Blog 358 - Yunus , Nobel winning Bangladeshi dictator

Yunus, Nobel winning Bangladeshi dictator 

Mohammed Yunus, the Nobel price winning advisor to Government of Bangladesh, has blood on his hands. “Advisor” is a gentle, euphemistic term for being a dictator. 

When Bangladeshi government was toppled by the optimistic enthusiasm of students, he came to power with the promise of being a reformer. 

But now, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh are attacked every day. Their livelihoods are being taken away. Professors and teachers across universities are dismissed from their jobs only for being a minority in that nation. They are being harassed by the same students they taught. 

Under Sheikh Hasina’s rule, Bangladesh flourished economically. Minorities were safe. The country started moving towards being a modern, liberal society. Now, under the rule of Mohammed Yunus, all that progress is being reversed. 

Among many ways in which the country is walking backwards, what should really alarm the world is that women are disappearing from the streets of Dhaka. Women are slowly being pushed inside the walls of their homes. They are being pushed out of positions of power in Government and allied institutions. We have all seen what happened and continues to happen to women in Afghanistan. When women start becoming invisible in a society, the country slowly start getting pushed in to dark ages. 

In his selfish interest to hold on to power, Mohammed Yunus is turning a blind eye to the plight of Hindus, Christians and Women in Bangladesh. He is becoming an acceptable global face and apologist to the extremist religious forces of Bangladesh. 

The world should rise in defence of the genocide happening against Hindus, Christians and Buddhists of Bangladesh. A first step could be to take away the blood soaked Nobel price from the iron hands of Mohammed Yunus. 

Blog # 357 ~ Hidden clues from Jaguar

Hidden clues in Jaguar Type 00 Car 

Unless you are living under a rock, you would have seen the new Jaguar advertisement and the Type 00 car that followed it. 

To my mind, it feels like a very public, masterclass in corporate decision making, marketing, branding and advertising - alas for all the wrong reasons. 

  

In most well done ads or products, there will be many subtle details which are a joy to discover. They add to the history, legacy and the love that customers have for that brand or product. 

In the new Jaguar design too, there are many hidden clues. Wonder what? Read on. To begin with, the absence of a rear windshield. This signifies how a glorious history of about 90 years was completely abandoned while designing this car. In the haste to look forward, they forgot to look in to their own loved, admired past. In this case, they literally missed the rear windshield.

Lack of ground clearance - it is said, when you are too close to something , you lose the ability to see it objectively. This car is too close to the ground that they completely missed the ground reality and what their customers want. 

Name of the design (Type 00) - Great intuition at work here. I think it points towards the number of cars they aim to sell with this design. 

Break lights that look like an air conditioner - They were obsessed with the line, “Copy Nothing.” Well, they succeeded. They did not copy or get inspired from any of their iconic past cars. They went ahead and copied an air conditioner though. 

Why am invested in this? As a boy, I remember seeing a Jaguar for the first time and wondering how can a Car be so stunningly beautiful. It exuded power and beauty at once. When it moved, it seemed like poetry in motion. So, seeing this new design devoid of any beauty or imagination at all is painful. Hope they turn this around literally and figuratively.

Blog # 356 ~ Of Vikrant Massey & Sabarmati Report

 

 Dear Vikrant Massey, Thank you 

I have always thought of Vikrant Massey to be an incredibly talented artist and actor. But, this blog is not about that. This blog is about his courage and intelligence.  

To begin with, he chose to act in a movie called 'Sabarmati Report', which goes completely against a thoroughly established narrative. But, this blog is not about that movie too :). It is about Vikrant - the person, and what we can learn from him. 

I happened to watch his interview with Faye D'souza on YouTube. What a delight of an interview - both for the intelligent questions and for the brilliant answers. Here are a few that stood out for me. 

What I really loved Vikrant was that he is a very self assured, self aware, courageous person who expresses his thoughts without any inhibitions, yet in a humble manner. 

Faye asks Vikrant if he loses sleep over climate change concerns. It is quite fashionable to say that climate change is a deep cause of worry, as it feeds in to the popular narrative. But, Vikrant said that he is deeply aware of the climate change challenges, however, it doesn't keep him awake at night. It doesn't occupy his mind space so much, knowing how little he can do about it. 

That is exactly how vast majority of the country feels, and thank you for saying that. 

At another point during the interview, the debate between Socialism and Capitalism comes up. He was brave enough to bring up how Socialism has failed in many nations. More often than not, artists or anyone who is rich speaks in favor of Socialism, as that is the acceptable thing to say. 

But, I feel any hardworking individual will not find Socialism to be a great philosophy which will benefit a society. Capitalism, with its flaws, works. It creates employment and favors those who are willing to work hard. 

There is the question about choosing to do the movie, 'Sabarmati Report' as well. Vikrant answered it brilliantly - touching up on points like the need to bring out the plight of people who suffered in the Sabarmati express burning, how that story has never been told and all the documentaries focusing on Godhra riots alone, how non - English speaking journalists aren't recognized enough and so on. 

Let us accept it - In a movie world filled with people who think and subscribe to largely left leaning way of thinking, it is a risk to choose a project like 'Sabarmati Report' . It can come at a personal cost. He is willing to face that cost and the biased media which refuses to act in service of people. More often that not, media reports what they want so see than, what the actual reality is.  

I read somewhere that the ability to change your opinions is a sign of intelligence. Faye talks to him about the benefits of investing in mutual funds. Being a more conservative investor, he says he believes in real estate more. But, when Faye presses on, he is willing to consider the mutual fund asset classes too. 

What stood out for me was that he was not scared to disagree with the interviewer. He doesn't try to belong - or get in to the Bollywood mould of saying all the acceptable, polite, boring things. He speaks his mind, in a way that is polite yet firm. 

Vikrant is unapologetic about wanting success and material things in life. He recognizes how the world functions and he wants to win in that world. He wants to work hard and win in ways that the world respects (like the high end car he bought). Many a time, people lose themselves in a meaningless word salads like 'Money isn't everything in life'. He knows he is an actor and not a social worker. 

For anyone who is trying to cultivate a thinking mind and learning to speak without trying to blend in, yet not pushing people away, this interview is a must watch. I am providing the link below. 

A message to people of India : Blog# 355

 A message to people of India

People of my country, my family, 

        I write this letter to you in gratitude and with folded hands. You have given life to a long cherished wish of mine. It took much longer than I expected. It tested my will, patience and belief. But, my dream is becoming a reality. 

        To be away from a loved one is difficult for anyone. Be it a for a father, mother, brother, husband, wife, sibling or any one. But, if I could use a moment of indulgence, may I say, it is more difficult for a mother. 

        One would think a civilization like us, the storied Bharath would come back from a setback soon enough, given its rich history and way of being. But, it took a long while indeed for the people to emerge and resurge. 

        There were times when I felt all of you had forgotten about my son. It pained me to think that he is a forgotten hero for many of you. What kept me going was the belief that one day, all of you will remember him - for his generosity, benevolence, righteousness and love. And remember you did. 

        Now, the time has come for you to bring him home. This year, we will begin the year with a Deepavali and end it too with the same festival. If you see the light burning brighter this year, know that it is my heart's joy. 

        Bringing him home is only the beginning. What will fill his heart though, will be all of you taking our great country to the glorious destiny that awaits it. Through your prayers, work and being, I implore all of you to bring glory, fame and respect to our beloved Bharat. 

With abundance of Love, 

Kausalya - Ram's mother and yours too.