tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89003832024-02-19T22:43:14.343+05:30Nandan, blogged!Many thoughts.Some arranged,some not.Nandanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349946115451977735noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8900383.post-12566798046580872472015-06-19T02:00:00.000+05:302015-06-19T02:00:08.629+05:30Sell<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
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You can earn unlimited money.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You know, theoretically.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you sell, sell, sell</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This thing that we make.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You have signed up</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
because you know you are greedy</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And we know it too.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes, yes, aiming for a better life - </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Whatever makes you feel better.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We can give you instances of how</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That guy got rich. Humble background</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Little education. But he worked hard.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And worked customers. And dealers.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And now look where he is.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What do we make?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We make everything that makes human lives better.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fertilizers. Medicines. Guns. Carbonated drinks.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Computers too. All excellent quality stuff, we assure you.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It makes life worth living.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But, here's the rub: It just doesn't sell enough without
you-</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
young, keen to prove yourself, untiring.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And here's the bigger rub: You will need to prove that you
are young</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
as you keep getting older.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Untiring, as you keep getting tired.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You have kids? Excellent! Do it for them!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sell our goods. They need to be ready.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Have you seen the competition outside?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You can never be prepared enough.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just out of college?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here’s the best opportunity to prove your mettle, young man!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This job will change your life –a stable job and lots of
money</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Which girl’s father can resist that?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s an exciting life!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Conference calls will happen</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Where your Regional Manager will rip you apart</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And everyone else on the call. </div>
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And you’ll accept it as part of the job.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Every SKU that you sell</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Will have a free gift inside – </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Shards of your self-esteem</div>
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Remnants of con-calls.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But you will toughen up.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The system will recreate your ego and self esteem.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And you will feel a glow of pride when you tell others</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
How you are the best salesman in the Upper-North-Central
territory</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And how your Regional Manager</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once congratulated you </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On selling a few more pieces than others. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We need dynamism, we need verve</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We create clear paths, like an exceedingly simple
snakes-and-ladders game</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Because even you should understand it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Manage your distributor, manage your credit period.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sell.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Glory awaits!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Oversell fertilizers, get your trip to Thailand</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Just the place for a hot-blooded young man like you! I’ll
tell you where to go, too!)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Don’t worry about the runoff into the water table</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our Liaison Officer in the Capital will handle it</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sell carbonated drinks</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Make the most of this summer</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Water table? Again?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Can’t you think of anything else?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Think of your numbers, young man!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And the infinite money you can theoretically make...</div>
</div>
Nandanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349946115451977735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8900383.post-31495543064757570642014-06-29T03:03:00.004+05:302014-06-29T03:21:48.936+05:30Rescuing Talent Management from War and Drought<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Talent. Savour the word. It's a word that straightens backs in HR and
gets business excited. And gets both worried that they don't have
enough of it. </span><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">It all started with 'The War
for Talent', a term coined by Steven Hankin of McKinsey and made famous
in a book by the same name, written by Ed Michaels, Helen
Handfield-Jones and Beth Axelrod. </span><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">So, what do they really mean by
talent? Well, now we go in murky waters. The book does not explicitly
define talent. At one point, the book uses a 'definition' which was
famously used to define obscenity. "you know it when you see it."
Later, talent is defined as a combination of things which tick all the
right boxes for an organization - strategic mind, 'leadership ability'
(which itself is vague), ability to attract other talented people (which
compounds the problem by adding a new layer of vagueness) and so on...</span><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Saved by the Billing Machines</b></span><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Some things are too good to be left to pass away unnoticed.
Enthusiastic support by consultants led to a multiplicity of
definitions, some talking about the power of the top performers to
transform the organization while some taking a workforce-based approach,
defining all employees as talent pool, thereby converting HR into
Talent Management. Today, the field is deliciously open, where both
definitions coexist. Talent, depending on the context, therefore, may be
the top 5% of your employees in terms of potential and/or performance,
your leaders (hopefully, there is a huge overlap in the two categories
mentioned) or your universal set of employees. You just have to know
which witch is which.</span><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Have we lost to jargon?</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />Given
this illustrious background, it would be easy to assume that talent
management is another term we shall hopefully grow out of. But TM has
had a positive impact on organizations in three ways:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">1. Going beyond KRAs, KPIs and numbers:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Before
TM entered the scene, it was not easy to have a conversation with CEOs
about creating systems to identify and nurture leaders, primarily
because such discussions were drowned out in the din of sales and
performance numbers. While there were many techniques available to groom
leaders, it was TM that gave a framework on which a generally accepted
understanding of the importance of leadership was created. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">2. Sheep which follow v/s goats which need to be led:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">TM
helped, admittedly to a small extent, to push forth the realization
that people bring a dimension of their personalities to work and more
importantly, this dimension can have a big impact on the organization.
Before TM, the context of organization-employee relations was defined
more by welfare, fair wages and remuneration, hierarchy-led growth and
'human capital'. TM talked of the disproportionate impact that star
employees can create for the organization. Using systems which
force-fitted them in the context of seniority and equality rather than
equity was seen to be dangerous. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">3. Talent is fungible and loyal to itself:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">TM
helped created a vital link between the external situation and internal
requirements. It brought home the clear message that people who are
capable of changing the fortunes of an organization are in short supply
and worryingly for organizations, are not bound by industry, country or
job loyalty. Talent does what it must.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Great. So we are sorted.</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Not really. There are still some issues that TM needs to confront. Here are three:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">1.The metaphor that isn't:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">I
argue that the framing of TM issues still leaves a lot to be desired.
