Month: January 2011

The Gods Must be Crazy

If you have not seen the movie “The Gods Must be Crazy”, you have a treat waiting for you. And if you have never heard of the “natural resource curse”, you are sure to be intrigued. They both point to the counter-intuitive nature of the world, and suggest in some sense why India is poor.
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Traveling Places: Bangalore, Hyderabad, New Delhi

This is a travel alert. I am going to be in Bangalore 29th Jan through 31 Jan. On 29th Saturday, I am speaking on “Why is India poor?” between 4 and 6 PM. Venue: To be announced. After Bangalore, it will be Hyderabad. I am speaking at the Indian School of Business on the 1st of Feb. The Center for Emerging Market Studies at ISB is holding a round table discussion on “Where do new cities fit on India’s urban roadmap?” My job there is to take a wide-angle view of the big picture. Back to Mumbai 2 Feb and then leave for New Delhi on Sunday 6th Feb for a week. I am considering writing a very interesting post on the blog. Perhaps I will later today. Cheers.

The Plain-spoken Mr Lee Kuan Yew

The English word “mealy-mouthed” comes from the German Mehl im Maule behalten, “to carry meal in the mouth, that is, not to be direct in speech,” the dictionary says. Its opposite is “plain-spoken,” as in “Mr Lee Kuan Yew is as plain-spoken as Dr Singh is mealy-mouthed.” This is not an English lesson, however. It’s just that the word came to mind while reading this AFP report “Lee Kuan Yew urges Muslims to ‘be less strict’.”
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Goodbye Pandit Bhimsen Joshi

Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, the illustrious exponent of Hindustani classical music of the Kirana gharana, passed away in Pune yesterday. The one and only time I had met Pt Bhimsen was in 1991 in Pune during the Sawai Gandharva music festival. As it happened, I was in Pune yesterday.
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On the not reading of big fat books

People don’t need a 1/4″ drill bit; they need a 1/4″ hole. That observation made by a business school professor (I forget who) is a perpetual favorite of mine. It cautions us against confusing means and ends. I believe that much misery of our mundane lives arises from our inability to distinguish between means and ends. Let me tell you a story. Stop me if you have heard it before — which you may have since I repeat it often enough.
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Open Thread: Leaving on a Jet Plane

I’m leaving on a jet plane. For friends and family who want to check where my flights are, go to Track Flights, and enter EK as the airline code (Emirates) and flight number 226 to Dubai. This will work only after the flight departs at 15:45 Sunday PST. Later I will take flight EK 500 from Dubai to Mumbai which departs on Monday 10:30 PM Dubai time. That flight arrives in India at 2:30 AM on Tuesday.

Modern technology is amazing.

Dr Manmohan Singh is Pitiable

I am torn between contempt and pity for the small man that Dr Manmohan Singh is. Does the man have no shame? Do guts? No spine? Apparently there’s nothing in him that is of any value. He traded in his integrity — that is if he had any to start off with — to become the appointed prime minister. But he could have grown a backbone and redeemed himself. If not for himself, at least for the sake of the clan to which he belong, the proud fearless warrior clan of Sikhs.
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Like the NREGA, the RTE helps destroy whatever is left

The NREGA, as feared, has caused tremendous harm and will continue to play havoc on the Indian economy. The Right to Education (RTE) is another act that will surely help destroy whatever little there is left of the Indian education system. It is as if the UPA led by the Congress has sworn to destroy India. Go read what Manish Sabharwal has to say about the RTE in the Economic Times of Jan 12th. An extract below the fold, for the record:
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