A Giant Belly

Adel, a Mumbai based hair stylist got a rude shock when she billed her stunning pink Tresmode stilettos from a suburban franchisee of the Italian brand. Glossy lipped lady at the billing counter gently asked her to pay the mammoth bill by some other card or cash as her debit card had insufficient balance. Frowning at the trained counter lady, she threw her Credit card and walked away with envious Italian footwear. She convinced herself that the credit card bill is a matter of just fifteen haircuts. Fifteen haircuts?? Last year when Economic Tsunami struck Western, Japanese & Middle East Economies, the ripples spread every corner of the Globe and spared none. Adel’s Lokhandwala Salon was no exception. Bathed in Cosmetics and Branded apparels, Adel never got or rather never gave time to news with the exception of Bombay Times. But in the year of economic turbulence, Adel would not have dared to buy Stilettos on credit card as she observed the drop in the number of people visiting her saloon. This year she was sure she would make a lot of money.
The World has not recovered fully, but our entire nation seems to be shopping. Companies are hiring, economists are forecasting better GDP growth figures, High optimism amongst businessmen, Sensex closing its boom time high, real estate prices scaling new peaks. Like Adel, entire nation is fearless and confident of a better tomorrow. Indians are known for saving a lot of money unlike western counterparts. We end up stocking a lot of money in our Banks who offer attractive returns. With jobs knocking all across the nation, coupled with previous savings stockpile, the purchasing power is all set to give our nation a huge belly to consume as much as it can. (Till the belly doesn’t explode)

The Giant Belly – Consume as much as possible. Consume Food & Beverages, cosmetics, automobiles, white goods, apparels, endless list of services – telecom, hospitality, tourism, airline to name a few. But who will feed the giant belly? Current infrastructure is just not sufficient. Current supply of many products and services will fall short soon. Leading to excess demand but low supply, giving rise to high inflation. Most economists warn of our rapidly growing economy to overheat soon due to high inflation. So, satisfying the hunger of this huge belly is a challenge. Easiest way would be to allow growth and sales starved Western countries to dump their outputs to us. Allow GE to set up as hundreds of power plants all across the country. Anyways, GE can’t set up more power plants in the USA. But this would hamper domestic business growth and create a much larger global economic bubble, where western part of the World is producing and Eastern part is consuming. Once consumption saturates in the Eastern part, the West will face an economic crisis of far greater magnitude which will engulf entire globe. Another way ahead could be, to strengthen domestic supply. This would require setting up more industries, building infrastructure quickly, encouraging entrepreneurship, simpler procedures to gain licenses. But this will require huge capital expenditure. Who will lend us? The World Bank? The IMF? Western countries? Sure, easy to gather large sum of loans from mentioned foxes, but they come with clauses and conditions which invariably favors them. Third way could be to decentralize production. But this may lower the quality of products. And certainly Adel would never comprise on quality and brands.

Just as huge belly in man brings plethora of medical problems, a Giant belly in nation also comes with a bag full of problems. Well while we ponder over this economic situation, Adel is busy checking out FCUK dresses and MAC eyeliners.

Tujhe Na Paya

Maine dekha ek sapna,
Char panch dino ka tha saath apna.
Lekin sapne chanchal hote hain,
Kya kabhie sach hote hain??

Mutthi bandh ke aaye the,
Umang aur sapne bhare the.
Lekin unki kimaat na samjha tune,
Kya ek pal ke liye bhi saath diya tune??

Aab na rahi koi umang dil mein,
Na sapne aankhon mein,
Lekin tujhe paane ke ikcha aab bhi hai,
Kya tujhe paane ke liye ek janam kaafi hai??

Dream to Gloom

The poem speaks of a typical middle class Indian girl and guy (II tier city).
You - the girl
Me and I - the guy.

Poem :-




You dream all the years,
From childhood to youth
And during every night of your teens.

Dream of what?
A Greek - god looking prince
bathed in beauty and gold,
Will come one day in your life
And will take you along,
On a journey that has romance all over
And ends with your life.

If only dreams were not dreams.
Days turn into weeks,
into months, into years
And there is sight of no such prince.

Your patience goes for a toss.
You are depressed, frustrated
And need an admirer,
To boost your confidence
And to unconditionally love you.

You decide to compromise
And settle with "Me"

Me, an average looking Indian guy
With middle class upbringing.
Aspirations and dreams unlimited
And so the responsibilities of family.
Only thing limited is resources
And thus opportunities.

My decent job and good manners,
Of both me and my family
makes "Me" ideal candidate for your compromise.

You suppress your dreams
And we enter into a contract,
Named marriage, claiming to tie us
Together for next seven life's.
You leave your home for me.

I'm the reason for ruining your life.
I'm the reason for your endless sacrifices.
I'm the reason you have to adjust and learn to live with 'Little'.

