I have been an expat most of my life and have come across many from the sub-continent over the years who come to a phoren country to work or study with dreams in their eyes and hope in their breath. Many of them take student loans, mortgage property and valuables and then come overseas in the hope of a better future. Firstly, many anticipate a land of milk and honey which turn into the despair and misery for millions. Dreams crushed to rubble. Most are scared to go back as they will have to confront failure, condemnation and social shame. Students are economic migrants too but they come to a foreign country early in life to study and to make their career. They are focused on creating value for oneself and their family. Not all succeed in reaching the peak and create success stories to be recited in local village schools but at-least are able to garner a better life financially.

People become immigrants because they do not find the right platform, jobs or opportunities to shine in their own backyard. No one migrates out of pleasure as changes and struggles are enormous. States in India such as Punjab and Kerala specialize in migrant workforces, although many a time social bullying plays a substantial role in triggering the desire to go overseas. The ‘catching up with the jones’es’ is a major driver. In short its greed and desperation that are the catalysts. migrant labor are the underbelly of globalization and the veins of global capitalism. From Chinese traders in Guyana to Nigerian folks in Guangzhou, world has indeed come full circle.  Illegal human trafficking is the dark side of  this pathetic human story. Overseas workers are underpaid and exploited everyday in sweatshops and construction sites across the globe.  For one success story there are countless many, who did not make it….

It is indeed time that we re-assess the need of migrating overseas vis-a-vis staying at home to crave a future, sometimes there is sadly none to fall back upon…..

I am an engineer, an environmental engineer and more than half the time i have the dubious honor what is exactly the domain as an electrical or mechanical engineering is more mainstream. It is usually confused with environmental or life sciences and its identity is usually muddled up with chemical and civil engineering. In lay man’s terminology it is related to pollution control and conserving nature via tech solutioneering. Recently a colleague, mentioned that it is not a high paying job, yes its operational jobs are paid as low as senior technicians and most of the day it is with government agencies, and consulting offers saves the day for many of my fraternity financially. Environmental researchers are saving the world metaphorically, but the job opportunities are few and far in between. Prior to Environmental Engineering and NUS, I majored in Industrial Biotechnology in my undergrad in Oman, a hotpotch semi science, semi engineering degree that is a good for nothing degree apart from being a good launch pad for a  research career in the life sciences as it had a broad based curriculum ranging from chemical engineering to cell biology.  I wrote all my undergrad research papers and publications in technology policy and business as my wandering mind was never satiated with science.  I am an accidental engineer at best, as a good Indian boy I was fulfilling my mother’s desire to have an engineer son!

In retrospect, I was’nt a miserable engineer as I knew my stuff. I undermined my technical abilities considerably. I loved bioprocess engineering and molecular biology during my undergrad, and air pollution control and risk assessment during my masters. My passion for public policy made apply for my second masters in sociology and here at NTU i work on the social elements of an exciting infrastructure project.  Politics, History, Society have been hobbies which i plan to convert to a career via writing, teaching and consulting. Academic transitions have been emotionally brutal and my present endevour in sociology is a labor of love, as I do not have the academic skills of a sociology major but I can definitely see the applications of the theoretical grounding in real life incidents, having had a diverse academic canvas.

I share the sentiment of Prof. Tommy Koh, the Ambassador at Large of the Singaporean Foreign Ministry and senior academic that right opportunities opened up at the right time even if I am not a straight A student, which certainly I am not. I am only an intellectual explorer, (not an academic fanatic), in search of new frontiers to create synergistic value, and trying to be of some good to the community around me rather than going away with warming the pews of the Church of life, which would be quite sad. I do not know which direction i am heading next professionally but I do expect a fascinating journey ahead. The end might not be as productive as the journey, but is productivity everything in life?   naah ….

