“Encounter Killing” is a familiar term for most of us. It refers to extra judicial killing of gangsters and terrorists who are a menace to the society. In its most benign form is used as a substitute for the slow and often ineffective judicial process of conviction that fails to deter the guilty. But it is also used as a means to eliminate dissent in many parts of the world.
It is claimed to have been beneficial in controlling the underworld and terrorism in some parts of India. As these are mostly extra-judicial and staged operations, they arouse quite a lot of controversy particularly from the human rights activists. In many cases the specialists who have been nurtured for this role have graduated to roles where extra-judicial means becomes more a norm than an exception and used as shortcut, a means to promote private agenda and a way to settle disputes.
The practice of using such un-lawful means and building and encouraging individuals and organisations that have no respect for the process of law is not an invention of Indian Police or of modern times. It has been / is being practiced by corporations, ministries and even nations.
Bindran wala of Punjab was nurtured initially by our political process. Similarly Taliban was supported by US as a counter to Russian influence in Afghanistan. Look around we will be able to see many more examples.
We see many bureaucrats in our administration who are also nurtured, supported and used by their political bosses willing to adopt any means to further their agenda. We see examples of such encounter specialists even in business organisations who are used and encouraged for quick results not necessarily with physical violence.
In certain circumstances there may be a justification to cultivate a “Rambo” and use his service. Often these Rambos are brilliant people who might give outstanding results especially when not restricted by conventional restraints that are meant to safeguard the justice.
But we need to keep in mind that it is a dangerous experiment to be used in only rare occasions and with extreme caution. Otherwise it may be addictive. For the sake of expediency we take the easy road and then it may become difficult to put a stop and restrain the Rambo. Especially when they are giving us results. Accountability and safeguards get subverted in the altar of quick results.
It becomes even more dangerous if we allow such specialists to rise up to leadership positions with the same disregard for ordinary people and conventional processes.
It is equally or more important to prevent a situation where we need to resort to such extra-constitutional measures.
The question on the balance between intentions, actions and consequences has always confounded statesmen, philosophers, religious leaders and the common man. Pragmatic view often tilts towards the philosophy of “end justifies the means” with less attention in evaluation of the fairness of ‘means’ and reasonableness of ‘end’
It is here that we need to appreciate the true import of the serenity prayer
“Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change; the courage to change the things that I can; and the wisdom to know the difference.” .. Reinhold Niebuhr
Monday, February 1, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
No Man is an Island..
Many of us invest in capital market and each of us may follow different investment strategies. Some of us are long term investors and some are short term traders. But these are not discrete choices but two extremes of a continuum. Therefore most of us, on the basis of our risk aptitude, will lie somewhere in between. Whatever be our investment profile our primary reason for our investments is return.
When we invest, we carry out lot of research, fundamental or technical, friendly tips or even ‘insider news’, to maximize our return. Whatever type and extent of research we carry out, we know that all our investments will not give us positive return all the time. If we are good and/ or lucky a large chunk of assets in our portfolio will give us positive returns often enough or some of them will give us extraordinary return occasionally. It is this uncertainty that we try to address when we acquire a diversified portfolio of assets, which on aggregate has a higher probability for offering positive returns.
Some people don’t have the stomach to take this uncertainty and therefore they keep away from the world of investment. When they consciously keep away from the risk they also give away the potential return associated with it. There is no asset that can give total guarantee of return all the time and risk goes hand in hand with any asset.
In the same way our circle of friends or our network of contacts can also be seen as a portfolio of assets. Some of them are worth long-term investment some are worth short term; but, it definitely makes sense to have a diversified portfolio to be built and nurtured.
One may say that this is a very materialistic way of looking at relationships. It will be so only if we define returns in absolute material form. If we include everything that a friendship brings, whether material or spiritual or emotional or just plain cherishing of companionship into the ambit of our model, then this model is a good way to understand and appreciate our portfolio of friends and contacts.
We can seldom get friends or business partners who will always match with our thinking, preferences, beliefs or whims and fancies. There are times some of them will ‘let us down’ beyond our imagination.
What is our response to this? Do we take a position that ‘we cannot trust anybody’ and keep away from relationships as much as possible? If we do so, we will be losers. We miss the opportunity to experience and cherish a variety of wonderful people who may sometime share happiness, sadness and prosperity with us.