Let us look at three terms: 'War' for talent. 'Drought' of talent.
Talent 'acquisition'.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> In my opinion, these terms tend to frame
the concept of talent in a biased way. Talent is seen to be an asset
that needs to be captured, because it is scarce. Like oil, perhaps. This
is a linear view and can be quite incorrect. Human beings have a
capacity to learn, unlearn and adapt. To give an accounting analogy, the
current view of talent is that talent is an asset comparable to
machinery or Capital Goods, that tend to depreciate over time (or have a
clearly calculable and linear initial book value, rate of depreciation
and 'scrap value'). People tend to behave differently, especially in
situations where they are nurtured. They tend to be like Goodwill, an
asset which tends to appreciate over time and whose increase in value
cannot be determined through a linear formula, but can vary due to a
variety of forces. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">2. The lag that doesn't go:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Most
TM systems tend to sit beside, or on top of, conventional HR systems of
performance appraisal, role-based compensation and near-linear career
paths. Very few HR Departments are able to take bold decisions and
re-imagine HR systems from the ground up, which put the appreciation of
abilities of the individuals as the core of their design. For example,
coaching and mentoring can be a non-negotiable part of performance
management. Career paths can be customised and supported for individual
employees. Today, there are tools available that enable HR and line
managers to manage such systems. But it takes a brave HR department, and
a wise Top Management, to appreciate and create this.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">3. The end result that isn't:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Most
TM practitioners (yes, they are a thing. Yes, I am one of them) will
admit to a feeling of disappointment at the end of a TM assignment.
Quite often, the benefits of TM are not at all visible. When the mandate
is to recognize top talent, TM practitioners end up giving a list of
top talent based on various assessments. When TM systems, such as talent
'acquisition', need to be set up, TM practitioners integrate
competencies into the recruitment process (that is what talent
acquisition means) and present a competency-based hiring solution to the
top management. I argue that that isn't the end result: end-to-end
talent based systems tend to only exist on delicious-looking Powerpoint
slides and are rarely implemented. this could be due to a variety of
reasons, but in the end, the failure is seen to be that of HR and the TM
practitioner. A painfully frank talk is required, before getting into a
TM solution.Can the organization afford a TM approach, given the
attention it requires? I am not even talking of things like
sensitization of managers here. Does the organization have the basic
time and willingness to make TM a vital component of their
organizational process? What benefits does the organization see from the
TM process? What are the reasons to go for TM? : Is it driven by a
desire to keep up with the latest buzzword (even though TM is not
exactly new)? Is there an investor who needs to be impressed? These are
the wrong sort of reasons to go in for a TM initiative and it tends to show in the final outcome of the initiative. Also, and very few consultants will tell you this, there are perfectly good ways in which organizations can succeed with conventional HR systems as well. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">In
sum, talent management has evolved its own set of definitions and today
is accepted as an important part of the new organization. However,
Talent Management needs a rescue act from itself, as it exists today. A
clear boundary of what it can and cannot do and what it should and
shouldn't do, is critical before embarking upon Talent Management interventions.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
</div>
Nandanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349946115451977735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8900383.post-15111502319885750272014-05-19T00:43:00.000+05:302014-05-19T00:49:19.480+05:30We are all not Dooned!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">People of a certain vintage, like me, remember Mani Shankar
Aiyar (MSA) for his cringe-inducing sycophancy, when, in 2004, Sonia Gandhi
boldly refused to anoint herself as the Prime Minister, choosing the
mild-mannered Clark Kent/Superman Dr. Manmohan Singh instead. While almost
everybody respected Dr. Singh, whose Kryptonite was unknown then, many would
have felt a huge drop in respect for MSA. His pathetic pleading to Sonia
Gandhi, which seemed more out of a hastily scripted amateur drama by Doon
students than a real outpouring of dismayed surprise of the elected representatives of
the world’s largest democracy, was a shining example of grovelling to the Dynasty.
MSA laid low for a long time after that, or perhaps people ignored him and
moved on. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">MSA may have many faults, but lack of hubris is not one of
them. Neither is the lack of ability to generate a congress of foot and mouth.
