The Great Indian Election Tamasha

Since the time The Great Indian Election Tamasha has started, I have been waiting to hear the real issues our politicians are promising to address but haven't managed to filter out the same from what our media is reporting - not their fault as there is so much 'news' to report - from Varun Gandhi's 'Saving Hindus' to Lalu's 'Roadroller' plans and of course the spicy war of words between Narendra Modi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Also, when the politicians are not talking about the real issues, what would our media report on! The only manifesto that seems to have got good media attention is Samajwadi Party's 'document'. Not because it is a very important party but because of the ridiculous plans they propose - ban English medium schools, computers and the machines being used in agriculture - all to help increase employment by creating a level playing field of Hindi speaking graduates (why do we need English, our country is on the moon and need not have any communication with the outside world) who would either compute using a slate and chalk or use a bullock cart to plough the fields.

Anyways, I decided to check out manifestos of both Congress and BJP, the two leading parties who are staking claim to power. Broadly, both the parties talk about good governance, economic growth, security and development (especially in the villages), focus on the youth, etc, etc. Peculiar things I noticed in BJP's manifesto include 'Jai Jawan in Action' (separate pay commission for the armed forces, no Income Tax, etc - smart move considering the armed forces are up in arms against the ruling government concerning the pay commission) and 'Defending the Civilisation' (building Ram Mandir, saving Ram Setu, cow protection, cleaning Ganga, etc - shall we clean the Yamuna also please?). Congress on the other hand also had two points that BJP did not address, 'Judicial Reforms' (yes please yes) and 'Involvement of overseas Indians in development' (good thought - but the overseas Indians probably need our support now considering the economic slowdown).

In terms of marketing, Congress' focus seems to be on the country's development, while BJP is focused on the message of change - changing the failed current government and getting a determined leader and a decisive government. They even have a slogan: 'Aren't YOU a volunteer for change yet?' to invite online volunteers; check our L K Advani's website which even has Congress bashing sections such as 'All in the name of Nehru-Gandhi family' and 'Educating Dr Manmohan Singh'. I must congratulate BJP on its Web 2.0 approach in wooing the youth through Mr Advani's blog and presence on social networking platforms such as Orkut, FaceBook and YouTube; however, I wonder whether he himself updates his blog posts and also is he the right face for the party to target the youth? There is also a blog dedicated to Rahul Gandhi, which projects him as the next prime minister (I don't think it is an authorised blog, though it gives the copyright to Rahul Gandhi only). My personal favourite is the musical war of the two parties, Congress' version of Rahman's Oscar winning song, 'Jai Ho' praising the government's achievements and BJP's 'Bhay Ho' saying just the opposite.

Anyways, I am no expert and would leave the analysis to the Sanghvis, Thapars, Goswamis and Roys of the world. But what I have is 1 vote, which I will use wisely (well, hopefully!) and I urge everyone to do so. Before I end this post, I have a few messages as a voter to some of the esteemed politicians in the country:

• Dear Mr Modi: Budhiya (old woman) or Gudiya (doll), why are you so obsessed with the Congress party's age or is it the leading women there (in that case, it is bad manners to comment on a woman's age)?
• Dear Mr Varun Gandhi: I feel sorry for you. Who writes your speeches? I'd advice you to sack him/her.
• Dear Ms Mayawati and Ms Maneka Gandhi: We have seen umpteen number of Nirupa Roy films and have a fairly good idea about Maa Ka Dukh (a mother's pain/sadness); so please spare us the debate, maybe, we can talk about the real issues?
• Dear Ms Priyanka Gandhi: Congratulations! your party has made a smart move to have an un-official mouthpiece to make tongue and cheek remarks on the competition. From Varun Gandhi to Modi to Mulayam Singh, you seem to have an unlimited supply of quotable quotes.
• Dear Mr Advani: We know you are a good orator and that is why challenging Dr Manmohan Singh to a live debate, but what is the fun when we know you won't give him a chance to speak. Anyways, it is a good idea though.
• Dear Dr Manmohan Singh: Come on don't be shy, come out and talk to us about what you stand for and why are you the right man for the post.
• Dear Laluji: I love your idea of a roadroller but it is not legal in India to kill anyone, you know.
• Dear Amar Singh ji: Your bade bhaiyya, Mr Bachchan blogs in English and on a computer, maybe he could employ a few people to write postcards in Hindi for his dedicated readers. Employment ka employment, postal revenues will also increase. What say?
• To all the Bollywood celebrities: You all are doing a good job by urging the country to vote but do not run away to South Africa on the D-Day to watch the IPL matches.
• And of course, Tata Tea: you have a very good idea - Jaago Re. Congratulations for not only having a brilliant marketing campaign but actually making a difference by providing assistance to first time voters and encouraging everyone to vote.

