Why RR have already won IPL6 and IPL is going to change from here on...

T20 games are designed in a way that’s really unfair to bowlers. Coming up with a strategy(s) to win such a format is no mean task. Hey but the world is unfair in many respects i.e. it’s not a level playing field. So having a few tricks up the sleeve is just not enough, but devising a whole new approach is needed. It’s difficult to ignore the ‘Moneyball’ approach in this context.

The ongoing IPL series is turning out to be a good to learn on strategizing strategies and team management. To select a team for such an event is a challenge. Mr Cricket (Rahul Dravid) and co. just spent 10% of the total cash to source a team that started as underdogs and has been on top form. Just yesterday they won against the tournament favourites, top performing and popular CSK (Chennai). There has been some chatter on twitter and such social-media sites about a defensive strategy – personally nothing wrong as I see it.

A subtle thing that I noticed (not many are discussing this subtlety) is the strategic time-out that Dravid called at the end of 9^th over. Until then, CSK were sitting merrily and hadn’t lost even a wicket. This time-out in my opinion changed things. I also ask the CSK that if they realised Dravid is applying a defensive tactic by delaying Watson, an option could have been to brig Ashwin early. I guess a smart man like Dhoni knew, that there were very few choices and only wait for chances.

There are some thoughts that play in my mind, CSK, MI and RCB have some very good quality and known players – so they winning the matches and climbing to top is not something a feat. It’s the likes of Rajasthan that sourced unknown players and have gone on to be the top 2^nd team. Even if they lose the finals, it doesn’t matter – they have shown ways to tackle an unfair situation to advantage. To show an analogy, currently another unrelated story is doing rounds in local papers in Tamil Nadu – schools select best performing students and coach them to secure state ranks and the criticism is that they should choose average and below average students, coach and make ‘em excel. In a way Dravid & co. have done the exact opposite – they chose a mix of players – some good ones and average ones to go on and win everything that came their way.

These are very valuable lessons that I will apply in future not only in business, but personal choices too.

1.  There is a context for everything and strategy is ongoing, need to be revised continuously – sometimes need to be brave and radical – c’mon it is a huge risk to source a team for 10% of total cash, where the temptation is to go all out and buy top players

2.  Don’t pay too much for the skills – sometimes an over-priced player may not deliver (all that glitters is not gold, also if it’s a tin, you can polish it and sell it as a silver!)

3.  A mixture of skills, with some leadership roles is enough to deliver the magic

4.  Finally – have some secrets up your sleeve!

I think we have a winner for IPL6 - RR... Because the IPL has just got interesting - next year rest of the teams are going to look at their wallets and skills before buying out top players!

Bee for Boss: Don't underline your ignorance

"Don't underline your ignorance" - Those were the golden words from my dad as he was reviewing my test papers. I have mentioned this previously in a post. I remembered this quote again as I read through our "Boss's" speech.
I said to myself: Boss, who is going to call out that the emperor is wearing new clothes?

True to this storyline, no one is calling out that our Boss is not wearing any clothes and parades before the Confederation of Indian Industry, a non-profit body for that works with the government for advancing policies and strategies for all industrial sectors.

In this setting our Boss starts with a storyline that in 1991 people thought we are travelling in elephants and praises the Industry for giving us the advancement, but then goes on to say in 2012 (over 20 years), that a lot of migrants are still travelling in overcrowded trains and shamelessly admits that he, the Boss allowed an empty-pocket entrepreneur to buy him a cup of tea! Please some amateur story writer has penned his speech, apparently he lost it (see above video).

I am shocked how could Congress let loose such a guy on CII? Aren't those CII leaders ashamed? These are top Industrialists and they have lost a few hours. No one has called out and said he is wearing no clothes... How? are you not scared that tomorrow if such a guy leads a government, that your industries may loose out? our Boss will makes us not only empty-pockets but make us buy a chai and say this is the spirit!

Two things to single out from his speech. 1. A man on the white-horse and 2. Bee-hive theory

Re, A Man on the white-horse: Not only in India, but across the world, millions of stories about a single individual in many fields over many years have changed the course of history. We have our own 'Original' MK Gandhi, Narasima Rao (who incidentally started the change in 1991), His great grand-dad, grand-mom all have single handedly influenced the Nation. The point about hearing a billion voices is fine, but even the bee-hive needs one single queen. In the west, there are many such tall leaders like Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Margret Thatcher, etc. who have altered the course of their Nations - in some cases through their teams, in some cases personally leading the charge. Even though Cricket is a team sport, many a times we see and read the Captains knock. - I say Boss don't underline the ignorance. Interestingly towards the end of his speech, our Boss starts mentioning individuals like "Sam Pitroda, Krishnamurthy, Sreedharan, Nandan Nilekani(?! Narayanamurthy?)" - so he is now contradicting his own thought process, where he higlights individuals who have made the change, if instead he had said the organisation names, I would say he believes that no one man can change things...

Re. the Beehive, A writer in the Universal Magazine for May, 1800, has penned:
"Thou art a fool, thou busy, busy bee
Thus for another to toil;
Thy master waits till thy work is done,
Till the latest flowers of the ivy are gone,
And then he will seize the spoil. He, will murder thee, thou poor little bee.”

Does the boss wants India to be like a beehive where the honey is tasted by someone else? In the pursuit to display a fresh and original idea, our Boss has underlined his ignorance about India's complexity and gone with a freemasonary symbolism of beehive - a very old idea. With his mom at the top, using beehive as a symbol is the last thing one would want to choose.

So what is wrong with beehive - this whole concept of colony and society is actually not true in case of bees. Most bees aren't social -- less than 15 percent of bees live in colonies. The rest are solitary. They may exhibit some social tendencies, but they don't build large hives or store lots of extra honey. i.e. 85% of the bees are individualistic and does not work and live together as our Boss thinks! Anyway the idea looks fresh, but the question is does he want all of us to be just workerbees delivering the honey to Queen and her drones? I will leave it to your choice...

Good bye Mr Achebe, Things fell apart - a holiday to remember

Almost the same time last year, I was in Peak district with family and friends. The snow hadn't receded, the peaks were beautiful and it was a nice cottage on a picturesque peak! This time we hadn't planned a lot of sight-seeing or any major activities. I had just submitted my thesis for my MBA dissertation and was in a perfect mood to relax. In the cottage, I found a book "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe.

Okonkwo, the lead role of the novel and leader of Umuofia, Nigeria just took me through the book and to much chagrin of my family and friends, I was just reading the book without putting it down! I love books, but very rarely I have motored through books like this. Then when I came back home, I started reading about Chinua and was impressed by this gentleman and his contribution to African and World literature.

I came to know Achebe, Chinualumogu ("May God fight on my behalf")'s "Things Fall Apart" was his first  novel, I was pleasantly surprised; in the sense, how could someone's very first book be so powerful, fluent and  heart-rendering? Just a couple of days before I came to know he had passed away (21-Mar) and went through a feeling that I could not explain. I have a weird thing. I often wish, that I could meet some eminent personalities like Achebe, Yogi-Ramsurat Kumar (YRSK) and a couple of others (I prefer not to mention).

I would have a random thought about these people and would feel an urge to meet them. Suddenly from somewhere, I would then recieve the news that these people have passed away. I had planned a couple of times to meet YRSK and those did not materialize. I literally embarked on a journey from chennai on my birthday 20-Feb-2001 to have a darshan of YRSK and called a friend who was ever-ready to take me to the holy town of Tiruvanamalai. That day even before I called him, the telephone booth owner who had a picture of YRSK told me that Yogi had just passed away.

