12 hours, 6 yards and 7 Notes

The previous evening a young voyeuristic musician was showing off his intelligence, while the hall was filled with young pseudo intellects applauding to every vocal fart. And the next morning an Octogenarian musician accompanied by her student on the vocal was singing atma amrita sangeetham sans gimmicks and voyeurism. Not just her, but the accompanist too produced music that was soothing and enhanced the performance. Kindly note the average age in the audience jumped by at least 30 years overnight.

What is so fascinating about Sangita Kalanidhi Smt. R. Vedavalli's concert is her successful attempt in transporting audience on a spiritual trip. She educates both those on the dias and sitting across from here with her unhurried raga exposition, clear diction and chaste rendition. While rendering Dikshithar's first krithi in Mayamalavagowali she made her student do nereval at Madhuryagana Amritapano and also subtlety corrected her when she wrongly split words Gana and Amrtiapano. While the previous evening was about showmanship and wearing ego on their sleeves with no regard to music and composers.

It is not just the six yards saree that Vedavalli drapes around her shoulder respectfully, but also the seven notes with the responsibility of being a custodian of Carnatic music and humbly passing on the tradition to the next generation. Our music is the only one capable of giving mukthi to those performing and listening. Instead, why not sing with devotion and sincerity keeping aside our intellect driven by our ego?

The 12 hours brought out two different musicians on stage and what they had to share with the world. From giving her student, an opportunity to perform alongside her on the alapana, nereval, kalpanaswaram to sharing her knowledge and wisdom with fellow musicians and rasikas she is an open source code in the age of paid Apps.

I noticed a few from last evening performance troop in late. May be they knew this was the place to cleanse their dirt from last evening. Yes, her music is the Ganges equivalent in Carnatic Music. If Only Thyagaraja was around today he would have sung Vedavalli Neesamana Evaru?

Many Aha moments with Pandit

I was late by a minute when I entered the ground floor hall at Music Academy and just as I opened the door I was welcomed by a powerful voice rendering a master piece of Thyagaraja in Jaganmohini. By the time I found a seat TS Pattabhirama Pandit began to render the chittaswarams and I was quickly forced to settle down to enjoy the delectable composition. To lengthen the joy of swatting hands and swaying heads he threw in a quick round of kalpanaswarams. What a bold and beautiful way to begin a concert I thought.

As a next item he presented one of Shyama Sastri Krithi in Reetigowlai Janani Ninnuvina. One could have written down the notation and lyrics, credit goes to the clarity and devotion of his rendition. With two of the Trinity presented the next one was expected to be Mutthuswami Dikshithar. Pattabirama began with Pantuvaralai, the first one to elaborate at Music Academy this season and many more may come, but his rendition will linger in our mind for long. He turned his vocal chords into an wind instrument and traversed the three scales effortlessly, paused and moved between notes making the raga exposition a deva gaanam. Dikshithar's composition on Ramanatha Swamy of Rameshwaram, Ramanathan Bhajeham was rendered in adherence to tradition giving listeners much needed tranquility after Vardah, tropical cyclone.

He quickly outlined Nalinakanthi to delight listeners with the popular and fast paced Krithi Manavyalakin. Who would dare to step out of the hall or fall asleep? While listeners where under his magic spell, he went on to sketch Shanmukhapriya bringing out the hidden beauty and emotions in its contours and presented a Thanam followed by a Pallavi (Aadum Deivam Un Paadham Panivom, Thaka Thakita Thakadhimi Natana) in Tisra Triputa talam. The way he moved from Ragam, Thanam, Pallavi to Kalpanaswarams in Revathi,  Bilahari, Malayamarutham, Desh and came back in reserve order reminded me of a gymnast moving from a bar to bench and back and forth to leaving the audience with many Aha moments without bringing them to the edge of the seat. Though Pandit was given his last name, I felt he has duly earned to make it a prefix to his first name.

He concluded the concert with a beautiful Virutham Ramanarayanam saluting his Guru followed by Kandu Dhanya in Behag on Udipi Krishna. Though there wasn't a memory shortage to take home his raga expositions and renditions, but which one do I takeaway? Should it be Pantuvarali or Shanmukhapriya or Nalinakanthi? I'm sure you will have a similar dilemma if you heard him.

Through practice and hard work Pattabirama has graduated from 11.45 am to 1.30 pm slot at Music Academy. The compositions of Trinity earned him a spot in the hearts of layman, while his scholarly rendition of RTP deserves a double promotion. Will Music Academy move him up by a slot? 

Learn to Enjoy the Show

In the last 72 hours the electronic, print and social media has been seeded with conspiracy theories over Jayalalithaa's death and power capture by Sasikala and Co.
The public has been trapped into participating in these discussions without realizing that succession, power capture and gathering support has been the way of life not just in AIADMK, but in our households, professional lives and in the spiritual world. Don't you agree?

Common Denonimator
In many households it is between the husband and wife, in some it is between the father and son or mother-in-law and daughter-in-law and in a few others it is between co-sisters or between the daughter and sister-in-law, power struggle is the least common divisor. The eldest member of the family is respected by the society and is be seen as the custodian of power, while the junior members often end up taking care of day-to-day affairs with their guidance and patiently waiting for their turn. Isn't that the norm?

During her 28-year association with Jayalalithaa, Sasikala has been managing not just the household, but also picking and choosing of MLAs to negotiating with industrialists and bureaucrats. With the passing away of the matriarch, isn't it logical for Sasikala to take over as the next custodian of power and money? Why is the public led by media making a brouhaha about this natural succession?

Dravidian 3.0 - Snakes and Ladders
Our professional lives mirror the snakes and ladders game; by rolling the right numbers the winner ascends, while others end up meeting their fate in the hands of venomous snakes. How many of us have missed promotions and salary increases or transferred because who've not been his or her masters voice? How many of us have left organizations because of our managers or followed them to other organizations?

Despite being thrown out by Jayalalithaa multiple times, Sasikala pretended like Jayalalithaa to be steadfast and loyal. She sacrificed her personal life to reap bigger gains in her political life. Over a period Jayalalithaa managed to replace her mentor MGR's image with hers and altering the underlying Dravidian beliefs and principles. While Jayalalithaa strategically managed the state through bureaucrats, Sasikala tactically managed selection of ministers and controlling the fortune of the party and its coffers. With Sasikala ascending the throne, we must expect Jayalalithaa's image to the sidelined and Dravidian party moving further away from its founding principles. So, stop whining and accept change as the only constant and get ready for Dravidian 3.0 otherwise you will succumb to Darwinism.

