Demonetisation was both Policy and Politics. The Politics was won by the tough signalling, the common man in the serpentine queues saw the rich man penalised. This won the Day. The fine print on the policy is less emphatic. The messaging was powerful in this radical step.

I am very glad for the non linear experiential work trajectory with all the failures, disappointments and the moderate positive outcomes. From biotechnology to environmental engineering to sociology to journalism with consulting, research and non profits as functional areas – this rather thin and broad spectrum has resulted in an incredible journey over the past decade. Solutions are often bursting at the seams of the disciplinary borderlands, and I excited for the journey for the decade ahead in sustainability and writing. I am kind off done with non profits with egoistic founders. More keen about working with organisations with scale, as scale has the bandwidth to innovate solutions rather than pay salaries. Founder led teams are personal vehicles for vanity. A big thanks to mentors over the years.

With a clear majority in the Rajya Sabha, Modi ji will decide everything from President to Big Bang reforms, Demonetisation was one certainly. A new political imagination is getting institutionalised with secular, caste being relegated to the bin. A clear muscular narrative with a majoritarian bent is commonplace. Prof Yogendra Yadav calls it the ‘Indira Gandhi Moment’ with a pro poor shift in voice; MNREGA, Loan Waiver etc. The game is for 2019 and beyond.

Like Political Islam in Egypt, Turkey and Malaysia; the BJP is mainstreaming the ‘Political Hindu’, with a greater discursive space for the post caste era, ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ is community blind as it is a new vocabulary to dismantle the Mandal Construct. Social Justice is fashioned beyond affirmative action aka reservations. 
On a side note, the Lutyens Seminar Set, is as detached from the ground as ever, and I can observe a new intellectual elite emerging with Sanjeev Sanyal and Hindol Sengupta challenging the traditional knowledge class.

The electoral map of India is saffron. Modi ji since 2012, has done his job. The inherent Hindu sentiment is voting at the ballot box. Radical policy decisions such as DeMo is translated as strong development signals. The Indian Developmental dream, is seductive. The post caste era is here. Achche Din with Majoritarian Developmental Politics. 
The flip side is a total demolition of the secular opposition. Punjab has voted for the Maharaja of Patiala, and not the GOP. AAP becomes opposition in Punjab, although a distant second. 2019 will be a greater mandate as the footprint is expanding, with Karnataka and Manipur. The Maharashtra Municipal Polls were a BJP show. Odisha as well. 
The opposition simply does not have a personality of the lines of the Prime Minister, like him or hate him. The hard work, the energy is evident. Few parts of India apart from the Deep South are away from its reach. Kanyakumari also has a BJP MP. 
Opposition please fight polls to at lease present a credible face; Mamata di, Nitish Saheb are oasis bearers. 
Maurya ji, BJP UP President quips on NDTV: 
‘Demonetisation ka virodh, Narendra Bhai ka virodh aur PM ka virodh Uttar Pradesh bardhasth naheen kar sakta’ or in English 
The criticism of Demonetisation is the critique of Narendra Modi, and the critique of Narendra Modi Uttar Pradesh cannot tolerate’
We will have a more affirmative regime from now on. HCU,JNU and others are small blips on the radar.

The Digital is such as muzzled space. Automated propaganda/clicks do not mean much if you do not have a sticky business model, clicks do not mean anything, Madhu Trehan quips. Digital has a certain immediacy and builds a counter narrative, but forwards other perspectives when TV and print is lagging. There is an independent space as Seema Mustafa says. Hartosh Singh Bal, is demolishing the sacrosanct space which the digital professes to be. 
Journalists have to listen to the ideas of the other (remember Trump). There is a space for good stories irrespective of the medium. Himal South Asian is moving Digital and to Colombo physically. 

Just a thought on the side: why can’t independent media just run on philanthropy cash? Forget about profit for a while, and write good stories?

#HimalSouthAsianPanelIIC8thMarch

Innovations particularly for the so called base of the pyramid communities , needs a buy in from local stakeholders including bureaucrats. Innovation has to ride the dominant narratives to be accepted, refer to any technology diffusion curve including the gas powered versus electrical refrigerators in the early 20th century. One of the major reasons for application based innovation on the smart phone, is the prevalence of a value chain, and many refugees/ migrants have the smart phone (declining data pack prices and speeds help, the ecosystem again). Shelter solutions have seen various iterations, but it needs land to pitch one, rather than one thin air. Land is resource and political. The context is king. It needs more thinking on the ground in the global south, and needs iteration for certain operating environments. Scale needs time, and needs a plug in to established value chains, as product centred innovation is a lot tougher than advocacy and outreach. Build teams, platforms and solidarity.