In a similar vein, I thought of Achebe and said to myself, if at all I should somehow try to meet Achebe in Boston during my trip to the states. But a few days later I hear this news. I don't know how to relate to this.  I was always fascinated by Africa and Achebe's novel multiplied my urge to travel through Africa. I vividly remember his description of Okonkwo taking his matchet and delivering the blow on his son, and then goes on to highlight that Okonkwo did not want him to be perceived as weak. Chilling, but true - I see perception plays a big role in our life!

I am going to buy a few more of his books and I am told Arrow of God is a master piece. Have a safe trip Chinualumogu Achebe, you have done well and your name is etched in the literary world!

Tortoise and Hare - The Race Never Ends...

In a FB comment one of fellow FB-ians posted a frustrated note that "Can we outsource our country's governance to some other country ? Will there be takers ?" I read the blog and my view is this another blogger who has done a very basic piece of analysis and concluded that China has won the race and India will be end up second as opposed to Morgan Stanley's view that India will take lead by 2050's.

Surprisingly the blog article is from a regular writer (meant to say not a novice) - Steven Rattner, he led the Obama administration's auto task force, was one of the executives involved with payments under scrutiny in a probe of an alleged kickback scheme at New York state's pension fund, according to a person familiar with the matter. (Link, Link2). But this has got nothing to do with his write-up. I wanted to spice it up and found this allegation.

Anyway I responded to the FB post that The writer misses quite a lot of context and compares a banana and a jack-fruit (!). Like an under-grad student in an analyst intern role, he has blindly compared the statistics.

So why did I say that? Steven himself starts and finishes the blog about the choice of vehicle for development between both countries, In fact to make sure he doesn't get a kick from his elitist club, has dismissed Chinese autocratic regime and puts the disclaimer that he doesn't support it(!)

India has opted for a slow moving, let us call it a "bullock cart" to reach its destination, where as China took a "Maglev". By the very fact that two countries have taken two different mechanisms to deliver its objective, direct comparison is going to give a lopsided view. But still if you insist a comparison, leveling up those mechanisms and reviewing the outputs can help. So how do you level up?

I do these all time in my work when i review IT contracts, procurement, solutions etc. The mechanism can be different, but make sure the inputs to mechanisms that are in comparison are same. i.e. if you are comparing 3 different mechanisms, one should first make sure the inputs to those 3 mechanisms are same, if these are still same and one mechanism provides better result then there is a winner (May be). I would still investigate any hidden assumptions on the winning mechanism to understand why this is different. This basic science lab stuff.

Hence I say Steven's analysis is intern stuff! He is not calling out the inputs before comparing democracy and autocracy. First the context: Did both countries start development at the same time - answer NO! They lag by 15 years. The economic policies and financial management - are the same? i.e. the amount of investment that both countries deploy. Macro-economic situations for both countries may be similar, but by the time China had started its Phase 1 development, Bangladesh war had just finished in India's context, Also China had just screwed up India and not to forget the constant nonsense from the neighbor supported by China. (In fact Chin as it grows, keeps tripping India - bad sportsmanship in a race) The resources as inputs to the mechanism is something that can be contentious i.e. how much raw materials were available to both countries, human power, Industry knowledge, etc. In my view there are lots of lagging factors between the two countries; so with that, comparing these two models are going to be incredibly difficult and most likely are to be subjective. (Same with my blog)

Steven's blog has been reviewed by another blogger - (Fernando Salazar), this guy he adds a simple variant like education. This insight is better and informative in contrast to the bland statistics that Steven has put together. Steven calls himself an economist and God Bless USA. In any field and more particular to economics, when you review macro-models like China and India, it imperative to level the inputs and then get into a study.

But he has just put together measures like GDP, Inflation, Budget deficit etc. and these are current day figures and does not go pack to starting point to show the trace-ability. Reviewing such measures over a time period is a basic requirement to trace the nature of economic levers and this so-called economist has just used a point in time. Also, We all know how % can be misleading. To give an example using his own statistics, the 6% difference in Investment proportion between China and India is roughly $3000/person. That's a whopping big number! i.e China potentially invests $3T more than India. (assumption both countries have a ~1B people). Just as a side note - please look at this study and refer to slide 7. (Link to India start-up report)

Now to the title of this blog, In my view Development is a mirage. I myself have used the word USA is fully developed and i am happy to recall it. Growth always is a cycle of ups and downs. The question I often ask, why do you even need to be in a race? Why shouldn't India take its own time to grow? Another analogy: One could eat well and go to gym and build his/her body alternatively could buy a protein from H&B and pump weights to build quickly - we all know the disadvantages of the artificial growth. Hence I say development is a mirage. In fact Fernando, the Techie sums-up in his blog that "India is a peculiar mix of social democracy" I like his blog better than the so-called economist Steven. I meant to quote in FB that USA has reached its 'developed' country tag and it took them almost 250 years. So the US we say today was not the same as recently as in 1930 i.e. prior to the big depression.

Sometime the path is important for a few, sometimes the results are important for a few but the path is not. I am not suggesting that India has taken a noble path, but India's vehicle of growth is a long drawn one. In such a race, the Hare will always seem to run faster to a set distance, retard for a while, then run faster again, but the Tortoise will keep moving at its own pace, and the Race never Ends!

Post-Script: The writer fails miserably in his writing style as well. First the title that India is losing the race, then ends up saying India will be second... Also he does dilly dally between India's state of affairs in legal, corruption, summary execution and confuses throughout... He is unable to identify a clear state of difference between both countries, but ends up saying India is losing, however doesn't support the autocratic Chinese regime? Sorry Steven a shoddy write-up - change the ghost-blogger, this person is damaging your reputation!

Smartphones in general and especially Iphone5 are stupid...

There are millions of stupid tech-fanatics who support Apple, Android and Microsoft and one of my friends assume I am one of them. I love technology and I used to be a Java fan and then subsequently took to Microsoft but have become technology agnostic. I have now used all the three smart phone OSs and of clear view that officially Apple sucks.

I am really frustrated coz' of the hype that surrounds apple. This friend of mine who talks so much about perfection in apple can't really open his eyes and see that after 6 versions, if keyboard, touch sensitivity and blue-tooth doesn't work to basic standards what's apple doing? really I mean really please...

I had a Nokia 800, I loved it but it had a glorious death after almost 1.5 years. So I replaced it with a 820 - a good model, except blue-tooth and call switching between 3g and LTE was crap. I was fuming the bluetooth in 800 was better, so how come a working feature is let to degrade in an upgraded version? C'mon Nokia and Microsoft just wake up and realise the market is crowded...

Then I chose to go to Iphone 5 (first I-Device) and to my shock the keyboard is crap, Nokia and HTC's keyboard were fantastic - I would personally give it to Nokia.

Bluetooth definitely Samsung and Sony are better i.e. Android, Apple's BT is just crap

Maps - Nokia, Android and Apple - I don't need to mention

Touch sensitivity and swipe - C'mon Apple users need to use Win8 to see how much they are missing, Samsung is also great in this section...

When some basic things don't work after 6 versions why would people be so proud of the device? I have always felt people choose to link themselves with a brand and Apple feeds that.

I can say somethings for sure, the Camera, Web-browsing speed, LTE call-switching are fantastic in Iphone5. But I can compromise on some of those things, however when I travel up and down daily for 2 hours - bluetooth and music are two important things, with no way to control these two issues, I am gutted. I changed the Nokia device just for these two issues, at least in the Nokia device the pause button worked, whereas in Iphone, even that doesn't work!!

This doesn't mean Win 8/Nokia are better - There are no manufacturers yet to take advantage of Win8. In this situation, I should have gone for a safe bet Samsung S3, but hey I thought Iphone was a safe-bet...Now I can't change my phone for another 18 months!

Celebrating a Kerala king's birthday - the one who sang in flowering Tamizh...