Sometimes we overreact to some incidences in which a person has behaved in an unfair/ unethical / disloyal fashion. Do we jump to conclusions on the basis of one/ few incidence (s)? If we do, it may not be a good idea or may not be fair. One missed dividend or one bad quarter cannot be a good enough reason to dump an asset.
It is the reality of life that we need to have a diversified portfolio, whether it is of people or whether it is of material possession. We need to develop a sensitiveness to judge the kind of assets we are comfortable with and what kind of portfolio we need to keep for different proposes; as friends to share our happiness and sorrow and as partners in our professional dealing to strengthen our collective offering.
One of the most critical qualities of people who make things happen and / or is at peace with themselves is their ability to nurture a strong portfolio of friends / contacts (the ‘end’ each of them seek is different; but. there is a commonality in ‘means’ from this point of view). Politically savvy may even have large ‘trading portfolio’ too (a portfolio they churn and trade :-) ).
We need to accept that at best we can expect 80% co-operation from 80% friends at any time. This is only 64% co-operation on a steady state, which is just more than half the time. We need to learn to build on this to go forward. Especially if we are involved in public service, then our skill in identifying areas of common interest with a wide cross section of people becomes a key determinant of success.
I agree, like in capital market, there may be some assets which may be better to shun. But mind you they are a minority, and often contextual and if you are smart and or lucky even they pay a dividend sometimes which may at worst a ‘lesson for life’
“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less......” John Donne, 1620
When we invest, we carry out lot of research, fundamental or technical, friendly tips or even ‘insider news’, to maximize our return. Whatever type and extent of research we carry out, we know that all our investments will not give us positive return all the time. If we are good and/ or lucky a large chunk of assets in our portfolio will give us positive returns often enough or some of them will give us extraordinary return occasionally. It is this uncertainty that we try to address when we acquire a diversified portfolio of assets, which on aggregate has a higher probability for offering positive returns.
Some people don’t have the stomach to take this uncertainty and therefore they keep away from the world of investment. When they consciously keep away from the risk they also give away the potential return associated with it. There is no asset that can give total guarantee of return all the time and risk goes hand in hand with any asset.
In the same way our circle of friends or our network of contacts can also be seen as a portfolio of assets. Some of them are worth long-term investment some are worth short term; but, it definitely makes sense to have a diversified portfolio to be built and nurtured.
One may say that this is a very materialistic way of looking at relationships. It will be so only if we define returns in absolute material form. If we include everything that a friendship brings, whether material or spiritual or emotional or just plain cherishing of companionship into the ambit of our model, then this model is a good way to understand and appreciate our portfolio of friends and contacts.
We can seldom get friends or business partners who will always match with our thinking, preferences, beliefs or whims and fancies. There are times some of them will ‘let us down’ beyond our imagination.
What is our response to this? Do we take a position that ‘we cannot trust anybody’ and keep away from relationships as much as possible? If we do so, we will be losers. We miss the opportunity to experience and cherish a variety of wonderful people who may sometime share happiness, sadness and prosperity with us.
Sometimes we overreact to some incidences in which a person has behaved in an unfair/ unethical / disloyal fashion. Do we jump to conclusions on the basis of one/ few incidence (s)? If we do, it may not be a good idea or may not be fair. One missed dividend or one bad quarter cannot be a good enough reason to dump an asset.
It is the reality of life that we need to have a diversified portfolio, whether it is of people or whether it is of material possession. We need to develop a sensitiveness to judge the kind of assets we are comfortable with and what kind of portfolio we need to keep for different proposes; as friends to share our happiness and sorrow and as partners in our professional dealing to strengthen our collective offering.
One of the most critical qualities of people who make things happen and / or is at peace with themselves is their ability to nurture a strong portfolio of friends / contacts (the ‘end’ each of them seek is different; but. there is a commonality in ‘means’ from this point of view). Politically savvy may even have large ‘trading portfolio’ too (a portfolio they churn and trade :-) ).
We need to accept that at best we can expect 80% co-operation from 80% friends at any time. This is only 64% co-operation on a steady state, which is just more than half the time. We need to learn to build on this to go forward. Especially if we are involved in public service, then our skill in identifying areas of common interest with a wide cross section of people becomes a key determinant of success.
