Power of the "powerFOOLS"

1987 was the year of whole new beginning where a new era of  Sustainable Development was conceived. Yes it was the Brundtland commission’s report titled “ our common future” which was the first of its  kind to bring into existence the concept of sustainable development.  NO one then knew what precisely the SUSTAINABLE development contained..surprisingly no one does that even today. We have international summits, where the much hyped and self proclaimed think tanks of environment and sustainable development gather just to ponder upon issues which are draped in new avatars, but loaded with same old attitudes in mind, with no aggression to change.

A classic example of this is the world biggest ever blackout that happened last week in our country. Today when science & technology have touched the sky and reached the space,  did anyone ever imagined , one day human driven crisis can be so overpowering that it would leave half of the nation BLACK and DARK..!!! To add to this national shame, the very next day our power minister was promoted as union minister. A true “Powerfool”. On  one side we have human driven climate change, where like fools we have been trying to pretend the governance on nature. Today we are trying to prove our victory on humankind as a whole. Behind the pepperazzi of the word “Sustainable development”, incidences like these leave us with a question in mind, what does development mean to us? May be we are just moving ahead with a blindfold , with absolute lack of vision required to actually “DEVELOP “.

Then what is development? Is it the increased rate of resource crunch that cities are  facing and our governing bodies turning a blind eye to it?? Or is it the increasing vulnerabilities to global issue like climate change where plethora of research and issues are in hand but with a bleak solution to tackle it. Or is it exponentially increasing urban population with no power, no water and no appropriate infrastructure to sustain. Are we really SUSTAIN – able? Can we really? 

Groping into answers for these would require a transformation. The fact that our development is lopsided, we need to think from a point of view, where humans are at the centre of decision making and not just development. Well i wish it was as simple as the picture below... !!!

When you know where you are....TERI

As i write this, i also ponder upon a silly question, is this really a “BLOG”? Or maybe just i am too used to writing whatever comes to my MIND. The answer is maybe, i don’t know. May be i am trying to say something that has no meaning for anyone who is reading this, but  at this risk too...i wish to continue writing. 

In this “virtually developing” country, where development is no less than money making business, where policies are malformed and officials are lying on the bed of greed, makes me grope for an answer to a question that “ IS there anybody really working wise and hard , that will help the world navigate through this unruly activities? “ What happens to our environment in this due course of so called developmental journey. Is environment or Sustainability anywhere in picture?

I always thought, the answer is no. There is none. But as they say, “Hard work paves its way through, when talent stops working”. There are knowledge pools around us which are pre-assumed to be the best saviours of environment and “US” per say. But there are few organisations, which have evolved over a period of time with passion to succeed, let me correct my self, not just succeed but make it a habit to succeed...successfully...!!! And i am proud to be a part of one such organisation- TERI, The Energy and Resources Institute.  With Dr Pachauri’s Vision, the world is not only provided with quality research on myriad of issues and aspects but also, interventions that are really capable of a change. As very aptly said, “ We need to be the change which we want to see in this world” , TERI lives with it.

Not many organisations do what they preach and very few never preach but  just do,  which makes no sense either, as it never reach the masses. But TERI is one organisation which has hit the right chord and is able to manage both. Anybody who doubts this, for them i not just have the plethora of intellectual and pioneering work that TERI has been disseminating at various levels, but another marvel of its experiments would be Gual Pahari, Gurgaon, where TERI has not only translated the philosophies of Solar Passive Architecture on Ground but also stands tall as an epitome of Sustainability in itself. With innovative techniques and sustainable solutions executed, makes us believe that  if there is a strong will, change will follow.

Thats when i realised i better know where i am. Because knowing where you are makes you realise what you ought to be & generates a passion to perform better every day.

Reverse Interaction.

It’s always known more than said, that  Change is the only permanent thing in life. With the technological research cutting the market at a lightning speed, knowingly or unknowingly it’s laying impacts on various elements on its way. Technology is killing technology. The gravity of this statement was realized when I had recently been to the states. Simply I wanted to buy a new wrist watch. But to my surprise I was confronted with the fact that wrist watches have almost become obsolete in most parts of the states just because there is a digital watch in every one’s  Iphone. I was also surprised to know, that wrist watches were hence sold at much cheaper rates than what we buy in India. Its actually intangible yet measurable difference.