Many should have heard the beautiful lullaby rendering by Bombay Jayshree - மன்னு புகழ். Its a lullaby by Kulasekara Azhwar about Lord Rama. 'Kulasekaran' as per history lived approximately 1200 years ago and ruled what is known as Kerala today roughly around the region of Ernakulam. His 105 poems take a special place in the Vaishnava sacred  4000 hymns. An ardent devotee of Lord Rama and Ranganatha has penned most of his poems revolving around Lord Rama, Ranganatha, Venkatachalapthy (Tirupathi), Sowriraja Perumal (Thirukannapuram).

But why mention of this mystic-poet today? Today is his birth-star that appears on a Maasi (Tamil Month) "Punarvasu Star", the two brightest stars (Castor and Pollux) in the constellation of Gemini. Incidentally this is the star of Lord Rama too. I selectively recited few key poems today and was touched. Being a king in the Kerala region which has Malayalam as its lingua, his compostions are in flourishing Tamil.

When I recite such poems, I usually have an eye to notice the contemporary situations embedded in the verses. e.g. In some poems the description of the village and its rice fields, the types of plants, types of insects, people's dispositions etc. can be understood. Interestingly a set of poems about Krishna by PeriyaAzhwar (a) Vishnu-Chithar (1.2-7-4, 1.2-7-6) in first centum portrays two things.

1. He describes how Krishna stands at the street corner and teases girls 
2. He also describes how Krishna picks up fight in the street with the wrestlers...

In a way, is he describing the way guys were in 6th Century AD? Also it sounds very much same even today as how Teenagers behave in streets today!!!

In Kulasekara-Azhwar's composition (1.6-1), he sings that sitting on a sandpit, he awaits Lord Krishna takes me back to my childhood days to Neyveli where on one occassion of a Janmashti (Krishna's birthday), impressed by Krishna's valour, and believing my mom's words, I had sat outside on the doorstep waiting for Krishna's arrival. (Now girls should say choo chweeet!)...

It is also interesting to observe, how Kulasekara Azhwar vividly describes Tirupathi, Chidambaram, Thirukannapuram in his poems. Though these are in the context of a Hindu religion and also in Tamil, I wonder, how a King of such stature notices such subtle things, brings philosophic views and renders in a language that is not his native-tongue? In the same vein he also describes his emotions too.

I have always felt such classics can actually be a lens to know our civilization, about our ancestors and useful especially to understand the thinking and interests in that age. This is one of the reasons, that I wish our future generations learn Tamil to actually understand our history and more importantly cherish it.

This azhwar in my view represents a vibrant, positive, nurturing period of south Indian history where the states, its kings, its people, language and different philosophies were simultaneous and harmonious unlike portrayed  by Modern historians. 

Sonia gandhi - Good in management! We should give it to her - Part 2

What is a role of a manager in a company? I was trying to research and draw a view on this role definition. However in this context of analysing Sonia, i understood it is going to be difficult. However if I try to define a ‘Street-smart’ manager then I could outline a lot of views. I am sure we all have had good and bad managers and I am going to simplify the definition in a Politics context - can be applied broadly too.

If I can simplify, typically our experiences can relate to a manager who supports our development as well his/her development and by the process deliver the shared objective and such a case is “Good management” and “Good Manager”.

I am looking at it from the perspective that if given an amount of wealth or a piece of an asset be it knowledge or process or a new invention, it is up to an individual to put ‘good’ use or ‘bad’ use. I quote the bad and good – coz’ these are relative terms and qualifiers. So with this definition, I am about to see SG. I am about to outline a set of techniques that she may have put to use to deliver the shared objective.

In my opinion, hers' and Congress (I)’s shared objective is to be in Power and govern India. Let me qualify that the actual results of governance may be bad/good, but as far as the objective goes – she has managed to put Congress (I) in power for 10 years! – So is she not a good manager?

How do you uplift and motivate your team?Managers use different techniques, some define a threat or some put forward a Vision, or some inspire using ‘Hope’, some define an economic profit i.e. a monetary goal or a few philosophise for a dream or a few evoke empathy and play victim to rally people around and create a hope.

On 26^th May 1999, “A combative, impassioned Mrs. Gandhi, who quit as president of the Congress Party a week ago after three party leaders had opposed her candidacy for Prime Minister because of her foreign birth, said an outpouring of support from party members had persuaded her to withdraw her resignation. In a voice choked with feeling, Mrs. Gandhi, 52, staked her claim to being an Indian patriot. The country adopted her 31 years ago when she married Rajiv Gandhi, she said.”

She recalled the assassinations of her mother-in-law, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, in 1984 and her husband, a former Prime Minister who was 46 when he was slain in 1991. And she witheringly noted that the same three men who were raising the questions about her origins had a year ago asked her to head the party, then in a slow dance toward oblivion. ''I became a wife here, a mother here, a widow here, too, right before your eyes,'' she said, speaking in Hindi. ''The greatest daughter of this country, Indiraji, breathed her last in my arms. Every drop of blood in me says this country is mine. This country is mine.''

Apologies if it reminded you of Rahul Gandhi’s recent speech. But here Sonia chose to sympathise and create a dramatic entry. (I still wonder if it was stage managed with Sharad Pawar – look they are all one, even though for namesake he calls it NCP)

How do you show you are Strong – Play the victim, but show that you are a fighter?She defiantly said she would not reply to those who questioned her patriotism. She was apparently alluding to critics who have asked why she waited until she had been in India for 15 years before becoming a citizen and suggested that she might not have renounced her Italian citizenship, a contention that her friends say is false. ''The people will give a resounding reply to that,'' she said.

Choose words and attack enemies, de-stabilise and create a negative brand for your enemies.1999 - The Congress president said that ''the people doubting my credentials as an Indian would get a befitting reply in the coming election. All these non issues are being raised by the Bharatiya Janata Party to divert the people's attention from their 13-month misrule,'' she said.  ''The very people who targeted the minorities, made them suspects in the country are asking proof of my nationality,'' she said in a direct attack on the BJP-orchestrated criticism.

2001 - A normally reticent Ms. Sonia Gandhi today blasted the Prime Minister, Mr. A.B. Vajpayee, for ``unfairly attacking the Congress and trying to sermonise to it''. In a rare display of emotion, the Leader of the Opposition launched an onslaught after the Lok Sabha adjourned sine die and the members were leaving the House.

Manager needs to grasp the Situation and Politics1999-2002 Her major emphasis has rightly been on political stability as the country goes into a third election in three years. The Congress party's emerging strategy of contesting the Lok Sabha polls on its own for the most part and making stability the key campaign issue makes complete sense.

Sonia Gandhi has in recent weeks proved how unequal she is to the task of providing leadership; she even needs a written text to say yes or no to a straight question from the Press
Emerging from a 40-minute meeting with the President, Sonia admitted that she had so far mustered the support of only 233 MPs. ``I shall talk again with all the colleagues who voted against the confidence motion. It is for the other secular forces to see that the BJP Government does not come back,'' she told waiting correspondents.

Take full controlThe AICC left it to her to overhaul all the party organisations from top to bottom with people of her choice. Indira Gandhi had the backing of her father, Nehru, and 25 years of their service to the party. Sonia Gandhi has achieved the position without lifting a finger.

Manage your networks and growQ, Hinduja brothers, Ahmad Patel, P.C. Chacko, Datta Meghe, Prafful Patel and Prabha Thakur, MMS, Pranab, Arjun Singh and so on

Managing PerceptionsEven the faces are familiar. Those who saw Jawaharlal Nehru in Narasimha Rao and found Kesri's `home-spun' qualities endearing, are now singing Sonia Gandhi's praises. Not even once did she make any gesture or observation to indicate that she felt embarrassed. The secrecy about her health also goes into this mix.

We all know how the media co-operates and Times listing etc. However recently I read a tit-bit, that she was in UP and a prepared speech given to her had omitted a senior Congress(I) member’s name and in a flash, she picked the miss and reworked the speech. – This was in the news… The incident highlights her individual management style as well as the perception management to ensure this news is published in Media.

