Author: changethinker

Born and raised in Mumbai, India with an undergrad degree from Oman and a masters degree from the National University of Singapore. I am an Environmental Professional with a passion for Sustainability, Social Innovation and Governance related issues. A Change Agent in the making who believes that small is beautiful and that impact can be achieved -one soul at a time.

AI will not feed the young (and Hungry)

A meal for the hungry

The last twenty odd years has been a slow process of creating the thesis of climate action as an upgrade from public health safeguards. It has led to a new regime of compliance, and ESG is the new umbrella without the teeth of legal redressal. The entire alphabet soup is an attempt to create a new market for doing good. Carbon offsets is one, where the intentions are good but the real value is the data for the risk calculus. It is all risk management. 

Philanthropy through core funding creates more value than carbon credits. Carbon credits akin to TNFD and TISFD, are good at infrastructure creation. The data helps, but should we focus on impact first? Then do MEL? 

The maze of standards and guidance is to foster a moral pressure on the investment community to do well and create a business case for it, while being all voluntary. ESG was a post Paris creation whose expiry was the second DJT era and the Ukraine- Gaza wars. ESG needs an upgrade, where S is Security and E is the EV. The AI dimension has a real energy security dimension, and governments need voters and not bots despite the enthusiasm of valley tech bros. 

The Secret Drawer- An Archive as Play

The best form of art is the one that moves deeply. The Secret Drawer is archive building through the Chinese family archives cutting through Kajang, Singapore and Penang and the role transnationalism plays through the Cold War.

Captivating performance by Ling and Tong Hui. Instant Cafe Theatre has a masterclass on its hands. A must for historians of SEA.

The cast
A masterclass

Where We Converge: Azaadi in the Diaspora

Happy Azaadi Day from the Diaspora; the diaspora banters, eats and discusses the in accuracy of Bollywood representations of SWAT Valley and Layaari. This Pakistani Naan Shop off Mersing Jetty in Johore, was a trip down memory lane as the Cheese Naan was the same one i have eaten in my Chacha Bakery in Al Khuwair, Masqat or anywhere in Dubai.

The cook-server from SWAT Valley wished me back Happy Independence Day, as i wished him Happy Azaadi Day. South Asia converges in the labour diaspora.

At Mersing Jetty, Johor

ARI NUS Workshop on Indian Ocean History

A special workshop on Indian Ocean History ended with a special panel with intense dialogue on what counts as a manuscript, or as the Persianate World or what constitutes an Indian Ocean Library?

Seeing Fahad Bishara, Eng Seng Ho, Mana Kia and Mahmood Kooria with Teren Sevea dialogue made for a heart and mind satiated with questions and further directions.

Was lovely to meet fellow peers and mentors in person.

Reimagining Migration Infrastructure as Opportunity Architecture

Migration networks are opportunity networks, they are sources of sustenance when the well at home dry out. For states such as Punjab and Kerala it is a way of life, yet wealthier states like Gujarat also are sending states, as i have met many Gujaratis working in Indian Restaurants all over Singapore including this week. Ultimately it is a need based business, and countries like the Philippines and Bangladesh have mastered the many corridors.

The pic below at Lucky Plaza at Orchard Road, Singapore exemplifies ‘Migration Infrastructure’ in the words of (Xiao and Lindquist, 2013) as ones which support the life worlds of Migration, which support productivity and opportunity across migration corridors. It is not poverty porn as many an activist or scholar might have portrayed in literature. Many of these FDWs have college degrees. And might not fit the fundraising pitch of deprivation. And they are middle class at home.

It’s more textured than it meets the eye, let’s get a nuanced view of the human lens of the migration supply chains.

Entrepreneurial Musings from Singapore Kopitiam

Weekend Musings from a Singapore Kopitiam

There are several reasons global start ups love Singapore, things work seamlessly, great infrastructure (just look at the DE or the TEL Line of the MRT) and the sheer availability of options. It is a substantial vantage point into the region, and has a significant density of talent as well. It is a place also where cost cutting does not work, as talent demands it’s fair share. Companies have moved across the border with cost considerations and the Johor-Singapore SEZ.

It needs a certain kind of appetite for start ups to find their feet in Singapore and the region. Not every start up has the stomach for Singapore, as the demands for innovation in line with the best along with the cost are unprecedented. Other countries in the region have affirmative action embedded in procurement, or need a local company partner for everything. Understand the local politics and language, read a book- i can send you a reading list. This is region of the Wayang Kulit, a lot of it is unsaid over Kopio.

As they say, Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast.

Forty Shades of Grey

Am turning into my fourth decade very soon (this is my birthday month technically) , and it has gotten me very somber and reflective. The past decade has been a rough ride, more losses than wins. Was it great living in five different countries, and cities that i have lost count off, the answer is yes.

What do i count or what does matter in the overall scheme of things ? That I coined two terms, Desi Khaleeji on the multi generational migrant in the Gulf, which was the framework for an exhibition in Bahrain by artist Khurram Saab, and ‘ Hindu Nationalist Intellectual Architecture’ as was cited by Veteran Journalist, Sanjaya Baru ji in his book, The Indian Power Elite. And published an article in the Monsoon Journal by Duke University Press on the Indian Ocean World being a non PhD. And a former supervisor mentioned once that i cannot write?

Just getting started, only this time with clarity and purpose doing things which matter such as writing a good PhD (it’s been slow with parental care support and other assignments) and writing more.

To more journeys, and thank you for reading !

Reading at a Starbucks in Mumbai