The farce called development

As I write this, I can hear the various generators operating around my house here in Gurgaon. There has been no electricity here in last 12 hours and there are no chances of any reprieve either.
We talk about development in our country. Especially during the elections, most political parties want to attract attention of the middle class and upper middle class by warping about the development work which they have carried out or plan to carry out. For all other sections of society they have their tactics of regionalism, secularism and socialism. Gurgaon is soon turning into a financial hub of Northern India. A majority of its inhabitants are from the urban middle class. Gurgaon can boast of the maximum number of malls, sprawling office space and the soon to be launched Metros.
But the basic civic amenities are in the worst possible state here. There is no electricity for hours at a stretch. The roads are worse than those in villages. Every evening, the traffic jam is probably the worst of its kind and the law and order situation has plunged to a lowest possible level with murders and robberies taking place on almost daily basis.
I recently finished reading The White Tiger, in which Gurgaon was described as the closest possible replica of America in India. I hope that the author was only talking about costs of real estate and nothing else.
With elections in Gurgaon around the corner, I made an effort to look into the profiles of the incumbent MP and also the closest competitor. The present MP seems to have done nothing about the pathetic condition of the infrastructure in Gurgaon. Even though I am not too sure about the credentials of the his closest competitor, Dr. Sudha Yadav of BJP, but a quick google search tells me that the last time she was an MP, she made the best possible use of the MP fund for her constituency. These facts for sure can be misleading, but I will stick to the simple logic of not voting for the current MP because he seems to have done nothing for the 'millennium city' in last five years. Atleast it doesnt show. I guess this is what anti incumbency factor is all about.
I wonder, if cities like Gurgaon, which gets so much media attention is in such a bad state, with its local leaders doing nothing for it, what would be the conditions of the small villages and towns. Where is the Rs 2 crore per year MP fund going? Every year Rs 1150 crores is allocated to Lok Sabha MPs for development work in their constituencies...We need to know the where this money is going...RTI anyone??

Book Review: The White Tiger By Aravind Adiga

White Tiger is another attempt by an Indian author to sell to the western world the tragedies of India. The narrative of the story is the highlight of this book which promises much but falls flat towards the end.
The story highlights the rural life of India and a life of a villager in a city. The sarcasm with which the author puts forward his views is commendable. The names such as the 'Darkness' , the 'Great Socialist' etc are well thought off and contributes much to the narrative of the story.
The story keeps you engrossed on most occasions but once you finish the book, you feel a little cheated because whatever has been mentioned in the book is what you see in everyday life. It might be of much interest to foreigners to read about the harsh realities of India, but like the Slumdog Millionaire, the author doesnot rise above the call centres, corruption and crime to describe our country.
All in all the author does succeed in weaving together an interesting story, but I dont quite support his style of writing, where one is guaranteed success in the western countries by exposing the underbelly of India.
Verdict: Recommended but not appreciated.

Not just the Cola War

For last 15 odd years, ever since the pepsi made an entry and coke made a comeback in India, the two companies have been involved in fierce price wars. Every summers they would bring down the price to as low as 3.50 paise and give out free gifts to woo the customers. They have roped in the best cricketers and the biggest bollywood stars in their camps.

They saw cricket as the biggest marketing opportunity in this cricket crazy nation. In 1996, Coca Cola became the official sponsor of the world cup, but pepsi very cleverly stole the lime light with its "Nothing official about it" campaign. Many stars and cricketers joined the camps, changed loyalties, but in the end made a lot of money thanks to the cola wars.

These summers a new trend is emerging. Pepsi and Coca Cola are spending a huge amount of money in promoting their subsidiary brands. This is something which they haven't done in the past, and may be they now realise the importance of having a bigger product portfolio. In India, where cold drinks are still referred to by their colours, promoting these drinks makes all the more sense.

The cola wars seem to have given way to the flavoured drinks wars. To ensure a successful summer business, these companies are leaving no stones turned. They have roped in the top bollywood personalities to promote these soft drinks. Katrina Kaif can be seen promoting Slice in the their Aamasutra campaign, where as the leading ladies from South India, Genelia and Asin are promoting the Orange flavoured Fanta and Mirinda respectively. The competition of the lemon flavoured drinks have gone one step ahead into the IPL, where Kolkata Knight Riders can be seen promoting Sprite while defending champions Rajasthan Royals are in the 7UP camp.

Well this just goes to show how important it is for even the largest companies to have a broad brand portfolio. It not only helps in increasing the volume but also helps in connecting with a larger audience with different tastes. Innovation is also as important as having a large number of proven products. This is where I feel the Pepsi camp has scored these summers with the introduction of 7UP Nimbooz. It is an amazing drink and contextual to Indian Market. It sure will go a long way in establishing the Pepsi brand amongst not so young Indians too..