New York Times published an article that Sonia Gandhi reclaims congress party and its members’ devotion – did Advani do it? Jayalalitha has done it, Omar is better, Modi is trying hard, Mamta struggles, Yeddy is already becoming a teddy, Stalin is way off in comparison to Karuna, Sena has split, AP’s Reddy is in Jail – so that many people struggling at State level, where as one lady has managed to hold 29% of national votes to Congress (I) – isn’t she a good manager? I have largely focused on her initial days in Congress as these are the crucial days for any manager! But the history as people often say provides a lot of answers! - In fact a quick comparison to RG's recent speech can tell you the template was from SG's initial speech.

However I leave with a parting thought – is she a good leader? Await part - 3

Divine eyes to see the Vishwaroopam...

Who is the cause for this ‘VISWAROOPAM’ (Universe)?

‘Yathornaabhih Srajate granhate cha yatha
Tathaaksharaat sambhavatiha viswam’ - Mundaka Upanishad.

‘As the spider creates the web out of itself and withdraws unto itself’ from the imperishable comes out the universe’. - It means the creation, creator and the created are one and the same.


The Universe-form is banned!? The actor-director-producer Kamal Hassan (ADP K. Hassan from here on) will not lose much money, but in fact will earn more due to the controversy.

I am sorry, ADP K.Hassan created this mess and he has to withdraw into this mess and from this, will come Vishwaroopam. Someone had a comment in vikatan some time back, that Rajini who in spite of his association with MK and other atheists, had a mind of his own and followed things in a way different to ADP K.Hassan who in the same association always struggled and never was able to rest his mind.

This struggle made him to reach out and has landed him in a mess. However now a lot of reports emerging that there is nothing offensive in the movie, but certain scenes create a projection and there is no denying. It may not be offensive to some in fact majority - because the majority believes in pluralism and doesn't mind certain projections., But  are all the five fingers same?

Key questions:

1. If I am docile and bear whatever is thrown at me, doesn't mean others to be and react the same way and manner (all 5 fingers analogy) - Some people albeit minority among minority feel offensive, at least the perception is so and they are acting on it. - Don't they have right to show their protest?

2. If this was caused by Jaya TV license issue, why don't ADP K. Hassan come out open on this? I am sure he would have - wouldn't he?

3. Don't see this as a Cinema/arts - People from a particular sect are making/taking efforts to change the perception - if the majority Hindu population choose not to protest or even lift a finger when someone makes a joke about  their Hindu Gods - does it mean the minority should follow the same attitude? - Don't they have rights (democratic) to protest?

4. Have the violated any laws? They have taken legal means to ban the movie... Unlike those who assault Valentine's day and MF Hussain's Hindu bashing arts, they have only taken legal steps... so is this wrong?

5. If an opinion is freedom of expression, is it not the same freedom of expression to say the movie is trying to portray terrorists in certain way? So why stop that?

6. NASA pictures showed the Sethu bridge as an existing sand bridge, but an elected government created an economic policy and planned to destroy a Hindu-faith associated bridge, was it not only a small section of Majority that made efforts to stop it? So in the same way if a small section of minority try and legally ban a movie - should it become an issue?

I am not necessarily saying it is right or wrong - I am saying it is a chance for India to truly introspect on how  to manage and evolve the multi-faith without damaging the fabric and protect democracy... Crux of the problem is "People will see what they want to see..." Gandhi (not Rahul) - Babuji tried and he did influence a lot of people, he had to sacrifice a lot in order to change perceptions and bring the society closer... The losses he had were huge and he couldn't change everyone (In fact he ended being on enemy camps for both groups), but his efforts have impact even today and I am one of them. Hey Ram!

So if ADP K.Hassan really wants to engage and debate with the society and do seva to arts and humanity, he has to accept this in merit and not be worried about economic failure but continue his debate. Good Luck Sir... Please continue.

Final question - I infer that from his follow-up statements, it is clear to me that he hasn't realized the magnitude of change required and the cost/efforts to change the perception and bring unity - Does he? and If he reads this blog (Oh yeah!) and if my point clicks in his brain, will he still be up for change?

One needs courage, one need to sacrifice many things to make a change at that level. But as a society we need to introspect to create harmony and humanity.

And to the title... According to the legends, Krishna had to provide divine eyes to see Vishwaroopam - But it turns out Arjuna cried for mercy, as he couldn't withstand the sight. Truth is harsh and one needs to open up to reality! Question self...

We should give it to her...

I never thought, I would appreciate Sonia-ji one day. Before I write anything further, I wish to state a few things.

1. The below thoughts are highly recommended to be consumed only in the perspective of 'Management style' and not relate it with Patriotism, Politics or any other viewpoints. 
2. I don't mean to support the Congress (I) party in its agenda or Sonia-ji's politics 
3. I will aim to keep this apolitical and focus on the management, but will challenge other politicians in the due course and relate to some political events, but the main aim is to discuss her Management style.

I have come around to appreciate Sonia in her personal capacity for what she is today. Imagine you get married to a foreigner (and that too a topmost politician of a country) and to add, you have no roots to politics or any upper class lifestyle habits. In this situation, you have got a MIL (Mother-in-law) who is ruthless and comes the history of declaring emergency... Please visualize/imagine (irrespective of your gender) yourself walking to Indira Gandhi to be introduced as Sonia! Take a few minutes, get yourself into that character and tremble in your shoes...

From there you have come all the way to aiding the congress to win 2 elections, even more keep the family in tact as a single mom, in addition got the whole party under control, PM under influence (being gentle on MMS), your sworn enemies like Pawar, Sangma etc. come back to support you, worse the opposition leader LKA arriving at your lawns and accepting your latest position as a supreme leader in India - As people like Subramaniam swamy say it may all be about Money, it could all be for protecting the black money, still a lady, a single mother, a foreign national to take up the mantle of India - She has got it!

Where does this leave the other politicians in the game of chess? What has happened to their strategy? You cannot get a word out of her unnecessarily, she has got veil and a whole layer surrounded and nothing can penetrate her world - so what ever may be the cause, however selfish she may be, without that level of management, how can she be there at the top for so long? In fact so-called Chanakya of TN - Mu.Ka is no where near her stature! Even is she is corrupt and has all sorts of bad intention, she has swept the country's multi-functional system, managers and leaders - If you say money is the reason, may be. But for someone to hang onto the power and stature for this long, it is extra-ordinary... Why hasn't the top parties like BJP, Left got any answers? Are there no leaders to her match? (I will let Modi out of this writing, coz' irrespective of his background and his politics and the godhra, he is proving to be a thorn for his opponents - not to mention both have similar styles of functioning)

So you got to give it to her... Wait for Part 2.

Land of Seven Rivers!

I bought a book just 10 days after it was published. It was destined. A friend of mine says to me always: "Books find us..."

It was early morning around 4AM in Bangalore Int'l airport strolling through shops, this book found me. I did not know the author, but one of my dream projects was to publish something like this book. So when I saw the book and an overview of contents, I was surprised and when i read about the author Sanjay Sanyal and his bio, I thought this could be a good work...

The book is Land of the Seven Rivers. I actually prefer to call it by the quote "a brief history of India's geography".

I strongly urge everyone to read this book (especially Indians). In fact I might buy a few copies and gift it to my good friends. I have mentioned in my previous blogs that I had witnessed a type of pogram (anti-Brahminical) at the hands of DK/DMK folks during my childhood and a bit of scarred memories still remain.

It made me resolute, strong and a seeker. The history I hear from my parents and seniors in the family show and shine a valuable, rich and civilized Vedic Bharath, but why do i hear another version in the streets? How do I resolve this?

