Brexit: A White-Washed Indian Family Drama?

The current political atmosphere in the United Kingdom is both charged and divided ahead of Brexit referendum to be held in less than 24-hours. Hearing arguments on immigration, economic freedom and independence reminds me debates that happen in our homes over joint family set-up and same-caste marriages. 

The UK Independence Party has been fiercely supporting the exit like daughter-in-laws seeking economic freedom and independence from joint-family set-up. The EU has been warning Britian of 

Exit price and no opportunity to come back in the union, while the Conservative party realizes the advantages, it is struggling to convince its citizens. As much as the joint family makes it feel rigid in the inside, it offers tremendous support and protectionism when things begin to go wrong. 

The cultural change brought about by immigration is another point of contention between the warring parties. If I were to bring home a girl from another caste or religion, my parents would not be too happy because of the dilution of cultural values and practices. Similarly, the Conservatives are worried about the fast-changing religious demographic and evolving British palette for Kebab and Curry. By exiting EU, Britain hopes to prolong the shelf-life of their culture and palette for fish and chips. Scientifically, Cross-pollination is an opportunity to improve the genetic make-up and propounds Darwinism: survival of the fittest and the need for constant evolution.

Another striking similarity to this white-washed version of the Indian family drama is the recent murder of a Parliamentarian, Jo Cox who supported staying in the EU, which resembles honor killings that happen here in the name of caste and religion. 

Irrespective of what we term this: a white-washed version of an Indian drama or a brown version of a British Soap, the Brits will have to face the repercussions of their choice, which will significantly alter their cultural DNA and legacy. Only time can tell the real merits and demerits of such a choice, until then let's enjoy the drama in British style with some beer, fish and chips.

Life lessons from Mowgli and Dory

Taking my 10-year old nephew to movies this summer has not only helped us bond, but also made me review the purpose of life and characters in it. But, before I share my interpretation and point out the uncanny resemblance of characters from these two movies (The Jungle Book and Finding Dory) to real life, let me share about a craze that hit our generation (the 1970 borns) like an epidemic.

The craze

I was my nephew's age then. Gold Spot, a popular soda, promoted their drink to kids using the Jungle Book. A certain number of bottle caps when turns in earned us the Jungle Book comic, which had a simple story line with vacant spots for key characters. Beneath every bottle cap of the drink came a character, which we collected and pasted in appropriate empty spots in the comic. We used our pocket money to buy Gold Spot drinks for the sake of collecting these characters and when we ran out of money, we walked by small shops in our neighborhood looking for Gold Spot caps. 

Sometimes, we got lucky, but most times we either spotted empty caps or those from other brands. A few of those lucky spots earned us multiple copies of the same character, which we swapped amongst our friends. May be we replaced these fictional characters with formulas, equations, theorems and science laws. Should we also include prejudices and biases to the above list?

A common theme

Both animation movies revolve around shortcomings, searching the past and returning home with help of friends. Returning home is a metaphor that can be used for jobs, people, relationships.

From Mowgli's perspective, the Jungle Book is a story of friendships and how it helped him handle vissicitudes of life and return home. From Shere Khan and King Luois's point-of-view, it is a tale of how prejudice, revenge seeking mentality, desirescan reduce one to ashes. 

Finding Dory, a sequel to Finding Nemo, not only involves return of Dory to her parents, but also return of species who were being forcefully taken away from the ocean in California to an aquarium in Cleveland. 

Reel is real!

Gone are those days where we exchanged duplicate characters in bottle caps, while today we discuss tales of such characters in our life. 

In our professional lives we often come across managers who mirror Shere Khan in their attitude and venomous peers like Ka who pretend to be our true friends. Fortunately, it is folks like Baloo, Bagheera, Akela and Raksha who make our lives happy.

Like Dory many of us have shortcoming that eclipse our objective of life. We happily move around lforgetting our goals and priorities like Dory. It is people who meet along the journey who help us get back on track and realize our dreams.

The two movies besides being funny, poignant and thought provoking remind us that life is often a mix of both good and evil characters and that one must pause and think of their objectives and not be hijacked by emotions and instincts. 

