I discovered a small, about two by seven inches, silverfish-eaten piece of paper carrying a few line of scribblings in my hand as I was sorting out old, accumulated assortment of documents and newspaper clippings from a cupboard attacked by white ants today. I could not make out the age of the piece as there was no date mentioned on it, but circumstantial evidences like the company of the documents this piece of paper had been keeping gave me an idea that it should not be less than 10 years old. The other circumstantial evidence was an email address at the back of the piece ostensibly in the handwriting of my brother. The last time he was staying with me long enough to be able to litter the house with small, apparently meaningless scribblings on almost all my documents was more than ten years ago.
Today, I want to share here the few lines found on that ten years old piece of paper which possibly my son will find useful ten years from now.
" North European ships were measured by the number of wine casks they could carry. These casks were called Tuns.
Today, ships are still measured in Tons. This is because the English authorities fixed the size of Tun at 252 Gallons of wine, the weight of which was 2,240 lb (that equals 1,016 kgs)."
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
When Credibility is Put to Test - final part
This the 3rd and final part of the article on Public Relations published in The Eastern Chronicle.
A better resolution image is available here.
First part of the article.
Second part of the article.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
The future of Public Relations education
(This article was published in The Assam Tribune today on the ocassion of National Public Relations Day. The newspaper edited and left out two very relevant paragraphs. So, I am posting the full article here.)
The present educational scenario in our country marks the decline of popularity of traditional knowledge-oriented social science subjects like economics, history and political science in one hand and the rise of industry-oriented so-called professional or job-oriented subjects like mass communication, journalism, public relations, advertising and tourism etc. While institutes imparting education in these increasingly popular courses have mushroomed, the quality of education these institutes impart needs closer examination and review.
The primary goal of any industry-oriented course is to develop and produce trained and skilled human resources for the industry. The success of such a course in this direction depends primarily on two factors – the curriculum adopted and the teaching imparted. For the success of any professional course of education, the curriculum should reflect the current development in the industry and the teaching should fulfill the actual need of the trained manpower in the industry. To whatever extent the course offered by any institute in these fields may be hyped up, the institute’s efficacy is certified by the product churned out by the institute. To be able to produce suitable manpower for industry, the industry-related academic courses should be designed and reviewed keeping in mind the need of the industry in real time. The question that exercises our minds however is - whether the available professional courses in the northeastern region have been able to fulfill these two prerequisites or not? So, before enrolling into any professional course in any institute, one should clearly understand the details of the curriculum offered and its relevance vis-à-vis the industry it serves as well as the capabilities of the faculty imparting such education.
The rapid growth of print and electronic media during the last two decades in our country has created a vast demand for trained manpower in the field of Mass Communication and Journalism. Considering the fact that the media industry is estimated to grow at about 15% in the next few years, the demand is likely to increase. The other profession that has attained much attention, during the same period is Public Relations. Though person like Niira Radia has unintentionally made it infamous, the profession has managed to stay in the headlines mainly due to the increasing realization of the power of public relations in emerging market-driven economy like India’s. The industry will require a large number of communicators – be it journalists or public relations professionals – in the coming days to avoid conflicts and to sustain the projected growth rate of 8% for the economy. In such a scenario, it becomes the combined responsibility of both academics and the industry to ensure that the professional trained in academic institutions are tailored to the actual need of the industry.
In most of the academic institutes and universities in India including the four universities in Assam that imparts training and teaching in Mass Communication has included public relations as a small part of the overall curriculum of Mass Communication and Journalism. As such, more detailed and less comprehensive issues like ethics in public relations and role of social media for public relations had been left out of the syllabus although these two are topics are poised to be major issues that are going to shape the future of public relations worldwide.
In fact, one of the major controversies exercising mind of academic administrators and policy makers, journalists, public relations practitioners and mass communication teachers around the world in the last decade is - whether Public Relations is to be retained as a part of journalism and therefore, should remain in academic curriculum of Mass Communication; or Public Relations has grown up as a strategic management tool and therefore be included in curriculum of Business Schools. Opinions on the topic are divided into two distinct camps – both keeping professional ethics at the centre of their arguments. While David Gordon argues that public relations and journalism will both benefit when they are taught in the same school or department, and ethics in both field have no relationship to this issue, John Michael Kitross argues that teaching public relations and journalism in the same department is detrimental to the ethics of both fields.
Another interesting metamorphosis going on the academic field of public relations education and training is the emphasis increasingly laid by hard-core management professionals trained by business schools on the use of public relations and social media solely as cost-effective marketing tools. These professionals argue that ethics of public relations, that of honest and total communication with intention of trust building, is nothing but a legacy of the days of Ivy Lee. Since, public relations is capable of influencing people’s decision and thereby increase sales, there are no qualms of ethics involved. They often advocate equating corporate communications, lobbying, publicity and propaganda with public relations.