The dilemma is very simple, if  we were indeed such an advanced civilisation, where is the place for low unethical things that I hear about Indians through DK (such as casteist/un-touchability etc. these are by the way still relevant topics). The point is, this childhood experience nurtured me to dream  a project to research and understand the past in order to clarify this dilemma and write a book that would help others too... This book is not about this, however the author in his research for understanding India's geography has helped me clarify a lot of things. So in a way my dream project has been completed by Sanjay... (I have some more dreams too...)

A lot of nationalistic Indians keep talking about yester-year  fame, technology like pushpak-vimanas (aeroplanes), medicinal advancements like plastic surgery, number systems, astronomy etc. However this book is not about such things and I don't intend to open up whats' in the book, anyway a few titbits:

1. Sanjay has also opened up some important questions about our weaknesses.  e.g. why were ancient Indians not good at Maps? In fact to very this day, we have not been great at mapping our towns (Google is helping us). Do Indians' have a feeling of Nationhood? What do we do with slums?

2. My dad has always talked to me about Sarswati river and evoked a sense of mystery and purpose. Sanjay has done a wonderful and coherent narration, bringing archaeological and Vedic view together. The write-up is simple, not superfluous and that makes it much more powerful.

3. Instead of purely dwelling on history, the importance on geography has been put forward and a first of its kind (to my knowledge)... The book takes swiftly from Vedic period through Alexender, Maurya, Guptas, Cholas, Tuqlaks, Mughals, British, Marathas, Hampi, what not - covering 1000s of years in the lens of geography and in the absence of maps...

4. Do you ever know that Robert Clive did his thanksgiving at Krishna temple after the victory of Plassey and not to a church? After learning World's history, I felt ah, much better we were ruled by British not by other imperial powers... e.g. the Mexican and South american histories make me think that British may have done a few good things...

5. I didn't know that World's 2nd Mosque was built in India in a temple style, and there are so many such small things. He has also brought the South Indian aspects of geograhpy and resolved some of my longstanding questions.

6. Defining and reviewing ancient Indian geography is such a difficult challenge and Sanjay has done a great work - In fact I would compare him to the 'Sanjay' - the Charioteer who gave a live account to the blind kind Dirudrashtra and this Sanjay has definitely taken lot of time and efforts to produce this account to us who are blind about our own history...

Shortcomings:
1. An account of Krishnadeva raya and his rule could have been really helpful, as I remember well from my History and Geography classes about his reign - this is missing

2. He has traveled to a lot of places to write this book, why not take some pictures and add them in? The narration was never a let down, In fact when he writes about the proclamation from Queen Victoria, it was like a climax of a movie and I concur with him that British understood our civilization and hence they chose to  share the proclamation at Allahabad not from Delhi, Kolkatta or Chennai... Hey but my point is he could have added some pictures and drawings to nourish...

3. His question on ancient Indian's not mapping their geography is interesting, In fact it didn't occur to me until he pointed out - we always talk proudly about our ancient knowledge, but mapping was never in the mix - was it? I can see the reasons: If Indians were so good at mapping night skies i.e. astronomy, would they not be interested in mapping earth? I guess the answer is in their approach to life i.e. the civilisation - they were interested in nationhood, but believed in living together - 'vasudeva kutambakam' (a favorite phrase 'world as a family'), hence they may not been that keen to map the earth!

I was thrown into a bad flu on Tuesday, my wife and this book nurtured me back to health... Thanks to Sanjay Sanwal. Now I am going to buy his first book The Indian Rennaisssance. I can see why India will rise after a 1000 year of decline... Indeed there is lesson from this book, Saraswati dried up, what if Cauvery dries up?

NB1: I wish I could make a Sunday prime-time TV show based on this book, may be I will... A good quality graphics with the same narration this could be the best thing that could happen to Indian TVs...

NB2: When I landed in US in 2001, I remember getting a tap on my head from my friend +Manoharan Duraisamy that i see the map and learn to use it - In fact I am very comfortable with maps these days...

NB3: Now I know the reason why UK schools instill the sense of map making for kids right from the very early days of schooling - I wonder if they know the reason consicously or is it just continued as a practise? anyway my little boy draws a lot of maps every day! I am sure he will rule the roost :)

Christmas concert and my emotions...

I was a bit emotional this morning, when I attended my son's act on the Christmas concert. He played three wise-men and to my surprise the concert was 'de-christianised'! (not that I mind about religion, I guess its the other extreme of whats happening on India, a by-product of politically correct Britain) Nothing about Christmas or Jesus Christ - it was all about baby Jesus crying and about 30 kids did many things to calm down Baby Jesus... The school HM was clear that they appreciate these ancillary activities, but the school was all about education - reminded me of my own school (Jawahar  School). In fact they had spent less than a week in all to do the show and I was quite impressed! Doing a show like that with thirty 4-5 year olds, those teachers are excellent! Well done Feltham-hill infant school!

I couldn't dismiss my thoughts about the similarities in Krishna and Jesus's early life stories...

I thought about my school day interests on dramas and how i never made it to those... (not to mention I am Piscean) Interestingly Rajesh and I did a skit and recorded on cassettes... We were that creative! Selling our own drama shows on recorded cassettes at the age of 12 or so.

So my question - were the emotions from my childhood or the religious similarity kindling my passion about Krishna or the missed chances of theaters and plays?

I concluded that it must be my 5 year old who's growing up and making me proud. I am thinking of working with the school to help their governance... I am impressed with school teachers and with the little boy... He may not know, but it's an important day and step in his life...

Multi-language Sama veda book

Just to share, My father has been working to publish Multi language Sama Vedi book that includes Sandhyavandan and other regular kramas. Some of you may remember that he initially published a Tamil version of this book in 1997. Recently I have heard from people from US, Australia, Mumbai etc. for a Sanskrit or English version.

Also, we had reviews about the current version that it is only available in Tamil,  a bit difficult to use daily, absence of appropriate pictures to support the text etc. So I mooted that he work on an revision. This time he is currently working on publishing it in Sanskrit, English, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam and the first draft is ready. 

This is expected to be published shortly. He is doing this as a service to a sama veda padasala in Tamilnadu, India. I will keep you posted on progress. If anyone has any ideas, views please write to me.

PS: This is intended to be a paper copy not a e-copy. I am looking for some support to publish it as a e-copy, but  need to workout a payment mechanism so the payment goes to the Padasala

Ta,

சந்தைக்கு போலாமா ?

Many of my friends know my life began in Neyveli. People from Neyveli rarely have anything negative to talk about the township. I have been to many places in US, Europe and a few cities in India, but Neyveli has a special place. May be simply due to the fact, that it was my birth place...

Santhai (சந்தை) in Tamil means a market place. Usually people can get groceries at small stores next to their houses and for veg they tend to go to Santhai. This market place has to be described... Imagine a huge vacant land probably a size of two football grounds. A part of this is marked off for two-wheeler parking (I mean bi-cycles) and a bit for motor-bikes and scooters. The rest of the ground is neatly plotted into long rows of shops.

A mile early, you would know that you are passing the Santhai zone, simply through an unusual traffic and people carrying a lot of veg/other products stuffed in wire-knit-bags. These wire-knit bags have a place in Neyveli's home-makers (aka) house-wives' life...They buy bundles of nylon made wire and knit to make them bags with all sorts of designs. As in any town, people borrow such bags, lose it and get into a bit of tiff. Anyway with people carrying big bags of veg in bicycle handlebars and balancing those bags and their plump home-makers sitting in the rear (career-seat) and shouting at their husbands for not driving carefully, you can make it out, that the markets must be nearer...

