Youth in revolt, and on the ballot!

2011 marked a watershed year in terms of the global outpouring of youth aspirations and expectations. While a plethora of revolts swept across much of the the autocratic regimes in Northern Africa, and the still incendiary state of Syria, a number of advocates demanding more from the youth in shaping the events of the 21st century came to the forefront. These were people with a vision, demanding accountability from the governments yet proposing bulwarks against which the young demographic could contribute to improving the socio-economic conditions of the world. The fact that we demand a lot in return for no commitment is a potent argument, especially considering that today's societal structure is more open and fragile than ever before. The need of the hour is strategic rebuilding and prioritizing the aims for this generation and the future ones. 

One constant in the ever evolving fate of human civilization is the timely emergence of the new guard to replace the old one. This cycle of leadership keeps us from becoming stagnant in the transient moment that we are in, and helps us in articulating a vision for the future. A recent New York Times article chronicles one such young leader, Camila Vallejo, a nose-ringed college student straight out of a Nirvana concert, who was till recently leading a well-orchestrated movement against the burgeoning cost of education in the strongest economy of Latin America, Chile. The more famous examples of Wael Ghomin and Jigme Khesar Namgyel provide reminders of young leaders who are willing to rise to the occasion and set out a path for their countries. 

Once look at Indian politics would be enough to decry any proponents of the expanding role of youth leaders in our polity. While it is easy to single out a few names like Rahul Gandhi and Anurag Thakur, or the more infamous ones like Kanimozhi and Jagan Mohan Reddy, the structural ascension of the next generation of young leaders is sorely missing, especially somebody with a concrete vision of shaping our destiny in this century. Why is it that we are so apathetic to participating in our politics? The oft repeated answer is that it is a sludge of corruption, infamy, and back-scratching, that rewards the undeserving more than it should. Case in point being Team Anna's rancor over the right to recall, that attempts to totally bypass any existing democratic norms enshrined in our constitution. But are we actually willing to test it for ourselves? More than half of our 1.2 billion citizens are estimated to be under 25. That's a figure that should bring optimism to any face. Imagine if 200 of them can make it to the parliament once they turn 25, the minimum age of qualification for the office of an MP!  

There are signs that our country is trudging towards replacing the current version of the lower house with one that focuses on all-around economic and social equity. One that will replace the partisan vitriol with spirited exchanges over competing visions of the educational policy. The voting numbers have gone up in all states, thanks to the concerted efforts of the Election commission to ensure free and fair voting for all. Governments like the one of Nitish Kumar have been voted back to power with overwhelming majority, a sign of gratitude for all that he has done to ameliorate the plight of his constituents. As we become more aspirational, and start demanding more accountability, it is just to give something in return, like our time and energy to strengthen our democracy and infuse some fresh ideas in the parliament. A quid pro quo works, at least in most cases! 

PS: Here is a speech that turned a little known first-term senator into a prospective presidential candidate of the USA. Barack Obama, 43-years old then, at the 2004 DNC.

Euphoric rise meets a sudden fall

The cat is out of the bag! All those who had bet a significant amount on the duration of Indian cricket team's domination on world cricket can now safely redeem their purses. How the public mood has shifted! An average Indian cricket fan is more of a skeptic now than a believer like yesteryears, so much so that it is now as much a staple of mainstream culture as the talented commentary booth comprising of erudite orators like Wasim Akram and Mohinder Amarnath (what happened to Richie Benaud & David Gover?). 

After every jaunty home series victory, the common rancor surrounding the neighborhood tea stall is-"Wait for a foreign tour and see how badly they perform." People no longer talk about how our team is one of the most feared squads when playing at home, or how much our performance has improved over the course of the last decade when playing at a bowler's paradise in England or South Africa (compared to pre-Y2k years). Coincidentally, the World Cup victory last year did no favors to our reputation as chokers outside our sovereign territory. Hidden somewhere in the corners of the sports section were columns suggesting that India might have to another 12 years before they can think of getting their hands to the cup. A highly anticipated series with England followed, billed as the informal Test cricket championship due to the rankings of the participants being 1 & 2. While England held up their end of the bargain, the Indian team appeared flustered, unprepared, and last but not the least, exhausted. By now, we all know that the Indian cricketers are as active as Digvijay Singh's publicist, with the already busy calender cramped further by the IPL. But so do most of the top 5 nations, and Kumar Sangakkara was valiant enough to put it in words during his speech at the MCC last year. So stop blaming the IPL for our cricketing woes. It is as transient as pulling an nightout before an exam, for all practical purposes. 