Watch the movie and come up with your own interpretation. Don't forget to listen to Baloo sing...The bare necessities of life will come to you...They'll come to you! - https://youtu.be/Gu8mFbBvoMI

Euphoria and Gratitude in Marriages

Yes, sometimes marriages can happen over social media in the corporate world. And there is one striking similarity in the emotion broadcasted after announcement of marriage plans and company buy-outs: overly optimistic. If you don't agree with me, watch the recent video of Jeff Weiner and Satya Nadella speak about what the take over means to each of their companies: https://youtu.be/HHVtNgngLHA. 

Jeff is seen to be controlling his smirk (he recalls what happened to Nokia after Microsoft buy out), while Satya brags about the deal and how it buying Linked In would help Microsoft expand its business. And subsequently, Jeff defends the deal and explains why it is a win-win for Linked In; as Satya vehemently shakes his head like a joyous partner who slipped in the engagement ring. You know who is the husband in the marriage.

Though I've never been married or engaged in my personal life, but in my professional life, I've played the role of a communications specialist giving false hope to both parties. At one time, I was a part of the team that prepared optimistic communications assuaging fears of employees and customers during Satyam fiasco, and later on announcing an aquistioon to employees, compiling Q&A to customers and financial analysts who often sit on the fence questioning the value of the deal and success/failure of the acquisition strategy.

Over valued?

Microsoft is paying 79 times the social network's earnings before EBITDA and Linked In shares are being bought over at $220 despite Linked In shares dropping in value by 44% due to poor performance reported in Feb 2016 and losing $11 billion in market cap. 

Today 26.2 billion deal is being questioned, analyzed and reviewed by press, analysts on business channels and shareholders on Twitter. Though we could hear the similar tune in the background: over valuation, but let's not forget that the rich always marries into rich and often the marriage is a way to consolidate wealth and safeguard personal prosperity more than ensuring prosperity for employees and shareholders. Linked In shares surged in value (46%) as soon as the deal was announced by Microsoft, which clearly shows the market pulse on the buy-out.

Raw deal

In my professional career, I have gone through the experience of both being taken over by a smaller player and taking over a smaller player. The truth is that, many of colleagues were made redundant and high cost resources being replaced with cheaper options from the other side bringing gloom to employees. 

Just as kids get a raw deal in a marriage, employees get the other end of the stick in M&As. Euphoria and gratitude are both an illusion as management looks to multiply their wealth and reduce cost. The only parties that stands to gain in corporates marriages are lawyers, investment bankers, deal brokers and consulting companies (therapist) that work on post-merger integration. 

Vasantham: A Heaven on Earth

When the students were asked to assemble in the room downstairs, one of them came running down the stairs looking for his parents. Upon seeing me, he was a little disappointed, but I wasn't. Anitha and I had driven for an hour to see them and understand their needs. 

Shortly, remaining students trickled down the stairs to join us in a classroom across from the administrative room. We didn't have any earlier experience of interacting with this many children; their warmth, inquisitive nature and special talents didn't do justice to the tag - mentally challenged. Though we were a bit nervous, but we quickly snapped out it and began by introducing ourselves. We explained the objective of our visit in simple terms in an attempt to win their trust and confidence. The next thirty minutes turned into a very pleasant interaction as they showcased their super powers.

A student in a pitch-perfect voice adhering to tala (rhythm) sounded like a professional singer as he sang hymns on Ganesha; many of his classmates chimed in without hesitation. A few other students asked us if knew the score from the one-day cricket match between India and Zimbabwe. And shortly, teachers took turn to brag about their students successfully passing 8th grade exams. What we saw and heard inside definitely didn't match the name board displayed at the entrance. All of them were specially talented. The love and care of attenders and how they intervened to calm and pacify was beyond motherly.

We were taken on a tour of the classrooms to understand the kind of formal and vocational education imparted to students. One of the admin staff who was busy filing invoices and bills when we walked into the facility shared his story at the end of his tour. Three years ago when he discovered his son was a special child he quit his high paying job in Bangalore started work at this school in an effort to better understand his son, who is now six.