I agree, like in capital market, there may be some assets which may be better to shun. But mind you they are a minority, and often contextual and if you are smart and or lucky even they pay a dividend sometimes which may at worst a ‘lesson for life’
“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less......” John Donne, 1620
Thursday, January 21, 2010
It pays to be nice; but you pay ?
My friends always used to make fun of me that very often I display a grumpy countenance. One day we were all on a tour and we chatted about this trait during dinner. So next day when I got up I decided that I am going to be show a pleasant face.
I was taking a flight back to Mumbai that day. I gave the taxi driver one of the most charming smiles that I could. He smiled back too. We had quite a lot of small talk on the way. When I finished my drive and was paying him, I smiled again. Suddenly with the best smile he could offer, he asked me. “Sir, this is the ‘bonny’ for the day, give me an extra 50”. After this exchange of smiles and pleasantries, how could I ruin it for Rs 50?
I was now in the airport, and after check-in I proceeded to the security. I smiled also at the policeman while being frisked. Initially he had a quizzical look at my attempt of bonhomie. Then after frisking was complete and as I was moving out, he coughed and muttered. “Sir, how about giving me something for a coffee?”
“It pays to be nice, but you pay..”
What does it mean? Does it mean that being nice, friendly and polite mean being weak?
Not necessarily, though very often people perceive it that way and many people try to take advantage of it. That is why sometimes people in power and in a position of being a ‘giver’ normally try to keep a very ‘aloof’ expression.
On the other hand this aloofness could be a mask to hide your inability to be assertive. Assertive about what is right, what is fair, what is due and so on. (The aloofness could also be a ploy for extracting something from the client, or satisfying ego trip or when the service provider doesn’t care and is only doing a job. This is out of scope of this discussion)
In my opinion this aloofness though an effective tool, it is not the best tool for overcoming your weakness in being assertive. Imagine how nice you feel if the doctor who treats you, the policeman who attend to your complaint and the bank teller who services you are also pleasant.
Once I was travelling from LA to Washington on a winter morning. Though it was Christmas season it was a gloomy day. The weather was bad and the aircraft was being tossed up and down. Many of the passengers including my daughter and I were feeling very sick and ready to throw up. The PA system came live and I expected either the monotone of a digital voice or a human being sounding digital making a safety announcement as per the federal regulations. But the captain came online. He had a terrific sense of humour and talked over the PA system for almost five minutes. Of course he made the safety announcement. But it was interspersed with humorous interludes on the season and the weather. It was really soothing and lifted up the mood of all the passengers who were down and moody in the gloomy weather.
I remember a similar experience in a difference context. I fainted in the office and was taken to the hospital. They wired me up and put me through a battery of tests. It was not a pleasant experience and I was generally tensed. The doctors were efficient going about their job with precision. But I was still on the edge, though they had given me a general clearance. I later visited another doctor for a second opinion. This doctor was a different kettle of fish. More than the second opinion and the treatment he suggested, his comforting chat made me feel much better, confident and helped me to recover faster.
But this is one aspect often forgotten; especially in public service. Even many organisations which try to ‘take care of’ this aspect in their client service department fail to address at many places. One of the areas many people fail very often is at the reception counter and with the secretaries of the big bosses. Their rude behaviour often makes the visitors feel so insulted and irritable and the guests are made as if they are being given a big favour (unless of course the guest is a VIP). Mostly the visitors will never mention this. But that doesn’t mean that they never felt bad.
A service, when laced with a smile and/ or a nice word, can double the value of what you offer at no extra cost. This may make the recipient feel respected and may even make his day. This is all the more important when we are serving the public at large. Then we have to accept that we are expected to serve and not just rule like the old feudal lords.
May be I am asking too much
I was taking a flight back to Mumbai that day. I gave the taxi driver one of the most charming smiles that I could. He smiled back too. We had quite a lot of small talk on the way. When I finished my drive and was paying him, I smiled again. Suddenly with the best smile he could offer, he asked me. “Sir, this is the ‘bonny’ for the day, give me an extra 50”. After this exchange of smiles and pleasantries, how could I ruin it for Rs 50?
I was now in the airport, and after check-in I proceeded to the security. I smiled also at the policeman while being frisked. Initially he had a quizzical look at my attempt of bonhomie. Then after frisking was complete and as I was moving out, he coughed and muttered. “Sir, how about giving me something for a coffee?”