New–age social media marketing experts like Gary Goldhammer, a former journalist and New York-based digital media marketing communications specialists, even goes to the extremity of proposing disbanding public relations professional associations like the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) terming it as legacy organization outliving its utility loosing relevance to present society. Gary says, people hardly care about the differences between marketing and public relations; for the masses they are the same, it is only the professionals who make a distinction between the two. The number of people like Gary who use social media like Facebook for marketing is increasing and their views are gaining ground. They argue that PRSA code of ethics regarding honesty and integrity in communication for building trust and understanding for an organization is outdated in today’s market-driven world. On the other hand, professional public relations bodies like PRSA do not support the overwhelming classification of public relations exclusively as a marketing or propaganda tool.
Goldhammer-kind professionals eager to establish their supremacy over social media as marketing tools are going to outnumber public relations professionals in our country soon. These marketing professionals in the industry and the business school mandarins claim that public relations is a specialized communication technique and like other aspects of business, communications management should also be left to managers; and therefore should be taught in a business school to the ‘would be’ managers. The Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata has recently announced a course in business communication which actually aims at imparting public relations knowledge and skills to the participants. Other business schools too include course in communication for business which provides the first insight into the field of public relations.
These developments, however, seems to have caught the academicians and professional bodies like the Public Relations Society of India (PRSI) unaware. Interestingly, PRSI announces in its website that it “was established in 1958 to promote the recognition of public relations as a profession and to formulate and interpret to the public the objectives and the potentialities of public relations as a strategic management function”. The PRSI has promotions of public relations education as one of its primary objectives, but nothing significant has come out of it so far (at least not in this part of the country). It is unfortunate that after more than 50 years of existence of PRSI, as people without any professional qualification dictates the role of public relations, the professionals in the field still has to fight for recognition for a meaningful role in any organization.
Public Relations professional world over believes that public relations has much more to it than mere marketing, publicity, propaganda or advertising. As mass communication gained its stature as medium of influence in democracies over the world, the public relations too grew as a very strong tool of public advocacy and opinion engineering. The added cost advantage of public relations as a marketing tool against advertising has made the profession a field vied for by professional from diverse fields. Thus, what once was a field for former journalists or mass communication specialists has now become equally available for marketing, brand-building, customer-service, sales and social media specialists.
Now everybody wants a piece of the pie. The situation has been further been aggravated by the absence of a universally accepted definition of public relations. The profession is defined by the practitioners as they practice it. The absence of a mandatory registration process like that of legal advocacy or medicine also has confounded the problem of lack of cohesive views among the professional in the field. It is high time that public relations professionals under the aegis of bodies like PRSI take note of these. Otherwise, the day would be near when views demanding disbanding of PRSI or propagating irrelevance of PRSI would be aired in our country too. And mass communicators will have to watch from the stands while professional managers will manage public relations like any other aspects of business.
The present educational scenario in our country marks the decline of popularity of traditional knowledge-oriented social science subjects like economics, history and political science in one hand and the rise of industry-oriented so-called professional or job-oriented subjects like mass communication, journalism, public relations, advertising and tourism etc. While institutes imparting education in these increasingly popular courses have mushroomed, the quality of education these institutes impart needs closer examination and review.
The primary goal of any industry-oriented course is to develop and produce trained and skilled human resources for the industry. The success of such a course in this direction depends primarily on two factors – the curriculum adopted and the teaching imparted. For the success of any professional course of education, the curriculum should reflect the current development in the industry and the teaching should fulfill the actual need of the trained manpower in the industry. To whatever extent the course offered by any institute in these fields may be hyped up, the institute’s efficacy is certified by the product churned out by the institute. To be able to produce suitable manpower for industry, the industry-related academic courses should be designed and reviewed keeping in mind the need of the industry in real time. The question that exercises our minds however is - whether the available professional courses in the northeastern region have been able to fulfill these two prerequisites or not? So, before enrolling into any professional course in any institute, one should clearly understand the details of the curriculum offered and its relevance vis-à-vis the industry it serves as well as the capabilities of the faculty imparting such education.
The rapid growth of print and electronic media during the last two decades in our country has created a vast demand for trained manpower in the field of Mass Communication and Journalism. Considering the fact that the media industry is estimated to grow at about 15% in the next few years, the demand is likely to increase. The other profession that has attained much attention, during the same period is Public Relations. Though person like Niira Radia has unintentionally made it infamous, the profession has managed to stay in the headlines mainly due to the increasing realization of the power of public relations in emerging market-driven economy like India’s. The industry will require a large number of communicators – be it journalists or public relations professionals – in the coming days to avoid conflicts and to sustain the projected growth rate of 8% for the economy. In such a scenario, it becomes the combined responsibility of both academics and the industry to ensure that the professional trained in academic institutions are tailored to the actual need of the industry.
In most of the academic institutes and universities in India including the four universities in Assam that imparts training and teaching in Mass Communication has included public relations as a small part of the overall curriculum of Mass Communication and Journalism. As such, more detailed and less comprehensive issues like ethics in public relations and role of social media for public relations had been left out of the syllabus although these two are topics are poised to be major issues that are going to shape the future of public relations worldwide.
In fact, one of the major controversies exercising mind of academic administrators and policy makers, journalists, public relations practitioners and mass communication teachers around the world in the last decade is - whether Public Relations is to be retained as a part of journalism and therefore, should remain in academic curriculum of Mass Communication; or Public Relations has grown up as a strategic management tool and therefore be included in curriculum of Business Schools. Opinions on the topic are divided into two distinct camps – both keeping professional ethics at the centre of their arguments. While David Gordon argues that public relations and journalism will both benefit when they are taught in the same school or department, and ethics in both field have no relationship to this issue, John Michael Kitross argues that teaching public relations and journalism in the same department is detrimental to the ethics of both fields.