Generations will remember him for the graciousness with which he deigned to
give permission to Narendra Modi to sell tea at the AICC meet. And while lesser
mortals would have known when to stop, he decided to charge into angel-less
areas by writing a paean of subtlety in the Indian Express (17<sup>th</sup> May
2014). Modestly titled as ‘<a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/the-dying-light-of-freedom/" target="_blank">The Dying Light of Freedom</a>’, the article
gravely proclaims that the verdict (BJP’s ascension to power) is ‘the deepest
challenge to the idea of India since Jinnah’s two-nation theory'. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The amateur drama script streak continues after all these
years. I quote the first two sentences of the article: ‘Darkness descends. The
idea of India gutters’. Rational people should have thought twice about reading
on. But one could not resist. How can one remain rational when someone claims
that your country’s existence is at stake? </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">So, moving on…Godwin’s Law states that "As an online
discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or
Hitler approaches 1”. But apparently, if you have a Doon + St. Stephen’s + Oxbridge + Indian Foreign Service
background, you get to refer to Nazis and Hitler unilaterally! In the fourth
paragraph of this excellent article, MSA warns us that the new Government
awaits its ‘Godhra opportunity’ and invokes the fire-loving Communist with
learning difficulties, Marinus Van Der Lubbe. MVDL set the Reichstag building
on fire and gave the Nazis a reason to attack communists. Now, it needs an
enlightened (literally!) imagination to conflate these two incidents, which
seem to have nothing in common except arson. To fight the good fight before it
begins, MSA comes up with a solution which is called, I kid you not, Sadbhavna
Sena (the Good Faith/Good Intentions Army). Yes, an army to deal with an elected, but
yet-to-be formed Government’s nefarious ulterior agenda, which is crystal clear
to MSA. But don’t worry; the army will act in Good Faith. Because it will be an
Army of “secular forces”, which, as we all know, always act in Good Faith. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The target for MSA’s
next attack is the ‘unashamed crony capitalism’ that is seen in the ‘so-called’
Gujarat model. A subordinate attack is launched in the next sentence on the
thousands of crores of Rupees that flowed into the BJP campaign. All these are
legitimate issues that need to be taken up. Especially by a party that presided
over Commonwealth Scam, 2G Scam, Coal-gate and other sundry scams. And all ‘donations’
to the Congress Party in the past 150 odd years have been totally accounted for. It’s
just that, like the Adarsh files, the books have probably gone missing. MSA
also slides in another Hitler reference here, a nuanced sledgehammer to go with
the earlier subtle Battering Ram. The next sentence is an even more interesting
one. MSA compares his party and other ‘socialists’ to Lilliputians and big
business to Gullivers (both plural). This is perhaps one sentence one partly
agrees with – the first part, to be exact. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">If your gag reflex has still not kicked in, MSA has just the thing for you. The next sentence is stupendous in itself: </span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">“Parliamentary institutions have been severely mauled in the
BJP’s clambering to power.”</span></span></div>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Read that again. MSA, a representative of UPA II, complains that
institutions have been weakened. The mind boggles and everything goes black, just
like the pots and kettles in that delightful phrase. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">MSA does not disappoint in the remainder of this genteel
piece. He talks about ‘catastrophe worse than two World Wars’ unfolding, in
case the yet-to-take power Government gives in to ‘immediate popularity’. After around five minutes, I stopped running
around in circles, shouting, “Save me as you always have, my dear Congress! I
love you!” and collected my breath and
wits (I use the term loosely, after thinking about the gargantuan intellect of
MSA) and tried to think of what that meant. It probably meant nuclear holocaust on
the Indian subcontinent. But I remembered MSA, in an article written many moons
ago, calling nuclear devices ‘<a href="http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/we-are-less-the-nuclear-lion-than-the-mouse-that-roared/1/264281.html" target="_blank">patakas</a>’
(this was in 1998, when the then AB Vajpayee Govt. Carried out nuclear
testing). Surely, that isn’t something to worry about? Why, there are more explosions
in Pakistan when Pakistan wins a One-Day against India! </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">All in all, MSA wants to tell us a few important things.
One, a majority of adult Indians are idiots or simpletons, who really should
have voted better and allowed the absolutely topping noblesse oblige clique to continue
helping those <i>pore</i> Indians. Can you <i>imagine </i>a chaiwallah, who must have
sold that milky sweet Indian tea (not Darjeeling, dahling!) to those sweaty,
smelly, dirty train passengers, sitting with us in good old Parliament?</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Two, NDA equals the death-knell of plural thought, because
we are one Godhra away from Chaos. Because of the idiot voters, who chose plebeian
things such as food, water and jobs over the really important things like
Congress-flavored secularism, all ‘socialists’ will have to be extra alert to
find issues, both real and imagined. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Three, there can be no doubt that Modi is an incarnation of
Hitler, who sees non-Hindus as worthy of ‘reducing to sufferance’. Muslims,
especially, who seem to have voted for BJP and Modi (e.g., in Delhi) have not
seen his true colours. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Four, Congress must bear the Wheatish Man’s burden and ensure
that those <i>pore</i> Muslims and Christians are protected. This time from themselves,
since a few have voted for BJP.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>Noblesse</i> must <i>oblige</i>.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
Nandanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349946115451977735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8900383.post-53654776883828638502012-10-20T23:53:00.001+05:302012-10-20T23:58:36.481+05:30The Right to Convenient Information Act<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On 12th October 2012, The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, made a speech to the annual Convention of Information Commissioners. The speech had the usual platitudes expected from the Prime Minister of the largest creakily functioning democracy in the world. What made people get up from the somnolence brought about by these type of speeches was an ominous part which, interestingly, had words like frivolous and vexatious in it. Reproduced below:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>There are some obvious areas of concerns about the way the Right to
Information Act is being used presently, and I had flagged a few of them
when I addressed this Convention last year. There are concerns about
frivolous and vexatious use of the Act in demanding information the
disclosure of which cannot possibly serve any public purpose. Sometimes
information covering a long time-span or a large number of cases is
sought in an omnibus manner with the objective of discovering an
inconsistency or mistake which can be criticized. Such queries besides