“It pays to be nice, but you pay..”
What does it mean? Does it mean that being nice, friendly and polite mean being weak?
Not necessarily, though very often people perceive it that way and many people try to take advantage of it. That is why sometimes people in power and in a position of being a ‘giver’ normally try to keep a very ‘aloof’ expression.
On the other hand this aloofness could be a mask to hide your inability to be assertive. Assertive about what is right, what is fair, what is due and so on. (The aloofness could also be a ploy for extracting something from the client, or satisfying ego trip or when the service provider doesn’t care and is only doing a job. This is out of scope of this discussion)
In my opinion this aloofness though an effective tool, it is not the best tool for overcoming your weakness in being assertive. Imagine how nice you feel if the doctor who treats you, the policeman who attend to your complaint and the bank teller who services you are also pleasant.
Once I was travelling from LA to Washington on a winter morning. Though it was Christmas season it was a gloomy day. The weather was bad and the aircraft was being tossed up and down. Many of the passengers including my daughter and I were feeling very sick and ready to throw up. The PA system came live and I expected either the monotone of a digital voice or a human being sounding digital making a safety announcement as per the federal regulations. But the captain came online. He had a terrific sense of humour and talked over the PA system for almost five minutes. Of course he made the safety announcement. But it was interspersed with humorous interludes on the season and the weather. It was really soothing and lifted up the mood of all the passengers who were down and moody in the gloomy weather.
I remember a similar experience in a difference context. I fainted in the office and was taken to the hospital. They wired me up and put me through a battery of tests. It was not a pleasant experience and I was generally tensed. The doctors were efficient going about their job with precision. But I was still on the edge, though they had given me a general clearance. I later visited another doctor for a second opinion. This doctor was a different kettle of fish. More than the second opinion and the treatment he suggested, his comforting chat made me feel much better, confident and helped me to recover faster.
But this is one aspect often forgotten; especially in public service. Even many organisations which try to ‘take care of’ this aspect in their client service department fail to address at many places. One of the areas many people fail very often is at the reception counter and with the secretaries of the big bosses. Their rude behaviour often makes the visitors feel so insulted and irritable and the guests are made as if they are being given a big favour (unless of course the guest is a VIP). Mostly the visitors will never mention this. But that doesn’t mean that they never felt bad.
A service, when laced with a smile and/ or a nice word, can double the value of what you offer at no extra cost. This may make the recipient feel respected and may even make his day. This is all the more important when we are serving the public at large. Then we have to accept that we are expected to serve and not just rule like the old feudal lords.
May be I am asking too much
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Matter of Honour
“Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!” The Bible
What is the primary role of a Stock Exchange?
It is to provide liquidity for the stocks. It managed this liquidity by having processes in place that enabled thousands of transactions every hour which has now increased to millions per hour with the help of technology. To manage this rate of transactions, even the settlement of trade (fund against security sold and security against funds provided) is made an asynchronous activity (i.e. settled later).
When trading and settlement are asynchronous, there could be risk to both the buyer and the seller; the risk of counter party walking out of the transaction leaving you high and dry. When we have long chains of multiple transactions intertwined and interlinked, such counter party risk will have a domino effect and lead to market failure. This could dissuade many potential investors from participating in the market which ultimately affect liquidity. This used to be the case in Indian capital market before NSE was established with its sophisticated mechanisms for managing the risk. There is margin payment to take away incentive to default; there is a clearing corporation to provide counter party guarantee and so on and so forth.
These risk management measures have significantly contributed to market expansion. The level of trade has increased more than 100 times. Today Indian Capital Market is rated to be one of the best in the world in terms of institutional infrastructure on account of this strong risk management capability.
This is relevant and critical in every human interaction. Every day we deal with a number of people (costumers, suppliers, service providers, regulators, bankers etc) and we agree and commit on certain deliveries between us. Your supplier promises delivery of input materials based on which you have committed delivery to your client for next week. The finance manager has promised to complete the project review by today evening to help you submit the final report to the board tomorrow. The tailor has agreed to deliver the new dress you have ordered for your child. A number of deals and deliveries.
Like in the case of capital markets, the chain of commitments and deliverables are linked to multiple levels and any failure in any level could have cascading effects.