Another interesting metamorphosis going on the academic field of public relations education and training is the emphasis increasingly laid by hard-core management professionals trained by business schools on the use of public relations and social media solely as cost-effective marketing tools. These professionals argue that ethics of public relations, that of honest and total communication with intention of trust building, is nothing but a legacy of the days of Ivy Lee. Since, public relations is capable of influencing people’s decision and thereby increase sales, there are no qualms of ethics involved. They often advocate equating corporate communications, lobbying, publicity and propaganda with public relations.
New–age social media marketing experts like Gary Goldhammer, a former journalist and New York-based digital media marketing communications specialists, even goes to the extremity of proposing disbanding public relations professional associations like the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) terming it as legacy organization outliving its utility loosing relevance to present society. Gary says, people hardly care about the differences between marketing and public relations; for the masses they are the same, it is only the professionals who make a distinction between the two. The number of people like Gary who use social media like Facebook for marketing is increasing and their views are gaining ground. They argue that PRSA code of ethics regarding honesty and integrity in communication for building trust and understanding for an organization is outdated in today’s market-driven world. On the other hand, professional public relations bodies like PRSA do not support the overwhelming classification of public relations exclusively as a marketing or propaganda tool.
Goldhammer-kind professionals eager to establish their supremacy over social media as marketing tools are going to outnumber public relations professionals in our country soon. These marketing professionals in the industry and the business school mandarins claim that public relations is a specialized communication technique and like other aspects of business, communications management should also be left to managers; and therefore should be taught in a business school to the ‘would be’ managers. The Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata has recently announced a course in business communication which actually aims at imparting public relations knowledge and skills to the participants. Other business schools too include course in communication for business which provides the first insight into the field of public relations.
These developments, however, seems to have caught the academicians and professional bodies like the Public Relations Society of India (PRSI) unaware. Interestingly, PRSI announces in its website that it “was established in 1958 to promote the recognition of public relations as a profession and to formulate and interpret to the public the objectives and the potentialities of public relations as a strategic management function”. The PRSI has promotions of public relations education as one of its primary objectives, but nothing significant has come out of it so far (at least not in this part of the country). It is unfortunate that after more than 50 years of existence of PRSI, as people without any professional qualification dictates the role of public relations, the professionals in the field still has to fight for recognition for a meaningful role in any organization.
Public Relations professional world over believes that public relations has much more to it than mere marketing, publicity, propaganda or advertising. As mass communication gained its stature as medium of influence in democracies over the world, the public relations too grew as a very strong tool of public advocacy and opinion engineering. The added cost advantage of public relations as a marketing tool against advertising has made the profession a field vied for by professional from diverse fields. Thus, what once was a field for former journalists or mass communication specialists has now become equally available for marketing, brand-building, customer-service, sales and social media specialists.
Now everybody wants a piece of the pie. The situation has been further been aggravated by the absence of a universally accepted definition of public relations. The profession is defined by the practitioners as they practice it. The absence of a mandatory registration process like that of legal advocacy or medicine also has confounded the problem of lack of cohesive views among the professional in the field. It is high time that public relations professionals under the aegis of bodies like PRSI take note of these. Otherwise, the day would be near when views demanding disbanding of PRSI or propagating irrelevance of PRSI would be aired in our country too. And mass communicators will have to watch from the stands while professional managers will manage public relations like any other aspects of business.
When Credibility is Put to Test - II
(This is the second part of my article in The Eastern Chronicle published today on the occasion of National Public Relations Day. See page-10, i.e. Business Chronicle of the newspaper for a slightly better resolution image.)
You can read the 1st part of the article here.
The 3rd and final part of the article is available here.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
When Credibility is Put to Test - Part I
This is the first part of an article published in The Eastern Chronicle, published from Guwahati today.
For a better resolution picture go to Business Chronicle page in The Eastern Chronicle.
The 2nd part of the article is available here.
The 3rd and final part of the article is available here.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Best wishes for Assamese New Year and Bihu
No, this is not about what you thought it would be. It has thematic relevance to the headlines though.
It is not about wishing you all a very best Bihu and a New Year en mass, but about how heartless that can be. It is about mindless adoption of economies of scale in large production of a ‘wish’ and the practice of wholesale mass distribution of it to a vague and faceless entity in our mobile phones and email accounts called “all”.
Today is Assamese New Year and Bohag Bihu. I have not replied to any of those hundreds of SMSes carrying the highly impersonal few words wishing me best of everything. I am sure I had received them because I, fortunately, happened to be one of the insignificant constituents of each of my acquaintances’ mobile phones called - all.
Today, I did not send any such SMS either. Nor any e-mail. I never ever did. When our son was borne, my brother-in-law suggested ‘broadcasting’ it with an SMS sent to all my contacts in the mobile phone book. I took three days to individually call and inform all the people whom I thought I should share the news with. I did not have to explain that to anyone then. But, this time I had to give an explanation to my wife. I can jolly well share that with you.