As we sat down to discuss their needs with Mrs. Alli Murugesan, who has been running this school for over 30 years, she revealed amazing abilities of her children and how some of them have become a part of the administrative staff. The place doubles up as a  residential school for 40 special children, while 70 others go back to their homes at the end of day.

Anitha and I had stepped out convinced that the place was aptly named Vasantham. In a few weeks, we will be organizing a medical camp for these lovely children. Many thanks to our donors and a special thanks to my friend Maheshwaran for recommending this school of angels with special powers to me.

Surge Pricing - An economic offence

And just when the middle class and the millennials are rejoicing on the arrival of  cab aggregators such as Ola and Uber to teach a lesson to fleecing autos, the cab aggregators have suddenly introduced 'surge pricing', thereby, abruptly ending consumer happiness. Is surge pricing a consumer-friendly approach? Is it day-light robbery in the name of supply demand economics? Is it a kill joy in an already anti-consumer market? Let's discuss. 

What is surge-pricing?

When supply overtakes demand, there is an artificial scarcity, which leads to temporary price increase. As a result, consumers either pay a high price to use the service or go in search of cheaper options that let the demand drop and correct the surge in price. 

Every time I tried to book an Ola or Uber in the last six months around peak hours both in morning and late evening, my enthusiasm and faith in using their services got tripped and I was shocked due to their surge pricing. 

Derail Smart City Objective

While Tamil Nadu has been a forerunner and an example for many other states when it comes to Public Distribution system, public transportation, etc. it has been anti-consumer with unregulated auto fares. It is not easy to travel in big cities like Chennai during peak hours due to lack of adequate and well-developed transportation network and lack of last mile connectivity. Especially, autos have gone unchecked for the last 40-years who operate without meters and only work on surge pricing. While many Governments have come and gone and despite the High Court order for fare regulation, enforcement remains a distant dream. Is this how we run smart cities?

Economic principles and government policies are against monopoly and cartels only on paper. As a result, cheaper alternatives like Share autos have mushroom in the city creating chaos, traffic issues and safety issues for citizens.

Protectionism vs. Favouritism 

Is economics more about anti-citizens policy and making the corporates richer by plundering the consumer? When I asked the Ola ans Uber drivers if the surge pricing charges gets passed on to them, their response was peanuts.

Some western countries like Germany and France, who strongly believe in regulating market forces, have banned Uber and similar services to protect the interests of traditional cab drivers at the cost of consumers. On the other India is cautious about foreign direct investment in retail, anti-competition and unwilling to let the market forces adjust the supply vs. demand has turned partially blind towards consumers, allowing day-light robbery in the name of protectionism. 

Governments across the world operate busses, trains, and aircrafts to ensure essential transportation services are affordable to commoners. The cash-starved Indian Railways 15 years ago introduced Tatkal pricing by selling some seats at a premium to make more money. And recently they've also introduced surge-pricing, yet another anti-consumer approach to compete with the unregulated Omni bus industry to stay profitable. Shouldn't efficiency be the focus and the tool to bring about profitability rather than fleecing the middle and lower-income group that travel by trains and busses?

Against Public Interest

Most of times surge-pricing is a trick employed by cab drivers and cab aggregators to create artificial scarcity by keeping cabs off road and charging more to book higher profit. This is termed as 'hoarding' in economics. We saw this economic term play up in the recent past with dal and onion prices going up the roof. Government of India raided warehouses and imported lentils to address scarcity and put an end to surge-pricing and act in the interest of larger public. Sometimes, when cartels and monopolies are operated by politicians or strong lobbies, nothing can be done. 

An Economic offence

How different is surge-pricing from insider trading? In insider trading the people close to the management or part of it have access to additional information that is used to trade shares and make big gains. Similarly, cab operators have access to peak traffic hours and keep cabs off the street to create artificial demand. May be it is high time we categorize surge-pricing as an economic offence and make it punishable?

All said and done, it is the duty of both state and central governments to keep the price of essential commodities checked and services affordable, regulated and be consumer friendly than act in favor of corporates. Though India may import business models from the West that has a higher percentage middle-class and additional income, while majority of India is still living in rural and just at or below the poverty line with no savings. 