serving little productive social purpose are also a drain on the
resources of the public authorities, diverting precious man-hours that
could be put to better use. Such requests for information have in fact
come in for adverse criticism by the Supreme Court as well as the
Central Information Commission.</i></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
</blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are so many things wrong with this paragraph that it needs to be analyzed in detail. The worrying part is that the things wrong with the paragraph are wrong </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">in principle</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u><i>Frivolous and vexatious, not possibly serving any public purpose:</i></u></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Frivolousness and vexation are judgement and opinions of the Honourable Prime Minister, or more likely, of those who conceptualized this speech. Government, in this regard, has no business classifying RTI queries in this manner. An RTI query is an RTI query and it is the Government's duty, since it has been entrusted by the people of India to run the country on their behalf, to answer the query posed by its masters. The only reason for refusing an RTI query is mentioned in Sec 8. of the Act. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(You can ignore the quotes if you are in a hurry).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<table border="0" style="width: 100%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td align="middle" valign="top" width="7%"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b>8</b> </i></span></td><td align="middle" valign="top" width="6%"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>(1)</i></span></td><td align="middle" valign="top" width="6%"></td><td colspan="2" width="81%"><div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen,—</i></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr><td align="middle" valign="top" width="7%"></td><td align="middle" valign="top" width="6%"></td><td align="middle" valign="top" width="6%"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>(a)</i></span></td><td colspan="2" width="81%"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>information, disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, relation with foreign State or lead to incitement of an offence;</i></span></td></tr>
<tr><td align="middle" valign="top" width="7%"></td><td align="middle" valign="top" width="6%"></td><td align="middle" valign="top" width="6%"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>(b)</i></span></td><td colspan="2" width="81%"><div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>information which has been expressly forbidden to be published by any court of law or tribunal or the disclosure of which may constitute contempt of court;</i></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr><td align="middle" valign="top" width="7%"></td><td align="middle" valign="top" width="6%"></td><td align="middle" valign="top" width="6%"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>(c)</i></span></td><td colspan="2" width="81%"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>information, the disclosure of which would cause a breach of privilege of Parliament or the State Legislature;</i></span></td></tr>
<tr><td align="middle" valign="top" width="7%"></td><td align="middle" valign="top" width="6%"></td><td align="middle" valign="top" width="6%"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>(d)</i></span></td><td colspan="2" width="81%"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information;</i></span></td></tr>
<tr><td align="middle" valign="top" width="7%"></td><td align="middle" valign="top" width="6%"></td><td align="middle" valign="top" width="6%"></td><td colspan="2" width="81%"><div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>(e) information available to a person in his fiduciary relationship, unless the competent authority is satisfied that the larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information;</i></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr><td align="middle" valign="top" width="7%"></td><td align="middle" valign="top" width="6%"></td><td align="middle" valign="top" width="6%"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>(f) </i></span></td><td colspan="2" width="81%"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>information received in confidence from foreign Government;</i></span></td></tr>
<tr><td align="middle" valign="top" width="7%"></td><td align="middle" valign="top" width="6%"></td><td align="middle" valign="top" width="6%"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>(g)</i></span></td><td colspan="2" width="81%"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>information, the disclosure of which would endanger the life or physical safety of any person or identify the source of information or assistance given in confidence for law enforcement or security purposes;</i></span></td></tr>
<tr><td align="middle" valign="top" width="7%"></td><td align="middle" valign="top" width="6%"></td><td align="middle" valign="top" width="6%"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>(h)</i></span></td><td colspan="2" width="81%"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>information which would impede the process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders;</i></span></td></tr>
<tr><td align="middle" valign="top" width="7%"></td><td align="middle" valign="top" width="6%"></td><td align="middle" valign="top" width="6%"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>(i)</i></span></td><td colspan="2" width="81%"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>cabinet papers including records of deliberations of the Council of Ministers, Secretaries and other officers:</i></span></td></tr>
<tr><td align="middle" valign="top" width="7%"></td><td align="middle" valign="top" width="6%"></td><td align="middle" valign="top" width="6%"></td><td colspan="2" width="81%"><div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Provided that the decisions of Council of Ministers, the reasons thereof, and the material on the basis of which the decisions were taken shall be made public after the decision has been taken, and the matter is complete, or over:</i></span></div>
<div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Provided further that those matters which come under the exemptions specified in this section shall not be disclosed;</i></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr><td align="middle" valign="top" width="7%"></td><td align="middle" valign="top" width="6%"></td><td align="middle" valign="top" width="6%"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>(j)</i></span></td><td colspan="2" width="81%"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>information which relates to personal information the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual unless the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be, is satisfied that the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of such information:</i></span></td></tr>
<tr><td aligo="middLe" valign="top" width="7%"></td><td align="middle" valign="top" width="6%"></td><td align="middle" valign="top" width="6%"></td><td colspan="2" width="81%"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Provided that the information which cannot be denied to the Parliament or a State Legislature shall not be denied to any person.</i></span></td></tr>
