Great Truths

Courtesy: Anu, my IIM-B Classmate

1. In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm and three or more is a congress. 

– John Adams

2. If you don’t read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed.

– Mark Twain 

3. Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But then I repeat myself.

– Mark Twain

4. I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.

– Winston Churchill

5. A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.

– George Bernard Shaw
6. A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man, which debt he proposes to payoff with your money.

– G. Gordon Liddy 

7. Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.

– James Bovard, Civil Libertarian (1994)

8. Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries.

– Douglas Casey, Classmate of Bill Clinton at Georgetown University 

9. Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.

– P.J. O’Rourke, Civil Libertarian

10. Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else. 

– Frederic Bastiat, French economist(1801-1850)

11. Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.

– Ronald Reagan(1986) 

12. I don’t make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.

– Will Rogers

13. If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it’s free!

– P.J. O’Rourke 

14. In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.

– Voltaire(1764)

15. Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you!

– Pericles (430B.C.) 

16. No man’s life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session.

– Mark Twain(1866)

17. Talk is cheap…except when Congress does it.

–Anonymous 

18. The government is like a baby’s alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other.

– Ronald Reagan

19. The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery.

– Winston Churchill 

20. The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin.

– Mark Twain

21. The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.

– Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903) 

22. There is no distinctly Native American criminal class…save Congress.

– Mark Twain

23. What this country needs are more unemployed politicians.

– Edward Langley, Artist (1928-1995) 

24. A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.

– Thomas Jefferson

25. We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.

–Aesop 

FIVE BEST SENTENCES 1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity, by legislating the wealth out of prosperity. 2.What one person receives without working for…another person must work for without receiving. 3. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.  4. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it. 5. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work, because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work, because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any nation!

Courtesy: Anu, my IIM-B Classmate

Cheers,

Vijay Srinivasan

19th May 2012

Mumbai

Life Lesson – A Beautiful African Story

Courtesy: Anu, my IIM-B Classmate

This is a very nice and important story of human evolution and a beautiful lesson for all of us.

Take a look at this picture first:

<a href=”https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/s320x320/535092_411313612215686_179547575392292_1736416_1004305014_n.jpg” rel=”nofollow”>”African Children” </a>

An anthropologist studying the habits and customs of an African tribe found himself surrounded by children most days. So he decided to play a little game with them. He managed to get candy from the nearest town and put it all in a decorated basket, at the foot of a tree. Then  he called the children and suggested they play the game. When the anthropologist said “now”, the children had to run to the tree and the first one to get there could have all the candy to him/herself.

So the children all lined up waiting for the signal. When the anthropologist said “now”, all of the children took each other by the hand ran together towards the tree. They all arrived at the same time divided up the candy, sat down and began to happily munch away.

The anthropologist went over to them and asked why they had all run together when any one of them could have had the candy all to themselves.

The children responded: ”Ubuntu. How could any one of us be happy if all the others were sad?”

Ubuntu is a philosophy of African tribes that can be summed up as “I am what I am because of who we all are.”

Bishop Desmond Tutu gave this explanation in 2008 :

“One of the sayings in our country is Ubuntu – the essence of being human. Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you can’t exist as a human being in isolation. It speaks about our interconnectedness. You can’t be human all by yourself, and when you have this quality – Ubuntu – you are known for your generosity. We think of ourselves far too frequently as just individuals, separated from one another, whereas you are connected and what you do affects the whole World. When you do well, it spreads out; it is for the whole of humanity.”

Courtesy: Anu, my IIM-B Classmate

Cheers,

Vijay Srinivasan

12th May 2012

Mumbai

The Charles Schultz Philosophy

Courtesy: Srinivas Rao, my IIM-B Classmate

The following is the philosophy of Charles Schultz, the creator of the “Peanuts” comic strip. You don’t have to actually answer the questions. Just read the following straight through, and you’ll get the point.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.

2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.

3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America Contest.

4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.

5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.

6. Name the last decade’s worth of World Series winners.

How did you do?

The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. They are not second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here’s another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.

2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.

3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.

4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.

5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

Easier?

The lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are NOT the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones who care.

Courtesy: Srinivas Rao, my IIM-B Classmate

Cheers,

Vijay Srinivasan
24th March 2012
Mumbai

Just Look Up !

Courtesy: Anu, my IIM-B Classmate

THE BUZZARD:

If you put a buzzard in a pen that is 6 feet by 8 feet and is entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is That a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a Run of 10 to 12 feet. Without space to run, as is its habit, It will not even
attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top.

THE BAT:

The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkable nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place. If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash.

THE BUMBLEBEE:

A bumblebee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom.. It
will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself..

PEOPLE:

In many ways, we are like the buzzard, the bat, and the bumblebee. We struggle about with all our problems and frustrations, never realizing that all we have to do is look up! That’s the answer, the escape route and the solution to any
problem! Just look up.