Wishing all readers a very Blessed 2012! I had my year end annual vacation with a trip back home to Muscat, Oman recently where I have lived for a significant part of my life. Muscat, is serene, beautiful Arab City with the laid-back charm ideal for a family life. Gross National Happiness indicators for Oman must be really high!  Meeting old friends, teachers and Church folks along with going to my favorite places in Muscat, having the best of food, at home and at restaurants was the best stress buster i needed from academics. The Old Muscat Shiva Temple, Marina Bandar, Shatti Beach, the buzzing Ruwi area never fail to rock my socks! I realized one important lesson from this trip, time is precious and we spend too much of time planning on the future rather than relishing and savoring the moment that we live in today.  The Bollywood film Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara exemplifies it, and i completely agree that in order to achieve our goals for the future we abdicate the present. Hrithik  Roshan’s character in the film is a financial broker who has had a tough childhood and he prizes money more than anything else, even to the extent of losing his girlfriend. There is certainly a grave importance for future planning but fanatical zeal for reaching the top and losing everything else is not worth it simply. You do not take your bank balance to the grave, we remember the fulfilling moment when we die or are sick. The character of Gopal in Chetan Bhagat’s Revolution 2020, is a boy who failed to be an engineer but went on to be a engineering college owner, just to prove to his object of affection, that he is ‘Big’ in front of her IITan idealistic Boyfriend. But he ultimately loses her as succumbs to temporary lusts.

In the pursuance of the Rat Race called Life, we lose our sanity, health and basic peace. Most of the time we are catching up with the IIT-IIM passout neighborhood school topper, who is horrible looking but is dating the prettiest girl . This rat race burns us out. Its about priorities ultimately. Competition is good, predatory competition is cruel. Its time that we be ourself, listen to our hearts instead of the ‘aunties’ yapping about their child’s 20 lac annual package or their swanky new car. Its the time now to live a meaningful life for us and the community at large, and start with a ‘me’.

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,900 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 32 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Agriculture, seems to be the most neglected sector in India. It employs millions, its the largest employer formally and informally and is the bedrock of the ‘social economy’ of our nation. Civilization wise, India has been a grain basket-self sufficient in food grains ever since the green revolution ofcourse with some help from USAID. In recent years, agriculture is the sick man of our economic ecosystem, with no structural reforms as have taken place with the financial and the telecom sectors. There has been all talk and no action. People are deserting agriculture as a means of sustenance, as they see no future in post-liberalized India.  The result of this is catastrophic in nature, India has started importing food grains on a large scale from the international market which is contributing to inflation for the ‘aam admi’. The commodity trading has impacted prices for the end consumer and also the farmer with the traders making big bucks.

Futures trading in essential food items is criminal as steep fluctuations in food prices drive even more vulnerable poor into poverty. Millions were driven into destitution when corn prices sky rocketed with the agri feed-stock being diverted from the plate to the pump in the avatar of biofuels. Running SUV’s are far more important than feeding undernourished kids. This Ethical Poverty leading to dehumanistic behavior. It is implicit slow murder of people.  There was civil unrest in Mexico and Philippines in 2008 with price rise. Every society is three skipped meals from a revolution as Marx said, poverty and price rise of food grains were the catalyst for Tahrir in to blowing out of proportion into an inferno.

Then there are climatic vagaries to deal with as Indian agriculture is mainly subsistence in form. Climate Change is making things worse. And then we do not have an integrated strategy to deal with the impacts of Climate Change on agriculture while our agriculture minister is more interested in running the global body of Cricket from Dubai and pandering to Western Maharashtra districts- his pocket Burroughs  rather than dealing with thousands of farmer suicides. An one off loan waiver such as in Vidharbha  can win an election but cannot prevent more from committing the same act one again.

Food prices can rock the electoral boat, onion made the BJP led Delhi Government to cry, as onion is a staple of the North Indian palate. The congress is fearing this in 2014, hence has brought in the Food Security legislation like RTI, Jan Lok Pal and NREGA to save the day. An admirable legislation, for millions of destitute and poor; it is sure to drill a hole into the finances of this regime, although India spends a lot more on defense. A electorally driven bill, the social security net in terms of food being given by this framework is good on paper, it is the implementation with the adequate structural support with a faltering Public Distribution System, a hornets nest of graft is not ideal. Although corruption should not be an excuse for not providing food to the people of the country. India is a rich country, an additional cess or a cut in unwanted spending on defense would foot the bill.

Its time for a second green revolution , otherwise the time is not too far when people will be protesting for food instead of corruption at Azad Maidan.