<tr><td align="middle" valign="top" width="7%"></td><td align="middle" valign="top" width="6%"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>(2)</i></span></td><td align="middle" valign="top" width="6%"></td><td colspan="2" width="81%"><div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Notwithstanding anything in the Official Secrets Act, 1923 nor any of the exemptions permissible in accordance with sub-section (1), a public authority may allow access to information, if public interest in disclosure outweighs the harm to the protected interests.</i></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr><td align="middle" valign="top" width="7%"></td><td align="middle" valign="top" width="6%"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>(3)</i></span></td><td align="middle" valign="top" width="6%"></td><td colspan="2" width="81%"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Subject to the provisions of clauses (a), (c) and (i) of sub-section (1), any information relating to any occurrence, event or matter which has taken place, occurred or happened twenty years before the date on which any request is made under secton 6 shall be provided to any person making a request under that section:</i></span></td></tr>
<tr><td align="middle" valign="top" width="7%"></td><td align="middle" valign="top" width="6%"></td><td align="middle" valign="top" width="6%"></td><td colspan="2" width="81%"><div align="justify">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Provided that where any question arises as to the date from which the said period of twenty years has to be computed, the decision of the Central Government shall be final, subject to the usual appeals provided for in this Act.</i></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(Source: <a href="http://www.cic.gov.in/index.html">http://www.cic.gov.in/index.html</a>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yes, that is 3 sub-sections and nine sub-sub-sections which state the nature of information that will not be provided. Rather, the Government is not <i>obligated </i>to provide. Humility, apparently, isn't exactly our lawmakers' strength.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u><i>Sometimes information covering a long time-span or a large number of cases is sought in an omnibus manner with the objective of discovering an inconsistency or mistake which can be criticized:</i></u></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That, I believe, is the essence of RTI. Is our almighty Government (politicians and bureaucrats) afraid of being criticized? Aww, the poor babies!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u><i>..Serving little productive social purpose are also a drain on the resources of the public authorities, diverting precious man-hours that could be put to better use. </i></u></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I do not know which Supreme Court observation is being referred to here, but I think it is unfortunate that RTI is only looked at from a prism of 'productive social purpose', whatever that term means. Perhaps it is time that State agencies revisit the 'Right' part of RTI, rather than focusing on the 'Information' part. A socially non-productive request for information can be just one iteration of analysis away from being relevant. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Coming back to the 'Information' part, it is further unfortunate that the focus of the State is not on making reforms to the organization of the various agencies and departments, both from a perspective of the organizational structure and more importantly, from a perspective of information flow. Simply put, if the arms of the State embrace IT systems and better record-keeping, information will be easily available to the State as well as the citizens. There seem to be no efforts in streamlining decision making and making it transparent, which many Governments did ages ago. 'Precious man hours' of Government agencies is a laughable concept if you ask most 'Mango' Indians. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What is most shocking, however, is the lack of realization in the upper echelons of the Government that RTI cannot exist in a vacuum; the deaths of RTI activists are a grim reminder of this. In case there are threats received for raising RTI queries, there is very little an ordinary Indian can do. And nothing that Government does. A basic 'witness protection' type of program is required. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is shocking and painful to see the Prime Minister ignore the sacrifices made by ordinary Indians to get information and focus his speech on so-called frivolous queries. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The deeper issue, as mentioned earlier, is this: Government still considers itself as a benevolent, paternalistic provider of handouts to us simple folks. Almost every program, every initiative, reeks of paternalism. Like US President Lyndon Johnson, who, on his daughter Lucy's request, ensured that <a href="http://books.google.co.in/books?id=NKJeKLbxD2UC&pg=PA39&lpg=PA39&dq=christmas+indians+starve+president+pl+480&source=bl&ots=rmb1d7kp6j&sig=hh5DML4iL6UkPxKEDm-nJHRsTZQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=temCUIabGYrKrAfs6YDYCw&ved=0CCIQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=christmas%20indians%20starve%20president%20pl%20480&f=false" target="_blank">Indians don't starve at Christmas</a>, our Government has created an elaborate mechanism of rewards and punishments for even the most basic things that should be - and are- our rights. Sadly, Governments all over the world are being dragged by their hair into the 21st century. The question is, can our Government wake up to the realities?</span><br />
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Nandanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349946115451977735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8900383.post-3152366064500635232012-09-28T22:35:00.000+05:302012-09-28T22:47:34.319+05:30Battleground Office Suite<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Software has always been an arena, with its sands bloodied with the invincible behemoths of the past, one set of Goliaths usurped by new Davids who become Goliaths themselves as their popularity and ubiquity increases. However, there are some wars which have continued for what can be called ages in software years: the browser wars (Remember Netscape and Lynx?) or recently, the mobile OS wars. Microsoft vs. Apple are locked in eternal struggles for users' screen real-estate, irrespective of the dimensions of the screen.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">But there is one software that is almost as necessary as the Operating System itself: the office suite. It is in the cloud, like Google Docs or MS Office Live (or whatever it is called); or on your Mac or Windows desktop or laptop, like MS Office. On your handheld device be it an Apple, Blackberry or Android. Or, if you are like me, on your Linux desktop as well. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">But there are hardly any suites which are open source. And none, repeat none, that are good and open source. Libre Office, a fork of Open office, another open source office suite (which apparently took 20 years to make and ended up looking like the disfigured twin of Office 97) was supposed to fill in this gap. Not to put too fine a point on it, it sucks. Currently, at least. As my <a href="http://aynaval.co.cc/" target="_blank">friend/sister</a>, an avid Ubuntu user herself said, "I used MS Office after a long time...I didn't want to do it, but it felt so right!" I could very well relate to it. MS Office, despite its memory hogging, buggy experience, just works. It is as intuitive as it can be. There are thoughtful touches, tremendous resources available online for help, attractive colour combinations and themes built in...the works.