Some people are very reliable in their delivery and even if an unfortunate delay happens they give advance warning helping us to reschedule our plans and our deliverables in an orderly fashion. Some cannot ever honour their commitments. Very often people don’t appreciate the importance of this chain reaction and the need to be reliable.
Let us look at how this affects you and how you should manage this in your daily life.
One of the critical components of professional success is how reliable you are on your commitments. If you are not able to do deliver a promise you should not commit. If you commit and you are unable to meet it, please give advance warning.
When you reduce the risk of dealing with you, then there are more people willing and interested to deal with you. The demand for and liquidity of your offerings increases. On the other hand if you are not a reliable partner, then however capable you are or however useful your products or services are, the demand will be much less than the potential. This reliability factor is critical for your growth and as you go higher it becomes one of the key parameters on which your clients, subordinates and friends decide to deal with you.
On the other hand when you are at the receiving end you need to learn to judge the reliability of person you are dealing with. If you are not dealing with a person who is not reliable, then you need to have mechanisms to incentivise or force reliability.
In fact in your professional life your reliability and that of your partners (colleagues/ service providers / subordinates / bosses) is one of the most critical ingredients that will determine what you achieve.
Contracts, Service Level Agreements, Penalty Clauses etc are tools to manage reliability. As in the case of relationships, your market power (the power you can exert on the giver) can influence the reliability you will be able to command from your partners. But there is no substitute for the age old value of “Pride in Your Commitments”
What is the primary role of a Stock Exchange?
It is to provide liquidity for the stocks. It managed this liquidity by having processes in place that enabled thousands of transactions every hour which has now increased to millions per hour with the help of technology. To manage this rate of transactions, even the settlement of trade (fund against security sold and security against funds provided) is made an asynchronous activity (i.e. settled later).
When trading and settlement are asynchronous, there could be risk to both the buyer and the seller; the risk of counter party walking out of the transaction leaving you high and dry. When we have long chains of multiple transactions intertwined and interlinked, such counter party risk will have a domino effect and lead to market failure. This could dissuade many potential investors from participating in the market which ultimately affect liquidity. This used to be the case in Indian capital market before NSE was established with its sophisticated mechanisms for managing the risk. There is margin payment to take away incentive to default; there is a clearing corporation to provide counter party guarantee and so on and so forth.
These risk management measures have significantly contributed to market expansion. The level of trade has increased more than 100 times. Today Indian Capital Market is rated to be one of the best in the world in terms of institutional infrastructure on account of this strong risk management capability.
This is relevant and critical in every human interaction. Every day we deal with a number of people (costumers, suppliers, service providers, regulators, bankers etc) and we agree and commit on certain deliveries between us. Your supplier promises delivery of input materials based on which you have committed delivery to your client for next week. The finance manager has promised to complete the project review by today evening to help you submit the final report to the board tomorrow. The tailor has agreed to deliver the new dress you have ordered for your child. A number of deals and deliveries.
Like in the case of capital markets, the chain of commitments and deliverables are linked to multiple levels and any failure in any level could have cascading effects.
Some people are very reliable in their delivery and even if an unfortunate delay happens they give advance warning helping us to reschedule our plans and our deliverables in an orderly fashion. Some cannot ever honour their commitments. Very often people don’t appreciate the importance of this chain reaction and the need to be reliable.
Let us look at how this affects you and how you should manage this in your daily life.
One of the critical components of professional success is how reliable you are on your commitments. If you are not able to do deliver a promise you should not commit. If you commit and you are unable to meet it, please give advance warning.
When you reduce the risk of dealing with you, then there are more people willing and interested to deal with you. The demand for and liquidity of your offerings increases. On the other hand if you are not a reliable partner, then however capable you are or however useful your products or services are, the demand will be much less than the potential. This reliability factor is critical for your growth and as you go higher it becomes one of the key parameters on which your clients, subordinates and friends decide to deal with you.
On the other hand when you are at the receiving end you need to learn to judge the reliability of person you are dealing with. If you are not dealing with a person who is not reliable, then you need to have mechanisms to incentivise or force reliability.
In fact in your professional life your reliability and that of your partners (colleagues/ service providers / subordinates / bosses) is one of the most critical ingredients that will determine what you achieve.