Moreover, companies like Nikon , Canon which are major  digital camera manufacturers, popularly known as Digi Cams, are becoming a past as the higher resolution cameras in the phone itself are encroaching the camera market gradually. Iphone’s market is In a tough competition by Samsung, to the extent that the US is planning to ban the same.

This reverse interaction today and the sharp technological demands are creating very short lived businesses with a constant threats of dissolution. The interaction between technologies is becoming reverse. Hence it becomes essential to identify prudent business solutions to combat the heat of ever changing  uncertain market.

The Trailblazers of Corruption

There are three types of approaches generally found around us...

1 . We have determination, hard work, Education and talent working together; we call it Success...

2. When Hardwork and Determination only working together with no money we call it Hard luck...........

3 when we have nothing and still have money, we have to call it Corruption................

 What a paradox. But yes, unfortunately true. This inconvenient truth is the most believed and followed truth of today’s times. From government to chai walaas, from politicians to a common man, corruption is spreading like a wild fire. I am certainly not trying to make statements to sell my BLOG and make it sound like a social activist’s voice. But the agony is this.

Just a small incidence to back what i just said. The impression of this incidence continues to remain on my mind as i write this BLOG. While i was on my way to catch a train for Mumbai, on Ahmadabad station, i stopped to pick up a bottle of water for myself to quench my thirst. The guy on the stall must be in his late 20’s or Mid 20’s may be...basically very young and smart! Before you start getting me wrong, let me proceed further.... 

I asked him a BISLERY. He fetched me with one costing rupees 12. But he charged me Rs 15. Now i was in no mood to fight with him for those three rupees. But the fact that he did so, i thought i should.  I asked him an explanation for those 3 rupees he charged me extra. He very confidently, making no bones over it replied...” Behenji yeh toh ice ke liye hai, thanda pani chahiye ha garmi mein” So i asked him to fetch me a warm bottle of water, He said” woh hum nahi rakhte” before i lock my horns with him further, he replied..” Jaane do na madam, yeh politicians log karodon ka ghotala karate hai, tab koi kuch nahi bolta...hum pooch ke lete hai toh hamein hi sunaate hai” 

I was speechless. I was so much filled with answers to backfire him, that i actually couldn’t speak anything. I just kept wondering,. What is being internalised in the minds of tomorrow. Aren’t we acting like morons by making these corruption lobbyists our Role Models. These politicians are true trailblazers of corruption. With all the scams and scandals of don’t know how many crores, and how many “ Zeros” in those crores, they are actually setting a trail behind their scams which will one day set on fire every one of us. With HUGE mammoth scams, small level corruptions or say may be illegitimacy, is appearing so miniscule that its no more remaining one. So with this kind of an attitude that is developing in today’s young minds i wonder where we will be standing 20- 30 years down the line. I wont be surprised if, a day will come, when corruption would be so much a part of our system, that the government would take its pleasure in legalising it...i can’t stop laughing at this. Certainly not because its funny, but i am mesmerised with the helplessness of our System to save itself from being a BIG FAILURE.

So whats the answer to this?? I am still thinking...post your comments if  you have come up with any...

Smart Shopping!!!

Gone are the days when our parents used to plan an evening to buy stuff from the markets. With the multiple revolutions surrounding us, like the internet and the mobile revolution, it has completely changed the way we live our lives today. This change has been so rapid, and it has been so much a part of our lives now, that we hardly realise that something is actually changing.

It has not only changed the way we live, but also the way we CONSUME. Internet revolution has helped trigger this change more. If you wish to sit at home and shop...we have FASHION and YOU the largest online shopping store. Wish to add something to the library? We have FLIPKART or AMAZON, another largest online stores...i mean why just books it almost has everything at its stock. Bored with your old camera & wish to sell it off?  Even that’s just a click away. QUICKR allows you to do so ...and all this in just few hours..!!! Now that’s mesmerising!! Its at your disposal, just one click away. How much better can one define comfort today? But the success of these online stores lies in its demand too. We, the urbanites, are so much stuck with out routines and hop ons that something like this essentially aims to target our weaknesses and win the battle.