Sorrow looks back, Worry looks around, But faith looks up!

Courtesy: Anu, my IIM-B Classmate

Have Confidence in Yourself and believe in the Solution !!

Cheers,

Vijay Srinivasan
5th February 2012
Mumbai

Complex Souls

Indians are a complex lot.

This post could be controversial, but I have to share what I know to be true. That might even help someone !

Due to the baggage of history, social mores, customs, practices, language differences, et al, India and Indians tend to be complex entities to deal with. They look more or less the same, but could be vastly different in almost all aspects. But what is not to be ignored is the impact of history and customs on every Indian.

Even those modernists in the Indian society are somewhat impacted by customs, despite claims to the contrary. Many a time we see a modern woman dressed in a trendy manner and drinking/smoking, but in the innermost receptacles of that person there is that guilt feeling of having violated century-old traditions of the society in India. And, India is a place where hypocrites abound as well. So, if a person tries to be too conservative and tradition-oriented, sometimes that is done with a purpose, not with real intent.

So, all in all, it is an understatement to say that India is one single, simple society with a modern outlook. It is incorrect to assume that Indians do not look back, do not constantly keep looking at the rear-view mirror. They often do, and mostly do so unconsciously.

Parents and family influences play a big role in decision-making even today in Indian society. Unlike in the Western societies, where an adult makes his own decisions mostly 100% on his own, in India a number of people play a role in that decision making by an adult – society here is far more influential, than the individualistic approach in the West. Such a complex influence may be good or may turn out completely bad (more often the latter), but it is still inevitable.

This influence continues right through one’s life. Of course, there are clearly exceptions to the rule. For instance, youngsters marry outside their caste, or refuse to come back to India for running their family business. Such actions lead to responses from the society which are sometimes unacceptable and sometimes illegal. Ostracizing your own for such an action is unthinkable in the Western societies, but is quite common in India.

Religion is another issue with most Indians. Religious impact is heavy, with pressure to conform to religious requirements dominating family conversations often. If one does not conform, or takes the matter lightly, it is construed as something which is not in line with society’s thinking and expectations. If one persists with such an irreligious approach, he or she falls out of favour with his/her family, and may no longer be eligible for family inheritance or support. These kinds of things are quite commonplace in India.

As a result of all these aspects of Indian society, the output of the society is constrained by a thinking which is backward and not in tune with modern times and needs. This assertion gets challenged often, as Indians happen to be doing rather well outside India, and not badly either in India. But I am referring here to the mindset and the thinking process which get constrained by a filter imposed by the society, or the respective community. Barriers get erected and one takes a near-sighted vision of critical matters important for the further development of the society.

I have seen this time and again, and am willing to be challenged. There are modern families which have fully accepted the onslaught of modernity and new thinking, but these are limited to a handful few. I am not happy when someone points out to a very modern family and hints at immorality, I get shocked and it takes a while to realise the stupidity of the observation. But that is the kind of society in India, it tends to criticize its own apostles who wish to make the society more open and progressive and unshackle centuries-old customs and stupid practices.

For anyone dealing with complexity in society, India is the place to start !

Cheers,

Vijay Srinivasan
3rd Sep 2011
Mumbai

The Story of a Pencil

Courtesy: Anu, my IIM-B Classmate

A boy was watching his grandmother write a letter. At one point he asked:

‘Are you writing a story about what we’ve done? Is it a story about me?’

His grandmother stopped writing her letter and said to her grandson:
I am writing about you, actually, but more important than the words is the pencil I’m using. I hope you will be like this pencil when you grow up.’

Intrigued, the boy looked at the pencil. It didn’t seem very special.
‘But it’s just like any other pencil I’ve ever seen!’

‘That depends on how you look at things. It has five qualities which, if you manage to hang on them, will make you a person who is always at peace with the world.’

‘First quality: you are capable of great things, but you must never forget that there is a hand guiding your steps. We call that hand God, and He always guides us according to His will.’

‘Second quality: now and then, I have to stop writing and use a sharpner. That makes the pencil suffer a little, but afterwards, he’s much sharper. So you, too, must learn to bear certain pains and sorrows, because they will make you a better person.

‘Third quality: the pencil always allows us to use an eraser to rub out any mistakes. This means that correcting something we did is not necessarily a bad thing; it helps to keep us on the road to justice.’

‘Fourth quality: what really matters in a pencil is not its wooden exterior, but the graphite inside. So always pay attention to what is happening inside you.’

‘Finally, the pencil’s fifth quality: it always leaves a mark. in just the same way, you should know that everything you do in life will leave a mark, so try to be conscious of that in your every action’

Courtesy: Anu, my IIM-B Classmate

Cheers,

Vijay Srinivasan
24th July 2011
Mumbai

Merry Christmas !