Music and politics
It is December music season in Chennai, an occasion when music aficionados in large numbers from within and outside the city throng halls and sabhas to hear their favorite musicians. Have you ever asked how many of them truly belong the school they claim to be from? How many of them have falsely claimed to be mantle holders for a particular tradition or baani of music after learning just a song from the person? How many of them pay to get performance slots and lobby to get their awards including the most coveted Sangita Kalanidhi?

Jayalalithaa is vey much like Barath Ratna MS Subbulakshmi; she didn't mentor anyone or wanted to have a successor. In Carnatic music, though there is no formal anointing ceremony, there is tradition of giving students who accompanied them on stage and tours due rights to carry forward the mantle. The successful Sangita Kalanidhi Sudha Ragunathan ended up accompanying her guru MLV and her sudden demise, void and musical resemblance of led to her growth. Isn't that what Sasikala did by merely accompanying Jayalalithaa on her tours showcasing her proximity and now duly claiming her position to the throne? Why this media brouhaha? Instead why not let people decide if she is fit to stay in the throne?

In mutts and spiritual centers
The places where we go to worship, seek peace and shed our egos have been an epicenter of power struggle. From self styled God man Nithyananda who pretended to be a devotee of Madurai Adheenam to the two factions in Kanchi Mutt with the pontiffs Jayendra Saraswathi and Vijayendra Saraswathi and their families have all been involved in capturing power and fortune. When those who are supposed to be role models and spiritually lead the society are behind power and money, why are the public reacting adversely to mortals like Sasikala and the Mannargudi Mafia greediness?

A repeat of Dec 24, 1987
30 years ago when MGR passed away, Jayalalithaa stood by head to subtly claim her succession. Though MGR hadn't anointed his successor, but by merely using her proximity to him over the last 22 years, Jayalalithaa captured power and party leadership. The voices that resented her claim and captured slowly joined her. For the first time the leadership of the party moved from a patriarch to a matriarch.

What is happening today is a mere repeat of  Dec 24, 1987. But this time around Sasikala, who was associated with Jayalalithaa for over 28 years was fully prepared. She had made her bargains and prepared the stage for smooth transition of power and leadership. By performing the last rites and accepting the flag, she symbolically communicated her role as the successor without a press conference and taken over the matriarch's mantle. So, instead of reacting adversely to Sasikala ascending the throne, understand the greediness of humans and attraction to power, patiently wait for a better version to take down the present Sasikala.

Remember, in the ecological pyramid there is a role for every creature from a parasite to a scavenger to a predator. Enjoy the show on this Animal Planet!

What we can learn from Jayalalithaa’s life!

One of the reasons for me to stop attending weddings was because people came up with unsolicited advice on the importance of marriage and now that people have began using bereavements and funerals to hound me with the same message; I am thinking of putting an end to attending funerals.

On Tuesday noon I received a call from my former neighbor whom I hadn’t seen her in the last five years, but earlier in the day I recognized her on the television as she paid her tributes to the former Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa’s body at Rajaji Hall. After short exchanges about CMs demise, she quickly began advising me on getting married and how it provided a safety net so that I don’t end up like Jayalalithaa. I was tongue-tied as I hadn’t expected this call to take such a turn. Moreover, I wasn’t interested to argue with her or convince her of my choice. Instead, I moved the conversation away from the topic of marriage and disproving parallels drawn from Jayalalithaa’s life and her singlehood.

Apart from this conversation, what I watched on the television and read in the online media got me thinking more about family and singlehood. Does singlehood bring sorrow and does marriage and family provide one with a safety net and peace?

That evening I made my regular check-point call to my maternal grandparents, who are in their 80s. They shared their grief from watching Jayalalithaa’s funeral and their anxiety getting a decent funeral when they die. Feeling their anguish, I assured them that a corpus was available to give them a grand farewell without cutting corners or taking short-cuts and that I will be the back-up in case their son derelicts his duty.

Unfortunately, marriage and family didn’t put their insecurities to rest (my grandmother wants my grandfather to pass away before her, while my grandfather wants to live till her great grandson’s wedding) and their family (son, daughter-in-law and grand children) have been neglecting them for over a decade, while living off their wealth like a leech. I wanted to call back my former neighbor to share this example and prove to her that her theory of marriage and family doesn’t guarantee anything in reality.

A few hours after Jayalalithaa’s burial, the online media was rife with rumors that her 110 crore assets is being usurped by Sasikala and family. If only AIADMK Party Supremo Jayalalithaa had left a Will behind with an executor, there would be no blaming of her kin from a 28-year long association and giving them no room for foul play or media to speculate. Moreover, Jayalalithaa enjoying the goodwill, loyalty and prayers of her cadres, didn’t care about their future in her absence. Did her political advisor Cho also fail to advice on this front? Today, she left the party and state without a succession planning giving rise to infighting and disappointing the cadres and reminding us of this song Ethanayo peyirukku from the movie Vanthale Maharasi and making the lines “Adhigara peyigal irukkudhada adhu sadhikaara gumbalai valarkudhada more relevant.

Though we don’t want any stake in my maternal grandparents’ wealth and I’ve been asking them to make a will so that it solves a lot of blame, heart-burn and legal entanglements after their time.  

Both disease and death come uninvited and unplanned. In the last 75 days before her death, Jayalalithaa was off and on ventilator and finally after suffering a cardiac arrest, going through CPR, having  heart massaged and put on ECMO life support before being pronounced dead 15 hours later. Why did the convent educated Jayalalithaa not think about putting down her living will and informing her physician? That would have saved her dearest friend Sasikala from having to make all those tough medical decisions and getting blamed by the media and public for being secretive, private and hasty. 

Though my grandmother feels anxious about her funeral and looks impractical for not drafting her will, but sounds just the opposite when it comes to her living will. She has verbally told us and her physician that she doesn’t want to suffer or be kept alive especially when she is terminally ill, put on ventilator or declared brain dead.

Increasingly families are becoming nuclear, marriages are breaking down quickly, people staying single for long and longevity improving by a decade, we must make our future decisions today and not depend on others to sort out our mess later. With death being certain, inevitable and unpredictable, you have to be ready with your will and living will so that you don’t leave your family and friends in quandary. 

So, rather than hounding people to get married and start a family, let’s remind them of the importance to get their will and living will in place before we begin our final journey. 