Consumerism has undergone a metamorphosis, thanks to the, i revolution. It has redefined SHOPPPING. Kishore Biyani, the FUTURE GROUP CEO, once stated,  if you want to make a business successful, don’t concentrate on the products, concentrate on the context which surrounds your product...”EK CUP CHAI” sells more than “CAPPUCCINO”...!!! Similarly these online shopping giants know where they have their maximum consumers from and by doing what..!!! 

Behind the success stories the selling mantra is “CASH ON DELIVERY”. This revolution had not been one for its cash on order. Only because, Indians largely don’t still prefer paying online, its this CASH ON DELIVERY concept that is factoring in , the sense of security as an additional attachment with Comfort...and it sells.....

Sometimes, the revolution takes over us, before we even realise it’s a revolution. Wether good or bad, time is the best judge..!!

TIRUPATHI and CLIMATE CHANGE: Strange but true

WOW, now thats called a BREAKKING news !! Recently i read in the BBC news stating, now India’s richest shrine TIRUPATHI, is also GOING GREEN. Going green is not just the mantra for multinationals and professionals today, but goes way beyond the boundaries, surpassing all the conventional means of reducing the catastrophe of climate change. It’s inexorable to know this. In the country of 2 Billion people , where our culture, religion and beliefs form the foundation of all crucial moves and decisions , can a move like this serve the potential to make a difference???

As the news mentioned the Shrine has registered itself for carbon credits and thus by saving tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere, the shrine plans to earn credits and then sell them..!! Now isn’t that a WOW...!!! The shrine manages to cater to 50-1, 00,000 devotees per day. To serve plethora of devotes daily, the shrine has used its roof for huge SOLAR PANELS which help them cook independent of diesel use. An initiative like this not only will make the world think on non conventional ways of combating climate change , vis a vis mere negotiations and paper blotting policies , but will also change the way we look at things. Sometimes solutions to few problems are beyond our reach and sometimes they are so close that we often fail to identify them. Religious places have always played an essential role in changing the dynamics of our country. Now who ever imagined, it might also prove its influence on Global issues like climate change.

When socially powerful institutions like these realise their power and strengths, they can create a metamorphosis. A transformation, to bring a revolution. Now we have for the world to say, rather state, that we are not just rich in culture and population, but culture with a difference and population with an attitude to make a difference. 


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“The One-SMART Revolution”

Its more said than believed by us today ,”Life was much simpler when Apple and Blackberry were just fruits”  The phones are no more the same old hefty boxes which somehow help you connect to your near,  and dear ones today.  They do much more than that...just beyond what we would have imagined in our dreams few years ago.  Nevertheless, the "i"- revolution,  that shook the market few years back, by introducing the very concept of SMART Phones, still continues to do so , rather has spread like a wild fire. Infact to put it this way, this will continue, with or wihout Steve Jobs. At the risk of sounding too statistical, it was proved,  in a survey done by an UK Communication Organisation, that more than a third of adults and 60% of teens admitted to being 'highly addicted' to their SMARTPHONES. Especially the under 25’s???????  In this case what distinguishes addiction from revolution? Why is this thin line so conveniently ignored? Where is this revolution leading us...rather...are we really heading somewhere? To put it straight , has it just become an " all group" style statement?

An 'always on' phone status also enables you to do many of the things you used to do from a normal OLD PC. From socialising to banking, all is in your pocket today. Life seems so easy this way. As i recently read somewhere, these smart phones today, have an application, popularly known as "APP" to monitor your health parameters like sugar etc. What else you can ask from a simple phone now.  What is astonishing here is , to look into the pace at which it has managed to pierce into the hearts and pockets of the societies. We were taken over by the technology in all sense before we could even realise what happened to us.

This is one way of looking at it. Another way could be, this clearly indicates how vulnerable are we and the society at large to “change”. Is this our strength or our weakness? If this is a weakness, then its an alarming situation indeed. And strengths like these can be used to turn the world upside down. Can global issues like Corruption, climate change, terrorism be fought with these kinds of revolutionary movements?  I guess, the success of the technology does not lie merely, in its effectiveness, but also   depends on its popularity, glam associated and the scale at which it is managed.        I leave it to you to take a stand on this.

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