A wish is something that comes from our heart, not head. It is too personal a thing. You share it with only people whom you know, care for and keep close to your heart. I cannot make such a personal emotion so much impersonal by converting it into an SMS and sending it to all. If I have a wish I will take the rather more interpersonal mode of communication called speech.
Above all, I cannot be honest if I do so. How can I have the exactly same wish (and by extension feeling) for all? And if I do send such SMS wishes someday, I would know it is a fake. Please do not reply to such a fake SMS from me and waste your money.
How difficult is it to call and wish someone a happy New Year and Bihu if you really want to? And if you actually do not want to, then why pretend so by sending an SMS?
Moreover, SMS cost you more than talking over phone. The mobile companies are actually fleecing you by charging 50 paise to 3 rupees for each SMS while it costs them not even one paise. They are not happy if you communicate through short speech over phones; but are very happy if you communicate through short messaging service. I am not in a mood to make them happy by loosing my money. And, I hope I will receive less SMS next Puja.
It is not about wishing you all a very best Bihu and a New Year en mass, but about how heartless that can be. It is about mindless adoption of economies of scale in large production of a ‘wish’ and the practice of wholesale mass distribution of it to a vague and faceless entity in our mobile phones and email accounts called “all”.
Today is Assamese New Year and Bohag Bihu. I have not replied to any of those hundreds of SMSes carrying the highly impersonal few words wishing me best of everything. I am sure I had received them because I, fortunately, happened to be one of the insignificant constituents of each of my acquaintances’ mobile phones called - all.
Today, I did not send any such SMS either. Nor any e-mail. I never ever did. When our son was borne, my brother-in-law suggested ‘broadcasting’ it with an SMS sent to all my contacts in the mobile phone book. I took three days to individually call and inform all the people whom I thought I should share the news with. I did not have to explain that to anyone then. But, this time I had to give an explanation to my wife. I can jolly well share that with you.
A wish is something that comes from our heart, not head. It is too personal a thing. You share it with only people whom you know, care for and keep close to your heart. I cannot make such a personal emotion so much impersonal by converting it into an SMS and sending it to all. If I have a wish I will take the rather more interpersonal mode of communication called speech.
Above all, I cannot be honest if I do so. How can I have the exactly same wish (and by extension feeling) for all? And if I do send such SMS wishes someday, I would know it is a fake. Please do not reply to such a fake SMS from me and waste your money.
How difficult is it to call and wish someone a happy New Year and Bihu if you really want to? And if you actually do not want to, then why pretend so by sending an SMS?
Moreover, SMS cost you more than talking over phone. The mobile companies are actually fleecing you by charging 50 paise to 3 rupees for each SMS while it costs them not even one paise. They are not happy if you communicate through short speech over phones; but are very happy if you communicate through short messaging service. I am not in a mood to make them happy by loosing my money. And, I hope I will receive less SMS next Puja.
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
To Nilakshi without malice
Nilakshi Kalita was hurt, read her comment.
It was not intended from my side. I think she did not get me correct, so this is for her - a clarification; without any malice.
I am happy that India won World Cup title. I was happy when India did in 1983 and I will be happy whenever India do it again. I salute sucess. But, I am not happy that the Indian team is selected not by India, but by an association called BCCI.
I am not happy that BCCI is headed by a politician, not a sportsman. I am not happy that Alimuddin (hypothetical) do not get a chance to play for India even if he is more talented then the ones that play for BCCI (you can find hundreds of Alimuddin in our country). He can play for India if only BCCI decides so. And the money BCCI makes in the game is not India's money, its BCCI's. I am unhappy that the game is controlled by a club, and the club is controlled by politicians.(read the Asian Games controversy when BCCI refused to send a cricket team that we identify as Indian team to Asian Games)
I am happy for Dhoni, happy for the glory he has achieved, happy for the glory he has apparently bestowed on 111 crore Indians. But, I am unhappy for the politicians trying to rub off part of that glory to themselves. I am unhappy that the Indian Railway, which reportedly once rejected Dhoni and refused him a job in the Railways under sports quota, is now offering him passes that he does not possibly need. And it was given real quickly, lest the limelight fades away.
Money is nothing but a gesture through which the politicians try to bask in the reflected glory of the Sportstars.
The final match was reportedly watched by two billion eyes (give or take a few lakhs considering some people have one good eye). When Ravi Shastri announced rupees one crore each for the players and rupees 50 lakhs to others by BCCI, the club was poorer by around 30 crores. If today BCCI has to catch two billion eyes and goodwill of one billion people, it would have shell out more than 100 crores of rupees in advertisements. So, it was a cheap deal for BCCI. Nilakshi would probably know better.
I know people refused to pay money to Mahadeb Deka for his passage to California before he become World Champion in Musle Mania, because he told me that. He had traveled to Delhi by train (possibly would have without reservation if I had not known him)because he wanted to save whatever money he had. The same people had given him gamosa and flowers when he became champion. Can we not become sports lovers instead of champion lovers?
Nothing UNITED INDIA against Sri Lanka more than the day they were CHAMPIONS. Why do we always need someone against us to be united? The cricket world cup has possibly proved one point - we hate Pakistan more than South Africa or Sri Lanka. And I am against such unity where hatred is the foundation.