Tokyo: From the Top to its Underbelly

 

With a population of 13.5 million, Tokyo is the most populated of Japan’s 47 prefectures. As result of people’s ambition and rapid economic progress Tokyo’s cityscape changed in the last 50 years. Today, 16 of 25 tallest building in Japan are in Tokyo. The 1500 earth quakes that rattle Japan each year haven’t deterred people from building such tall towers and making them quake resistant.

Though there are a few places for one to enjoy the breathtaking views of the city in Tokyo, I headed to the Tokyo Government Metropolitan Tower in Shinjuku to catch a glimpse of the city. I’ve seen this building in the climax battle between Godzilla and Mecha-Kind Ghidorah in the move Godzilla.

Being an Indian, I didn’t have great expectations given how shabbily we maintain our Government Offices, but Tokyo proved me wrong and set new standards of expectation. The 48-story building has two towers, the North and South and the 45^th floor has a free viewing deck that gives unabated view of the city and its landscape.  

A separate access to the 45^th floor ensures tourists don’t hamper functioning of building and its occupants. It was a cold morning and I picked up at hot chocolate and boarded the separate elevator that took less than 50 seconds to get to the observation deck. Unlike Sear’s and Sean Tower with a see through glass floor on the observatory deck, the Metropolitan Building is less dramatic and more informative and scenic.

Huge glass windows give great views of the city that is home to 13.5 million people and a million trees. Each window has a panel that informs you of the buildings in front from the famous Sky Tower in the East, Tokyo Tower akin to Eiffel Tower in the North to Yoyogi Park in the South. I overheard one the guides talk about the old Olympic Stadium from 1964 and then pointing towards the proposed site for the new one for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

 

The view of Tokyo from above is overwhelming and is a great example of planned urbanization and economic prosperity. After spending 45minutes on each of the towers, I came down with the feeling of visually conquering Tokyo and with a question: do beautiful and populous cities like Tokyo have underbellies?

While some may want to categorize love hotels, red light districts and seedy side as the underbelly, but I choose to hunt down people living in poverty and looking for squatters and those engaging in creative art aka graffiti or street art. I found answer to my question between Shinjuku and Shibuya. As much as economic development added beauty to the skyline of Tokyo, its downturn created underbellies for homeless and hungry. Though squatting is illegal in Japan and squatters have no place to go except parks.

None 300 people were visible when we look at Yoyogi Park from the Metropolitan building, but when I walked by the park I couldn’t ignore those who put to tents and make shift roofs against rain and sun. Shouldn’t developed countries create a safety net to catch those being ejected from the wheel of fortune?

While I went looking for dens of homeless people, I discovered the artistic side of Tokyo that I call the modern day Musee d’orsay. Can a disciplined nation that love to live by rules engage in graffiti wars defacing public places?

Japan considers graffiti an act of vandalism and if caught one can face up to 5 years in prison. Some artists have found ways to skirt constraints by performing in front of an audience.

 

Last year, Japan hosted its first weeklong event Pow Wow inviting graffiti artists to paint in certain areas of the town like Shibuya and Harajuku. Here are some pictures taken during my exploration in Tokyo. Though Tokyo rates much lower compared to what I witnessed in US (NYC, Chicago) and Europe (Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam), but then it is quickly becoming the graffiti capital of Asia. Here is an interesting read: http://www.vice.com/read/writers-block-how-tokyo-became-asias-graffiti-capital.

I came home that evening overwhelmed from the views atop 243 meter Metropolitan Building and exploration walk between Shibuya and Shinjuku. As much as the law prohibits, Mangas and Graffiti co-exist alongside the rich and homeless without being on your face and disturbing the equilibrium.

Come back soon to take our ride on the famous Shinkansen to Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima.

 

Fish Tales to Future of Science

In the last few blogs, I have been sharing about Japanese culture drawing parallels and highlighting contrasts. I would not do justice to my trip and writing if I didn’t speak about their cuisine and their futuristic thinking.

We woke up early next morning with a plan to visit the Tsukiji Market that contributes to world cuisines and the local economy. I wanted to visit Tsukiji Market for two reasons despite being a vegetarian. It is one of the largest fish markets in the world that auctions 400 varieties of seafood ranging from cheap seaweed, tasty sardines, healthy tuna, and expensive caviar to controversial whales across the world. Second, with plans to move this historic market operating since 1923, I wanted to capture and experience the mood before it becomes a postcard.

Did you know that Japan is one of the fish bowls of the world and also maintains one of the largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch? Auctions at Tsukiji fetch over 6 billion each year and the market employs 60,000 wholesalers, accountants, auctioneers, company officials, and distributors.

The busy inner market opens at 3 am in the morning to auction fresh catches between 5 am and 6.30 am. The mood inside is electric like the trading floor in a stock market and attracts a lot of visitors. With the Michelin Guide awarding Tokyo by far the most Michelin stars of any city in the world, the market gets best chefs come by to grab fruits der mer.

While walking around in the market, I was reminded of the lessons learnt from Stephen Lundin’s Fish Tales on energizing monotonous work places and lives by changing our attitude. Here at Tsukiji there seemed to be no dearth of positive energy and great attitude.

Once the auctions were over the inner market turns calm and visitors move to the outer market to taste the delicacies and shop for kitchen tools. Can you believe there are over 500 sushi restaurants in this area and all of them have live counters where food is cooked and served on the spot. Can it get any fresher?

I never knew the marine world could be is this colorful, but it was sad to see some of them waving at us to set them free. Though it was a great experience to watch and tour the market, the walk killed my appetite. While exiting, we sniffed each other to ensure we didn’t smell like the ones on display as we were headed to witness future of science at the Miraikan Science & Technology Museum.

In 70s and 80s Japan was a world leader in technology and manufacturing and I remember growing up playing with Nintendo games, watching movies on Sanyo VCR’s and my driving my first car (Toyota) in the US. With the birth of Silicon Valley and China turning into world’s manufacturing hub, Japan became the modern day Harappa Mohenjo-Daro. And that image was about to change as I walked into Miraikan – National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation.

A shiny ball hanging from the roof and a dozen flatbeds didn’t look like a proper ambiance for a Museum, but what was projected on the ball turned the comfortable beds into a beds of thorn.  A 15 minute movie on Searching Planet produced in collaboration with Google projected real-time data on climate change, wind patterns, temperature rise and depletion in forest cover and fauna. It instilled a sense of moral responsibility in us to save the planet and its species from extinction.

While the first exhibit made us a bit anxious about the future, what we saw on the next three floors gave us the hope and faith in science to fix global warming, exploring human body to detecting life threatening diseases like cancer through bio markers and curing crippling diseases like spine injury, to improving health care and interact with humanoids.

