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.

Migrant Notes: Memory and Culture

A section of people called migrants spend most of their lives away from their families and country to build, support and teach other societies whom they adopt. My parents have done that, for twenty five plus years, where your adopted home, is lost within no time when your job finishes, you retire and you head back to a country that you have left in the pink of your youth, a country which you do not recognise anymore. Millions of Indians, Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans and especially Filipinos build other countries across the Middle East and Southeast as well as North America (paramedics in the United States especially nursing professionals).

Anthony Bourdain’s anthropological enterprise ‘Parts Unknown’, where there is more B Roll, than actual time eating and cooking food, in its episode on the Philippines got me teared up, where it focused on the flight of the overseas Filipino Worker, sending balikbaliyan, the Christmas parcel, to make sure that their gifts make them real and relevant to their families, during a season of bonding in this overwhelmingly Catholic nation of 80 million people, of which 10 million are OFW’s.

I grew up in Muscat, next door to a Filipino Family which deeply liked their karaoke singing on a weekend eve. Shared emotions and experiences have a certain ingrained pathos and commonality. The subaltern diaspora communities from Lucky Plaza on Orchard Road to the Malls of Dubai, have a common end, serving the families left behind.

Ethnographic note about a book launch in Lutyens 

Today evening embodies the Lutyens seminar circuit, with the book launch of an Indian American Policy Wonk Milan Vaishnav’s book launch ‘When Crime Pays’ about crime and money in Indian Politics. Prof Yogendra Yadav was wonderful with his academic depth and ground level insights. I sat beside the Chief Economic Advisor and quipped about the economic survey. 
Prof YY spoke about the various manifestations of the CPM; one in Kerala, one with Civil Society and one in Delhi, the discursive party of anti globalisation. An in depth discussion regarding electoral financing in India, with the introduction of electoral bonds, as a point in the finance bill. The phenomenon of the Bahubali, as a solution provider in the Hindi belt. As student of development and modernity, the evening was a wine and vegetarian wonton infused discussion of electoral politics on the ground where most of the audience spoke about Boston as Barakhamba Road rather than Bareilly. This being mediated by an American think tank, in the French Cultural Centre in India’s power corridors. Rich Irony indeed.

My response to an article in the Straits Times by Prof Jeff Funk

I disagree with Prof Funk, with whom I had exchanged mails way back in 2010. Academic research focuses on the fundamentals, the market is not the audience for such outputs. The output is the basis for applied research as rightly articulated in the article. Academia is a place to experiment, take long shots and so called neoliberal Market efficiencies do not apply. The problem is one of information access rather than relevance of academic science. The market lens is not the best KPI. VC led innovation is takes science closer to the audience, does not necessarily take science to the next level. A negative result in a lab is a legitimate output.

The original article here: 

http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/prof-no-one-is-using-your-ideas?&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social-media&utm_campaign=addtoany

Think through jargons

If anything cannot be quantified is called ‘strategic’ , and anything which cannot be scaled is ’boutique’. We are prisoners of our own logic. Start up founders and founders, think through the words being deployed in our everyday communication, as not every one will be consuming jargon sans any thought.

Modiji speaks Demonetisation 

Modiji takes back the Demonetisation narrative in the well of the house. ‘Corruption breeds in the Cash Economy’ says the Prime Minister, and adds that this step was taken at a time when, post Diwali the economic health was its peak. The anchor of the narrative is anti corruption, and cash is the enemy. The argument is tried to be won by attacking historic graft. Demonetisation is framed as affirmative action to tackle graft, which the Congress lacked and thus the juxtaposition of intent versus action. At last the intent is the weapon in this narrative war.