Sparsh

India is passing through the transformative period when we are shifting slowly from being a culture "based on a largely diverse but shared core of faith, tradition and authority" to one in which "everything under sun, no matter how fundamental or deeply rooted in values, is under the scanner of reason" . We need role models more than ever in this changing phase of economy and society. We have either western educated elites, who always remain resentful for anything traditional or nationalists who see every change as an act of corruption to pious way of Indian tradition. We need examples of person who are not involved in corruption, conspicuous consumption and oppression of their unlettered citizens. They must be good role models in the eyes of their less educated and younger compatriots. What I ask may sound unrealistic perfection of the characters, but we can lookfor. Role modelling is important for a person. I was once destined for bigger and better things thr...

Leadership and ideas can change the working of institutions and affect policies in long term. Atal Bihari Bajpai is a name whose transformative leadership changed landscape of Indian politics. Mild nature of his personality led to partial reconciliation and negotiations of different ideology leading to the formation of NDA. Nehru's Unity in Diversity was the old idea that shaped India. Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi is creating big change in the thinking of new generation. Eric Hoffer once stated that Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket . That is the life cycle each political party. Indian politics scenario is always revamped in the period of nearly 20 years. Be it 1970's J P Narayan or 1989 Mandal commission has brought of youth into the politics. In 1977 elections, which ended the emergency and ousted congress from national power for the first time, three quarters of the electorate were either born or reached ...

Literature demands something, not just from the reader but from society at large. It demands not just that we watch or cheer together, play or dance together, but that we take the time to understand one another. It demands that we create the institutions and the time to make this possible. It demands that we put in the effort. And it demands, most of all, that we agree that it is worthwhile to do so. - Hasan Altaf History has shown us that leisured aristocracies tend to become bored, hedonistic, and eventually decadent. This proves that power is not enough. One must set goals to excel in them, even if done slowly. I had set such a goal and polished my mental agility through the habit of reading. Reading books is an exercise in self-knowledge and carries risk. These thought-provoking books estrange our familiar landscape of settled beliefs into a strange wonderland (maybe dystopia) through new viewpoints. Good books open windows through mysterious ways. I had already listed down books ...

I read a lot on cricket still publish rarely an article on the cricket.  New face of Indian Cricket was written 5 years ago. This is the second part dedicated to our young team for having luck on the road ahead.  Any game is often about not doing what your opponents want you to do. Test Cricket is no exception. I always consider One Day and T20 Matches as an exhibition while Test cricket is an examination. There will be 13 test matches(2 in SA, 2 in NZ, 5 IN ENG & 4 in AUS) in upcoming year. Great players will emerge in upcoming foreign tours through baptism by fire of fast bowling. Our young crop of batsman play aggressive brand of cricket what was termed as 'Australian Way'. Prudence is never the virtue of the new generation . Scoring at high run rate is essential for winning is good but not necessary applicable for all conditions. It is best to attack and play pretty when it suits; claw and fight like hell when it doesn't. Our batting and bowling line up has to di...

I had palnned Sikkim/Bhutan Trip in festival session of Nuakhai . That trip was cancelled due to backing out of the friends. Hence, I was looking towards other options. I do view it as a now or never situation in planning travel schedule. I took quick decision with help of my friend at IIM Ahmadabad. Udaipur and Jodhpur were prime destination of two days short trip of Rajasthan. I was lone traveler this time. A balanced tourism is more about connecting with the local people and their culture, rather than site seeing like Maharajas of distant land. Talking for long session (1/2 -1 hour) with remarkable people like Shambhu (auto-rickshaw driver at Udaipur) and Yarden Gerest- Mar (Student of Computer Science at Hebrew University, Israel) were good experiences of the whole trip. Touring India is always mixed bag of praise, platitudes and panning. Foreign tourists are confronted with unfamiliar sights on a daily basis, such as open defecation that are no longer seen in the developed nati...