It was not intended from my side. I think she did not get me correct, so this is for her - a clarification; without any malice.
I am happy that India won World Cup title. I was happy when India did in 1983 and I will be happy whenever India do it again. I salute sucess. But, I am not happy that the Indian team is selected not by India, but by an association called BCCI.
I am not happy that BCCI is headed by a politician, not a sportsman. I am not happy that Alimuddin (hypothetical) do not get a chance to play for India even if he is more talented then the ones that play for BCCI (you can find hundreds of Alimuddin in our country). He can play for India if only BCCI decides so. And the money BCCI makes in the game is not India's money, its BCCI's. I am unhappy that the game is controlled by a club, and the club is controlled by politicians.(read the Asian Games controversy when BCCI refused to send a cricket team that we identify as Indian team to Asian Games)
I am happy for Dhoni, happy for the glory he has achieved, happy for the glory he has apparently bestowed on 111 crore Indians. But, I am unhappy for the politicians trying to rub off part of that glory to themselves. I am unhappy that the Indian Railway, which reportedly once rejected Dhoni and refused him a job in the Railways under sports quota, is now offering him passes that he does not possibly need. And it was given real quickly, lest the limelight fades away.
Money is nothing but a gesture through which the politicians try to bask in the reflected glory of the Sportstars.
The final match was reportedly watched by two billion eyes (give or take a few lakhs considering some people have one good eye). When Ravi Shastri announced rupees one crore each for the players and rupees 50 lakhs to others by BCCI, the club was poorer by around 30 crores. If today BCCI has to catch two billion eyes and goodwill of one billion people, it would have shell out more than 100 crores of rupees in advertisements. So, it was a cheap deal for BCCI. Nilakshi would probably know better.
I know people refused to pay money to Mahadeb Deka for his passage to California before he become World Champion in Musle Mania, because he told me that. He had traveled to Delhi by train (possibly would have without reservation if I had not known him)because he wanted to save whatever money he had. The same people had given him gamosa and flowers when he became champion. Can we not become sports lovers instead of champion lovers?
Nothing UNITED INDIA against Sri Lanka more than the day they were CHAMPIONS. Why do we always need someone against us to be united? The cricket world cup has possibly proved one point - we hate Pakistan more than South Africa or Sri Lanka. And I am against such unity where hatred is the foundation.
Monday, April 04, 2011
Basking in reflected glory
Do you remember Abhinav Bindra being awarded rupees ten lakhs by our Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi? Abhinav Bindra possesses a lavish indoor range in the backyard of home, which he uses for shooting practice. He has graduated from the University of Colorado in the United States, with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration. Apart from being a professional shooter, he holds the position of the CEO of Abhinav Futuristics - the sole distributor of Walther arms in India. He is also the Director of Abhinav Hotels & Inns Pvt. Ltd. He has sponsorship tie-ups with some of the renowned brands including Samsung and Sahara Group.
I really doubt if rupees ten lakh was worth anything for Bindra. I also do not know whether he actually got the money from Mr. Gogoi or not. But Mr. Gogoi got publicity worth more than ten lakh rupees. It is, of course, a different issue that Mr. Gogoi hesitated to provide even one lakh rupees to WWF Musle Mania Champion Mahadeb Deka for his passage to the competition.
More recently, the cricket World Cup winners of India have been showered with gifts and awards. Bord of Control for Cricket in Idia (BCCI), the club that employs these players, has announced rupees one crore each to the players, Himachal Government has offered a plot of land to both Dhoni and Tendulakar at Chandigarh, Kartantak Government has offered house in Bangalore to all the players from the state in the winning team and last but not the least, the Railway Ministry has given all the players in the winning team a life-time first class AC travel pass in Indian Railways. So what if the players actually never travel by train and prefer to travel by aeroplanes (preferably chartered)?
The Telegraph today went into elaborate description on how the Railway Minister got the congratulatory letter drafted and typed soon after Indian(?)team's historic win, signed the letter next day early morning and then made sure that the letter reaches Mahendra Singh Dhoni at his hotel in Mumbai by 11 A.M. If only she was equally anxious for passengers wishing to reach their destination on time!
These tamasha of rewarding and awarding the achievers indeed is a very cheap means to bask in reflected glory (pan intended). But, it seems nobody minds as long as it is glorious.
I really doubt if rupees ten lakh was worth anything for Bindra. I also do not know whether he actually got the money from Mr. Gogoi or not. But Mr. Gogoi got publicity worth more than ten lakh rupees. It is, of course, a different issue that Mr. Gogoi hesitated to provide even one lakh rupees to WWF Musle Mania Champion Mahadeb Deka for his passage to the competition.
More recently, the cricket World Cup winners of India have been showered with gifts and awards. Bord of Control for Cricket in Idia (BCCI), the club that employs these players, has announced rupees one crore each to the players, Himachal Government has offered a plot of land to both Dhoni and Tendulakar at Chandigarh, Kartantak Government has offered house in Bangalore to all the players from the state in the winning team and last but not the least, the Railway Ministry has given all the players in the winning team a life-time first class AC travel pass in Indian Railways. So what if the players actually never travel by train and prefer to travel by aeroplanes (preferably chartered)?