The Tale of Two Nations

Though the economic success of a product or a service may be decided by supply and demand, but long-term success is decided by hard to earn good will and customer satisfaction. After having lived in three continents for a decade, I see both India and Europe having an identical approach to customer service.

3-years ago a fortnight after I moved into an furnished apartment in Paris the washing machine broke down. I immediately reported to the rental agency, who cooly asked me to endure the month of August without one. Should I start washing my clothes with my hands?

The agency told me that summer vacations are taken seriously and there is not a single soul around to come in and take a look. Instead they advised me to find a laundromat or an electrician/plumber to get the machine fixed. Should I be surprised to hear this kind of a response in a nation where customer service should be at the forefront of every business?

Summers can be equally challenging in India from scorching temperature, finding a cool vacation spot and getting a train ticket to travel. Though I managed to find an accommodation on the Queen of Hills, I couldn't get a train ticket and instead settled in for a sleeper bus to get there.

Having travelled on KPN Travels many times before, I didn't look else where for a ticket. Moreover, they had recently lunched a mobile application to provide customers with a swift and seamless experience. But did that swiftness and customer friendly experience show up at their facility, and during the travel?

A journey that was expected to be uneventful suddenly turned dangerous. 24 of us were woken up by a loud noise and a rude surprise at 2.20 am. It took a few minutes for the driver to realise what had happened. Quickly a co-passenger came around evacuating the bus. We didn't have time to question if it is a fire in the bus, a tire explosion or did the bus driver run over somebody? I jumped off my berth with my phone and wallet and disembarked the bus leaving my luggage behind.

NH45 was pitch dark and we didn't have a clue on our location. Women who had taken refuge in front of the bus that was lit by the powerful headlights and were comforting their wailing kids, while men folk were busy surveying the rear of the bus. A lorry smashed into the rear end of the bus smashing the glass windows leaving two elderly passengers covered with fine glass from head to toe.

It took a few minutes for the driver to fathom what had transpired and assess the damage. Bus driver confirmed the location; the nearest town was 30 kms away and none of the buses and cars that passed by were prepared to stop and ask if we needed help. Since the two elderly had minor bruises it was managed with the safety kit onboard the bus and there was no need for us to call the ambulance. Moreover, having no faith in our police, and collusion between bus owners and politicians we felt calling their head office in Salem to report the incident and asking them for an alternate transport was the best way out.

Finally, it took seven phone calls to get someone to answer us, but did that guarantee a solution?
One of us narrated the incident and the phone was passed on to the driver who hung up in a few minutes. Not sure what had transpired, anxious passengers grilled the driver  30-minutes turned into an hour and we didn't receive any call back from the head office.We tried calling back their headquarters, but weren't given a solution. With no solution in hand, we asked the driver to get us to the nearest town for us to find an alternative solution.

Finally, after a delay of 3 hours we reached Trichy at 6.15 am. The bus reached KPN office and the drivers were promptly swapped. We were asked to get off the bus, but don't hope they had an alternate transport in place.The bus cleaner was asked to clean up the glass pieces and we were put on the shoddily cleaned bus to our destination 5 hours away.

None of us were in a mood to protest for a few reasons. One, we were tired from a sleepless night. Two, we wanted leave Trichy at the earliest as it is a cauldron in summer. Lastly, all 24 of us wanted to reach our destination and enjoy our remaining time on the Queen of Hills, Kodaikanal.

3 hours after we had departed from Trichy, while still enroute to Kodaikanal, we all received a SMS from KPN. Could it be an apology or were they giving us a full-refund or a free-ride voucher? How about none of the above? An automated message with a google link to a feedback form was shared with us. We still hadn't reached our destination and our plead for an alternate bus had been dismissed and no apology was tendered by their staffs, yet they had audacity to send us a link to feedback form.

As much as France would like to preach Egalite, Liberte, Fraternite and India would like to brag about 'Athithi Devo Bhava" (treat guest with respect and love) and Incredible India slogan we Indians have no value for life and respect for customers. 
 