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">And what do we have in the Red corner? Ghastly colours, unintuitive, Socialist-era layout and GUI (Hey, it can't be open source if it doesn't make you sweat. How else will you feel good about yourself and self-validate your choices?). The latest version of Libre Office Impress (the equivalent of MS Powerpoint) on Ubuntu 12.04 repeatedly crashed while opening a Powerpoint presentation, which had no animations, slide transitions or any other bells and whistles. This is in 2012.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Why? Is it not obvious that a cross-platform Office Suite which works the same way whether it is on your Android Device or you IPad, is simple to use and offers great choices for creating documents, presentations and spreadsheets is humanity's requirement? Much more than the browser ever was? Imagine a powerful spreadsheet open source software that allows kids in Somalia the same type of tools to do their math and essays as the executive in Manhattan - or even better, allows the executive in Manhattan to redefine her tools (hey, it's open source) as easily as the primary school teacher in Somalia. The first one exists, it is called MS Office. The second is still a gleam in some people's eyes. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Are there people out there who are willing to redesign the whole Office Suite experience? Who can bring the power of MS Excel on low powered tablets? Designers who write magical code which can allow PhD students to create complex mathematical models and B-School students to ace their presentations or better still, create a new form of presentation beyond the confines of Powerpoint? Can an MS Visio comparable allow Engineering students to draw complicated process flows or better still, convert those process diagrams into CAD by itself? There is a lot of promise (and fame) to create this open source paradigm. Who will rethink the Office Suite?</span></div>
Nandanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349946115451977735noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8900383.post-26099989329622042422012-06-12T22:10:00.001+05:302012-06-12T22:10:56.792+05:30The Law of Inspiration<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Human psychology interests me. That is one of the reasons why I am in this profession. The need for humans to write, narrate and be inspired by stories, both fantasy and reality, is a continuing source of fascination for me. And the interaction of these narratives, especially the magnum opuses, with human beings' lives is even more interesting. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">What accounts for football fan riots? Why did more than 70000 people in Australia declare their religion was Jedi? (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jedi_census_phenomenon#Australia" target="_blank">Link</a>). Why are people ready to kill others inspired by the rousing lines and episodes in their holy books?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The answer, I have found, is quite simple. It can be read to the cadence of Arthur C Clarke's third Law:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
</blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span id="Clarke.27s_third_law"></span>Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.</blockquote>
The Law of Inspiration simply states:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Any sufficiently broad narrative can be used as a guide for making life decisions. </blockquote>
The Corollary to the Law of Inspiration is:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The sufficiently broad narrative chosen as a guide for making life decisions will be applied completely out of context for self-serving ends.</blockquote>
There are more corollaries here, but I leave it to you, dear reader, to come up with them. In your free time.</span></div>Nandanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349946115451977735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8900383.post-28437617631503816742012-03-18T13:44:00.001+05:302012-03-18T13:53:23.658+05:30Long Overdue Movie Review: Deool (the Temple) Marathi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Go for it. </span><span style="font-size: small;">If you are the type who wants an 'executive summary' before reading a review and believe stars look better in the sky than in movie reviews, then I suggest you watch Deool. </span><span style="font-size: small;">It has a rap song, a garish temple, a car with a number plate (4131) which is stylized to read as 'Bhau' (elder brother, or Don), a God-finding cow, lots of politics and superb cinematography. And lots more. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Deool, which is a corrupted/colloquial form of the word Devalay (abode of God), means temple in Marathi. The movie tackles the issue of temple towns and how and why they grow...and prosper, especially in rural Maharashtra. And by extension, the rest of India. At a deeper level, it is an interesting commentary about belief, scepticism and how rural development can (and is) shaped by these thoughts. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Deool pans into the breathtaking desolateness of the village of Mangruul, a sleepy, boring and electricity-deprived hamlet where nothing much really seems to happen. Yes, there are ruins of an ancient civilization discovered in the village, but that is not really very exciting for the village folk. The hamlet does not even have a proper S.T. (State Transport) bus stop. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Keshya, a cowherd, is a simpleton charged with tending to the local politician's (Nana Patekar) cow. The cow, Kardi (Kardi comes from the colour Karda - greyish brown - a little like naming the cow Browny), is one of the two-three most important things in Keshya's life. Keshya, while once chasing the perpetually moving cow, finds her under a Banyan tree. As the heat saps his energy, he falls in a dazed slumber. And a strange dream envelopes him. He sees Lord Dattatreya (Dutta) in it. Shaken by this vision, he runs into the village to share this astounding incident. People knowing Keshya don't immediately take him seriously. Only his mother, after her initial indifference abates, believes him. The headman's wife, once she hears of this story, starts believing this as well. Soon, the meme is developed and people start talking about it, with a mix of mirth and mock-seriousness. The senior wise man of the village, Anna (played by Dilip Prabhavalkar), one of the first persons with whom Keshya shares his vision, advises him to keep it to himself, since belief is a personal thing.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">But such a thing cannot remain under wraps. Bhau's nephew and his band of wastrels are keen to latch on to something which can propel them into the big league. They get this news into a local newspaper (called 'Mahasangraam' - the great war) by paying the local reporter. Bhau is initially against this idea and in favour of building a hospital in the village. Anna creates the blue print and the plans and there seems to be an implicit agreement to get the project funded by Bhau. But in a coup of sorts, Bhau's political leader does a turnaround and asks Bhau to support the Dutta phenomenon.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">And then, it begins. A temple town comes up in front of our eyes. The temple, the centre-piece of the sleepy village, is constructed. Earlier wastrels become dedicated volunteers, using 'moral suasion' in the way only religiously motivated volunteers can - getting donations from students, making people pay up by getting them to commemorate tiles in the temple in the names of their dear departed and asking businessmen to include Lord Dutta as a business partner - for luck and profits.