Usually when my Mom, Dad or Brother/Sister calls me for aide to a market visit, i try and come up with new excuses every time. Simply coz' it's long way from the house and not only that, they go around haggling and sometimes it becomes a scene, though i would never realise that every one around creates a scene, it is just not my family folks. But more importantly it takes ages to go and come back. Sometimes they would chose to take a bus to this market which is a lot worse than taking a bicycle or our infamous lambretta.  A - is our home and B is Thursday market, and the round black circle over in no-man's land is Sunday market. There are certain key differences in these market places (according to my mom and other Neyveli folks). However I never got to understand those key differences. It would be along the lines that in Sunday market the prices are high and in Thursday market you get better green veg and the unsaid reason being everyone goes over to Sunday market as it is a day off. But i guess everyone just did go to Thursday market, simply coz' of this unsaid secret rationale.

The farmers would 'directly' bring their produce and sell it off. I have learnt the dynamics of life through shopping in these market places... Things like even though you see tomatoes at the front of market entrance, one should not buy it as the first choice of veg, but buy it as the last choice and that too while returning. (That depends if you came last, you got only leftovers... there is a lesson too). One is not allowed to mix veg like root-veg/ripe-veg/leafy-veg/fruits. But its a joy to watch people buying these vegetables in an order and packing them in different bags. In the end, you get to drink a coconut sometimes or a bit of sugar-cane juice.

Those Sundays were challenging, but I did enjoy my 'Santhai' day-outs. When I grew into a teenager, I started volunteering (no big secret here...), I just became responsible. So once there was a situation, where my dad was to do his annual Shrartham (click on hyperlink on what Shrartham means) rites to his father... I chose to go with him and support as we would buy a lot of stuff and more importantly a lot of long-banana leaves to serve food. He suggested that I wear a drawer (Half-pants/shorts) and not come in a dhoti. But I wanted to show I am a grown-up man and not a teenager. So decided to ignore his advice and chose to go wearing a dhoti. Needless to say, we took our embarrassing lambretta scooter and it is the best 'device' to get a girl notice you... I mean riding a lambretta, not wearing a dhoti and driving a lambretta. So

Interestingly all through the row of shops, every 10 minutes I would stop, re-tie my dhoti and it became such a nuisance. When we had finished shopping fully, I was loaded in both hands and my dhoti started slipping. Needless to say my Dad smirked and gave me a look-u. I learnt another lesson.

I guess as every grown-up in my teenage use to say -Gone are those days where the milk sold for 3 anas and oil sold at 12 anas... I can safely repeat the history.... Gone are those days of Santhai and welcome Wal-Mart! An elected government for 65 years could not get rid of agents and middlemen, an elected government for 65 years could not get the best price for its farmers, an elected government for 65 years with no means to control proper agri-chain has decided to put its trust on private bodies that are meant as profit-only organisation, is self-proclaiming defeat and has prostrated in front of capitalism.

We have Tirupurs and the Punjabs where with foreign investment the clothing and agriculture industry are controlled by different middlemen - the difference being its pocketed by a few individuals, whereas in erstwhile market, it was a shared livelihood. I am not against FDI, but not many know that FDI <51% has been there for years and has not resolved anything... (for many of our news-media, FDI and 51% still don't mean anything, they are just writing junk in the name of FDI - it bother me very much - am i the only one?) Siddarth Varadarajan with a leftist voice is a loner in the crowd like mine... I am yet to see some good arguments. But I want to build a 'Capitalism with Indian Characteristics' (Vasudeva Kutambakam)  and will write my thoughts in the next post... Jai Hind!

Sama Veda Post & Sankalpa for tomorrow

http://bajisden.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/sama-veda-upakarma.html

The above link has got links to 4 zip files that should help you through tomorrow's upakarma. Sankalpa for tomorrow.

Nandana-nama-Samvatsare (Nandana named year)
Dhakishna-Ayne (When the earth is is on its southern sojourn)
Varusha-Rithu (Rainy Rithu)
Sraavana-Maase (Month)
Shukla-Paksha (Moon on Waxing State)
Dvitiyam (Day - 2)
Soma-vasara (Monday)
Hastha Nakshthra (Star of Hastha)

Hari Om!

हिन्ढी हमारा राष्ट्रबषा !

Born in Tamilnadu, a part of estwhile Madras presidency turned into Hindi bashers mainly coz' of DMK's politics to manipulate electorate and come to power. In that context, there was an anti-Hindi sentiment and in addition, anti-Brahmanism was all-time high as well. Generally Brahmins were supposed to patronise Sanskrit and for DMK followers they were fighting a twin-cause: against Hindi and Brahmins.

I remembered an incident from an early part of my life - when I was 8 years old or so. My parents always noted that I always played/befriended senior school boys and girls. In this event, I used to move around with a chap - Karthik who was probably 5-6 years elder to me. He was an all-rounder and was looked up to by many. I was one among them. So I wanted to emulate Karthik and apparently convinced my parents to put me in Prathmik class an elementary course to learn Hindi. I spoke to Karthik, however he didn't want me there, coz' I would be bugging him in front of his mates... Anyway, I convinced him and he took me to the same class. Hindi teacher conducted just one single class irrespective of the age group - In fact Steven Harrison recommends that this is actually a better method of imparting education in the happy child. May be in this instance it did a bit more damage to me...

Karthik's classmates started making fun of me and the teacher for some reason always called me Baskar - God knows why! So I decided to call it quits almost nearer to the exams... No it was not the exams, coz' I did well in Hindi... its actually funny that a lot of Tamilians excel in Hindi exams like Prathmik, Praveshika, Rashtrabasha and Pandit - but when you try to converse, they defend to the skies that indeed they are worthy of that Hindi qualification, but not necessarily required to speak in Hindi... in essence they were literate but cannot communicate! Anyway, my Hindi learning stopped right there...

Almost 12-13 years later, a good friend Aarthi Murali knew I had the basic Hindi skills, but had a bit of inhibition when it came to matters of conversation. She kept pressing me and I consistently ducked. One day in a bus commute, she decided on her own that, from that moment on, she would only converse with me in Hindi. She got me by surprise and I was stunned actually... In my own stride, I tried dismissing it in vain... so for a few weeks our विचार - विमर्श were all in Hindi... I coped!

Then a few years later, another good friend Veena almost did the same!! quite unbelievably, she used the same technique (Veena and Aarthi did not know each other)... So my Hindi became functional... quote and quote - functional, I can survive! It was altogether a few weeks of Hindi, then later when I moved out of India, ironically in US, Hindi helped me out!

Today again ironically in UK, after many many years - Hindi has saved me a lot of money! (a good sum I should say)... I am currently converting my loft into a third en-suite-bedroom and a Punjabi contractor who speaks very little English is building it for me! Thanks to Aarthi and Veena... 

PS: don't ask a commission girls ;) (What are friends for...)

Hello sachin bashers, read this please...

There is a psychology theory about how we (humans) wish someone to reach heights and then take all opportunities to pull them down. There are many examples. Sachin's case is one of those. He did it today - 100, hundreds. That's 10,000 runs!

God - would you like to bowl to me?

I sincerely ask everyone of us to be introspective and reflect on our professional lives. Year on year from the day we start as freshers, we count and calculate the pay checks, bonus and crib about tax-man to see if we can gain maximum advantage. There is then this comparison with our friend's, family on these statistics. I am sure we all love numbers then - but have we ever calculated - these many lines of codes, or IT components or millions of manufacturing components or x number of lessons etc. depending on professional types, have we ever calculated on our personal deliveries? No!

It is true that if one gets a hefty bonus or a CxO title or a Director or VP title, there is a new car in the portico or a posh house in a Banjara hills/ECR  and the whole family talks about it, friends have to celebrate and that's all part of the life. The new house gets a cheeky reduced property tax and its fine... But the occasion has to be dandy! Have we ever wondered, what would we do and how would we behave, if we get just millions on ad-modelling in addition to the CxO professional title? No!