The shaming of the Uber CEO by the driver is important as, the tech class’s belief in disruption is often in disregard to the members of the ecosystem that they operate in. No Sir, every one is entitled to ‘disrupt’ the bubble echo chamber that you operate in. I have seen too many start up founders verbally create mayhem (read abuse) in conference rooms, conference calls and in corner room cubicles. and I have been at the receiving end too, as have worked at start ups. This alpha male tendency cannot be traded for ‘leadership’. Leadership is contextual, looking down upon a driver who is the engine of your business especially for Uber is not business friendly to the least. The collective action in Delhi two weeks back was painful but justice for them. The digital, Start Up whether for profit or commercial and innovation/disruption are all utilised in the same breath. Peter Thiel’s ‘Zero to One’ has spoilt Start Ups. Start ups in the digital economy, operate within a sociopolitical material reality, and sharing economy needs collective action safeguards. Sexual Harassment Grievance Redressal Cells, as exemplified by the Uber case, and many other in the IT sector have to be there, no discussion needed. Corporate Citizenship starts in the next cubicle. Government’s need to better audit new economy firms for age old vices. The narrative of progress is hollow if you cannot respect your staff. Lean Start Ups, can outsource all functions, apart from HR as they are responsible for more than onboarding. I am glad that another facet of the digital, has led these important conversations we need as a start up ecosystem. The guts of the woman engineer to write the Uber blog article is old school whistle blower. More power to her.

This was an experience to understand, enjoy and ponder fine food, but good food is beyond its core culinary ingredients. Olive Bar and Kitchen, a by reservation only eatery by AD Singh- food entrepreneur who redefined the hospitality experience in post liberalisation India, is a Mediterranean place next to the Qutub, sharing space on 1 Style Mile with Sabyasachi and Ritu Kumar’s boutique. An old fort like structure next to Qutub Minar renovated to an open courtyard style restaurant, all whitewashed to present that quintessential Mediterranean feel, with lengthy shadows of old trees lending a comforting shade in the neue Delhi Summer, with the spring retreating in ferocity. In this of this weather, we chose for an indoor seat by the window. While we observed the Delhi diplomatic and fashion elite swagger and strut their way in to crowd the salad counters. While i indulged in Sangria liberally and butter sautéed prawns, it seemed a works as contrasting a scene to Migrant colonies in east Delhi. A world with characters off a page on Fox Life HD or Harpers Bazaar. 

The food was world class, comparable to Mezze, a similar Mediterranean buffet outlet in the Singaporean city centre. My partner and me chose to nibble almost everything on offer, from ham sandwiches to pork belly sausages. We were however a bit too partial to the sausages, succulent and very well done. 
The bill was pricey as the patrons stepping off the chauffeur driven Audis. The designer shades and well trimmed hair styles were almost off a fashion catalog at an Orchard Road Mall. The finely dressed women were very busy with the selfie documentation for their Instagram feeds and their hair, ofcourse as the breeze was crisscrossing the courtyard. 

The brunch is a sociological window into the Delhi power set, as the location is geographical coordinates are next door to a cluster of urban villages in Mehrauli, with posters plastered for the Akali Dal organisational poll. The place is a case study in gentrification, almost like Punggol in Singapore. Food is Politics as Anthony Bourdain says for his food program ‘Parts Unknown’, which is an anthropological enterprise. 

Most of the service staff was super prompt and courteous mainly from the North East. The Chefs on the live counter were from local hospitality schools in Punjab, as I spoke to a young man fresh from chef school, evident from his manning of the ham sandwich counter. 
A true celebration of ‘New India’ in the words of Sula Wines Founder, Mr Rajeev Samant. This ‘New India’ as New School Creative Writing Professor Siddhartha Deb wrote in his 2011 memoir of New India- ‘The Beautiful and the Damned’ is one filled with all sorts of characters. 
The pancake with maple syrup was perfect to polish off the meal, as the explosion in my debit card could not take off the feel good tinge in the head. This is an affirmative, right? 

#SundayBrunch

#FoodWriting