Tuesday, March 17

Nandan "stepping up"

It is very interesting to note that Nandan (Co-Chairman of Infosys) links to a scathing Atlantic Monthly article on Narendra Modi and critices Mayawati & BJP for their divisive politics.

While most captains of industry generally tend to stick to broad obsequiousness, atleast publicly, when it comes to policitians it is refreshing to note that somebody is standing up. Even though it suspiciously coincides with his US book tour. Nothing like a little controversy to get a promotional book tour going!!

While the cynic in me notes that Congress party is missing and thus signalling his political ambitions or at least a bias or hopefully it is a genuine appeal for tolerance and for leaders with "Universal Appeal", and if that is too much, atleast lets have status quo and ineffective coalitions.

And it is about time. The ugly speech by Varun Gandhi deserves stronger language and any person with any conscience and voice has to stand up and speak. The sheer irony of Varun speaking of "cutting necks and hands" when his mother Menaka Gandhi is the biggest champion against cruelty towards animals. This is just the tip of the growing intolerance against so called “western values”, “Christian conversions”, “muslim terrorists” & “lower castes reservations”.

While it has been always been assumed that China will have the rockier path to being a modern, developed, democratic society; I believe it is India that has bigger demons to exorcise before it reaches the goal of modern tolerant genuinely democratic society.

Saturday, March 14

Review of banking crisis from "doer of deeds"

Jamie Dimon quotes Teddy Roosevelt

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."












Thursday, March 5

Moment of Zen

It is easy to stand on the sidelines and take cheap shots in hindsight, but by God it is funny.