Also, spare a thought to our cricketers. While mental preparation is a big component of achieving the level of success and competency that our players do, they are not blanked from the negativity surrounding Indian cricket in general. The Indo-England home ODI series witnessed empty stands even at the cricket-starved Eden gardens. Key players are getting injured left-and-right, while the public mood is swinging in the other direction to empathy. England went through a similarly disastrous phase in 2006, when they were mauled at the hands of the Aussies in the Ashes, followed by a disastrous World cup campaign. England have since gone on to retain the Ashes twice, most recently away from home, and even won that elusive major championship in the form of the T20 world cup. If you think our media is cut-throat and fickle, the English media is predatory in nature, so much so that the phone hacking scandal surrounding News Corp has been described as just another event in the day-to-day British media circus, that happened to get exposed. 

In a nation of 1.2 billion cricket enthusiasts, we are also unfortunately 1.2 billion strong cricket pundits, or so we would like to believe! Sachin's search for the awe-inspiring 100th international hundred has been beaten to death in the public. Let the man enjoy the last leg of his glorious career without hounding him with the intense glare that surrounds every post-match presentation. If nothing, this shock might be exactly what the Indian team needs, a sense of emergency that can prop them to hit back like the 2003 world cup. 

PS: Speaking of Sach, this is my favorite of all his commercials. And Carl Hooper would make a great Ra.One is SRK is thinking of a sequel to the best comedy of 2011. 

Here's to you Santa!

Dear Santa,


While I fully understand your predicament at this commercially attractive time of the year, I was sincerely hoping that you would take some time out from your sledge surfing (I still believe a leopard would be a far better option that those poor reindeers- just imagine the sheer awesomeness of you perched on a leopard in a Mattel store!) and have a look at my wish list for this Christmas. While I agree to adhere to the North Pole's law book, that this wish list cannot be back-ordered like the one on Amazon, nor can it be sweetened with some last minute tomfoolery by a frustrated customer service agent for Verizon, I pray that you give some consideration to my pleas for the betterment of me and me only. I am not a selfish person, but the principle of rational distribution in a linear set of wishes demands that I focus on my odds of receiving something in lieu of demanding a 100 different things. Who knows, with 4 billion people demanding everything from the iPad to a reunion of Pink Floyd, you could probably spread the love out with my fellow bargainers. See, I am being altruistic here. Okay, back to the list:


1. Get rid of all the parks


Honestly Santa, as much I love the rays of fading sunlight fall on the leaves and turn it into a hue of poise, I feel bad for the poor gardener and his extended clan who have to redo the lawn after every outburst of public sentiment, more so these days with the Lokpal campaign and Occupy Wall street protests. Before I get lambasted by anybody for trying to question our unquestionable right to freedom of expression, I propose that we turn all parks into community centers with clean and hygienic sanitary facilities. We can always alter the landscape so as to maximize the space available for convening a meeting, while having a high-rise in the rear to provide comfortable lodging options for the night. It's a win-win proposition Santa- the government doesn't have to worry about the inconvenience caused to those who wish to take a leisurely stroll in the park, and the protesters can keep shuffling their band of slogan-raising humans so that nobody feels homesick. You can also figure in the advertising revenue to offset the costs of construction, and the cost benefits of letting the private sector sharing a piece of the pie!


2. Create a smarter Facebook


Santa, while you would agree that a lot of people really speak their mind on their walls, how about something which really taps into the mind of an individual? So that facebook would no longer have to politely inquire-"What's on your mind?", rather just publish and say-"Oh, so you didn't like the latest Mood Indigo Livewire night but are just praising it to appear cool to  other metal heads!" 


3. Get rid of money, and replace it with points


Santa, money is the root cause of all problems. Not when you have a lot of it, but then there is no limit to how much is enough. Everyone has a different take on it, from the Tea Party to Mukesh Ambani to Kapil Sibal to daily wage laborer working on the next high-rise in Shanghai. I would certainly not mind making more during grad school. How about we get rid of money all together, so that people have one less thing to complain about on their agenda. We can instead have skill-based remuneration system, something that awards points or something. For example, somebody who can jump 4 hoops at a time gets more points than somebody who can only do 1, or pipetting 1ul accurately should have more value than 1.1ul. Wait, that's how the currency system was born. Oh well, you get the gist of it Santa. Just figure it out using all that wisdom you have accrued while dying your beard starch white.