I'm the reason for you not having the most expensive jewelery.
I'm the reason for your children not studying in expensive schools.
I'm the reason for you not holidaying at best tourist spots.
I'm the reason you can't shop much.
I'm the reason you can't be friends to men you like.
I'm the reason for you not staying in king size villa.
I'm the reason you can't match wardrobe of neighbors.
I'm the reason you can't travel in luxury cars.


I'm the reason.
Yes, I'm the reason.
I'm the loser who
Works ten hours a day,
five to six days a week
And entire year.
But can't earn enough
to fulfill your wants.

Worst, you have to service my needs.
You have to cook for me,
Sleep with my bellied and out of shape body,
Nurse me when I'm ill,
Receive ill treatment when I'm in bad mood,
Sometimes beatings, abuses from me.

I'm the compromise
Who ruined your life,
Demolished your dreams,
Rammed your body into premature oldness,
Deprived of luxuries you deserved.

Yet you have to stay with me,
Look at my dirty face daily,
Sleep on same bed,
Eat together,
Roam together,
Live a life you didn't imagine.

A life full of pain, suffering, sacrifices.
With only death saving you from further injustice.


SH
Shahid Hussain

The Real Economic Challenge

The fear of India crumbling to the Economic Tsunami that emerged in North America is over. Our conservative regulatory approach saved us. Also, what United States did after crisis to control the situation, we already had it - I am talking about Govt. stake in Banking businesses and other important businesses like steal, insurance, power, etc. More sustainable growth models exist in Indian economy all thanks to domestic consumption strength and rising middle class, Govt. of India intervention capabilities and regulations framed keeping a conservative approach.

So the time is back to project 8 % plus figures of GDP, rising corporate salaries, Double digit growth of companies on quarterly basis, booming real estate - Shinning India, Next Big thing India, etc etc.

Question is - Is the growth benefit reaching to all?? Is it a lopsided growth story??
What is the real economic challenge in next few decades to come.

The real enemy is POVERTY. The gap between rich and poor. We may not realize its severity now as this phase is wealth addition phase of rich and middle class. As time will pass, more and more wealth will get accumulated with the rich and middle class population creating greater gap in the society. Have you ever imagined or analysed the reason behind kidnapping cases of Bihar? Wealth is accumulated with few (Doctors, Zamindars, Industrialists, Businessmen) and large population faces acute poverty. Result is they resort to kidnapping, illegal trade, etc. So the rich and rising middle class can't ignore the growing rich poor divide as if they do so, they will face the music later when frustrated poor mases will resort to forcefully & illegal means of wealth accumulation. When poverty organizes them and unites them, a revolution is born that can change the course of nation and society. Most Moists in India hail from very poor family background and are forced to join it as a result of illiteracy and hunger.

What we can do now? Shall we continue to pursue rapid growth without giving much importance to these issues. Capitalism believes that deserving ones will get wealth. Most will agree. But then if we don't wake up and leave them to suffer, we are sowing seeds of revolution which will finish us in days to come. Thus we must empower them too, the growth benefits should be passed to the most poorest person also. Both urban and rural infrastructure building should be given priorities, job opportunities should be created even in rural areas and backward ares. Cottage and Small scale Industries should be protected against forces of Industrialization & Globalization. Slum redevelopment should be given justice pushing aside politics.

The real challenge in coming years is eliminating poverty and providing quality education and healthcare facilities to country men!!!!!

Mumbai

Mumbai is undoubtly the most popular metropolis of India. Apart from the title of 'Financial capital', Mumbai boosts of the biggest stock exchanges (BSE, NSE), house to Bollywood stars, Night life, safety of women, Sea Link, Skyscrapers among the majors in fascinating list. Not to forget, links to the underworld, smuggling, mafia and flesh trading. Dont be surprised to find posh colony, with sophisticated people staying in high end area adjancent to slum hutments. Largest slum of Asia, 'Dharavi' is in Greater Mumbai, in popluar lingo called Town Side. More than 50 % of Mumbai's 1.5 Crore population live in slums. Slums have families living in most unhygenic conditions in a 10" x 10" size hut. Also famous for local trains which run almost 20 hours a day. Just stand at any Subarban local railway station on a monday morning at 9 AM, you will witness a war like situation with people fighting to get inside the already more than crowded train compartments or on top of them. By the way, local trains are most outdated urban mass transport system existing. A long list to talk about this city, also known as 'Maximum city'. Mumbai is full of paradoxes. People have very low wages as compared to other metroplis of World, but 3rd Costliest city in Property prices. In some areas, rates are as high as Rs. 85,000 for just one sqaure feet $ 2000 for 1 sqaure feet space. A very vast coastline, but uglist public beaches. Most outdated mass public transport sytems, and also the highest number of luxury sedans. One of the Lowest standard of living as compared to other Cities of the World, and also some of the richiest people of the World reside in this subcontinents most happening place. Mumbai provides more than 1/3rd of the taxes that Governent collects and has a growing population which will soon become more than Australia or whole of Scandinavia. Yet the city doesn't get sufficient attention from the Government and is fighting for basic needs of good transport system, roads, sewage disposal, drinking water and electrcity.

