A message to the Indian Youth

My sister in law, my best friend, asked me if I could pen down something to help her make a speech to a young group of MBA students. She is one of the most talented public speakers one can find. She transforms on stage from a shy, introvert to a powerful public speaker when confronted with the multitudes.. But she thought when it comes to speaking to a set of young MBAs, her corporate brother in law might be able to connect better. So I put this down last night..
Hope it influences someone

My young friends,

It is always a pleasure to address a group like this, since I actually believe that I have a chance to influence the future course of the world whenever I address the youth.

you are about to start life - stepping out into the wide and wonderful world full of its glorious uncertainties and challenges.

Full of hope, yet also mixed with apprehension.

Maybe I can share with you a few thoughts that might help you get a broader perspective to help you as you prepare to start this journey.

Remember, the world will become flatter and more compact as you progress thru life. The opportunities ahead of you would be truly global. Those who can harness the power of knowledge and communication can harness the growth the world has to offer.

So think big. Really, really big. Reach out and touch the world. Do not think Andhra, not India, not Asia- but think one world.

Also realize - you belong to that part of the world slated to grow the fastest in the next century. Your knowledge of this part of the world will be valuable to the world. Hence learn about your roots, where you are from, what is this country, how do you tap its potential, its strengths and challenges.

Position yourself as an Indian who is global.

But as you look for opportunities, think also where you stand...

This country will soon have 40% of all the poor in the world. As of now, we are the 128th in terms of development in the world.

What can I do to change this? How do I help percolate the 10% GDP growth to the poor? How do I unleash the huge human resource potential of this country to take advantage of the flat globe? The chances are that if YOU can find the answer to this in your own sphere, you would also have found an answer to making the maximum of being a truly global Indian - and manage to have done your bit for this country to boot.

Realize also that you belong to the greatest country in the world- the biggest democracy with the largest diversity. But it is also one of the least transparent - one of the lowest in transparency index - the most corrupt- below Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sril Lanka. What can I as a citizen do to change this?
Arrest all temptations to succumb. If enough of you do this, the system will change - it will back you. Have that conviction.


And most importantly, the next 50 years will decide whether the human race will survive. We - humanity- just 100,000 years old - is really in its adolescence. Can we survive the wild swinging party we have been binging in at the cost of our mother earth? We must. YOU must. For once, think not India, Asia, earth - think human race. Can these incredibly talented, incredibly complex, incredibly innovative creations of god survive? How will you contribute to making this happen? Every action you take must conserve and protect the environment. Don’t take this lightly.

If mankind is to conquer the universe- which I strongly believe is our destiny, YOU - this generation which will own the world for the next 50 years must navigate well.

All the best. Straddle and guide my world well- I am bequeathing it to you!!

Chuck and Geck - down memory lane again

Wow!!! To read this story after nearly 30 years!! The magic was all still there.
I could almost smell the fir trees, feel the deep snow under my feet, glimpse the bears and wolves far off and see the long stream of steam trailing behind the train as it snaked thru the crystal clear Taiga morning.

Thanks to my friend Seema, who seems as much excited as I am by the quest for classics and my childhood favourite books, I managed to get hold of a volume of short stories by Arkady Gaidar. And Chuck and Geck (I had thought this was Chuk and Gek earlier- thanks to having read the version in phonetic Malayalam) is one of the gems in this book. Now I can hardly wait to finish the rest of the stories.

Seema managed this amazing feat with her usual flair- she just bullied some of her bookstore owner friends- and out pops the volume in 2 weeks flat. What I have been looking for, for the last 25 years!!

I had spent so much time in my childhood reading up Russian and other erstwhile Soviet states’ folk tales that Chudo-Yudo, Baba-Yaga and the Russian Bogatyrs, not to mention Ivan the brave and Vassilisa the beautiful had become as much part of my imaginary world as Vishnu, Shiva, Asuras, Devas etc. To be able to read these stories from the USSR from around 1935-1945 would be a great treat.

Thanks Seema.