This year, the United Nations Development Program’s Human Development Report is on the theme of ‘Sustainability and Equity’, which is very apt topic in the light of the run up to the Millennium Development Goals deadline of 2015, as finally Sustainability has got the attention that it deserved as a developmental matter. It is a community focused issue, and in its finality boils down to livability and quality of life. Social variables of Equity, Gender, Race are crucial in playing out the Sustainability discourse in the grassroots. When we discuss environmental protection issues, such as clean water, air and land, we are conversing regarding the resource commons. Lots of communities in the developing world live on the environmental resources. Fishing, agriculture and forestry are regular vocations which   millions engage in, for their livelihood in the developing part of the world. Environmental Sustainability is a social issue, as much as it is a technical construct. Technological Determinism will enable us to have the tools to combat ecological degradation but to implement it is another matter altogether, as it is at the end of the day people groups who would use it.

Sustainability is the current discourse, is used in the environmental context, but for sustainability to impact communities, businesses and governments to be incorporated in the everyday functioning, would mean that this dimension needs to be scaled up. Sustainability needs to move beyond its ‘environmental limitations’. The social dimension is recognized but not fully manifested in the  meaning and functioning of the construct.  In order for the social dimension to bloom in its entirety, political and institutional dimension should be made a component of sustainability. Environment and Society are not decoupled but very much integrated, and politics as is demonstrated by the COP 17 talks, makes or breaks any good work carried out by the scientific community towards achieving environmental sustainability. Climate Change for instance is a very politically and ideologically supercharged issue.

Metrics of Social and Political Capital should be factored in to the assessment of sustainability, as without political backing and social well-being there can be no ‘sustainability’ even if all the environmental parameters are ideal. All the environmental actions will come to a big zero, if we do not have functioning communities with ‘strong leadership’. Healthcare too needs attention in this conversation. Unhealthy people make for unhealthy communities, low productivity and cohesion, hence low on social sustainability. Simple is’nt it?

Environmental degradation has a negative externality of health associated with it.  Climate Change alter disease patterns as well, along with pollution which makes people sick from vector borne diseases and smog, all boiling down from economic development and our notion of modernity and what constitutes progress. Does a sick, dirty society constitute to be a successful one even if it is clocking high GDP figures and great bottomlines for a company?

We need to rethink what truly makes us Sustainable, beyond the buzz…..

We just watched another episode of the political theater of the COP 17 in Durban, where the only major development was the extension of the Kyoto Protocol until 2017 and the initiation of the formulation of a new framework which is to be implemented by 2020. Well, my friends in the Carbon Trade will be breathing a sigh of relief! Climate Change is a political issue as any issue related to development is. This a systemic issue which is inter-twined with food, water and energy security dimensions to it. Of course Climate Change solutions will be technological with fuel and material substitution, carbon sequestration and retrofitting of existing  systems. But we can’t afford to take a technologically deterministic perspective. Often the differential between beautiful policy on paper and practical implementation is sensible action. The community needs have to be factored into any mitigation plan. Usually communities on the climate change warfront are so usually the most vulnerable. There are livelihood challenges which communities face, as they mostly depend on nature for their sustenance whether it is chopping off trees for fuel or are dependent on fishing or subsistence agriculture. All these vocations are intricately linked to the well being of the environment. As an old native American saying goes that, we cannot eat money after the natural resources are polluted and plundered. All Climate Change solutions have to be drafted from a local perspective. The urban poor, often excluded from the equation, are vulnerable as water access and housing are a challenge.

Policy making is politics in action, climate change is a aggravating the divide between haves and have nots in many parts of the world. Decentralizing energy generation and sourcing it from biomass and wind/solar is a way towards manufacturing independence and hence social resilience  in the light of an extreme event, the manifestation of climate change. Hot spots of climate change such as the Sudan-Chad border, where cross boundary refugee crisis is a huge problem or the Maldives where its existence is under threat itself.

Water security is a massive problem as Climate Change is changing weather precipitation patterns, and hence indirectly impacts Food production. Water storage effects hydroelectric power production. All these have ‘local’ expressions, and hence when demography gets impacted also impacts the results at the ballot box. This is Politics 101. Lets think of the Climate Challenge issue in a holistic manner, and not in a patch-work piecemeal approach till the next disaster knocks at the door.