4. Find another Earth for me


Seriously Santa, these space scientists are driving me nuts with all their talk of Goldilocks zones and Earth-like planets. Every time they come up with an interesting revelation, I get my hopes high of space travel and meeting an alien who will confer superpowers on me a-la Jadoo or E.T., and then it fizzles out. Okay, we have water on Moon, and Mars might have once been home to microbial life, but where is the fabled planet where Spock resides? 


Till next year!


PS: It's the season of holidays, and what better way to celebrate than through the words of John Lennon.

Freeze and thaw

Winter is a funny time of the year. There is a deluge of family-centered holidays, and shoppers flock to get the 'best deals' that only open up at this time of the year. In India, nobody remains slim anymore, as toddlers are covered in their layers of sweaters and the women bring out the expensive cardigans and shawls to the envy of the neighbors. As for the weather, depending on your geographical location, winters can either be the best time of the year or an absolute nightmare.

For me, 5 years in Mumbai destroyed whatever winter tolerance I had built up in 17 years living in Jhansi. Winters in Mumbai were the best time of the year- no fear of dehydration and humidity at its absolute low. Having swung between these two extremes, I was under-prepared when I landed in the desert. Having been here twice in the hot and dry summer, and knowing that Tucson was not very far from the west coast, there was nothing abetting my desire to pack enough warm clothes. Turns out, Tucson is more like Jaisalmer than Pune, and the cold wave outside makes me wonder about other assumptions that go wrong all the time.

For example, we assume that politicians are committed people who will put aside differences in the end and work out a mutual agreement in the greater benefit of the nation. Ironically, the educated US senators perform no better than the semi-literate, identity-bred politicians back home at this benchmark. You can gloss over other nations as well, and it becomes clear that politics is a dirty business to the core. Another assumption that often goes wrong is that the economy is going downhill because of less global spending. Never was there more investment activity going on across the globe. You simply need to look into the right sector. Be it clean energy, or the more conventional oil exploration, investors are flocking to the few seemingly reliable areas in both sectors. If anything, the reason might be the lop-sided nature of investments, where few monies are spent on human development, and more on increasing the already inflated MPLAD funds. We spend when we feel good about ourselves, or even when we want to feel good about ourselves. Having recently witnessed the Black friday euphoria in the states, the latter certainly seemed to be the case.

The third assumption, and this one is quite close to my heart, is that Science holds all the answers to every conceivable question, and if Science cannot explain it, it is not possible. The other day, I was having this conversation with a friend about religion and faith (you know where this is going), and I put forward my best argument that some of the practices seem to be lacking any logic whatsoever. Then comes the news that OPERA project was able to reproduce their results of neutrinos breaking the Einsteinian barrier of light travel. We might very well be re-writing all those Physics textbooks 10 years down the line. Who knows what else might become explainable with better and more sophisticated instruments!

The lesson I take from the above is that while it is good to assume certain stuff, it is imprudent to blank out an alternative. With that, I wish my assumption of a warm day on December 11 turns out to be correct!

PS: Nobody remained young at heart longer than Dev Anand did. He was the foremost style icon the industry ever had, and a wonderful observer of new talent where others would have seen none. RIP!

Who came before us?

Human civilizations have been built on the foundations of ancestral knowledge, societal wisdom, and cohesive existence. It is no wonder then that a majority of our customs and beliefs are remnants of the ethos of early AD society. At the same time, not just the customs, but the shared genetic material was carried forward as well. We indeed share a lot of hereditary traits, albeit a mishmash of different genealogies, that got filtered through the numerous invasions by delusional rulers that came rushing for India's wealth, ultimately the Mughal rule, and then of course, the British colonization. No wonder then that all talk of 'having a pure genealogy' might be hard to back up if one had the family tree sorted out to the early centuries. But that is none of my concern. Recent trysts with an advanced genetic diseases class I am taking as a part of my coursework, has made more inquisitive about a basic feature that the Indian healthcare system and the society in general seems to lack- Who exactly came before us, and more importantly, what led to their ultimate demise?


