The music scenario in South Asia has come a long way from the classics and blunt western mimic to a rather smooth amalgamation of the two types of music. Fusion - is what is in vogue and the mastery in this art form has been excelled by such bands as Indian Ocean, Fuzon and Euphoria to name a few.
I don't think I need to elaborate more on the music anymore as most are lividly enlightened. But for those who are still searching for newer tunes and rhythms, i suggest you look toward the Pakistani Band "Call" and also listen to Amir Zaki's "Mera Pyar".
Check it out.
Monday, August 6, 2007
Friday, August 3, 2007
The Democratic Manifesto
I just went through two articles in The Statesman, talking of the flagging moral of the politicians of
The BJP, which had once led the country with people like Vajpayee and Shourie in the cabinet, now is in abysmal condition. With the NDA having lost its identity, there is little point in its partners staying with the BJP. And this was largely manifested when it came to the presidential elections – the Shiv Sena supported the Maharashtrian UPA candidate. Elsewhere the Trinamool Congress in
One point does boil down in the ongoing fiasco. All are looking after their own needs. Here the need of the political parties is power – the power which allows the corrupt to grow seamlessly and personal image makeovers. To this end, they play all the cards for they absolutely must with every deal in this game of poker. Of course, the win does guarantee that the issues of caste and religion are but the trump cards, played over and over again with sinister perfection. The more the people remain divided, the more peace at the legislative and executive buildings.
This very point is what is resulting in the growing incidents of ‘fragging’ in the Indian Army. The jawan is a frustrated man today, for he knows that the leaders of the country he swears to die to for have taken him for granted. So while the various Prime Ministers are calling for a ‘just and honourable solution for J&K’ the battle rages on for twenty years with an invisible enemy – the militants. And while those very same leaders have utterly neglected the needs and demands of the Indians of the NE, it is the Indian foot soldier who has to bear the brunt of a population which does not want to associate itself with
I am forced to think ill of the political leadership who make such a mimicry of the Indian Constitution and the Indian people at every possible opportunity, who talk of the ‘long arm of law’, manipulating and violating those very same laws they are sworn to uphold. So we are told!
I am forced to think of the poor farmers of Andhra, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Bengal who take their own lives or those others (in Bolshevik and Maoist style) while their Chief Tormentors, excuse me, Chief Ministers dream of fathering the IT revolution (Andhra, Naidu) or are merely out in appeasing the bourgeois populace (Bengal, early 1970s).
I am forced to search for the likes of the Indian people who fought with determination and rock-solid resilience in every state, city, street – nay, every door. Where have the Indian people gone. We are only two generations away from them and already around 6 crores of Indian money has been squandered which was ment for flood victims, the dead’s relatives, the homeless, the diseased and the handicapped victims of Mumbai. We are only two generations away and are making a mockery of the Constitution time and again with the latest episode being in
Roughly eighty–five percent of all around me are very content just filling their coffers (with marks or money, as the case may be) for the minimum amount of work they put in. And thus ‘enthu’ is absent – be it for Stigltiz’s seminar or a visiting company’s PPT and the like. And I am not surprised, rather I have gotten used to it.
And with such strong convictions flying all around me I am not surprised to find the political leadership – as is. Given the kind of manipulation power available, it is not surprising either, that those with vision, passion, righteousness and the will for supreme sacrifice are the ones who are left hanging in the middle of nowhere. It’s common I guess. It was there in Nehru, in
Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan?
Jai Hind?
Afterthought: The Great Indian Freedom Fighters are all gone and they seem to have taken their legacy with them...
Thursday, August 2, 2007
First Day on the Main Road
OK, so I’m done with the training. I was still ‘finding my feet’ around the 254 office when I was informed of my team. Okaay…so I understand I am in the pilot project of McDougal and now a part of the team doing Price Optimization. That’s not all; my team will also be calculating price elasticities of the various price links. Flashback!!...college first year…five years back…and those yellow walls come floating before my eyes…price elasticity…Micro-Economics!! Secretly I prayed,
“Lord, let not my memory fail me…let not make me a fool out of myself!!”[1]
With confidence beaming I head over to my desk and in a couple of minutes Joy goes,
“Aah Pranab, uum, we have a meeting now, soo…we’ll have it in the Whale room…u know, you need to update yourself on it and know what’s going on…you know…aaannd you know…know where all the files are…and all that kinda stuff…”. And all this while I kept shaking my head as if I were heading a board meeting of an MNC with 200 branches in over 30 countries!!...Man, I am still coming to terms with the fact that I am finally working – in a ‘corporate house’!