It is Christmas again !

I was reviewing what I had posted couple of years ago – “Christmas and War Hysteria” .

How things have changed !! in a span of just two years.

While nothing much has improved in the developed countries in terms of consumption and overall economic prospects, India has surged past with commendable economic performance. Pakistan is no longer the only issue dominating India in the political and military circles (though it will never go away completely). All the five permanent members of the UNSC have visited India in a span of just five months this year, reflecting the importance of India.

We do have many internal problems and challenges, and it is time to reflect on those matters. Christmas is the perfect time to seek peace within oneself and with others, be it individuals or nation states. It is not about any one religion. It is about that peaceful mindset, when one is ready to forgive the sins of others, and one seeks forgiveness for his own sins from others. It is a time for redemption and purification.

I am sure that the hotspots of the world would take a breather at this juncture : like Israel – Palestine, North – South Koreas, Iraq, Iran, China – Tibet, China – Uighurs, India – Pakistan, and many other problematic regions. It is critical to realise the value of life, though it be one single individual life – no one has given the right to us to take away a life. It is very important not to sacrifice lives in the name of national security. Normal citizens do no harm to the cause of security or peace, they only convey their views or become unintentional players in the chess board.

Again, Christmas is the perfect time to reflect and make better decisions when those decisions could impact mankind and the lives of thousands of people.

Let us hope the governments will take note of the criticality and centrality of human lives in their decision-making process.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL !

Cheers,

Vijay Srinivasan
25th December 2010
Mumbai

Consumerism Vs Austerity

These days the domestic market in India is driven by unabashed consumerism. It appears that the foreign brands in clothing, hand bags, personal accessories, spectacles, watches, et al, are very well established and entrenched in consumer’s psyche. The brands to beat are these foreign brands.

Of course, there are Indian brands which are also doing well, but only after they have upgraded their design to suit the rapidly changing consumer tastes and vastly improved their marketing and consumer reach. The international brands in any category are more expensive to be in sync with their brand proposition and positioning in the market. If a locally made watch from a premium, well established brand costs INR 6,000, you can be sure that a similar-looking, well-positioned international watch from the average brand category (I am not talking about the Omegas or Breitlings here) would cost in the range of 40 to 50% more. People pay for these brands due to their international brand appeal.

One needs to just walk into one of these new malls and observe what is going on. Previously and even today, there are still window-shoppers, who spend time browsing around and rarely spend. However, you would be surprised to find “focus” shoppers who come in looking for one specific brand of something, do not care about the price tag, buy it and walk out. These are the well-educated, well-informed, focused shoppers who do not wish to waste time in comparison shopping.

I wanted to write this piece more because “austerity” as a virtue is disappearing. The Gandhian virtue of making do with scarcity in some innovative manner, has all but disappeared these days. If we want to write something, we pull out a clean sheet of white paper even at home, or go to a new page of our diaries. There is no re-use of anything, nowadays you just get rid of something which has been used. And, we buy a new laptop, or a new watch, even if we already have a good laptop or a good watch. This overuse of resources by individuals and communities will eventually lead to over consumption of available materials. You can extend this concept to food, water, clothing, housing, etc.,

I am not recommending anything here – a gleaming new car, or an Apple laptop, is always a better thing to have. But the thought process behind making that choice needs to be strengthened and fine-tuned. I do not wish to belittle the same as “succumbing to temptations of the new and better”. It is just that, “are we spending some time analysing the need for something new, while we do have something similar already working well”. Or, “are we planning to gift to charity what we do have, when we are replacing the same with an extra consumption of something new”.

Well, youngsters these days do not think along these lines. It is too much of unnecessary analysis in their opinion probably. If you want something, just go and get it. It is funny that when I went recently to get a new wallet, the one that really met my requirement for storing all my “cards” and stuff turned out to cost twice than what I was prepared to spend. So, I suspended the purchase, thinking let me look around more later on. What is the urgency – no one really looks at the brand of my wallet. It needs to meet my expectations first !

While austerity as a concept is now lost in the Gandhian era, with India having reached the fast highways of consumerism and consumption, it would be worthwhile to make an assessment however quickly, to determine the need and criticality of the purchase. There is no harm in going forward after that analysis, either with an Indian or an international brand of choice. But let us first think whether something is really needed, and also reflect on our origins sometimes……though it is difficult for youngsters to do that having no comparable benchmarks ! However, for guys like me, there is always a reference point which existed even 10 or 20 years ago. So, it is always a comparison in the mind between couple of data points !

Cheers,

Vijay Srinivasan
25th July 2010
Mumbai

Foreign Policy Neutrality

India founded the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) along with Egypt in the early Fifties. When did you last hear the acronym “NAM” ?