History, Mythology et al

Apart from classics, my other passion are history and mythology. From the time I was a boy of 4, I was fascinated by stories of Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma, Devas, Asuras etc. I used to listed wide eyed when my grandmother used to narrate stories of celestial intrigue, incarnations of Vishnu, jealousies of goddesses, of brave and strong warriors and powerful sages. Somewhere this laid the foundation for a deep rooted love for understanding different cultures and their evolution. A little older, I started reading up other mythologies- Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Nordic, Celtic, Teutonic, Red Indian, Mexican etc. etc. Most of the reading initially was in translated Malayalam books (I studied in Malayalam medium schools till 15) There was an author called Mali who used to write these stories in Malayalam. Reading these was my obsession. Having read these,the next step was to try and understand from what historical and cultural contexts these stories emerged. So I started reading up history.
My father once quoted to me from the famous speech of Mark Antony in Julius Caesar. It was fascinating, how standing alone against an unruly mob, the man used his wits and his smooth tongue and turned the crowd around. I decided to read Skakespeare. Unabridged. I was 12, from a village where no on ever spoke even a word of English, having never conversed even once in English and I was attempting William Shakespeare - unabridged. I loved it - the archaic English - thou, thee, methinks, sirrah- but it took me a whole week to finish Julius Caesar. The next step was obvious- Antony and Cleopatra. Then came all the historical ones- assortment of King Henries and King Richards. A whole new vista was opening up.
English literature and History always fascinated me. Maybe because of the close ties with India.
Today I have a small library at home (Jayu, my wife keep complaining that we are running out of space at home) made up mostly of history, mythology and classics. (and science and science fiction- more about that later)
I work for HP as a director. I come across many people of different nationalities. It is fun to constantly amaze them with just how much more I know about their cultural and historic roots than they themselves do!!

Quest for yet another book - Chuk and Gek

I was about 9 when I read this book. As stated in my profile, I am from Kerala. Kerala had the first elected communist government in the world. It continued to have a strong presence of communists and Marxists. Due to this, Kerala always had strong ties with the communist USSR. As a part of a well orchestrated propaganda, russian books-translated into Malayalam -used to be available in Kerala at absolutely rock bottom prices. And that is how I came across Chuk and Gek. The story of two children and their mother, who set out to cross Siberia in search of their Dad. My memory is now quite hazy. But the book has left me with one great desire - to tarvel by the Trans Siberian Railway. All the way from Kieve to Vladivostok.
I have been searching for this book also for 20+ years. Never managed to get hold of it. But i am confident I will manage- sooner or later. And I am sure I will also make the journey- over the Taiga thru the great Trans Siberian Railway. Someday..

Quest for Classics

When I was 10, I visited a cousin. He had a bound book which contained a series of Illustrated classics. These included volumes such as Taras Bulba, With Fire and Sword, Won by the Sword, Men of Iron, Julius Caesar, Robin Hood, Kidnapped, Treasure Island, Frankenstein, Count of Montechristo, Hayawata, Around the World in Eighty days and many more such works. Being a romantic soul, I read these avidly, till some of the phrases became deeply implanted in my brain. The book eventually passed out of my hands, but not before it left a deep love for classics.
Ever since I started working, I started searching for these illustrated classics. I had forgotten many of the titles. None of the bookshops had any illustrated classics. I serached for 20 years. Google came to my rescue in identifying the titles- I did a search with the phrases i remembered and it came up with the correct titles. Today I am collecting these books. I have picked up Count of Montechristo, Taras Bulba, With Fire and Sword, Kidnapped and Men of Iron. I am sure I will find the rest soon. And the stories from the 30 year war, the war between the cossacks and the Poles and many other wars will unfold in front of me.

Taras Bulba

This is a book i have been searching for for 20 years. Finally got it thru BalC, my cousin.
What an amazign description of the Cossacks and those lawless times. Cruel, bloodthirsty, glor-ious and gripping. Feel sorry for Andreii. Wonder which exact period the story is based.