Though automated, at least a feedback form was shared with us, while the real estate agency in France never asked me for a feedback on their services. In this time and age, customer is no more the King in both these nations.

As much as economics talks about price fixing and overcharging from shortage of supply and excess demand, today I realised poor customer service never gets discussed or explained. Anyway, what would you have rated both countries for their rudeness, insensitivity, unapologetic behavior and poor customer service?

Summer of 2016

After a copious monsoon in 2015, I was prepared for a hot and humid summer, but certainly wasn’t ready to handle reunions that bring back warm memories and people from the past. Surprisingly, summer of 2016 turned out to be mild on the weather front, but very warm and sticky on the people front. 

 

A few weeks ago I connected with my college mates after a gap of twenty years and last weekend I met up with many of my first cousins after a long gap. I also ran into some relatives after a gap of 22 years. Do such reunions live beyond the initial euphoria and brouhaha? 

 

Pragmatist or Pessimist?

As much as I like to make memories and meet and connect with people, I also like review them from time to time. I don’t get into the mode of exchanging numbers or connecting with them on social media platforms. Summers of my life has taught me to explore sustainability of both new connections and renewing old connections than fantasizing a great friendship ahead or getting too high on nostalgia. Does that make me a pragmatist or a pessimist?

 

Despite taking a vow not to attend anymore weddings, I made an exception last weekend to attend the marriage of my last and youngest first cousin on my father's side. My absence from the wedding scene neither changed the atmosphere nor made me grow any fond of it.

 

Weddings and Political rallies

Weddings are also reunions of another kind. It brings family members and cousins who drifted apart for personal and professional reasons. Unlike weddings of yesteryears, weddings today resemble political rallies. Like politicians who visit your home before election seeking your vote, relatives come home seeking your participation. They often lure you with gifts to get you to attend their event and some even offer you transport and accommodation. And once you accept their bribes you are forced to show up to enjoy unlimited food, gossip, advice and entertainment. Not sure if you realize that by participating in the gossip they also end up offering their lives to be analyzed, assayed, and adjudged. As soon as the wedding is over, you are forgotten.

 

As much I stay away from political inclined individuals and rallies, I also stay away from marriages, evangelists who sell marriages and gossip mongers who pollute human minds with their contorted views of the world and individuals. 

 

Turning to Humor 

I turned cold feet and didn’t know what to expect as I hadn’t attended weddings in the last 4 years. But the recent mini-reunions with college mates in various cities help me get prepared. I rehearsed my lines and witty responses for people who walk up to me to give me their unsolicited opinions on my single hood and advices on how to lead my life.

 

For example, one of them was curious to know why I sported a bald look and I responded by saying that this was the easiest way to shine in life. My responses got funnier as questions got too personal.

 

What surprised me the most was when my immediate family made a decision on what I must wear for the wedding reception and someone who I met after 20 years at the wedding gave me unsolicited advice on personal grooming. Do I really look like someone who needs help or advice on what to wear and how to look? I never questioned anyone’s choice to stay single or married nor did I have an opinion on what they must wear or where they must go for their next vacation. Opinions are like assholes, everybody has one, but I keep mine clean and open it only when needed. 

Not Singled Out

If it thought I was being singled out at these reunions, you are mistaken. Married couple without kids were being taunted for not reproducing and divorced or widowed couples cringed and sat in a corner being afraid of attracting the attention of wagging tongues and loose cannons. 

Incredibly Indian

As much as Indian weddings are known for color, grandeur, fanfare and food, it is also a fertile petri dish for culturing gossip and conducting character (assass)inations. This society willfully approves violation of personal boundaries and individual privacy and choices. Should we be shocked at their behavior or should we accept this as a way of life and distinction of our Indianness?

I failed to understand why we Indians feel compelled to offer their uncalled-for opinions or find a need to concur with my views of life. As a society, why do we feel it is our moral responsibility and birth right to offer roadmaps for others lives and decide their negotiables and non-negotiables?

 

The Summer of 2016 made me realize that happiness in reunions be it with classmates or cousins evaporates very quickly turning the venue into court rooms that deliver judgments, tailor rooms that measures without tolerance and an altar that dispenses unsolicited advice.