Well the summers have just started, and a many more marketing gimmicks would come out of both the camps, but one thing is clear, that the Cola Wars is soon turning into a war of fruit drinks...

The politics of 'Independent'

I came across the news of the head of an MNC bank giving up her job and contesting the Lok Sabha elections as an independent from a constituency in Mumbai. Before her a famous dancer cum social activist and the man who pioneered low cost airlines in India had already jumped into the elections fray as independents.

So what exactly is the phenomena of Independent Candidature. Is it possible to have a completely non partisan view. Why are these high profile candidates not willing to take any sides..

In past leaders such as Maneka Gandhi have contested elections as independent, but later she went on to align with the BJP. Also rebel polticians often contest elections as 'independent', only because they have wider options after the elections. For instance ex congress man Buta Singh after winning as an Independent became a part of NDA. This time too, many senior leaders such as George Fernandes are contesting as 'Independent' candidates.

From what I understand, Independent politicians want to stay non aligned, but it is virtually impossible because they often have a backing of some political parties or the other. For example, Ram Jethmalani was backed by Congress in 2004 elections where he competed unsuccesfully against AB Vajpayee..What also is an area of concern is that no matter how accomplished one is, in his or her field, one needs a backing of a party and mentoring of senior politicians to make an impact in politics..

The independent candidates in this year's election might be very accomplished professionals..but their political skills and their political mindset cannot be gauged because they choose to stay non aligned. I dont see Mallika Sarabhai defeating LK Advani from Gandhinagar, neither can Ms. Sanyal make a mark in Mumbai.

I have never understood the need of Independent Candidates at all and I guess a majority of the nation has never been able to understand that. May be this is the reason why only 5 out of 2385 independent candidates were able to win in 2004.

NCR Bloggers Meet: A Pleasant Experience

My day started really late today..Infact the only reason I got up at all was the Blogger Meet which was scheduled at 3.00 PM in Gurgaon.
This was supposed to be my first meeting and I for sure was a little circumspect about being a noveau blogger amongst some really seasoned bloggers.
The meet began with introduction and there was a good mix of professional bloggers, novice bloggers and non bloggers. Soon we had a nice networking session where all bloggers commented on each others blogs by writing on a placard hung around everyone's neck. :-) It was an amazing experience. What was most satisfying was that I met a bunch of people who recognised me by the name of my blog.My identity in the virtual world is beginning to get established slowly but surely..

The event was organised by Indibloggers in association with Microsoft..We also got a sneak peak at the IE 8 and its features..it was looking good from a distance..but with the track record of MS products in recent past, one does not want to hold great expectations..
Then came the interactive session with the Twilight Fairy..She touched upon the copyright issues and the cyber laws which are so often neglected by most Internet users..
The bloggers meet is an amazing concept and a very good networking platform for the bloggers and members of the web 2.0 community..All in all it turned out to be a pretty productive Saturday evening...

Looking forward to many more such meets!!

Need of a 'Tendulkar' in politics..

I write this as I watch the Little Master score some glorious boundaries in the final test match of this series. When I got up today, a thought occurred to me that this is probably Sachin's final test match in that part of the world. I belong to a generation of cricket watchers who would switch of the TV when Sachin gets out and probably not watch the match if he isn't playing. I have closely followed all the Indian tours down under in last 15 years or so. Nothing matches the excitement of getting up early to watch a cricket match, but sadly, it just might be the second last time that I have done that. Last time will be the second innings of this test match when the master comes to bat one last time on the New Zealand soil. Watching him play today was as much of a pleasure as it was ten years back. The fluency which he brought to the crease was just amazing. The drives, the cheeky upper cut and the trademark flicks, they were all there.

It is strange how one good innings from Sachin brightens up my day and I am sure there are millions of other Indians who feel the same way. Sachin has been India's source of inspiration for years now. India hasn't produced many individuals who could inspire the entire country altogether. But surely Sachin is one of them. At one point of time Amitabh Bachchan had a similar stature in India. Sadly, after Mahatma Gandhi, no politician could gain that stature in India. And now the situation has worsened. Due to lack of any mass leaders in the country, no political parties are able to instill confidence in the minds of the voters, which would only lead to a divided mandate. From what the opinion polls suggest, no coalition would get a majority this time. This is a sad situation for a country which is desperately searching for a leader who could inspire the masses. India desperately needs a Sachin Tendulkar in politics..