Also read: Jagoo Re by Girish Huria

Cartoon courtesy: http://www.manjul.com/

Think out of the box... which box, matchbox?

What is the most used word in corporate world these days? It is used in interviews, meetings, presentations, over smoke breaks, everywhere. In fact, it is the most exploited word as well. The word has helped a lot of people earn millions, from professors to authors to business consultants, everyone has reaped profits from this word. This powerful ten-letter word is 'Creativity'.

Everyone talks about creativity and how important it is, but how many of us truly understand it. We talk about thinking out of the box but who decides what is the size of the box, I mean what are the limits that we need to push. What might be a creative idea to me could be something routine for another person or vice-versa. Therefore, creativity is something that can't be defined; actually doesn't defining creativity would limit its scope and won't it be against the very concept of creativity? Anyways, I don't have an answer to this question...

I can only talk about what I feel about creativity. I feel that creativity is a state of mind, it stems from hunger to do more and desire to excel. The moment you are satisfied and settle down comfortably, creativity starts running away from you... so according to me creativity is inversely proportional to satisfaction.

I also feel that creativity does not mean thinking of something totally new or inventing something. All of us can't be Edison but can be creative. It is more to do with knowing what is happening around you and adapting, applying the same things in different manner to your project or task. As per science, creativity is a function of right brain but I feel that the basic premise of creativity lies in the left part, which is the cognitive area. Knowledge is extremely important and it fuels what we call creativity. That's why people with more experience tend to come with new ideas more comfortably as compared to newcomers. An argument to this is the fresh perspective; people who are new bring a fresh approach but that also stems from their understanding of the subject and past exposure or experience of things.

Well, I am no De Bono who can give gyan on creativity and write best-sellers but look forward to more views on the topic du jour. It is something all of us talk about in the corporate world and it'd be great to hear what others feel about the same...

Picture source: www.sawagechickens.com

Confessions of a workaholic

It is not something that I never doubted but always brushed it under the carpet. I got clues from my friends, family and colleagues but I chose to ignore them all, thinking that I know the best about myself. However, after spending five days at home nursing a bad case of flu, I have finally come to terms with my workaholic situation. Though I keep complaining about work but I was actually missing it and felt guilty for any problems my colleagues or clients would have faced in my absence. So, here's a list of traits/symptoms I have identified that indicate towards my workaholic syndrome along with the remedies thought.

Symptom # 1:

COS - COS stands for Compulsive Outlook Syndrome. It is a situation where you feel like checking your Outlook inbox at least once on your off days. You feel that if someone has sent an e-mail then you should promptly reply to it.

Remedy:

Assume that you do not have a computer and no access to webmail. It will take a lot of effort to ignore the presence of that machine or that clock like Microsoft Outlook icon on the desktop but it needs to be done.

Symptom # 2:

Feeling responsible for all the work happening at work - it is a delusionary state of self importance that a lot of us suffer from. You feel extremely important for completion of a particular project or task while the truth may be something else. You might be very good but in business no one is indispensable.

Remedy:

Watch Raj Kapoor's Mera Naam Joker and chant that 'the show must go on', five times a day. So, even if you are not there, the show will go on.

Symptom # 3:

Efficient today will lead to an easy tomorrow - while it all sounds the correct thing to do but in reality it may lead to something else. A lot of times you end up paying for your efficiency. You might finish all your work before time but the next day you end up taking even more as you have free time on your hands.

Remedy:

At the end of the work day (official timings) see whatever work is pending, work late on anything critical but for other things there's always tomorrow. Besides there are other people also to help you... Hooray! long live the team spirit.

Symptom # 4:

Holidays and leaves that lapse every year - Whether it is casual leave or sick leave or that long due annual leave, there's always un-availed leave in your attendance register that lapse at the end of the year.

Remedy:

Stop feeling guilty when taking leave. It's your right and if wasted can't come back. In fact, I have already started feeling bad about my un-availed leave :(

These are few things that I am trying to teach myself and hopefully will be able to strike a balance soon. Let me put it as my new year resolution number one. Thankfully, my case is not that bad and is not malignant like few people I know, so there's hope.

Before everyone at work thinks that I am planning to cut down on the amount of work I do, let me put it this way... YES I AM ;)