We may professionally have failures and I am sure everyone has one at least, where the promotion was overlooked or project was junked or the team (?) has let us down or our manager (media) has been constantly criticising for everything you do! Though the team didn't deliver in spite of your excellent delivery record with smaller projects (aka - minnows), the senior management is harsh on you for a couple of bigger project failures. Has anyone ever wondered that how in these situations, we pick ourselves move on to a different company or a project and repeat same mistakes without reflecting? No!

Scoring runs is not so easy! be it Bangladesh or Maldives, doing out there a 100 times is not a joke! I don't mind even if its selfish, still who is altruistic in profession? Everyone needs a pay raise and I have reviewed many appraisals where people claim successes to get a C to B and a B to A rating to get better bonuses and promotions. Have we ever thought about, hey that project was a team-work  (Bangladesh demonstrated this very well today with an all-round team work), I may be the PM, but its delivered by the team and it is a little odd to claim an A rating for a top bonus for a shared success? No!

I can go on, but you should get it by now...

Suggest to read some of the great headlines from international media (the guardians, the telegraphs etc.). This man has done something that mere mortals cannot even think of in our daily profession. He shows little ego, (has had no face-offs with any bowler till date) and keeps working like clockwork. Statistics is a way to measure things but not everything. What I have reflected here is something that brings awe to me. How could a man go on and on doing what he has done for so many years? It is discipline, practise, vision and instinct and especially in sports where the body gets a heavy beating, this man has achieved more than any CEOs could do. Actually he has blessed Bangladesh today, I am sure somewhere out there, a Bangladeshi kid would have said to himself, I want to do that someday. Yes, he has lit up so many dreams! The numbers give you a clue, but the under covers, this man has done something which no cricketer can even dream... Its not a 10,000 run feat... this is 100 x 100s!

You have ignited a fire and a generation of dreams! Hats-off to Sachin.

You cannot chase a dream alone!

'He gave us long days in the field' -  'He wanted the extra edge that would elevate his game to the next level' - ' dignity could have been his middle name' - “Grace under fire,” -  "He was the guy youngsters in the dressing room looked up to" - "The wolf who lived for the pack" -  "Essentially, he was more patient than us" -  "Your regular, everyday superstar" -  "a normalcy about him that is almost abnormal " - "he's not only a great cricketer, but a great man" - “Some succeed because they are destined to, but Rahul Dravid succeeded because he was DETERMINED to,”.

Farewell Rahul!

How a Fake 'Lord' underlines his ignorance on Gita...

In my school, there was a practise amongst the students to underline key points in a written exam and highlight their knowledge as well as focus the attention of teachers (who had to correct many papers). This was an easy way of getting good marks. Needless to say, I followed it without realising this rationale and sure wasn't scoring marks. My dad a man of few words and once asked me to bring my test papers and remarked, you have underlined and highlighted your ignorance! He did not elaborate, but I read my underlined sentence and got the rationale. Anyway, when I read this article about Lord Desai's questions to students reminded me of this incident.


Indian government recently intervened in the interesting case in Russia just to make sure they don't loose out on this to BJP again. Now its Lord Desai. How will our government intervene now? I often felt that there are a few Indians who disown their past before western society and assume that they are fully knowledgeable of India's past, mythology, philosophy and Hinduism etc. I have seen quite a few Indians when I lived in the US and now in UK who fall into such a category and I used to laugh it away as I am self-aware about my shallowness in such debates.


After reading this Q&A, I am disturbed that how could a well learned man like Desai ask such questions? In fact he questions Gandhi's closeness to Hitler and quotes "How could someone of Gandhiji's intellect make mistake on Hitler?"


I ask the "Fake Lord" Desai: "How could someone of Desai's intellect make the mistake on Gita". One doesn't need intellect, a mere common sense would do. Let me try narrating Gita in the context of Mahabharatha and see if common sense helps.

1. Pandavas (5 in number) and Kauravas (100 in number) are cousins, Kauravas very early in their childhood, take hatred  to Pandavas and consistently try to destabilise the five brothers.
2. The 5 had to go through all types of humiliations such as "their wife disrobed in front of the courtroom", "attempt to burn them down", "12 years of forest dwelling" and  "an year of complete exile" and so on.
3. Prior to the war, Pandavas follow the 4 step peace process that's supposed to be followed by Kings before entering into a war and that includes sending a messenger of peace. Krishna as the messenger asks a minimum of 5 villages. But Kauravas ridicule and pose that they wouldn't even give a land to the size of a tip of the needle.
4. Prior to War, Lord Krishna chooses to help both cousins as he himself is a relative to both cousins. He in-fact gives the choice and type of help that each could decide. Kaurava actually gets Krishna's full scale army, whereas Pandavas with full trust on Krishna, seeks only him as an Individual. Kauravas later realising this big disadvantage, takes a promise from Krishna that he wouldn't use any of his super-human powers or ultimate Weapons of Mass Destruction as well as not to help Pandavas more than two times in the event of an actual war. Krishna agrees to those requests too.

So Kauravas created as many disadvantages as possible and then enter into the War. The war rules were agreed and the warring armies assembled. In spite of following all the righteous steps, Pandavas were left with no choice but war but in the battlefield, Arjuna gets emotional and decides to give up everything as he doesn't want to war on his own family. But up hold a king's duty as well as right of law and not to set a bad precedent Lord Krishna presents his  sermon.In the contemporary world, where nations take to war for oil and wealth but on pretext of democracy, this was a war of righteousness and a war for the brothers who had faced a lifetime of follies and deceits by Kauravas. 


In such a context, Gita was played out. 


I am sure many people who have not read Mahabharatha would find Gita to support violence. But Gita was sermonised to Arjuna to uphold righteousness and in fact to choose to act to war on your own paternal and maternal uncles, brothers and even your teacher. To uphold personal virtues, Socrates said to have drank the hemlock and here its case to uphold the right of rule/law and Arjuna had to war on his own family.


Now Mr. Desai, may we learn Mahabharatha and get initiated into Gita in this new year through a well-learned guru who may bring enlightenment to all of us.


PS: As a beginner, I do not want to go into the philosophical debate of Gita, but let us start with a basic commoner view and then may be into the philosophy.


Om Shanthi!

Why caste does not matter?

Significance of Kaishika Ekadasi (today is this day)

By Sri U.Ve. Mahavidhwan Elayavilli Srinivasa Bhuvarahachariar Swami

M.A (Retd) Prof of Sanskrit, Alwar Thirunagari

In Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya every Ekadasi (the 11th day of bright & black fortnight) has a special name. Accordingly during the Krittika month, the Ekadasi during the bright fortnight is called Kaishika Ekadasi (today some use the term Koushika Ekadasi, which is wrong; Sage Vishwamitra has nothing to do with this Ekadasi). Kaishika is a raga in music. How is this raga related with this Ekadasi will become clear in the course of this article!

Sri Varaha Puranam has this episode in its body. Once upon a time the earth got submerged in water. Lord Sriman Narayana assumed the garb of a wild boar and without hesitation entered the muddy water and brought out the earth from the deluge. Sri Bhoomi Piratti, who is the presiding deity, was very much upset by this tragic event. She was consoled and comforted by Lord Sriman Narayana, keeping Her on His lap. At that time she was very much worried about Her children on the earth. Their sufferings gave Her great sorrow and she desired to know a means (Upaya) for their deliverance from the worldly bondage. The Lord narrated the episode that took place in the village Thirukkurungudi near Thirunelveli in South India and assured Her that the sole means of salvation is singing His glory (Gana Rupa Upayam).