“It should not only be power politics. Let there be politics of development and progress. That is Ram Rajya,” -Nitin Gadkari

At the recently concluded, Hindustan Times Leadership Summit one of my favorite statesman Dr. Mahathir said that more the democracy slower the progress in terms of development of a Nation. Well, the good old Doctor from Kedah has a point as he reigned over one of Malaysia’s most prosperous period in its recent history. Dr. Farooq Abdullah, also seconded the ‘Limited Democracy’ argument, that democracy stalls development.  Singapore is a development model unique to itself, where strong single party rule with exemplary meritocratic leadership has catapulted it from a third world backwater to the  global first world megapolis which it is today.  As Pratap Bhanu Mehta in his latest article in IE quoted – ‘Great leadership converts ordinary talent into something exceptional, constraint into opportunity’.  The question which crops up here is whether chaotic electoral democracies truly generate the kind of ministerial talent we find in Singapore- with all ‘A’ players in its all star team? Or is the job of governance should be left to a bureaucratic elite, which is divorced from electoral quagmire, while the mandate of passing legislation and public management should be to the honorable members of parliament.

These are million dollar questions stemming from a perpetual paradox which haunts all democracies. Successful developmental states with limited western style liberal democracy, are panned for their human rights record or the freedom of expression. I believe putting food on someone’s table is slightly more essential than upper class values of free expression. These are all vagaries of a particular stage of a developmental cycle. For a industrialized society, freedom of speech is sacred, but in a developing country strong policy action even if it means not listening to a particular constituency is logical if it serves the community at a large.  No state led policy innovation has ever been popular initially, but in the longer run people see its merits more than its pitfalls.  Such as displacing people for a hydroelectricity power project in the interests of the larger cause, is an argument which my sociology friends will not buy, but there is a price to pay for modernity, who said that there was a free lunch available?

The last polls in Singapore have shown, that people have shown an affinity albeit very minor in six seats in parliament for an alternative voice. Civil Society activism has risen in the form of internet activism has risen. Changes in the manpower policy can be seen with the tightening of regulations for hiring an expat, or the extreme selectivity in handing out Permanent Residency status currently, is in tune with the public sentiment. Political Capital expressing itself in Policy is the USP of a democracy.  But when political leaders fail us, we take refuge in technocrats such as in Italy.

The precise balance between how much political participation and technocracy is a matter of a particular dynamic of a society. India has had a technocrat Prime Minister over the past two terms, but political legitimacy seems to have been entrusted in 10, Janpath instead of 7, RCR.  The strength of Singaporean Developmental Model, is its talent at the top. Political Capital can be nurtured if there is adequate leadership at the top, which is the catalyst for development. Mass Leaders are often not the best institutional reformers, as they come from the system themselves.

Singapore is the cultural microcosm of Asia.  The ‘Uniquely Singapore’ tourism brand identity communicates that’s to a very large extent.  For a person who has very limited culinary expertise, but is a foodie by heart although recently on a calorie conscious diet; food has been a yard-stick of livability for me. On that count and many other parameters, Singapore has exceeded my expectations by a mile. I have had very interesting foodie experiences in this cultural melting pot. Such as eating Shwarma at Shiraz at Clarke Quay to Kebabs at Arab Street, it lessens my longing for the Middle East where I have been raised. Whenever i wish to remember, the City of my Birth: Mumbai, the maximum city is diluted when I am at Bombay Cafe besides one of the many entrances of the unending and ever-expanding Mustafa Centre, when I indulge in chat or a three dollar samosa at Raj’s Restaurant around the same place. Being a Bengali by ethnicity and cultural upbringing, I love the typical ‘bangali’ fare at Salimar or Khana Basmati, where the homely ethos is recreated with the food and the service in Bangla. For elite Calcuttan fare, there is the ‘Mustard’ , adjacent to Little India MRT, for the refined ambiance. There are of-course,  Andhra joints and Chetinad eateries like Sankranti and Anjappar with Saravana Bhavan for veg fare to round up the ethnic Indian overdose.

