Inner Metamorphosis

The Telangana agitation in December 2009 was not a first, but it drastically changed the dynamics of this agitation. Before 2009 also many were fighting for separate Telangana and the emergence of Telangana Rashtra Samati (TRS) a decade earlier implied an underlying sentiment that the party desired to tap. Many people in Telangana region did have some grievances, but many such people didn’t feel that a separate state would benefit them. While the number of people supporting separate state was significant, those neutral/ opposing it was also considerable. Hence, the movement never gained momentum required to scale up this into mass uprising involving support from all sections of society. Movement in 1969 In 1969, the movement was primarily from dissatisfied government employees and students who were the first to perceive the negligence, exploitation, step-motherly treatment etc.  and protested against state government. Needless to say, the movement was crushed brutally.

You must give it to Congress government for successfully diverting the whole nation’s attention from its inadequacies to FDI in retail sector. It’s become a hot debate in webosphere and blogosphere. I have been reading different opinions from different ideologies and will use this platform to discuss more on this. The outrage against the move is widespread and there are common concerns prevailing out there.   I’ll try to answer the main concerns in this regard. Concern# 1 : Kirana shops will be wiped out. When organized retail like Big Bazaar first entered Indian market, there were similar concerns. But 10 years down the lane, I have not seen kirana shops closing down drastically. They remain in business despite the clear edge organized retail has over them. Imagine asking somebody not to open decent shop with modern facilities next to a primitive one as it will force the other out? Its competition boss ! Concern #2 :  Will cause large scale unemployment by drivi

"Virtuous motives, trammelled by inertia and timidity are no match for armed and resolute wickedness."- Winston Churchill. Among the reports that are even critical of Manmohan Singh, there is always a mention of his personal integrity and honesty. The picture presented is that of an honest man thrown into an impossibly corrupted environment. Let me present the following scenarios… #1 :A bank is being looted by some robbers. The security person is fully equipped with a gun and has the potential to avert the situation. But far from attempting to avert it, he looks the other way when the robbery takes place. Did he personally indulge in robbing? No. Is the person of good character otherwise? Possibly, yes. But would you call him a person of integrity? I doubt. #2: You ask help from two of your friends. One person openly states his inability to help and moves out. The other person talks politely and lets you feel important while promising help. You take certai

Indian market is yet to fully appreciate web marketing – one would gather this going by the static nature of most websites. My focus in this piece would be to understand how websites and online efforts can pay off handsomely with little investment. Introduction The costs involved in out-of-home marketing in India is quite staggering – enough to keep any budding company at bay. While this could be the right medium for large businesses, it simply doesn’t work out for small and medium enterprises. Most of these are startups that operate on a niche business or are able to achieve economies of scale due to certain market situations. They benefit usually by exploiting the gap which is left open by large enterprises. Their continuation then depends on how long they are able to maintain the profitability that ensures their survival without scaring or luring larger enterprises. Thus, the customers pertaining to such businesses are a smaller segment that lay scattered acros

The recent news on hearing of Maria Susairaj and parallel announcement of Director Ramgopal Verma that he’s coming up with a movie titled “Not a love story” based on this incident is good news for RGV fans like me. In crux, Maria, a kannada actress along with her fiancé Emile Jerome (a former navy officer) is accused of murdering TV executive Neeraj Grover in a flat, made love in the very flat after the murder, chopped off body of Grover in parts and disposed it to a nearby jungle and finally burnt them. RGV tweets “My interest in a film inspired frm susairaj case is to understand hw 2 seemingly ordinary everyday ppl can commit sch a hair rising crime”. Indeed, something that the world in general and India in particular must be ready to very interested to know. Crime is not new to the annals of human history. History is replete with instances of brutal violence and cruelty. And for those of us who would live to believe that we are moving away from quiescent past to cha

[ A fictional account of thoughts of a person who rose from humble origins to become Prime Minister of India, a person second perhaps only to Nehru in political astuteness and vision. "The Insider" -- a semi-autobiographical account of PV Narasimha Rao ends at the point where he, an outsider in reality, finally becomes the insider..Just thought of typing some thoughts with lots of idealism ingrained in the character which many may refute. Its a work of fiction nonetheless and my way of paying tribute to the great leader] Destiny is often met in the very path we take to avoid it. And fate intervenes precisely when you’ve finally figured out what you want to do for the rest of life. Not that it was new to me. My journey – from humble origins from a Princely State in pre-independent India to a close ally of the supreme head of Independent India – had prepared me to face the vicissitudes of life. A journey involving tenacious opposition to every step I took towards be

[Random thoughts on what I feel must be guideposts for writers (mainly bloggers) who write on social broad ranged topics usually excluding personal lives unless it adds to the narrative. Its pathetically long, but I needed the space to elaborate.] “A writer is an engineer of soul” – Joseph Stalin No good style or bad – it’s my style There are many guide styles available throughout the web which emphasize on a particular style of writing. Among the ones are Chetan Bhagat/ Thomas Friedman kinds who over-simplify and have a curious use of metaphors. On the other side of spectrum are writers who write as though they would like the readers to break their heads to understand them and take creative pride in the fact that few usually do that. Either way, to each his own! But what I would like to say is that while one must always be open to improvise his writing, one never needs to copy others blatantly. Obviously each writer has their own role model and is creatively inspired by a

We live in an age of analysis! In an age where we are choked with news but starved of history! Where people know more & more regarding the less & less, thereby lacking a perspective which integrates wholly all these experience into a coherent belief system! Of such a busy lifestyle arise loneliness, emptiness and purposelessness. Information that never translates into knowledge! Knowledge that can help us run machines, but fails to quench our thirst of understanding ourselves better. Intelligence that assists us in manipulating others but fails to guide us to a better living! Science helps us understand nature in retail but when is totally clueless on understanding it in wholesale. While a scientist can explain why a certain phenomenon occurs, without coordinating it to our experiences we would not find it useful in our daily life. Such isolated bits and pieces of information leads to more confusion than understanding. Indeed, so much is the sheer emptiness th