The Telegraph today went into elaborate description on how the Railway Minister got the congratulatory letter drafted and typed soon after Indian(?)team's historic win, signed the letter next day early morning and then made sure that the letter reaches Mahendra Singh Dhoni at his hotel in Mumbai by 11 A.M. If only she was equally anxious for passengers wishing to reach their destination on time!
These tamasha of rewarding and awarding the achievers indeed is a very cheap means to bask in reflected glory (pan intended). But, it seems nobody minds as long as it is glorious.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Late night show
We generally call it a day at around 10.30 every night because the kid has to wake up early for school. He does not like to sleep alone and we love to oblige him. Saturday night I was awake till 12.30 surfing through TV channels ostensibly because I could not sleep, but actually hoping to get an eyeful of the "big" attraction in Colors - Pamela at 43.
Of late, Pamela - who has been out of job in her country - has been raising storm in my country. I think anybody would have; if paid 23,000,000 rupees for three days performance. Television and print - both have extensively reported on Pamela and her 'show'and people like me were left exasperated at the thought - why should I be deprived of it when the whole country is getting it?
The Information and Broadcasting Ministry had last week acquired the sudden realisation that Pamela and other actors in the copycat reality TV show 'Big Boss - season 4' are showing vulgarity, obscenity, sexual innuendo and thereby degrading the 'culture' in my country by 'doing' things we apparently do not do.
Please do not get it wrong. The I&B Ministry was not against freedom of expression, but it did not wanted the kids to see all those "big" action. Everything big should be the absolute territory of the adults. So, it ordered Colors to show Pamela (and Big Boss) after 11 P.M. and forced hundreds of others like me to suddenly become insomniac.
The resultant debate on free speech, government control and moral standard has missed a few points. Obscenity and vulgarity are not objective or absolute. Like in nature, change is the norm here. As the size of the Bikini has shrunk in the last 70 years, so is the definition of obscene and vulgar. What is obscene or vulgar is not decided by the performer but decided by the sense of the receptor. It is the consciousness, taste and value system of the receptor that decides the acceptability (or lack of it) of a show. You will not see it if it repulses you, or will be glued to it if you like it - no matter when or where.
Another point that was missed (or left out?)by media is that Indian viewers had a dilemma before the ban - whether to watch Kaun Banega Crorpati in Sony or Big Boss (both had same timings). As a result, the TRP was shared between the two channels. Post ban the problem for both Colors and Sony have been solved. Is I&B Ministry helping Colors in more than one way - first by raising the storm over the issue, attracting eyeballs and telling everyone what Colors is showing. Then by allocating a different time for the Big Boss and helping it (and Sony too) get more TRP. Finally, telling the whole country about the change of timings for the Big Boss show. Otherwise, how many of us would have been aware what Big Boss shows, what Raki Ka Insaf shows and that these shows now starts from 11 P.M. or think about the money Colors would have to spend on advertising just to tell people about it.
It's a win win for all. And a big show of hypocrisy by the entire nation.
Of late, Pamela - who has been out of job in her country - has been raising storm in my country. I think anybody would have; if paid 23,000,000 rupees for three days performance. Television and print - both have extensively reported on Pamela and her 'show'and people like me were left exasperated at the thought - why should I be deprived of it when the whole country is getting it?
The Information and Broadcasting Ministry had last week acquired the sudden realisation that Pamela and other actors in the copycat reality TV show 'Big Boss - season 4' are showing vulgarity, obscenity, sexual innuendo and thereby degrading the 'culture' in my country by 'doing' things we apparently do not do.
Please do not get it wrong. The I&B Ministry was not against freedom of expression, but it did not wanted the kids to see all those "big" action. Everything big should be the absolute territory of the adults. So, it ordered Colors to show Pamela (and Big Boss) after 11 P.M. and forced hundreds of others like me to suddenly become insomniac.
The resultant debate on free speech, government control and moral standard has missed a few points. Obscenity and vulgarity are not objective or absolute. Like in nature, change is the norm here. As the size of the Bikini has shrunk in the last 70 years, so is the definition of obscene and vulgar. What is obscene or vulgar is not decided by the performer but decided by the sense of the receptor. It is the consciousness, taste and value system of the receptor that decides the acceptability (or lack of it) of a show. You will not see it if it repulses you, or will be glued to it if you like it - no matter when or where.
Another point that was missed (or left out?)by media is that Indian viewers had a dilemma before the ban - whether to watch Kaun Banega Crorpati in Sony or Big Boss (both had same timings). As a result, the TRP was shared between the two channels. Post ban the problem for both Colors and Sony have been solved. Is I&B Ministry helping Colors in more than one way - first by raising the storm over the issue, attracting eyeballs and telling everyone what Colors is showing. Then by allocating a different time for the Big Boss and helping it (and Sony too) get more TRP. Finally, telling the whole country about the change of timings for the Big Boss show. Otherwise, how many of us would have been aware what Big Boss shows, what Raki Ka Insaf shows and that these shows now starts from 11 P.M. or think about the money Colors would have to spend on advertising just to tell people about it.
