Interim Solutions

A lot has been spoken and written about demonetisation drive in India and lengthy debates still ensue in social media about whether it has done or any good or not to the Indian economy in general. I made a trip recently to India and had a chance to take stock of the post demonetisation scenario on the urban and rural public. The jury is still out on whether it was a overall good move for the economy or not (and since the debate has been heavily politicised , the truth will take some time to emerge, if it ever will). However, I noted one striking point though,  I was amazed how the general public has taken to technology with relative ease. Be it auto drivers displaying QR codes or 80 year old using a payment app to pay at the Tea shop, I saw across the board people have taken to being cashless with an ease that is quite astounding. Taking to the streets, rioting and protesting violently and otherwise against the regimes seems to be not for the Indians - although this may stem from a...

The first time and only time I remember I seeing her I remember wanting to badly, really badly hug her. I don’t remember her face or features anymore but I do not think she was particularly good looking or attractive. Of course I was focused on the hugging plan and therefore it is not all the fault of my memory that I cannot remember her looks. Just your normal super market cashier girl trying to deal with endless row of items that keep coming at her like the army in one of the Kurosawa classics (sans the war cry), that was her. She was checking out at Aisle number 2 (a greenish display announced that little bit of unimportant fact high over her right shoulder). I had placed my items on the checkout belt and was waiting for my turn to be checked out when I decided to take a look at her work. Vegetables of all sizes and colors in plastic bags beeped through and she deftly maneuvered them along and pushed them across to the corner of her work table to be bagged (what color were her f...

History is full of examples of large swathes of the populace being supportive of loud and abusive leaders and leadership hopefuls. It can be argued that humans have a propensity to support and love the extremes even if these are harmful to their own self. Variants of "Stockholm Syndrome" behaviours by the masses are playing out all around us. Look at the successful dictators from current and recent history - they have genuine popular support even from the groups and demographs they abuse and instigate hatred against. Who are really prone to being "fans of the villains/rowdies/jerks" - men or women or the weak or the uninformed ?

I lost my brother to cancer a few months back and the emotion that the word evokes is one of deep sadness. Last night there has been a terror strike at Paris, there is pain all around and I cannot help think of the deep rooted agenda of destruction that both these maladies carry. Many people have compared and referred to the terrorist forces that now plague as a species to cancer. These comparisons are mostly made in a literal sense, in the context of terrorism being a difficult to solve, major issue. My attempt is here to highlight some striking similarites between these forces of destruction and urge us to approach explore solutions for these two major issues affecting and threatening human existence in the 21st century in diverse ways. Everyone has a role to play in taking these forward. Foremost, I view Terrorism and Cancer as core malfunctions. Examples of how otherwise healthy, happy cells and humans turn against their own fellow cells and beings....

There is a sumptuous meal on offer ,a simulation of the approaches from a few chosen philosophers/philosophies  Sartre : On a hulk piece of matter made mostly of carbon lies a  baked piece of earth upon which lies a variety of combinations of matter that have emerged out of the earth awaiting to be consumed for providing nutrition to another carbon based life form. Zen : Meditate long and hard about the food,observe the thoughts that are flowing through you at the sight and smell of food,eat slowly as if you are not eating but merely experiencing the myriads of possibilities in front of you Adi Shankara : You and the meal are part of the continuum of matter and energy,pray for peace Kafka : The thought of food should invoke joy, anger or sadness or some other emotion ?. How much ever enjoy you the meal , it is one less meal you are going to have, so what does a meal mean in the context of the evolution of human mind ?  Right now in conflict zones and e...

How can one describe a chance upgrade from economy class to business class on a trip that came up by chance and end up in a seat right next to Ganagandharvan Dr. K J Yesudas ? One has to attempt nevertheless for the possibility of reading and re-reading to re-live the three hours of ecstasy. If I were Marquez, I could have used the sunlight streaming in through the windows of the plane and may be even the buzz of the jet engines to describe the experience but of course, greatness is never to be attempted, to be imitated. White shirt, white pants and white leather shoes to match, the legend floats, wafts, glides, does not walk. There is a rhythm in his speak, he is uttering normal malayalam words to his wife Prabha (ma´am, the maestro´s wife)  but at the sight of him I have already developed a rather tenacious earworm that is doing Pramadhavanam, Samajavaragamana, Harivarasanam, Azhake Nin and Neelaravil in random, complicated order. His wife set...

One rainy morning  on the river Solimões, floating and flowing as part of a huge raft of thousands of fire ants , one particularly smart one raises its head looks downstream and then upstream and wonders - how long is this river ? , how far are we from land ?, how much water is below us ? and where is this rain falling from ?  Know that your state of mind is priveleged if you at least occasionally pose questions of the world you inhabit. You will never find all the answers but the joy of asking - infinite ?