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Anna can only watch in dismay as private belief - and fear - is exploited and commercialized in a superstructure which feeds itself. New stories of the Lord's miracles are created, devotional songs to the tune of Bollywood Blockbusters are sold on CDs and flowers and coconut plates (which are meant as offerings to the deity) are sold - and resold - to the believers by the 'simple' townsfolk.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Bhau, who by now has re-established his position as the most important and influential person in the village, realizes that Anna is dismayed enough to leave the village. He goes to meet Anna and then follows a dialogue which defines the core of the movie. I will not describe it here, it is better to watch it. One exchange, which I will mention though, is this:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: small;">Anna: Blatantly illegal things are happening in the name of development. One day, the Law will catch up with you, Bhau!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Bhau: Anna, on this side we stand, on the other side stands the Law...and between us, flows the endless stream of devotees. To reach us, Law will have to cross this stream and in doing so, it will hurt the sentiments of those devotees...(then, in a reassuring tone) everything will happen legally, don't worry.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: small;">Anna eventually leaves. But he is not the only one who is bothered by this unstoppable 'progress'. Keshya, the simpleton, cannot make sense of his surroundings. He cannot fathom why his mother doesn't go to the temple </span><span style="font-size: small;">everyday</span><span style="font-size: small;"> to pray , but is perfectly happy to sit outside and sell flowers. Her response that if all villagers keep going to the temple, outsiders will never be able to see the Lord only angers him. After a fistfight with Bhau's nephew and the unbearable shock of seeing Kardi pass away, he takes a bold decision. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">You need to see the rest.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">You need to see it, because, really (and pardon my pun), the Deool is in the details. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The brilliant performance by almost all actors, be it the way Sonali Kulkarni (Bhau's wife) walks and talks, with the easy confident air of being the First Lady of the village, Keshya's discomfort when his wife-to-be hugs him (she's still his wife-to-be, after all!), Bhau's ability to quickly turn on a dime, the weak and venal female Sarpanch, who cannot take any decision unless authorized by Bhau (or her mother-in-law), the wastrel gang who suddenly turn into powerful and honourable citizens - all turn in performances that flow effortlessly. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The other level of detail is the keen observation of modern village life that never fails to evoke surprise and laughter - the old lady who keeps watching Saas bahu serials wearing her post-cataract dark goggles, the fantastic number plate on Bhau's SUV, the simple bhajan (devotional songs) singer in the village who sings touching, uncomplicated songs, but struggles to reproduce them to Bollywood tunes - and which is done very easily by Bhau, Bhau's larger than life poster, which is in the inimitable style of village politicians (in a walking position, talking on the cell phone)...all add up to a fantastic, funny mix. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">This movie is thoroughly deserving of the National Award for the Best Film and Best Actor (Girish Kulkarni - Keshya)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>Nandanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349946115451977735noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8900383.post-90150855612582689662012-01-27T20:42:00.000+05:302012-01-27T22:39:00.144+05:30Indian cricket -breastbeating edition<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkU_TYUH8MovHUbMG1st_2kC11YVqdljQrVi4fQrBmiEEjnmf4WBWufPQWfpctky5YaCUDof86cbrdMxCFqW7DAS9Yg-5Kb7P2Y747ucX5D5je5JVqPWMLVEPwRG6eAHNJFcJKiw/s1600/Dravid+bowled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkU_TYUH8MovHUbMG1st_2kC11YVqdljQrVi4fQrBmiEEjnmf4WBWufPQWfpctky5YaCUDof86cbrdMxCFqW7DAS9Yg-5Kb7P2Y747ucX5D5je5JVqPWMLVEPwRG6eAHNJFcJKiw/s320/Dravid+bowled.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span> <span style="font-size: xx-small;">Picture Courtesy: <a href="http://www.cricbuzz.com/">http://www.cricbuzz.com/</a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Border-Gavaskar trophy has two parts: the trophy itself, which will be given to Australia, and the Indian cricket team's backside, which is detachable and is being duly handed over to the Indian team. And thus, open season for depression and anger begins here in India. Media and general public get back to doing what they do best: blame BCCI, the cricketer's characters - especially Mammon-worship, flat pitches in India, bouncy pitches in Australia, Australian sledging, Indian finger-showing, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Manmohan Singh, European crisis and some other things.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">There will be more analysis of this performance than that of Lehman Brothers' solvency in 2008. The quality of this analysis will yield exactly the same results. As a disinterested, though not dispassionate, match watcher, I noticed one fact which many people are not able to observe, or perhaps, not willing, to admit.</span></div>
<a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The Indian batting line-up is not capable enough to score on bouncy English, Australian or South African pitches. They simply lack the skills. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">There, I said it. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">It could be that the trio is too old to react quickly enough; it could be that mental disintegration, started by Steve Waugh, has seeped in just now, effectively blocking the Big Three's abilities. I don't know the reason. But, it is clear as day that the skills are simply missing. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">There is no need to feel bad about it. Let us not mourn for what is not there today. Let us look at highlights of past matches to revel in the memories. Let us look at a honourable easing out of the Big Three. Yes, I am talking of retirement of Dravid, Laxman and Tendulkar from Test cricket. Though Sachin may still have a year of Test cricket in him, the other two simply don't. And you can only watch Rahul get bowled so many times before feeling that hollowness within you. As much as Rahul's failure, it is the realization that you have reached closer to middle age. We have lived vicariously through their batting. Can we bear to get old vicariously through their diminishment?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">And replacing Sachin, well, let me rephrase that, getting someone else at Number Four, is not going to be easy. And as for Sehwag, the standard explanation for his performance, or lack thereof, is that that is how he plays. Well, he is not playing that way, so maybe, the fourth person to go has to be VS. That calls for another transition plan. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Yes, Indian cricket will not be the same, but at least the breast beating will stop, for the time being. And that is no mean feat. Test cricket is a long term game, unlike most other sports. Indian Test Cricket's hope lies in planning, and playing it, for the long term. </span></div>