The flip side to having a longer life is that we end up overbearing our immune system. As the life expectancy shot up, from periods of endemic flu where a lucky individual would go on to live longer than 50 (don't believe those stories about people living more than 100 years being a norm- not true), to where the average national rate is close to 64.8 years according to the World bank report of 2009, an individual is becoming more and more susceptible to diseases which would have made Sushruta cringe in agony, for there is nothing anyone can do if a part of your genome goes amiss and leaves you vulnerable to the perils of, for example, Alzheimer's disease. The stark reality is that we are slowly moving from the era of 'treatable disease' to an era of 'manageable disease'. Sounds depressing? I hear about it for 3 hours every week. 


Which brings me to a pertinent question-How many of us are aware of our genealogy, or what our ancestors contracted and died off eventually? The question becomes very important, because with advances in genetics and sequencing technology, genetically predisposed individuals can be more easily identified and therefore put on management programs at earlier stages of the advancement of the ailment, thereby prolonging and improving the quality of life. I agree that with only 64 years of our existence as a sovereign state, the management of a national database or formulation of a national policy would take time. But that should be on top of the health ministry's agenda, along with other prevention measures. More importantly, make an effort and try to form a family tree yourself. Ask around from family members if a distant relative's family is a carrier for a disease, for the chances are that even that could perturb your genetic balance one way or the other. You would be surprised to learn that a disease like type 2 diabetes which would not be linked to heredity 50 years ago, has now been shown to be a heritable disease on the brute evidence of advanced sequencing technology and data mining from affected individual's families. 


Knowing what our ancestors did for a living, or whether they were part of a king's court, might be interesting, but knowing what they contracted in their lifetime might actually be life-saving. 


PS: A classic from Ozzy and his troops. Watch the illusion, or the drummer. They are both incredible!

Like a Siberian crane!

For the uninitiated, the Siberian crane is known for its robust migratory pattern during the winter, when mating  necessitates migration to far-off tropical places, in search of a recluse from the sub-zero temperatures. An abstract definition of this phenomenon would be that the search for rosier avenues forces the crane to leave its abode and wander off to uncharted territories, crossing obstacles along the way, and then return home when the time comes. A good enough hint to the direction of this post? I will not be ranting about how we should all become a part of the 'brain gain' phenomenon which has apparently strengthened into a trend during the last decade. To each his/her own! What I will talk about is how desis keep the des alive in their core, even when an eventual reunion with the motherland has been ruled out forever. 

In the good ol' days of IIT, the one time of the year when people would actually look forward to going back home, away from the luxuries of LAN and lukkha, used to be the Diwali week. Of course, 80% of the populace would wait for the last moment, and then adjust themsleves on a train ride to home (all of us have our pleasant memories of traveling in the proverbial cattle class, chatting away merrily while the co-passengers gave us an obnoxious glare at 1 in the night). One reason I always looked forward to it was to rejuvenate myself and come back fresh, with visions of toiling to a bountiful performance during the endsems (suffices to say that it never happened, probably for none of us!). 

This time around, going home was not an option. Not that the travel time was significantly longer, surprisingly. If you are over 15,000 kilometers away from home, it is plausibly better to harden yourself to the cultural alienation that will ensue and imbibe the tectonic shift as a necessity. Alas, words are indeed easier written than put into action. Homesickness struck, followed by a prolonged deliberation over the decision of leaving a secure life back home to pursuing a PhD in a discipline I have scant knowledge about. However, as diwali neared, frustration gave way to jubilation, thanks to some great friends and a social gathering of the Indian community in the city. Now social gathering is an oft misconstrued term back home, as all gatherings in India eventually precipitate into a free-for-all food and dance extravaganza. Surprisingly, the social gathering here turned out to be a well-organized affair, with plenty of food, ordered queues, and non-intrusive dancing. The entire spectrum of Indian music was covered: from the raaga stuti to rabindro sangeet to amplifier! Not to forget the excellent Bharatnatyam, but of course, Bollywood can never be far nehind. Here is a snapshot of tracks kids grooved to: Taal se taal mila, band baaja baarat, and a Karisma Kapoor track I cannot remember at the peril of my life! And their was no sing-along or synchronized applause with any of the performances, only a polite congratulation at the end. 