I’ve walked through science museums across the world where exhibits explain about the past and present, but this is the only museum where I saw tomorrow, today. At the end of the visit, I was convinced the promising sun was rising again in the land of rising sun.

On the next blog, let’s discover Tokyo from the top and explore its rarely seen underbelly. 

From Parallels to the Contrasts in Tokyo

Though our legs were tired after exploring Senso-ji Temple, but the wooded area motivated us to walk a few more miles inside the Meiji forest (Yoyogi Park) spread over 70 hectares (170 acres). The freshly baked rice crackers we purchased at Nakamishi-Dori outside Senso-ji temple and a bottle of water bottle felt like a good option to have a quick picnic in the middle of the city.

                                        View from Tokyo Metropolitan Tower 45th Floor

The Yoyogi Park has been a venue for so many historic events in the past. It metamorphosed from being a runway to the first flight take off in Japan in 1910, an army parade ground to an athletic village and gymnasium built for the 1964 Olympics. Today, it is home to 120,000 trees of 365 different species and is a refreshing green space in the middle of the concrete jungle reminding me of the Central Park in NYC and the IIT campus in Chennai pumping fresh oxygen and absorbing carbon dioxide and other exhaust gases.

Only 22% of land area in Japan is inhabitable of which 68.5% are forests. As much as the Japanese respect nature and forest, they also recycle their land to maintain the ecological balance. At the entrance to the Park, hug wine vats and sake donated to the Shrine have been kept in display on either side. The wine was gifted by wineries from Bourgogne region in France to the Emperor of Japan (Meiji), while Sake was gifted by the locals.

We walked all the way to the Meiji Shrine and the Imperial Museum on the other side of the park enjoying the flora and fauna and lay on the grass nibbling on the rice crackers, starring at the blue sky and enjoying the beautiful weather.

From the company of trees, we headed to famous Shibuya to watch the locals and tourist at the world’s business crossing. It is mesmerizing to watch both the chaos and orderliness. The Starbucks on the 2^nd floor of the Q-Front building is a vantage point to watch the unfolding of the madness and orderliness that repeats every two minutes.

All traffics lights turn red at the same time for a minute and you watch people suddenly in the middle of the road talking pictures. Is it the modern day Masai mara or a flash mob? And when the light turns green in 60 seconds the orderliness returns and the place looks calm.

After going through the crossing a few times, we walked around the neighborhood looking for a decent India restaurant and to our surprise we discovered Milan Natraj on the 3^rd floor of a lean building, which served only vegetarian meal.  After an early supper, we headed to Akihabara.

Akihabara is named after Akiba, fire deity and is a Mecca for electronics goods. Is it a coincidence for the fire city to become electric? After the world war, this place bloomed into a market that sold home appliances, but now it has transformed itself into the world’s largest electronic district with stores after stores with 10-15 floors selling electronic gadgets including videos games and mini robots.

The stores are fluorescent and incandescent (very brightly lit) and made me search for my sun glasses. While I waited for my friend to purchase a headset, I wandered around the store looking at mobile phones, computers and other electronics realizing it is a Disney Land for gadget gurus and addicts.

I must have walked a few kilometers horizontally and vertically looking for my friend and finally when he came back after an hour he said he was unable to make up him mind, thanks to the million options. I paused and pondered about the recycle policy for electronic goods in Japan.

A walk into this district reminded me of Ritchie Street in Chennai where we get all kinds of electrical and electronics items imported from China. Similarly, at Akihabara, you can see two versions of the same product, one manufactured in China and another manufactured in Japan. 

As we exited the store, we realized this area is also popular among anime and Manga fans. The streets are covered with anime and Manga icons with saleswomen handing out pamphlets and enticing passerby to visit their cafes (Maid Cafes). One could also spot people dressed up as their favorite characters walking around the neighborhood. Fiction and reality became inseparable at this point reminding me of artists who walk around dressed as Rama and Hanuman in India.

From a lesson on culture and parallels at Senso-ji temple, tranquility at Yoyogi Park, chaos at Shibuya crossing to electric and surreal atmosphere at Akhibara we experienced the contrasts on day 1 in Tokyo. 

Drawing Parallels at the Cultural Hotspot of Tokyo: Asakusa

Now that we figured out the how to explore on the Tokyo Metro, we were confident to begin our journey to discover the country and understand their people.  And there is no better way to understanding people than learning about their culture and tradition. We began our exploration and education at the Senso-ji Temple at Asakusa, cultural hotspot in Tokyo that attracts over 30 million visitors annually (2.5 times the population of Tokyo).

Asakusa is on the North-East side of Central Tokyo on the Tokyo Metro Ginza line, approximately 1.5kms East of Ueno station, not far from where were stayed. We had no idea of what to expect when me made the trip, but what we experienced helped us get closer to the people of Japan.

Asakusa is like what Mylapore or Triplicane is to Chennai, it showcases the co-existence of the Tendai (Senso-ji Temple) and Shinto (Asakusa Shrine) sects of Buddhism, very similar to Shaivites and Vaishnavites. The Matsuri (festival) held at the Shinto shrine during spring and attracts followers, while food stalls, sumo matches and other entertainments is a big draw for tourists like us. 

Such a cultural hotspot was targeted by the Americans during the WW2 and was reduced to dust. Today, what we saw including the temples, traditional ryokan (guest-houses), homes, and small-scale apartment buildings were all rebuilt after the war. I also heard from locals that Akakusa is also the Tokyo's oldest Geisha district, and still has 45 actively working Geishas, who are akin to Devadasis in our temple tradition. Click here to read an interesting article on the similarities. 

We followed the directions from Asakusa Metro station to Senso-ji temple and came to a standstill after spotting the huge red lantern painted with black tones representing the thunder and lightning.  We came to a standstill looking at the intimidating visage of God of Thunder (Varuna) and Wind (Vayu) at the Nakamise-Dori entrance to the temple. 

This entrance is lined with small shops selling souvenirs. Like tourists, we curiously peered at traditional fans, wood block prints, kimonos, Buddhist scrolls and traditional sweets and saved the rice crackers for our trip back.

The side streets leading to the temple are closed to motor traffic with appealing displays. And sometimes it was interesting to see such displays on the roof/windows of buildings.

One of my friends was busy photographing the façade; the other got attracted by fortune sticks, while I went looking at the Warrior on top of the water fountain where people washed their hands before entering the temple. Nevertheless, we all tried to get our fortunes answered for 100 ¥ by drawing the stick and looking the right number and reading Japanese numbers in the chest of draws.

