions, we are all contradictions,aren't we?

A narrative of a typical Aggressive Mokkai

To the uninitiated, Mokkai is essentially a result of a congregation of a few enterprising individuals who believe in dispensing accumulated knowledge, gossip and judgements over all and sundry issues.Enterprise never being in short supply at college hostels, these dens become the hotbed of Mokkai, aggressive at times. Sample this..

It's about 9 in the night and having developed an abhorrence for books (the academic ones), this guy is simply bored to death. Another guy with a similar dispensation joins our protagonist in  usual banter.Somehow the conversation rambles towards the latest Rajinikanth flick. A mention of Rajinikanth in a hostel room inevitably leads to Kamal Hassan, his acting ,dancing skills vis-a-vis Rajinikanth. The  typical response to which would be the holier-than-thou attitude of Rajini when it comes to affairs pertaining to women. Women always have it in them to make the male life meaningful and interesting and this situation is no different. As the argument gets heated, people start streaming in and the room resembles an over crowded town bus.The crowd gets organized into 3 groups, Rajini fans, Kamal fans and those who are having fun at the fan's expense. It is the later group that is to play a significant role later.By 12 midnight unparliamentary words and fisticuffs are exchanged. This is when the fun group (the last of the groups alluded to previously) offers to mediate(referred to as panchayat in these parts of the world). But slowly, the fun group realizes that they got themselves into a tricky situation. There are a variety of loyalties to think of. Department ,bench , lab group, hostel wing, birth location, close friend are some examples. The last thing that goes into the fun group's mind is to offer a solution to the problem. They seek divine intervention to wriggle themselves out of the situation. And the intervention does indeed come when the hostel warden who lives nearby pays a "surprise" visit. The reaction is electric, the group flees like electromagnetic waves emanating from a point. All that the warden could make out was that the waves were emanating from a singular point, the room where it all started, currently occupied by the protagonist

For the protagonist, the following days would be an ordeal, a thousand enquiries, a thousand engagements with the top echelons of the institution. For others the protagonist's ordeal would be a tea shop topic for mokkai , a definitely sober one at that...

Tolerance....

Always wondered why Hinduism is considered to be a fairly tolerant religion. I think the answer is simple, a Hindu doesn't have a choice. He/She has always been amongst people who differ with him/her on religion. There is little unanimity amongst Hindus on anything religious.To certain sects amongst the Hindus, the other Hindu sects are as alien to him/her as Islam or Christianity is. To lead his life, he/she has to be tolerant. And I think for the idea of India to succeed, the average Hindu needs to wear his tolerant cap, a cap he was on the verge of throwing away in the communal 80's and 90's..Tolerance..what else can be the greatest virtue mankind could aspire for..

politicians and ceo's...

After watching closely the race for the republican candidate who would contest against obama,I have come to a conclusion that politicians are the same all across the world. They pander to their core vote base. Every republican candidate is trying to wear the conservative cap, with santorum taking a position on the extreme right. I am sure whomsoever ends up in government, would change his/her colour to accustom to reality.

India is not any different. The BJP,despite its appeal to the right, knows that once in government,it has to take a centrist position to manage this country. The congress despite its intent to appeal to the minority knows fully well that it cannot antogonize the majority.

It is always a tight rope walk for these guys. I have always wondered, is a CEO very different. Yes, he is not democratically elected, but he is always bound by the limitations of the people who populate the organization. He like a politician does a tight rope walk keeping in mind the investors apetite for greater profits, the employees craving for increased salaries and benefits, a more conscious and informed customer who wants more from less. But yes, like any other organism, the organization, be it political or corporate, that adapts itself to change is the one that survives..if one thinks a bit, this is true for religions as well..isn't it..the same first principles..

Missing the Chaos.

Always a step away from insanity.This probably summarizes life in South Asia. Silence is a privilege bestowed only to the wealthy.As someone who doesn't like the chaos but used to it, the western world's lack of it makes me crave for it. In south asia, sounds are always a perennial company. The creaking ceiling fan,the honking vehicles,the yelling shopkeepers, the intrusive strangers, to name a few are always there to give you company. You never feel you are alone even in the smallest of towns. Central Kallidakurichi, one among the thousands of the nondescript towns in south asia will produce more noise than downtown "any city in western world". But yes, one appreciates south asian flavours only if one steps out..

Merit in a firm being private?

In an age where going public is considered to be the way to go forward for a firm, is there some merit in the firm being a private firm or say, a partnership? By private I mean firms that do not get listed on exchanges. By private, I also mean firms whose current owners do not seek capital from investors - whose sole objective is to seek a return on the capital provided. My cynical understanding of investors is that what most investors seek is a good return on capital invested. This would mean just one thing for the firm's management that runs the show on behalf of investors - increase profits year on year. As someone who works for a non-private firm, I see thousands of employees in the middle and top management geared towards this singular objective. Values of the firm are a conduit through which the objective could be reached. Any value that is not in sync with this objective is readily discarded. Many capable individuals, working for organizations with a profit motive, sincerely believe that profit should not the sole motive for the organization. To them there are other ideals worth pursuing. But, eventually such individuals fall in line and those who don't find themselves to be fish out of water. I for one think that if there is an ideal, other than that of profit motive that needs to be pursued, a private company of like-minded individuals is the way forward. And individuals of an ideologically different mould should also seek to employment in such organizations.

mottai pics again..