NAM was a grouping supposed to stay neutral between the two cold war blocs of the U.S. and the Soviet Union. It tried to achieve that objective valiantly, guided by the larger-than-life leaders such as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.

But where is NAM today ? Almost virtually forgotten.

If one analyses the world history, even post WW II, it is clear that the nations which have politically, militarily, and economically benefited are those which had “aligned” themselves with the more powerful countries. Not the Asian, Middle Eastern, or the African nations which tried to form the NAM.

The world, by nature, is a polarized entity. Notions of neutrality were always sneered at as variants of perceived morality, which the newly liberated masses were supposed to subscribe to as “visions of their leaders”. But the problem was that the left-leaning, sophisticated, fabian leadership of many of these countries was disconnected from the ground realities of poverty, malnutrition, corruption, lack of education, and many other societal ills. Even if they were intimately associated with such realities, they probably believed that “vision, dreams, and words” would address those problems and redeem their peoples. What a pity ?

While they were struggling to sell their vision and enact their dreams, the developed world passed by these NAM countries in almost every conceivable manner and parameters of development. At the end of the day, what matters to the proletariat is not books and speeches, but bread and livelihood. National Leadership should create opportunities for full employment for the people, and put together an environment for consistently delivering success. All these countries missed out on such leadership for the first few decades – in India, it was missed out for more than 4 crucial decades.

If only India had aligned with the U.S., it would have been the best combination of world-beating democracies that would have achieved unimaginable feats for Indians and India. Our country would have become a developed nation by the eighties, instead of starting that journey in the early nineties. Not only that, we would have overtaken the Chinese in our quest for democratic dominance over the peoples of this world, instead of subscribing politely to the theories of dictators of South Africa and the rest of Africa and Asia. NAM also means non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs, even if there were a genocide happening right under our own nose – just sheer ridiculous. Such a policy was perpetuated when ASEAN grouping came into being, influenced by NAM principles. “Let other countries do whatever they wish, may be even torture their citizens, or use draconian measures on their own people”, but never say a word in public. The domestic fury was assuaged in all such cases, with the logic that “we are talking to them in private”. What a sham ! We can see such anamolies in Burma and Sri Lanka and many African countries these days.

What is the point in arriving at the 21st Century, even if one human being is harmed, or goes without food ? What is the point in having useless political beliefs, if these do not serve our people ?

So, the point of all this is to boldly state that alignment is a better policy when it comes to protecting the citizens’ livelihood, employment, and interests. That is all what matters, not some theoretical political / philosophical underpinnings which might do well at Oxford or Cambridge schools, not in the tough realities of the poor countries of the world.

India will do well to align its poeples’ interests first with those nations who are guardians of democracy. India has achieved a stature of significant proportions in the last two decades, so it can afford to be deterministic and opportunistic when it comes to its own geo-political interests. It does not have to provide global leadership at its own cost !

Cheers,

Vijay Srinivasan
4th April 2010
Mumbai

How to tackle a feeling of being shortchanged

Just ignore it !

Well, what else to do to avoid getting depressed ? Depression is not a good status.

Ofcourse, there is another way.

Recently, I went through such feelings, obviously imposed……the danger in such a situation is that, apart from feeling “low”, there are fleeting images of the oppressor crossing one’s eyeballs many a time in a day. Which is again not a good thing, as the oppressor tries to dominate one’s feelings by visual imagery.

Well, I am not saying anything new here, am sure that most readers have encountered such feelings or devastation one time or the other. The key learning for me was to tackle the oppressor visually, kill him/her (like in a PlayStation), and then banish the thought or feeling forever. It does not happen that easily, but I find it better to assume a younger or boyish role and fight it out.

Then, the mind becomes a bit freer, the feelings become more neutral, and attitude improves towards others. Not an easy thing again, but it is worthwhile attempt to get back control of one’s feelings. You could have been shortchanged, accused, incorrectly blamed, punished, tagged, or characterized publicly or even privately by the oppressor. However, it is critical to disassociate one’s feelings of wronged, from one’s own being for a moment. If that is not possible, it is better to become a “feeling aggressor” or a “bio dominator” – a sort of mental aggression to tackle the feeling, and get out unscathed.

Also, I found it is better to speak out with someone very close to gain back a modicum of sense into one’s own mind and behaviour. I strongly believe that there is no point in losing composure for no fault of your own. It is important to realize that you have not committed any crime and the punishment is either incorrect or way beyond normal measure.

The mantra is “Don’t React” and “Gain Control”. I have been following this principle for quite some time, and it has been working out for me. And, I am sure it would work for most people. It is relevant to state here that the usual method of quick retaliation is not the way to go, as it would lead to loss of peace and self-control.

So folks, “Gain Control” over your feelings and yourself !

Cheers, and Have a Great Week Ahead,

Vijay Srinivasan
15th Nov 2009
Mumbai