From the entrance the two-tier red and white roof looked majestic, but was devoid of ornate carvings.  The temple is dedicated to the Bodhisattva Kannon (Avalokiteśvara – God of Mercy). According to legend, the statue was found in the Sumida River in 628 AD by two fishermen, the brothers Hinokuma Hamanari and Hinokuma Takenari. I was reminded of similar tales about idols in our temple founds in water bodies.

Though we were not allowed to enter the main temple as the sanctum is restricted to only followers of Buddhism, we still lighted candles and prayed to the God of Mercy to bless us with a great trip and good weather. Before we stepped out of the main temple, I noticed the hand painted images of dragons and Apsaras on the roof reminding me of paintings in the Hindu temples.

Adjacent to the main temple, is a five story Pagoda believed to contain ashes of Buddha. Buddha is believed to have born, lived and died in India. How and when did we part with his ashes? Is it another story like Subash Chandra Bose?

Discarding my doubts, I stepped out of the main temple into the garden, the red exteriors and huge black doors with gold trims were striking enough to get my friends to pose for picture. We put aside our cameras and walked into the garden surrounding the temple enjoying its peace and tranquility. A huge stone statue of Buddha in the garden set the mood for contemplation. 

Besides the Pagoda, is another temple enshrining the 9 manifestations of Buddha with each one seated on an animal and propitiated for a certain blessing.  We discussed how similar this is to the Navagrahas (nine planets) in our temples nibbling some flavored rice crackers, a Japanese delicacy as we moved on to out next spot.

Understanding the culture and tradition is the best way knowing a city and its people and the visit to Asakusa and Senso-ji made us feel at home and helped us draw parallels and appreciate our kinship. 

Tokyo Metro: Observations & Admirations

Suddenly everything seemed completely under control now that my friend arrived ahead of us, checked into the Ueno Youth Hostel, found where to exchange our JR Passes for tickets and also located an Indian restaurant in the vicinity. Honestly, I felt like we had already conquered the city and was on our way to achieving our well-planned itinerary.

With our basic needs in Maslow’s pyramid (food, shelter, security) met and we focused on the bigger agenda ahead of us, to tour and enjoy Tokyo without having to validate clichés and escape tourist traps. We quickly figured out that JR pass is more helpful to get outside the city, while a Metro pass is both inexpensive and a practical way to travel within Tokyo.

While we are on the topic of the Metro, I must share my observations and admirations.

The Metro in Tokyo is unlike the ones we’ve seen and experienced in New York or Paris. Despite absence of dustbin at stations, it was devoid of liter.

Metros are truly passenger friendly, safe, and clean and the people are courteous. There are no drug addicts loitering or homeless living in the stations and I didn’t come across anyone jumping over turnstiles. Like the Germans, the Japanese are also obedient and respectful of rules.

There are two things that amaze me about Tokyo Metro – toilets and people. Their toilets are squeaky clean and people are polite and form a queue to get in the train. More importantly, they wait for passengers to disembark before getting into the train. 

It is common for you to see people wearing masks over their nose and mouth to not spread or catch infections. With ageing population, Japanese are cautious not to pass on infections. 

Metros are safe even at midnight and I’ve rarely felt safe while traveling in Paris and New York. None of them look intimidating or threatening or occupied seats reserved for expecting mothers and mothers with infants, elderly or disabled. While on the Metro people only whispered when they had to speak and most of them were either busy reading on their phones or engrossed reading Manga. Taking phone calls in trains is considered rude and an inappropriate etiquette.

But peak hours had its own rules and we had a first-hand experience on the Hibiya line between Ueno and Tokyo stations especially in the morning. One morning, we had to miss couple of packed trains wanting to respect their rules and orderliness. But then came to realities of life, elbowed people and found our way in. Also, it is not a rare sight to see the guard push people into the car to get the automatic doors to close.

The Japanese men and women are small made and don’t occupy much space or multiple seats unlike our American counterparts. Despite being petite there were instructions against manspreading on their Metros. Apart from how to behave, their trains were loaded with advertisements and I couldn’t spot any act of vandalism or defacement.

For 600¥ you can travel for 24-hours and do multiple journeys on the metro. It doesn’t matter if you snoozed on the train and missed your station or changed your plan, you can always do a fare adjustment when you get off the train.

Lastly, the staffs at the Metro stations are extremely helpful and always finished their sentences with Arigatou Gozaimasu (Thank you). Despite being the largest and most densely populated metro in the world, the orderliness, cleanliness in Tokyo and courteousness of its people are astonishing. Yes, Tokyo answers the questions on metros being kind and considerate.

I do carry with me experiences, but not clichés and prejudices and you shouldn’t either. If you still have time, read my experiences from traveling on Metro in India (Alter ego and altered ego; Is life a breeze in this metro) and in Paris (Paris Metro Chronicles; Elles sont difficiles).

Now you know why I admire Tokyo and the Japanese!

Let’s get back to visiting Tokyo in my next blog.

Exams and Friends

Visiting a country is like writing an exam, it requires some preparation and you are tested for your genuineness by the Embassy before you are given the admit card. While I was able to get mine without much trouble, my friend who was joining me on this trip from the US had a harrowing time trying to prove the genuineness of his trip.

The Embassy questioned our accommodations as the travel emails from Booking.com didn't have either of our names. While he tried to convince the Embassy by showing a copy of our tickets and my visa to prove the genuineness of the trip, the remained far from being convinced. They demanded more documentation and the back and forth conversation went on for 10-days and wasn't looking very promising. Should we even visit a country that didn't trust our intent crossed both our minds, but we wanted to prove our genuineness irrespective of our travel.

We had prepared for this exam together and had planned to appear together, but  now it looked like only I might travel. With just 24 hours to our journey the Embassy was still undecided on his candidature. At 3.45 am India time I get a message from my friend informing me that a decision was made. Am I alone on this trip or will he get his visa on time to catch the flight in three hours? And he did!

If the ordeal of getting the admit card was over, we now had to endure the stress of sitting for the exam. We had booked our flights to land an hour apart at Narita and also fixed a spot where we would meet to pick up our JR Rail pass and Ninja Wifi before we head into the city.

But what unfolded when my flight touched down Hong Kong airport turned the exam from a closed book into an open book. I missed the connecting flight and had to take the next flight 3-hours later, but to Haneda and not Narita. How do I get across the message to him and plan my travel from Haneda got to me. Shortly, what clouded my mind was his preparedness to travel on his own into the city and get to the accommodation. I sent him a text message with a hope that he would turn on his mobile upon arrival and boarded my flight to Haneda.