Mumbai remains 'Sapno ka sehar' and will remain for a long time to come. Mumbai is face of emerging India. Times Magazine writes 'Mumbai is shaping India's future -- and the future of the World'. Give Mumbai another 12 - 15 years time, it will be difficult to recognize it. 3 huge Metro projects, another sea-link from Bandra to Versova, sky walks to major rail stations, tourism booster structures creation and upgradation, Slum rehaitalisation, and a lot more on way. With positive political will, it should not take more than 12-15 years for Mumbai to get a proper make over.

THE NEW INDIAN ORDER!!!!

Its been a long time. In my last post, I was too worried about the elections and the profile of the parties contesting - Congress led, BJP led and 3rd Front. After the election verdict I am happy that there is a Cong led stable Government at the center.

The Indian people have voted for stability, for growth, for prosperity, for better future. Its time for a NEW INDIAN ORDER. This "New Indian order" will lead to a more prosperous and powerful nation state. For that to happen, Religious hatred, regional hatred and caste based segmentation (leading to more and more complexities and caste based riots) should be rooted out. Well for that we need to have a more mature society. This may take several Decades and can only be accelerated to some extent by better education to masses and improved economic conditions.

There are lot of expectations from Govt. "New Indian order", is not possible without political will of our national leaders. We are plagued by poor infrastructure, miserable health care facilities, poverty, disastrous educational system, etc etc. "New Indian order" is not another marketing or branding stuff like "India shinning", its real and something we can achieve. Its not coined by any political party or media house. Its a dream of every fellow Indian.

The road ahead is full of obstacles, most of them created by ourselves. Some of the things necessary for the "New Indian order" are -

1) Inclusive growth in true sense

2) Power - Not just to Industry but to every household, to even the most interior village. Not just adding power generation capacity by traditional means but also monitoring fraud and theft of power. Not to forget, Nuclear power generation capacity building.

3) Drinking Water - people are worried of Oil shortage crisis. Lakhs still don't have adequate drinking water. In many villages still people have to travel miles to gather few buckets of water. This should be a major concern when the Cong party talks of inclusive growth. Need of the day - Capacity building, water conservation, rain water harvesting, pipe connections network expansion.

4) Roads - Road network expansion has already been identified by Kamal Nath. He has promised a 20 Km per day road addition for the next 5 years. He is setting a new company to manage funds for this purpose - Road Finance Corporation. Lets hope this promise is fulfilled.

5) Education - Structural changes needed. Standard of Indian universities is too low. Just setting up more IIT's and IIM's will not make much difference. The structure, right from primary education to higher education needs a serious revamp. Lets hope Kapil Sibal gets over reservations issue in educational institutes and does some real constructive work. Shortage of quality faculties another issue as far as higher education is concerned.

6) Urban Development - You simply can't have cities with more than a crore population and negligible facilities. Metro rail network, Slum rehabilitation, traffic conditions improvements ........ a long list. We can't talk of shanghai anytime soon.

7) Controlling Rising Food Prices - Forget talks of zero inflation. Look at food prices. If the rise in food prices is not arrested urgently, millions won't get to eat a balanced or even a moderately adequate nutritious diet.

8) Legal System - make the elephant run or it will ruins many lives.

9) Mobile & Internet - Stimulate internet penetration. Get 3G soon. Improve network quality.

10) More FDI, Lower budget defecit, Divestment, .....
....
.....
.....
.... A very long TO-DO list for Manmohan Govt.

But i feel "New Indian Order" has began. How far can we go and how fast can we go? Can we become an economic behemoth anytime soon? Or will we be dissapointed again?

Kisko vote Karein???

WHO DO I VOTE FOR?????? BJP or Congress or 3rd front??

BJP's PM candidate is 81 year old L K Advani. Well all know about this person and his role in Babri Masjid demolition. His recent internet publicity campaign talks about great things he will do for this nation. But do we want to grow under the leadership of a person who will create hatred between communities? Certainly not. We are capable of growing without the help of this old man

Congress.....MNS created a havoc in the financial capital of the country. Regional hate campaign of a new found MNS...Cong could not stop that, forget the prevention of terrorist attacks of 26/11. Vote bank politics of Congress lead reservations in reputed institutes of India and a threatening to private sector too..what a shame!!!!

3rd Front.....The WORST SCENARIO for the country....With only railways in Lalu's hands, most of the new trains lead you to Bihar, imagine what a bunch of regional parties will do to development of India as a whole??? Each will act selfish and work for improvement of their own state leaving National growth to chance. Also left parties will RED TAPE the economic growth of the country.

WHO DO I VOTE FOR????? BJP or Congress or 3rd Front??