Mumbai bomb blasts and other random thoughts

"YET AGAIN" screams the Times of India newspaper today. They should keep that headline lying around because they'll keep needing to use it. Let's face it. It's near impossible to protect India against these kinds of terrorist attacks.

As you walk around, observe the narrow lanes / alleys. How will you protect every square foot of India? There are countless unnoticeable places where a person with malicious intentions can plant a bomb. Observe the teeming crowds. Any one person out of the thousands of people that you pass by every single day could be carrying a bomb. No amount of intelligence is going to be enough to counter this. As far as I know, the information that intelligence agencies gather are more general in nature. They are not privy to specific information like the exact target areas or identity of people carrying out the operation.

India is a cursed nation with a lot of factors working against it.

1. Population: 2nd most populous nation
2. Area: Huge population crammed into a relatively small area. India's density of population is, by far, the highest among the top 5 most populous nations in the world. China - 80th; India - 33rd; US - 179th; Indonesia - 92nd; Brazil - 193rd
3. Infrastructure - old, aging infrastructure (buildings, drainages, roads, power transmission, etc)
4. Government - yes, let's face it, democracy is absolutely the worst form of government for Indians. For a democracy to work effectively, the people elected to power should, for the most part, be truly concerned about the welfare of the nation. In the process, if they can prosper personally, so be it, but the nation should not suffer. In India, however, politicians and bureaucrats only care about personal gains and completely ignore the plight of the people who elected them.

On to a slightly unrelated note. I believe that there are two major problems facing India today. And, both problems have something to do with selfishness.

1. Complete apathy by the people who matter. People who are in positions of power, either political or financial, show absolutely no intention to improve the state of affairs. Almost everybody in any position of power is more concerned about increasing that position of power, either in the form of wealth or political clout.
2. Self-centred existence by the Indian plebeian. When I observe what happens at traffic signals or queues, all I see are instances of one-upmanship in silly / trivial ways. People want to get ahead of others by hook or crook with complete disregard to rules, regulations or fairness. 

Friends and relatives on my social networks take pains to point out the positives in India, like when somebody performs acts of sacrifice, kindness, generosity, etc. The other common refrain from the youth of India is to "go out and vote" to ensure that the right candidates get elected to power. But, these examples are too few and far between to gather any kind of momentum. I am reminded of Malcolm Gladwell's 'Tipping Point'. For any new initiative or movement to catch on and establish itself, it needs to attain a certain 'critical mass'. That 'critical mass' is unfortunately too great for a country as large and populous as India. India, on the whole, is a country where the people are too caught up in their own misery and blame everybody else for it. This, in turn, causes them to take actions and make decisions that ensure their own survival at the cost of others' downfall. How will India gain that critical mass, in such a situation?

Some thoughts...

A friend / ex-colleague recently asked me if I would be interested in taking up a position as an Architect (Software, that is) in a company that he was about to join. In his opinion, my strength was technology although I was most recently working in a senior leadership position (Director - Product Development). Although I feel there is some truth in what he said, it made me wonder. Would I really be able to do a good job as a Software Architect? After all, I've been so cut off from all forms of coding (Java or otherwise) that I am not so sure that I will be able to contribute effectively as an Architect, nor will I be able to compete against the hordes of young, energetic programmers that seem to be gushing out of the reputed Indian colleges (mostly IITs, NITs & BITS).


The more I think about it, the more I feel that the best analogy for my role would be that of a conductor like Zubin Mehta. I know how to read music (requirements) and translate that into tasks for different groups of instrumentalists (programmers, testers, analysts, managers). In order to produce good music, I need to hire talented musicians for my orchestra, equip them with high-quality instruments, ensure that they maintain them periodically, understand the strengths and weaknesses of each artist and position them appropriately to emphasize their music (or drown them out, as appropriate), understand the music and twirl my baton in the right way to ensure that every artist plays what is required, when it is required.


Now, is this analogy clichéd? I don't know. I know that I didn't steal it from anywhere, so I hope I don't get pulled up for plagiarism. Sure, there may be some holes in this analogy, but I thought it to be apt for what I feel my role is.


That's it...peace out!

Some thoughts on India...and Indians

Why do so many Indian men feel the urge / need to urinate in public? Do they realize that this act:
a. is socially deplorable
b. results in an unholy stench
c. can lead to germs and infections


Is it really a matter of not being able to hold it till they reach their destination? Can they not find one of those roadside toilets? When I argued this point online with a few of my classmates during my Exec Mgmt course, some of them said that it is because these people are not well off and that their houses may not have bathrooms. My response was that:

a. a lot of these people are very decently dressed and they are usually riding a bike or driving a car when they stop to pee.
b. there are several roadside toilets built by the government that are either free or require a small fee to use

Next, spitting. This applies to Indian men and women alike. Why do they feel the urge / need to spit in all kinds of places, including indoors in office buildings? Yes, I had been to an RTO to get my driving license and as I climbed up the stairs, I noticed dozens (or more) of paan stains on the walls and corners. And, everyday, as I drive or walk on the roads, I see phlegm-laden spit all over and it's a real task for me to hop around and avoid them. Would these same people spit inside their own house, I wonder? Would the provision of spit-buckets by the government help?