Once I landed at Haneda I had a text message waiting from my friend that instantly brought me relief. He had made it to the city and had in fact checked into the hotel and even finished his dinner at a nearby Indian restaurant. And he had also figured out my travel options and was waiting come at receive me at the Shinobazu exit at Ueno station and take me to the hotel. It is friends who make both life and exams feel like a breeze. Don't you agree?

The Embassy tested our genuineness, will the Japanese people make us feel welcomed and special and our preparedness prove adequate? 

How to plan and enjoy your vacation

Some people like Vasco da gama and Columbus went around the world for a vocation and ended up discovering fortunes and new worlds. But many of us travel for a vacation where we spend our hard earned money to relax, rejuvenate and return with rich memories.

Before we decide on our vacation jaunts many of us tend to ask around for opinions, experiences and budgets. But often, we get jaundiced by perceptions and prejudices and end up missing out on great vacation places. When I decided to book my trip to Japan, I refrained from asking around for opinions. And when I disclosed my travel plans, I was dissuaded citing Japan to be very expensive location, a non-English speaking country to lack of vegetarian food. But I didn’t pay heed to their unsolicited opinions.

After a two week trip in Japan, here I stand on the podium as a self-proclaimed winner and loser. I won against those naysayers by disproving their perceptions and I lost my heart to the country, its people and culture. But before I make the naysayers jealous with my travel experiences and pictures, I would like to share my approach to planning and preparing for a trip.

Have a reason to travel: There must be a fundamental reason why you would want to vacation in a certain place. You should fuel that desire by trying to read up about the place, its culture, history, lifestyle of people, their cuisine, geographical and climatic conditions, etc. to qualify or disqualify the place.

This summer, Australia featured during my conversation with another travel aficionado. But then when we did further reading and research, we decided against traveling there despite English being their native language and playing home to Kangaroos and exotic species in the Great Barrier Reef. Why? Because I didn’t find their culture and history compelling enough to spend my hard earned money and moreover, I was not looking for an opportunity to fill my Face Book page with scenic images to show off my affluence or happiness.

And when I looked up from Australia I spotted this beautiful Island Nation, Japan that was often rattled by earth quakes and nuclear disasters.  But what intrigued me was their faith and resilience. Soon I was mired in a million questions on their culture and faith and wanted to explore the country and experience their customs firsthand.

Do you research: While many jump on package tours, I prefer doing my own research and customizing an itinerary based on my interest. Packaged tours are like canned food – very much unappetizing and unhealthy. One just needs to invest time to match their interests and pick spots of interests before they set out to experience and explore. Though travel guides often do a quick job of outlining culture, places of interest, accommodation, food, transportation, etc., but doesn’t provide to in depth view into culture. When I watched travel videos on Kyoto, a city of thousand temples, I realized the similarities it bore to Kanchipuram and Varanasi and I could guess why our Prime Minister tied up with Kyoto to develop Varanasi. Only when you read and research you can understand the subtle parallels and enjoy the place and culture even more. Otherwise it would be a paralull!

Read their newspapers: An expert traveler understands the social, political and day-today issues before he/she travels into any country. The best way to begin your journey is to start reading an English Daily, develop your own perspective and go beyond guide books. By closely reading one of their dailies I discovered that the famous Tsukiji Fish Market was closing down for good on November 14 and I was able to go there and get an experience despite being a vegetarian. The digital age and social media has made this more easier; by simply following popular newspapers and journalist one can get access to day-today happenings and issues. This is how you can be a more knowledgeable, informed and sensitive traveler distinguishing yourself other vagabonds.

Go beyond guide books: Guide books are written for pedestrian travelers and may never be able to meet individual interests and needs. If you want to see the dark side of a city, throw away the guide books and start self-exploration. When you walk around the city you discover what guide books seldom share. I have been always interested in graffiti and during my visit to East Berlin I joined a paid tour to explore graffiti and learn about squatters. When I was wandering along the streets of Shinjuku in Tokyo, I asked myself could this dirt-free and beggar-free country have homeless and graffiti. And during my explorative walk from Shinjuku to Shibuya, I discovered the underworld that wasn’t describe in any of the guide books. The underpass was filled with graffiti and had a few homeless people. Had I gone with guidebooks, I would have missed a rare sight in this city.

Speak to a local: Most guidebooks and websites often exaggerate on what customs must be observed, traditions to be followed, tourist traps to be avoided and sometimes they forget to keep their material up-to-date. When we finished our dinner at Milan Natraj restaurant at Shibuya and as we got ready about to pay our bill, we realized that tipping at restaurants is considered rude and insulting. A few days later when we were at Tennoji Shrine at Osaka a notice at the entrance in local language warned us against playing their latest craze (Pokeman) at the temple. Though none of us played Pokeman at Tennoji, it is always safe to learn the customs and traditions with a local. While we all want to be a courteous and polite traveler, our actions can offend people inadvertently.

Disconnect from reality: To get enjoy your vacation to the fullest and get the most out of your trip you need to disconnect yourself from reality. Disable office emails on devices, uninstall Face Book, and stop reading newspapers from back home. As you are away you will neither be able to help nor participate and sometimes what you read can make you feel miserable.

A friend of mine on the trip was pre-occupied the day American Election results were out. He was constantly on his mobile checking the status and ended up feeling unhappy about Trump’s triumph. On the same day rest of India was crying and queuing up outside banks with demonization announcement. I had no idea of the pain and two weeks later when I landed at the Airport I felt life was as usual with no disruption. It is good idea to stay disconnected from reality and re-connect when you are back from vacation.

Sumimasen: Travel to me is  very much an intellectual and internal journey as it is fun. Not sure if you would ever want to travel with me after reading this blog, but remember to make your trips fun and memorable.

Get ready for the next one on Tokyo...from guide books to beyond guide books.

Arigatou Gozaimasu!

Think before you twiddle!

Think before you twiddle!

Does digital world have etiquettes and should one follow and apply the same rules of engagement, endearment and disengagement to this world without shadows?

Today, smart phones behave like Russians spying on conversations, calls and messages and putting forward suggestions for personal and professional connect. Without much thought, we twiddle our thumbs and send out requests similar to missiles from North Korea. While some perceive these missiles as a way way to forge friendships, many perceive them as intrusion, pompous display power or even label it as an intention to snoop.