It's a win win for all. And a big show of hypocrisy by the entire nation.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Memory
Elliot Giberson of Seattle asked Stephen Hawking "What do you believe happens to our consciousness after death?"
To which Hawking replied - the brain is essentially a computer and consciousness is like a computer programme. It will cease to run when the computer is turned off. Theoritically, it could be re-created on a neural network, but that would be very difficult, as it would require all one's memories.
It's wonderful to think that way, isn't it? Like a computer programme you built up the consciousness over years, leave it in your memory in such a way that when you die the memory can be used to run the programme in some other neural network (another human body)!
I think there is a way to it. Our consciousness programme is written over years with inputs through all the sensory organs. The inputs are derived from the environment that we grow up in. The experiences of others conveyed to us through communication mediums also influence this process of building consciousness. The programme itself keeps on evolving as our consciousness evolves. Finally, we get a programme just before our death.
If we can keep this programme available in communication channels, then it can be used to build another programme in another human being. I think it is happening already. People write books so that others can read them. Your experiences stored in your writing goes into developing consciousness in others. The thought brings euphoria. Thank you Hawking.
To which Hawking replied - the brain is essentially a computer and consciousness is like a computer programme. It will cease to run when the computer is turned off. Theoritically, it could be re-created on a neural network, but that would be very difficult, as it would require all one's memories.
It's wonderful to think that way, isn't it? Like a computer programme you built up the consciousness over years, leave it in your memory in such a way that when you die the memory can be used to run the programme in some other neural network (another human body)!
I think there is a way to it. Our consciousness programme is written over years with inputs through all the sensory organs. The inputs are derived from the environment that we grow up in. The experiences of others conveyed to us through communication mediums also influence this process of building consciousness. The programme itself keeps on evolving as our consciousness evolves. Finally, we get a programme just before our death.
If we can keep this programme available in communication channels, then it can be used to build another programme in another human being. I think it is happening already. People write books so that others can read them. Your experiences stored in your writing goes into developing consciousness in others. The thought brings euphoria. Thank you Hawking.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
To Anonymous
Anonymous left a comment to one of my earlier posts (Every man is an island).
"happiness is like the horizon.. yu can see it ..never reach. while you are in that happy moment, you may not recognize it... buit live life and do things that make you happy.Do you know what makes your wife happy? do you know what makes you happy?"
I find it thrilling to receive anonymous comments,find it exhilarating to the point of being surreal. The comments themselves are not the reasons for my exhilarations, but the realisation that someone I do not know or someone who does not want me to know has thought it important to leave a comment gives me adrenalin shots. In fact, I had written earlier about such an exciting experience in my blog. Dear anonymous, you can read it here.
So, I start here with a big thank you to "Anonymous". That means you have to read on, anonymous. As I just wrote, comments are mostly not the reason for my being overwhelmed; but this time it was an exception.
I am not sure about happiness (that's why I wrote that piece). But, I am sure about it when I feel it. I could not quite convince myself to accept the allegory of happiness being the horizon. I rather think it is like the other side of the river - you can look at it only from the other side. However, you sure can cross the river to reach it. And for that all you need are - will, skill and eyesight. You can learn to be happy, the way you learn not to fall from your bicycle. You just need to look for those little symptoms, faint signals that are precursor to happiness. With some practice, you will be able to forecast when happiness is coming to you. You know, I can feel it right now, because I know once I finish writing this post, I'll be happy.
You can also learn to be happy alone if you fail to have the chance of being happy in other's company, because you hardly have any other option left to you. It is our destiny to avoid being sad or indifferent. Life's dictate is to try to be happy. You learn to be happy alone and you become an island. That's when the danger creeps in. The day you learn to be happy alone you will be encapsulated within yourself. Nobody can ever touch you again.
Dear anonymous, I know what makes me happy. And I also know what makes my wife happy. Will you please tell her that? Or at least tell her to read my posts? That will make me happy.
"happiness is like the horizon.. yu can see it ..never reach. while you are in that happy moment, you may not recognize it... buit live life and do things that make you happy.Do you know what makes your wife happy? do you know what makes you happy?"
I find it thrilling to receive anonymous comments,find it exhilarating to the point of being surreal. The comments themselves are not the reasons for my exhilarations, but the realisation that someone I do not know or someone who does not want me to know has thought it important to leave a comment gives me adrenalin shots. In fact, I had written earlier about such an exciting experience in my blog. Dear anonymous, you can read it here.
So, I start here with a big thank you to "Anonymous". That means you have to read on, anonymous. As I just wrote, comments are mostly not the reason for my being overwhelmed; but this time it was an exception.
I am not sure about happiness (that's why I wrote that piece). But, I am sure about it when I feel it. I could not quite convince myself to accept the allegory of happiness being the horizon. I rather think it is like the other side of the river - you can look at it only from the other side. However, you sure can cross the river to reach it. And for that all you need are - will, skill and eyesight. You can learn to be happy, the way you learn not to fall from your bicycle. You just need to look for those little symptoms, faint signals that are precursor to happiness. With some practice, you will be able to forecast when happiness is coming to you. You know, I can feel it right now, because I know once I finish writing this post, I'll be happy.