Contracts, Service Level Agreements, Penalty Clauses etc are tools to manage reliability. As in the case of relationships, your market power (the power you can exert on the giver) can influence the reliability you will be able to command from your partners. But there is no substitute for the age old value of “Pride in Your Commitments”
Saturday, December 26, 2009
A trip to the Deep Waters
This is my annual travelogue. Last one was on a trek to Sumatra, Indonesia. This time it is my diving expedition! Read to share with the excitement of scuba diving....
The Charm of the Seas
I was always crazy about the sea. Her charm is almost mesmerizing; the cool breeze moist with salty vapours has a magical touch to soothe the mind and rejuvenate the body. When I was in Jakarta I got an opportunity to take up sailing and I jumped at it with all my heart. I used to explore the open seas in a single seater dinghy sail boat (laser) for hours together, sometimes drifting in light wind and sometimes clipping in tight winds. It gave a feeling of high and a feeling of calm, a two-in-one package from the Mother Nature.
I also joined my friends on their diving trips; but restricted myself to snorkelling around a few of the coral islands. It offered a glimpse to the world under the choppy waves, a wonderland with brilliant colours, shapes and textures. The coral reef with its wild hues and out-of-the-world designs had a vibrancy of its own. Schools of fishes with scintillating colours dancing around beckoned me to their world and I was convinced that I should take up scuba diving to be one with them for a few minutes and not limit to a birds-eye view from the top.
I decided that I would take up scuba diving only after my daughter was old enough to join me. And I was ready to wait. When she was twelve, though I was not actively looking around in Mumbai for a dive trainer, I bumped into Jurgen Van Duffel, a certified dive instructor, and I immediately signed up for Isabella and me. (His outfit is suitably named The Life Aquatic with Lacadives)
He is quite passionate about his profession and takes his role as an instructor quite seriously. He delivered a five hour lecture cum demonstration and then gave us a 300 page book which covered quite a lot of theoretical foundation on diving. This included what equipment to use, what are the best practices to follow, how to take care of the risks of air embolism, nitrogen narcosis, oxygen narcosis, decompression sickness, and the discipline and etiquette under the sea. He made it clear that we should go down as visitors and not as plunderers and the colourful artifacts are only to see and not to borrow for our sitting room.
Then he took us to a swimming pool and taught us how to handle the equipment and the made us practice various exercises that we are expected to be familiar with to handle occasional emergencies; what to do if I run out of air, what to do if the air supply cable (the regulator) comes off, how to handle a cramp, how to take of and put on the total dive gear in the sea both at the surface and down under. He made us do this in the pool and told us that we should repeat this in the sea, for him to be convinced that we were good enough to be let loose in open water. In many of the exercises which needed a flexible body, Isabella did better than I! And she was mighty thrilled about it.
Initially we planned to go to the Andamans or Mali or even Indonesia for the dive certification. Then we decided to complete the certification somewhere near and then go to the far away locations as pros :- )
Jurgen promised me that Murudeswar near Mangalore was a good place to start. So we started our annual Christmas holidays there.
Where history and Fables meet
A three hour drive from Mangalore airport brought us to RNS Residency which is the best hotel in Murudeswar. It is situated on a cliff overlooking the sea with most of the rooms offering a brilliant view of the sea. You can sit at the balcony sipping coffee and stare at the vast expanse of the open sea.
Murudeswar is another name of Lord Shiva (the Hindu God) and as per mythology it considered to be the place where the cloth covering the ‘atmalinga’ fell after Ravana the demon king of Ramayana flung it upon his realization that he had been cheated by the Gods [1]. Therefore this is one of the five holy places of Shiva.
The temple is situated on ‘Kanduka Hills’ surrounded on the three sides by Arabian Sea. The temple complex has the world’s largest Shiva idol (123 ft/ 37 mt) and a 20 storied tower (Raj Gopura which is 249 ft tall is supposed to be the world’s tallest Gupura).
The idol of the meditating Siva with a brilliant silver body and the golden snake around his neck gets sunlight all through the day, giving it a brilliant sparkle. The sculptors from Shimoga have captured the divine serenity of Shiva’s face very well.
A new fear to conquer
We were filled with anticipation about our first real dive and apprehension about how we could manage. Both father and daughter showed off how cool we felt; but the fear in our eyes was almost palpable.