I am a friendly guy and it doesn't take much for me to accost a stranger with an unharming smile, disarming their ego, breaching their personal firewall and turning the air cordial and friendly. But if there is one place where I am apprehensive of playing my charm and end up behaving quite the opposite, it is the digital world.

Keeping them on-hold
Two weeks ago, I was on a call with colleagues from across the world and soon after the call ended one of the participants who I hadn't exchanged even a single word on the call sent me a request to connect without any introduction. Is working for the same company a good reason to stay connected on sites such as Linked In? Should I be polite and connect with her or should I be logical and put her request on-hold until we professionally get to know each other?

Being smart and ruthless
A few years ago, my ex-boss explained how he connected only with ex-colleagues and prospective colleagues/employers. He stringently evaluates the worthiness of the individual before connecting professionally and always looked at maximizing the outcome of such connects. He puts all request from existing colleagues on hold until they turn into exs' and others until he establishes their intent. Does that make him smart and principles or unfriendly and ruthless?

Blurring professional boundaries
Recently, I received LinkedIn requests from my insurance agent, wealth manager, and cab driver asking them to add them to my network and recommend their services. Why would I brag to my professional network about the wealth I made through my manager or the risks I mitigated through the insurance agent? Though the connection from their point of view seemed perfectly right, but I didn't know if I was blurring the boundaries between my personal and professional life by recommending them on Linked In.

Wearing a Venetian mask
A friend of mine who recently got stabbed at the back by his boss, waited until he moved jobs and then quietly deleted him from his LinkedIn. When his ex-boss found out that he has been deleted, he wasn't happy. "But I don't want people who sabotage my professional career on my Linked network," opined my emotionally charged friend.
In the real world it would be easier to mask human feelings or wear a Venetian mask, but in the digital world a mere delete or unfriend option instantly blows up bridges.

Transparency invites dishonesty
A senior colleague lamented about being dishonest while writing endorsements and recommendations. He said we indiscriminately use like and share buttons to satisfy our fragile egos in the name of growing friendships. He also pointed out people have begun to use skill endorsements and professional testimonials to make them look like experts and superman/superwoman. In the real world, testimonials are shared privately and there is an opportunity for the feedback to remain confidential and honest.

It's all window dressing
A few companies are using the LinkedIn accounts of their senior leaders to attract new business and connect with buyers. A set of social media consultants put together curated content and push it to senior leaders, who in turn share to make them self look  like experts and intellectuals broking technology and business. Aren't these people like mannequins in stores, who they are made to look good and attract buyers?

Unreal and fragile
As much as the digital world fuels our emotions, it also turn us into opportunists and ruthless and dishonest individuals. The likes, shares, endorsements and testimonies can turn our egos fragile bringing out the Jekyl and Hyde in us. If not used carefully, it wields power to kick-start a nuclear fission (unlinking us from the rest) and annihilate us from our faithful shadows. So, think before you twiddle!

Did you know demanding for your Aadhar is Illegal?

In an effort to prevent leakage of millions of rupees paid in subsidies, The Government of India came up with a grand project to collect the biometric and demographic data of residents and in exchange issue a 12-digit unique identity number aksa Aadhar for leak-free disbursement.  Worried about privacy concerns and data security, some civil liberty groups like Citizens Forum for Civil Liberties and Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF) opposed the project.

On 23 September 2013, the Supreme Court of India issued an interim order saying that "no person should suffer for not getting Aadhaar" as the government cannot deny a service to a resident if s/he does not possess Aadhaar, as it is voluntary and not mandatory. Following this order, on 11 August 2015, the Supreme Court of India ruled that "Aadhaar will not be used for any other purposes except PDS, kerosene and LPG distribution system" and made it clear that even for availing these facilities Aadhaar card will not be mandatory.

Given this background information about Aadhar and its purpose, let me take you through a blatant violation by Reliance Industries Limited and also Government of India seeking your Aadhar details on PF and Indian Railway Booking sites, which are yet to be approved by Supreme Court of India.

This week, I noticed an unusually long line at the rear end of our cafeteria at work. I was not sure if they brought in additional vendors to manage the peak-hour traffic. But when I finished my lunch and went towards the wash area I enquired with one of them on the purpose of this long queue. He flashed a bright smile announcing it was the queue to get a Reliance Jio 4G sim-card. Before I could ask him on the documentation required He pointed at the white-board which carried additional information.  To my surprise, I found Reliance demanding your Aadhar to get a 4G connection.  Isn’t that a blatant violation of SC ruling on Aadhar?

I came back to the queue to ask my colleagues if they were submitting their Aadhar to get a connection. A few who I asked nodded their head vigorously and when I explained the SC of India ruling on Aadhar none of them seem to be aware and didn’t care. I went back to my desk and went on Reliance Jio website to check if they were demanding Aadhar. I found no mention of Aadhar , but an address-proof document provided by GoI. Who is violating the norms? Is it the provider or their agents?  I felt concerned about educated millennials turning blind-eye to data privacy and security. While in a rush to get on 4G and showcase their pride, but they seem completely forget their rights to privacy.

If you are one of those making indiscriminate copies of your documents and handing it over to providers and vendors, you need to stop doing it right away and think about your documents reaching the wrong hands. When SC questions the GoI’s ability to handle citizen’s data, why do you think private players will be cautious and liable to protecting your privacy?

Stop! Think and Act.

If you are still no convinced, here is a personal experience on data theft.

A few years ago, I received a call from a collection agent on my mobile. He began the conversation by asking me to verify my name address, date of birth and before proceeding further. Before revealing my details, I asked him to share his name, designation and employer.  I told him that I was not comfortable revealing any of my data over a phone conversation and I was willing to on his screen if he can read it out to me. Taken aback by my response, he tried convincing me to trust him, but I didn't. My name and mobile number matched, but my address did not. He asked me if I had changed my residence recently to which my answer was no, but what he revealed after that got me sweating.

He said I owed the bank 1 Lakh rupees on my credit card and he will send someone over to have it collected in the next few days. I told him that I never carried this card and I had never defaulted on my payments. He refused to believe me and we hung up after a heated argument. For next year, he repeatedly harassed to make payments for a card that I didn’t carry or use. Had I shared my address when he demanded, I would have had him outside my door.

His calls got me thinking… could there be someone with my name, date of birth and mobile number or was it a case of identity theft? Ever since, I’ve been paranoid about my data and privacy.  

Hope you will learn from my horrific experience….