</div>Nandanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349946115451977735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8900383.post-61292631406731783242011-12-31T23:41:00.001+05:302012-01-01T11:34:18.023+05:30Predictions of a tech nature for 2012<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">2011 was a forgettable year for many people. Muammar Qadhafi, for instance. What can we possibly expect in 2012? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Well, how will I know? But I can still come up with my thoughts, can't I? So, here are some things which I am looking forward to, in no particular order. World Peace is, unfortunately, not one of them. Since it takes too much time to make sense of deep issues such as politics, economy and Shah Rukh Khan's current crop of movies, I shall restrict myself to computing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I am not a big fan of Windows and Apple, though I must say that Windows 7, and especially MS Office, is a pleasant experience, so I shall write more about social platforms, mobile devices and desktop Linux. </span><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I expect mobile growth to be driven by cheaper smartphones and more efficient form factors. Smartphones will keep growing especially in India and will start making Internet available to many. However, this will just be the first year of this revolution and I don't expect farmers from really small villages in Chhatisgarh conducting crop price negotiations over WhatsApp. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Tablet computing will become ubiquitous and there will be interesting forays in system interaction. Something like tablets and phones with Kinect technology. Microsoft may be the surprise package here. They have, comparatively quietly, put a lot of pieces together across platforms and technologies. It is quite possible that Microsoft may become the next Apple, this year onwards. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Of course, the big G may still spoil the party. However, given the number of duds that Google has delivered in 2010 and 2011, it may be that their innovation, especially social innovation, may not work out. Google+ is an expensive experiment that <i>has</i> to work in 2012 for Google. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It will be increasingly difficult to distinguish between Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin in 2012. Just as Apple's touch interface, with black background and big icons has become default in Android, Nokia-based and even Blackberry systems, the timeline will become the default. This will throw up interesting issues for all three, the first being that of identity. For old timers, Twitter will be for quick updates, Facebook for personal updates and photo sharing and LinkedIn for professional networking. For the newer generation, however, the three will become increasingly similar and commoditized. If you can find jobs on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, and update your status on all three, to take just two examples, how are they different? To carry the GUI analogy further, will it be possible for any of these social platforms to think up of Mango or the Metro interface, which, prima facie, looks to be very different?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">What will happen to Diaspora? will there be more such platforms? Not in 2012. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The killer functionality, however, will be integration and social data porting across services. Will it be possible for me to shift from Facebook to Google+, taking my 5 year old conversations with me? No? How about my photos? I know about Facebook and other platforms' privacy issues, but my guess is, in 2012, markets will start making it difficult for social networks to behave dictatorially. Closed gardens will need gates, and 2012 may see market- or-regulator-sized holes in their fences.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It may be interesting if people talk of the environmental impact of smartphones and mobile devices. In India, mobile towers run on diesel and the numbers will keep increasing. In addition, smartphones and tablets consume more power and need more frequent recharging. Will environmentalists take this up? I wonder.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">2012 will not be the year of the Linux desktop.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Ubuntu and others may introduce mobile device OSes in 2012. But without OEM tie-ups, it will not make a dent in the marketplace. Rather than build an app ecosystem, it will make sense to make them Android Marketplace compatible. On the whole, at this point, I am not very optimistic about this. Linux will remain on the fringes of this revolution, unless, of course, you consider Android as Linux-based.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The point of interest for me is whether Libre Office or any other Office suite will be able to replace MS Office in terms of usability and interoperatability, especially across mobile platforms. There is a huge hole in the software world for an Office suite that works consistently across desktop and mobile platforms. 2012 will see that changing. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">2012 will be the year of reckoning for Yahoo! more than anyone else. Yahoo!, more than any other big tech company, faces an identity (and existential!) crisis. 2012 will be the year when Y! will have to decide what road to take - be acquired, introduce a blockbuster service or enter a completely different market. </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Let us see how much of this comes true. And I hope I am wrong about World Peace. Happy New Year!</span></div>Nandanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349946115451977735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8900383.post-17923435818804123122011-12-25T19:40:00.001+05:302011-12-25T20:11:07.233+05:30I blog right here!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: trebuchet ms; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">After messing around with other blogging systems, other hosting providers, I think it is time to move to something that 'just works'. And also has ads.</span><br style="font-family: verdana;" /><span style="font-family: verdana;">So, goodbye, ego-boosting, name-referenced-URL blog.</span><br style="font-family: verdana;" /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Hello, cookie cutter, ad-enabled blogging platform.</span><br style="font-family: verdana;" /><span style="font-family: verdana;">It all begins. Yet again.</span><br />
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</div></div>Nandanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349946115451977735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8900383.post-1098897929910585292004-10-27T22:49:00.000+05:302007-03-18T15:00:52.764+05:30I blog somewhere else<div style="text-align: center; font-family: verdana;"><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-size:100%;">I</span><span style="font-size:100%;">n the immortal words of Quick Gun Murugan," The Room of my heart has already been rented"..by another blogging service. I blog <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.nandanblogged.com/">here</a>. See you there!</span></span></div>Nandanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349946115451977735noreply@blogger.com0