Twenty minutes later, I am back in my seat gazing at the monitor, trying to figure out where the damn dataset is. Then comes its dictionary…a perfect example for the physical manifestation of an oxymoron…clearly confusing! And I am in conversation again, with somebody within me. Believers know that its God, honestly…I don’t have the slightest clue…cause my God doesn’t seem to have anything to add to what I know…or have any answers. But slowly and surely I am going about finding my way through, what is, the maze of data and information (enough to put Minos’ labyrinth to shame!) in a place call SAS1 and its sister-city SAS2. And even before I have begun, I am told to fall-in for Sgt. Slaughter’s drill. Five minutes in the same amount of time, dished out with an uncanny, straight-in-your-face approach served with raw efficiency. And after all the advice of being so, through my entire adolescent and post years, I finally see its effectiveness…Man…is that how these guys work all year long!? I mean, I was preparing for this, but not expecting to air-drop at
Now here comes the part where the Private dreams of winning the Distinguished Service Cross. And I’m off!!...speedily typing away to glory…calculating the price elasticities. Checked, double checked…I mean, all I had to do was put all the values in their correct places and the cell-linkages would yield the results. I am beaming, man! I found out where the files were, where the datasets were, hell…I was even advising others!
Done! My files are ready. What!?...Am I good or what?? I took about an hour but I did it. At this point the sense of satisfaction is impeccable, sublime.
“Hey Surya, I have my files ready and the values calculated…umm, you wanna take a look at those?”
“Yo…you should mail them to me…I’ll have a look, and you go ahead with this process lets see where we get to from here”
I am still wondering, you know, where did that statement end for me…and then the voice within me shouts out, “Bugger…what have I given you eyes for, huh!? Go back and mail!!”
“Ok, so perhaps I interrupted, ok, I can do better…just have to mail, cool man, cool, just mail…what should the body of the mail be…he knows what I am sending, do I write something? And what about ‘always keeping someone in the ‘loop’’ and if so, whom??” Thoughts are racing faster than
What did I write?? It went like this:
“Hi,
PFA the price elasticities of the 2 price links.
Thanks,
Pranab.”
My first official email with the acronyms and stuff…cool, huh!? And in case you are wondering, I didn’t keep anyone in the loop. Why? Not even the voice inside me can answer that! And I am smiling again, preparing to head into job two that day when suddenly,
“Pranab, man, what have you done? What are these values? Both same? Which price links were you working with? Where did you pick the files up from?”
And as I sat there looking at the erroneous sheet, only one thought raced through my mind, ““Ooooh GOD!” I had forgotten to use the unique price values for each price link…and hence the graphs were in turmoil. How could I be so dumb, so…so….” I was lost for words. Breathing in deeply but slowly, I turned to return to my desk.
Suddenly the inner voice had sprung into action with all guns blazing “Shame! Pranab, Shame!”
“Yeah, now is the time to speak right!?” I angled my neck, the bones crackled and took in the sad looks. Truly, I wouldn’t be able to face myself after that.
But I was determined, “ok…I may have bungled here but I can make it up by hard work and long hours…Ok, Pranab, do it…and prove yourself, show them…”
“Will I able to?”
“Why not? I am here, ain’t I?”
With the confidence renewed I am back in my seat, fighting to save my disgraced self. But, in fact, I was learning to go about learning the all-encompassing nature of my job, short-cut yet the long way.
“And while you’re on it, do it for the top 50 as well” comes the order. My ears pricked and I nodded as if I am chairing the board meeting of a MNC with 200 branches…
My fingers didn’t stop that night, neither did I. Of course, in between I had dinner as well, but my former statement is still true!! C’mon, cut me some slack, will ya!?
Day turned night, night shift people came in and suddenly the office AC seemed way too strong. A silence descended, with the occasional interruption of someone going to the pantry for coffee (Often that someone was me). Ten-thirty, and I have a long way to go…eleven-thirty, its inched closer to completion, one-o’clock it’s almost over, one-thirty – it’s done!! With a huge sigh of relief coupled with that for an aching back, I leaned back on my chair. My hands, automatically raised to the heavens, are stretched full-length and fingers extended. Almost immediately, I am yawning, with tears in my eyes. Rest assured, it was no emotional outburst, just a reminder that perhaps the brain may not function any further. Quite an apt time to exit the office, don’t you think!? One last time, I went through what I had done, got it QC’d by Rubin.
“Boss, te champ hain!...te top karega!!” said Rubin, patting me, he’d heard of my most wretched performance almost as soon as he’d come in that night. You know, that did lift my spirits. Finally, I did afford a small smile on my face.
All is fine.
I packed my bag and turned off my pc. I pushed the chair back and got up to leave. With my right hand at the back of my neck gently massaging I turned to leave. As I was walking out, I turned back to take a look at the office.
“Welcome home, Man!” The inner voice had spoken. And I smiled a lop-sided smile, as if I was appreciating a new board room of an MNC with 200 branches…
“Hell! I love my new life!!”
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