 

Jayalalithaa and Sasikala: An Uncanny Resemblance

Show me your friend and I will tell you who you are....goes the popular saying. While the world is busy speculating the friendship between Jayalalithaa and Sasikala's and weaving conspiracy theories around Jaya's ailing health and firewall Sasi, my friend Vijay came up with fascinating parallels between them and how their lives share uncanny resemblance. This is something Author Vaasanthi hasn't covered in her book Amma: Jayalalithaa's Journey from movie star to political queen.

Both Jaya and Sasi began their lives as unknown people. If MGR changed Jaya's life from an ordinary movie star to a Rajya Sabha member and later controlling the destiny of AIADMK, Jaya changed Sasi's life from a video store owner to a close confidante to owner of Luxe Cinemas. In short, both their lives changed when they met a mega star.

Trust and change doesn't happen overnight. Both Jaya and Sasi develop a strong bond with celebrity, who sways them over. MGR made Jaya his public relations person before handing over the baton to her, and Jaya invites Sasi to live with her, who has eventually turned into a firewall guarding her from the world. This reminds me of the Thamizh proverb, "Yerumbu ora ora kallum karayum".

There were strong pressures from well-wishers and advisers on both sides to break off the association. RM Veerappan admonished MGR to stay away from Jaya and Cho Ramaswamy advised Jaya to throw Sasi out of her house. Well before these people,  Thiruvallur named the 83rd chapter of Thirukural as Kooda Natpu and came up with 10 couplets defining the characteristics of bad friendships.

Though satellites escape gravity, the  relationship between Jaya and MGR and Sasi and Jaya was always under scrutiny and criticism. Larger society questioned the nature of relationship between MGR and Jaya as she tiptoed him from cinema to politics. Similarly, Sasi walked away from her husband without formally taking a divorce and moved in with Jaya. After 25 years of association, both of them exchange garlands 8-years ago on the occasion of  Jaya turning 60 making tongues wag. Both relationships were socially unconventional that always remained mysterious to the public at large and openly criticized by the opposition.

When summer heat takes over, people remind themselves of the soon arriving cooler autumn. Like seasons in nature both MGR and Jaya's relationship saw many springs and autumns. MGR distanced himself many at times from Jaya, the first summer was when he started a party, but again cozied up to her setting aside their differences and making her cynosure of all eyes. A few years ago, Jaya did the same by pushing Sasi and her coterie out of Vedha Illam, but then a few months later she recalled her into her life.

Both Jaya and Sasi are seen as power centers, who influenced decision of the celebrity. Jaya is believed to have instigated MGR after their vacation in Nepal to come out of DMK and start his own party. Sasi and her Mannargudi coterie always made decisions on awarding high value contracts in the state and ensured they received their due share in all major industrial deals.

When their respective leaders were alive, both Jaya and Sasi stayed in their shadow and was never anointed as their successor, though the world looked at them as successors. While the whole state was mesmerized by MGR, he was at Jaya's feet. Now, the whole state is charmed by Amma but she is shaking her head to Sasi.

Finally, when MGR passed away weary Jayalalithaa stood besides draped in white symbolically sending out a message. With MGR's family abusing her to get off the hearse van, Jaya stuck to her position withstood the humiliation because she realized it was a brilliant photo and political opportunity and a stepping stone to the throne. Eventually, she seized control of his party, appointed herself as his successor and earned "Amma" tag for the cadre.

Today, whole of India is waiting to get access to ailing Jayalalithaa and her medical reports, but her dear friend Sasikala remains an impenetrable firewall between Jayalalitha and rest of India. Will she follow the footsteps of Jaya and take over the reins of AIADMK and what will happen to Jaya's wealth is to be seen. 

Two words and lot of emotions…

Investigation and audit are two key words that were thrown around this week at larger public, employees and investors and also used as an iron curtain to keep them in dark.

Both doctors from India and abroad are investigating the health of the Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalitha who has been hospitalized for fever and dehydration for the last ten days. Earlier this week, during the first US Presidential debate, Donald Trump was asked to reveal his financial health (tax returns) and Hillary Clinton about the deleted emails. And yesterday, Cognizant’s stock tanked by 10% with the announcement of resignation of President Gordon Coburn over the ongoing investigation by an audit committee.  

 

Opacity erodes credibility

Despite understanding the power of communication to persuade people and work hard to earn trust of investors and employees, Corporates, political leaders and presidential nominees often turn silent and opaque in the time of crisis. They fail to realize how transparency and honesty can work in their favor to prevent media houses from speculating and rumor mills from eroding their hard earned trust and credibility. Don’t you agree?

Open secret

It is a well known secret that Jayalalitha has been seriously unwell since she was released from Parpana Agrahara jail in Bangalore in the disproportionate asset case. In the last 2 years her public appearance diminished and opposition parties constantly questioned her limited presence at Fort St. George. If one were to replay her last public appearance 12 days ago during the inauguration of the Metro train service between Airport and St. Thomas Mount, you will see how pale and sick she appears.

Lack of Reciprocity

Just as Chief Ministers worry about the financial health, physical and emotional well-being of the people in the state, don’t party cadres and general public have the right and responsibility to worry about their leader? While Party cadres and general public have been praying for her speedy recovery by offerings prayers in temples, doctors at Apollo Hospitals without divulging her ailment have repeatedly issued the same statement denying all rumors about CM planning to go overseas for medical treatment.

Limited Communication

Upon Cognizant’s admission of possible corruption to the Securities Exchange Commission and Department of Justice, investors showed their displeasure by going on a selling spree. Soon their CEO sent a bland email communication to his employees announcing the resignation of President Gordon and appointment of a new president without divulging much information about their 8K filing with the SEC. The CEO failed to realize that his employees are equally invested (emotionally and financially) in the organization and need to know the truth and details shared with the market.

Silence Vs. Denial

The true character of a leader comes out only in the time of crisis. Donald’s silence over revealing his taxes filings and Hillary’s denial over using private email for confidential communication has not only eroded their trust, but also put a big question in the minds of American public: Are these leaders are trust worthy to rule our nation?

Misplaced trust

But once they get to the seat of power, they all forget their hard journey and turn a deaf ear to power of communication, reciprocation and blind eye to transparency. And despite their shortcomings, we continue to elect those who evade taxes and commit perjury. We don’t question her health even when public money is spent for medical treatment. We will remain silent over the misdeeds of the organization despite being emotionally and financially invested. It is all misplaced trust.

As employees, followers and investors, will be ever investigate our decisions and audit our conscience? Until then… Corporates will lie to the market and financial analyst to build their credibility to attract capital, client and talent. Political leaders appear look squeaky clean and service minded to get to the seat of power. And Media houses will conduct their trials and give out their verdict.