All happy tracks, picked from movies which were quintessential Indian family dramas. Even the tracks the DJ spun towards the end ranged from the nostalgic Ta rarara to Munni badnaam hui. And people danced (there were probably only 10 out of the 80 odd who were in the 21-28 age group). People asked us about our own migratory pattern, and remembered their own good times in Ghatkopar or Kolkata. While the parents might miss India every once in a while, the kids were clearly way too Americanized, if that term seems appropriate. They even left an American friend of mine guessing at a few tracks which they seemed to know every word of. I would not be stretching it if I predict that most of these kids will visit India once in a while will their parents force them to, and then never come back again from their cushy lives. These cranes have abandoned their migration. 


Oh, and the icing on the 're-connection' cake was last night's screening of Ra.One, the most 'expensive' bollywood movie ever made. Not that I am a fan of Shah Rukh Khan, but the feeling of 'how would I tear into this movie if I never see it' abetted me to give it a shot, even to the extent of parting with $11.50 (that's 2 days worth of lunch money). And it was not in 3D, in case you are wondering. Here again, to my pleasant surprise, the desi community showed up in full gusto to cheer upon the original overseas superstar from India, one who is as well known in Germany and New York as at Maratha mandir. Hollywood movies have no intermission, but Ra.one did. Importantly, the 6-to-60 formula seemed to be working great for the audience. Taking a cue from the trailers that were shown, it won't be a stretch to predict that a certain Dev.D or Udaan never made it to the celluloid here. Ra.One might as well be the deserving contender for the Filmfare best picture award for the desis here. 

Therefore, in a short span of 5 days, I witnessed how the Indian community survives and thrives in corners of the earth, where the only thing truly Indian might the over-priced restaurant serving $2 gulab jamuns. Movies are a solid connect for them, and I do appreciate YRF films multi-fold times now compared to the time when I saw Rab ne bana di jodi. They have taken upon themselves this invisible responsibility of keeping the Indian diaspora across the world connected to the root of our culture- happy endings and familial bonding. Eagerly waiting to see if Sachin's 100th ton evokes the same jubilation as SRK gulping spaghetti with curd using his bare hands. 

If there is one song that will bring tears to an NRI's eyes, this might be it, either due to the lyrics or due to the cheesy cinematography:

Hardly a time to celebrate

Deepawali is almost here. The pompous festival of wealth and prosperity, which forces even the poorest of the poor to give a token service to goddess Lakshmi in lieu of happiness in the future, brings with itself scenes of jubilation and rejoice. Masses throng to banks and jewelers in hordes and a shopping frenzy grips the entire nation. Like every diwali, this too shall pass. The after-effects of 3 days of gluttonous celebrations will be felt by a few, but the country will go back to normal very soon. Except that this might not be the best time to let laissez faire get in our way of pondering over where exactly India stands right now. 

In terms of polity, fractures abound in the ruling and the opposition camp. Team Anna has severely dented the chances of the UPA, with the most recent bypoll rout suggesting that the public has had enough of its tardy response to corruption. The prime minister has firmly retrenched himself to the background, and all promises of being 'more communicative' to the nation in future appear shallow. The two senior-most ministers are engaged in a power struggle of sorts, and it almost appears like the UPA II is just hoping to making it to the finish line at this time, even though that appears to become harder every passing day. Achievements like the world's cheapest tablet 'Aakash', developed specifically to aid India's growing advancement in IT by rearing a new generation of internet-savvy youth, are outnumbered by blunders like the still tied-up defense procurement issues as well the Air India saga. Not to mention that the hyper-active HRD minister is all set to toy with perhaps the last remaining indigenous brands, the IITs. On the opposition side, an octogenarian is visiting parts of the country exposing the ruling coalition's dubious record on corruption, when two of BJP's own chief ministers were recently fired from their jobs on corruption charges. Talk about charity beginning at home! 

The issues which plague our country's economic development are getting severe every passing day. FDI inflows have sunk to unimaginable lows, inflation is showing no signs of easing, and petrol is actually costlier than liquor. The power sector is reeling under the unintentionally comical tug-of-war between the competing ministries. The incendiary T-issue is raging again, with AP bearing the brunt of the central government's dilly-dallying on the issue. Investor confidence is understandably at a low, and why should it not be? Policy paralysis is the graveyard of business expansion. None of these issues are unmanageable, unless the government chooses to overlook the glaring omissions in it's list of priorities. As the aspirational nature of India's youth firmly establishes itself to the forefront, the political class will have to answer sooner or later. One can only imagine that true bliss is around the corner. 

PS: It is not as if we have nothing to look forward to. The inaugural Indian grand prix is only a fortnight away. Here's the interactive track map in the words of Mark Webber himself.