The story is as follows: Once there lived a man at Thirukkurungudi. He was fondly called Nampaduvan" (We do not know his Original name). He was born in a Chandala family who were known for their merciless nature and activities. But quite contrary to his family behavior he was very pious and deeply devoted to Lord Sriman Narayana. He used to fast during every Ekadasi day. Getting up very early in the morning on the next day he used to go to the vicinity of the temple with his veena in his hands and remaining at a distance from the temple as per the prescription of the shastras he used to sing songs in praise of the Lord going around the temple.

Once during the month of Krittika on a bright fortnight Dwadasi i.e the 12th day, he went to the temple early in the morning as usual. On the way he was met by a Brahma Rakshasa who was very hungry and who therefore expressed his desire to eat him up. Nampaduvan was very happy to offer his body for the food of Brahma Rakshasa. That was because his suffering in this world would come to an end and he would reach the abode of the Lord. But he prayed to the Brahma Rakshasa to spare some time so that he may go to the temple and sing the songs and return. But the Rakshasa was not ready to grant his request, as he would never return having made this false excuse. But Nampaduvan made 18 oaths to the effect that he would certainly return.

1. If I do not return as per my promise let me get the sin of a man who is a liar.
   
2. Let me get the sin of a person who commits adultery, if I don't return.
   
3. While eating in the company of a person if a man differentiates in menu (i.e. serving inferior or less quantity of food to the guest), he gets a great sin (Papam). Let me get that sin, if I don't return.
   
4. If a man donates a piece of an earth to a Brahmin and takes it back after some time he will certainly accrue sin. Let me get that sin, if I don't return.
   
5. If a man enjoys the company of a woman during her youthful age and subsequently rejects her when she becomes old he is sure to get sin. Let me get that sin, if I don't return.
   
6. Having performed ablution rite (Tharpanam) on Amavasya day and then recourse (physical relationship) to his wife the same day, he will entertain great sin. Let me get that sin, if I don't return.
   
7. Having dined delicious dishes in the house of a host and then if a person showers heaps of abuse on his host, he is sure to meet with great sin. Let me get that sin, if I don't return.
   
8. A man makes a solemn promise that he would give away his young daughter in marriage to a youth but later on breaks his promise, which would entertain sin. Let me get that sin, if I don't return.
   
9. A man is prohibited from eating without taking bath on Shashti (the sixth day of both fortnight), Ashtami (the eighth day), Chaturdashi (the fourteenth day) and Amavasya (the fifteenth day of bright fortnight). Let me get that sin, if I don't return.
   
10. A man promises to donate something to another man but he doesn't keep up his promise. Let me get the sin of breach of promise if I fail to come back.
    
11. If a person tries to allure the wife of a friend who has helped him in manifold ways, he is sure of reaching hell. I will get that sin, if I fail to return.
    
12. If a person, afflicted by lust, enjoys the company of his revered teacher's wife who is responsible for his salvation; and so also the company of the wife of a king who endows all worldly pleasure to him - he will be the worst sinner. I will suffer that sin by not keeping up my promise.
    
13. A man marries two girls without being impartial to both of them. If he evinces greater pleasure in the company of one rejecting the other, he is sure to accrue very great sin. Let me get that sin, if I don't keep up my promise.
    
14. If a man divorces his wife who is very chaste and has no one to care for her, he will become a sinner. Let me be equated to him for not returning.
    
15. If a man causes obstruction to the cattle that are afflicted very much by thirst to drink water, he will get a sin. Let me also get that sin by breaking your faith in me.
    
16. Killing a Brahmin, addiction to liquor, stealing gold, breaking a vow are considered to be heinous crimes. Severe punishments are prescribed for a sinner, who commits all these crimes. Let me suffer all these punishments in case I fail to get back to you.
    
17. If some people worship only other deities and not Sri Vasudeva who is easily accessible to His votaries and is Omnipresent, they will get a great sin. Let me get that sin, if I do not return.
    
18. Sriman Narayana is the supreme deity. He is the inner soul for all created beings, both sentient and insentient. He is worshipped by all karmas (i.e. by all holy rites prescribed by the Shastras). He is to be meditated by all who are desirous of liberation. He alone has the ability to grant salvation. He is to be reached by all the liberated souls. Having understood the supreme qualities of the Lord, if a man equates Him to all other angels who are bound by karma, He will be born in this world again and again. Let me get that sin by breach of this promise.
    

All these promises did not convince or satisfy the Brahma Rakshasa, but the 18th one totally convinced him about the certainty of Nampaduvan's return. We therefore have to understand that the last sin is the greatest sin of all sins. Hence it is to be meticulously avoided.

The Brahma Rakshas became pleased by all these promises and saluted Nampaduvan and bade him farewell so that he may fulfill his vow and come back to him.  

Accordingly Nampaduvan went to the neighborhood of the temple and sang the songs as usual. Afterwards the day dawned. Having completed the vow pertaining to Ekadasi (i.e. spending sleepless night) Nampaduvan surrendered to the Lord. With great speed, he returned to the Rakshas as his heart was filled up with pleasure owing to his desertion of his body, which was inimical to his attaining salvation. On his way a person met him. That man questioned him "Hello, where are you going with such speed?" Nampaduvan replied him in a sweet manner – "I am going to Brahma Rakshas. If I don't find him where I met him before, and departed having made several promises, I will go in search of him and offer my body as food for him."

That man desired to test his mind on hearing his steadfast resolve. He said "There stands a Rakshasa by birth. He is not righteous minded like Vibeeshana, but a worst criminal. You cannot escape from his cruel clutches, as he is a cannibal. Don't go to that strong devil." Though exhorted by that man, Nampaduvan refused to listen to him and was very adamant in keeping up his promise. That stranger, who obstructed him and advised him, was none other than Sri Varaha (the Lord Himself). Nampaduvan found Brahma Rakshas at the same place and offered his body as a carcass (meat) for him, but the Rakshas, remembering his previous birth did not accept it. He narrated his previous life history. He was a Brahmin by name Somasarma in his former birth. While performing a sacrifice, he committed all sorts of blunder, as he was niggardly. Moreover a fatal disease in the course of performing sacrifice afflicted him. The result was his birth as Brahma Rakshasa.

Having given a detailed account of his previous life the Rakshasa knelt before Nampaduvan to grant him the merit of all these songs that he sang in praise of the Lord for a long time but the songster refused sternly. Finally being moved by pity he granted him the merit (Punya) of one song, which he sang that day morning which was in the raga named "Kaishika". The Brahma Rakshas was relieved of his bond. Later he was born in a family of Vaishnava and at the end of the birth he reached Vaikunta.

This is the story narrated by Sri Varaha Perumal to Sri Bhoomi Devi. The whole episode as found in "Sri Varaha Puranam", is taken up by Sri Parasara Bhattar for an elaborate commentary in Tamil. Every year the whole episode with all Sanskrit shlokas and commentary of Sri Bhattar is read out in all the Vishnu temples especially at Thirukkurungudi where the event actually took place. This is enacted on the stage even today. Those who take part in the festival or who hear the episode will be rid of their sins. Hence I gave this story in an abridged version.

What do we understand from this episode? Somasarma though a Brahmin became a Rakshasa, but Nampaduvan though a Chandala was able to expiate him of all his sins. Hence caste is not a criterion for us to salute a person. His deep devotion to the Lord, knowledge of the Lord and a total renunciation of all worldly pleasures are very important criteria. The caste is physical. It does not belong to the soul. Hence Nampaduvan was elevated to the highest order. In case of such holy men of that high order, consideration of the caste is an offence. They are equal to Nithyasooris. Hence our Acharyas equate Nampaduvan with Vishwamitra, Sri Vishnuchitta and ThondarAdiPodi Azhwar, all of whom sang divine songs in order to wake up the Lord (Thiruppalliyezhuchchi). The Lord (Sri Varaha) also showered on him love and affection and called him Nampaduvan (My Singer). Let us therefore be very careful in not committing Bhaagavata Apachara. This is what we learn from Kaishika Puranam.