You can also learn to be happy alone if you fail to have the chance of being happy in other's company, because you hardly have any other option left to you. It is our destiny to avoid being sad or indifferent. Life's dictate is to try to be happy. You learn to be happy alone and you become an island. That's when the danger creeps in. The day you learn to be happy alone you will be encapsulated within yourself. Nobody can ever touch you again.
Dear anonymous, I know what makes me happy. And I also know what makes my wife happy. Will you please tell her that? Or at least tell her to read my posts? That will make me happy.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Buying his first car
As he was tossing and turning on the bed trying to sleep, I realised it will be quite some time before he could sleep. The excitement was too much for him. After all, he has booked the first car of his life - a gleaming white Hyundai Verna CRDi diesel sedan - only a few hours ago. It was the top of the line model that caught his fancy. His mother and I said, so be it and went straight to the car showroom in the evening arriving minutes before it was closing.
I had to take care in arranging everything in advance. Fortunately, I had a friend in the Hyundai showroom whom I had called up last week giving him details of the desire of our son. I also told him that we would come to the showroom on the day after Biswakarma Puja. Thus, everything had been arranged.
It was my friend Aniruddha Deb, the manager of the shop, who greeted us at the door. The actual work was done in five minutes. Deb had pulled out a form and asked my son his name and address. He had carefully written them down in the form and placed it on the windscreen tucked under the wiper of the car my son had chosen. Deb had also given a few piece of paper to our son, apparently acknowledgement of the booking. After that we were offered coffee, which we had, and then we left for home. Simple!
Kabir was toying with the idea of booking the car (the white 2010 model Verna, not the earlier model)for almost one month now. Hyundai has upgraded the earlier model with a new one this year. The new car has a completely refurbished engine, new front design, new headlights and some other cosmetic changes. He used to like the old model too, but according to him the new model was better. Although car companies do not come up with new variant too often, he was apprehensive that Hyundai may bring out another variant of the Verna or may altogether stop production before he can actually arrange the finance to buy it. He realised it would be prudent to immediately book one for himself till he can arrange the money to buy it.
There was nothing wrong with his idea. In fact, I found it perfectly logical. Book the car you want to buy, and then arrange the finance. The only problem I was worried about was that it would be at least 12 more years before he could even apply for a driving license and another five more years before he could actually think of arranging the money to buy it. The predicament for the car company would be that this effectively meant that they will have to book the car and keep it for him for the next 17 years!
Because, as you all probably know, Kabir is only six years old now.
I had to take care in arranging everything in advance. Fortunately, I had a friend in the Hyundai showroom whom I had called up last week giving him details of the desire of our son. I also told him that we would come to the showroom on the day after Biswakarma Puja. Thus, everything had been arranged.
It was my friend Aniruddha Deb, the manager of the shop, who greeted us at the door. The actual work was done in five minutes. Deb had pulled out a form and asked my son his name and address. He had carefully written them down in the form and placed it on the windscreen tucked under the wiper of the car my son had chosen. Deb had also given a few piece of paper to our son, apparently acknowledgement of the booking. After that we were offered coffee, which we had, and then we left for home. Simple!
Kabir was toying with the idea of booking the car (the white 2010 model Verna, not the earlier model)for almost one month now. Hyundai has upgraded the earlier model with a new one this year. The new car has a completely refurbished engine, new front design, new headlights and some other cosmetic changes. He used to like the old model too, but according to him the new model was better. Although car companies do not come up with new variant too often, he was apprehensive that Hyundai may bring out another variant of the Verna or may altogether stop production before he can actually arrange the finance to buy it. He realised it would be prudent to immediately book one for himself till he can arrange the money to buy it.
There was nothing wrong with his idea. In fact, I found it perfectly logical. Book the car you want to buy, and then arrange the finance. The only problem I was worried about was that it would be at least 12 more years before he could even apply for a driving license and another five more years before he could actually think of arranging the money to buy it. The predicament for the car company would be that this effectively meant that they will have to book the car and keep it for him for the next 17 years!
Because, as you all probably know, Kabir is only six years old now.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
The Wonderful Hues of Sunset
Artists say, that the most vibrant and most diverse hues in nature are seen in the sky and on objects reflecting sunlight only at the sunset. These hues are the most difficult to capture - whether on canvas or with camera. For centuries, it has remained a challenge for artists - painters and photographers - to capture the enormous beauty of the most amazing colours of sun's ray refracting through the stratosphere. Invariably, what you get is a poor replica of what you see. The real scene often eludes you.
Thus, it is almost impossible to show others what you have seen at the sunset. It is always you, and only you, who can see it the way you see it. Is it so then, that the sunset is only yours? In a way, yes. You alone can fathom the unearthly beauty of a gorgeous sunset, see it with your eyes and store it in your mind. So, take time out to see the sunset someday. Otherwise, you will miss something which actually is only for you.
Thus, it is almost impossible to show others what you have seen at the sunset. It is always you, and only you, who can see it the way you see it. Is it so then, that the sunset is only yours? In a way, yes. You alone can fathom the unearthly beauty of a gorgeous sunset, see it with your eyes and store it in your mind. So, take time out to see the sunset someday. Otherwise, you will miss something which actually is only for you.
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