There is the Singaporean Indian palate with Tissue Paper Prata and Murtabak with the emblematic ‘Rojak’ defining the niche. My reccomendation would be Prata Planet at Clementi Avenue Four for Prata. Ameen Makan outside NUS is not too far off the charts either. Among the Chinese fare Horfun and Chicken Rice are daily favorites, with Yong Tau Foo for dinner. I wish to explore more Singaporean Chinese fare in the near future, but my personal fav is the steam boat although pricy but unbeatable.  I simply adore the steam boat at Bugis and the Satay at Makansutra beside the Esplanade theaters at the Bay. Amazing Singaporean fare indeed, open air hawker centre in the middle of CBD even makes more special.  Malay food, is all time favorite with Mee Goreng and Nasi Lemak topping the charts. cheap and hearty, they simply make my day!

I have been introduced to Vietnamese and Korean Cuisine here, and i must admit that i am a fan of the Korean Mixed Rice at the Food Republic at Suntec Center in town.  Every hawker centre has its USP. Adam Road Hawker Center has a drinks stall which serves exceptional Teh Ahlia or Ginger Tea, or the Tea at Toast Box is truly signature edition. For a Saturday evening, a beer at Penny Black or Harry’s at Boat Quay, is not bad off either.

(This is a sample of my personal experiences regarding food and wine, the list seems to extend every day in the Lion City! I would encourage my friends for feedback on food in Singapore!)

barkha dutt @BDUTT replied to you:

BDUTT barkha dutt
@change_thinker thats my problem with it
Nov 28, 5:12 PM via web
In reply to…

change_thinker Manishankar Prasad
@BDUTT Kiranawala wil always b around, organized retail will always cater to UrbanIndia n not Bharat, Walmart promotes monoculturalization
Nov 28, 5:11 PM via web

The above exchange of views with Barkha Dutt, sets the stage for the burning rage over something deeply effecting all in India. There has been massive hype, over the FDI decision taken by the Indian Cabinet to clear the long standing proposal. Foreign Direct Investment has been a bone of contention as overseas players in organized retail have the monetary muscle, the technology and the know-how for a trade, the Brits and Americans have mastered, with the french not too far behind (Tesco, Wal-Mart and Carrefour for the uninitiated). I had encountered supermarket organized retail in Oman, the first time i traveled ‘phoren’ about 15 years back, they were clean, organised with smiling faces, although fake at supermarket counter in contrast to the kirana-wala next to our building, who used to over-charge us every time we went, with his faulty weighing gauge.  Well, the ‘udhari’ system might not work at a big bazaar, but  the friendly neighborhood ‘Guptaji’ , may lend temporary credit for a packet of milk, when you are out on a morning walk without the wallet.  The discourse in the Media, clearly seems to polarized over the issue, which has clearly diverted attention from the more pressing JanLokPal bill (a masterstroke by the Congress). This what an opposition leader said today as I read in a tweet a while back-

Sharad Yadav: “The East Indian Company came as cloth merchants but the Congress party is giving away the entire retail market ”

There has been Indian players in the organized retail space in India since the past decade. They all started with a bang, but only a few remain as the Indian consumer is very price conscious, impulse buying is not really Indian, we come with detailed budgeting with check-lists at the supermarket. The Indian retail players have constantly bled, and I guess the move for 51% FDI in organized retail is a way of bailing out the existing players, rather than big players making a dent. The technology transfer in cold storage supply chain management is something Indian players can learn from a Wal-Mart, as it offers the lowest prices due to the sheer volume game it prefers to engage in.  Farmers are at an advantage as they hope to get better prices than at APMC Mandi’s. I do not think any more players in the market will create that much of an impact as the local mom n pop store will cater to a demand that a big hyper-market cannot. They both have their own spaces to fill in. Jobs will get created in the Organized retail space as more smaller shops will close as they really cannot compete on prices and services with the Big Guys. Urban consumers are set to have more options and better prices.

A regulator needs to put in place to monitor cartelizaton for food prices, as hording on a institutional level may take shape. People need to made aware of the pitfalls of excessive consumerism. Choice is good, but addictive retail therapy ruins families. In my opinion, India is a unique market, every region in India with its special cultural and demographic needs, will be a challenge for the MNC Player. Getting into the market is easy with 100 million USD, but surviving and thriving is an altogether different battle. Welcome to India, i would say to Wal-Mart, bring it on!