The dive spot was near Netrani island about one and a half hour boat ride (about 20 kms) from the mainland. It is also called the ‘Pigeon Island”. The adjacent island is used by Indian Navy for target practice and one may see empty shells around Netrani too. Jurgen told me that in his previous trip he managed to see some unexploded torpedoes.
Netrani is a coral island and there are many exotic and endangered marine lives around. Out of the nine grouper fish species identified at the island, Cheilinus undulates (Humphead wrasse) was endangered and Rhincodon typus (whale shark) vulnerable. Netrani Island, which boasts two types of coral reefs, also has seven seaweed species, 12 jelly fish species, six sponge species, 92 finfish species, 17 crab species, four lobster species and three sea snake species, among others [2].
This island looks like an upturned boat from far and the steep cliff all around gives it the appearance of an imposing fort when you are near it.
This also was un-nerving experience for Isa and she was shaken. But still she was ready to proceed. I went down first, slowly holding on to the line to about seven metres and waited for Isa to come down with Jurgen.
I was quite nervous and also worried about Isa. After about 25 minutes, Jurgen came down with the bad news. Isa appeared to have an infection in the ear that was hindering her equalization process as she descended and she had to abandon her dive.
I climbed back to the boat and found her sprawled in the bottom like a withering flower. So we abandoned the dive plan for the day. The sea was still rough and I had to reach out of the boat and vomit again. We were now on the way back to the hotel, dejected and almost wondering whether it was really our cup of tea.
We were tired and pooped and crashed out completely the whole afternoon; of course after a sumptuous lunch from Naveen restaurant which is the only decent non-vegetarian joint in town. This also belongs to RN Shetty who owns practically everything in town from hotel to hospital to school to colleges and the temple.
Anyway I decided to take written exam for my certification and the fact that I scored 90% was a morale booster; the only one for the day.
The next day morning we decided that Isa was still not ready for the plunge (ear problem) and I decided to do it alone. The weather was beautiful and the sea was calm. I did not want anything to deny me the excitement.
We kitted up in the boat to avoid any waste of time and by the time we anchored we were ready for a back-flip, though I was a bit apprehensive about a back-flip fully kitted.
I released the air from the BCD and we were slowly sinking and Jurgen guided me down to eight meters and then lead me forward initially holding my hand. I was uncomfortable and not sure of the uncertain surrounding. Jurgen had promised that all the tests would only be in the next dive and helped me to get comfortable slowly.
With some trial and error, I got my neutral buoyancy right and drifted forward. The feeling of weightlessness with perfect buoyancy gave a heady feeling. I stopped being hassled and started feeling snug and secure in this new surroundings.
I started experimenting with this new freedom of multidirectional mobility; up, down, right, left, vertical, horizontal; a near approximation to zero G. Wow! Now that I was sure that I could survive and not too conscious about the apparatus that was strapped around me, I looked around to cherish the dazzling colours and varied shapes dancing, prancing and serenading around me, offering one of the best private performances; a one of a kind choreography of life that bring more variations than any maestro can dream of.
After the lunch, (consisting of a few biscuits and some juice) we were ready for the next dip. Jurgen wanted me to first finish my exercise before we drifted. I could do them all OK and then we moved forward with Jurgen leading the way. I was feeling quite at ease with buoyancy under control and was managing the dive quite well.
I missed having Isa with me after all the extensive planning and she was heartbroken too. We promised ourselves to venture again in near future to make up for what we missed.
Winding Down with Water Sports
We decided to stay for a day more at Murudeswar after the dive to relax and enjoy the beautiful seashore. The sea was quite calm and shallow for quite a distance. The beaches were nice and sandy. There were a few jet skies and two inflatable bumper boats tied to a speed boat that tugged these bumpers quite fast on top of the waves. The boatman was good and made the whole ride quite exciting like a roller coaster with both the floats flinging all around and bumping into each other.
Isabella and I enjoyed this very much and kept going back to them. We also went for a ride in the boat to a small island nearby called honeymoon island. We were not lucky, like most of the tourists, to see any dolphins which were supposed to be there. Anand the operator of these rides was quite an enterprising person and was sharing with me his dreams of how he planned to make that place more interesting.
Adios to Murudaswar
The drive back to Mangalore airport with Ganesh our driver explaining the stories about everything on the way was an experience in itself. For a long stretch NH 17 passes between Arabian Sea and Souparnika River. We stopped at the roadside at Marawante where on one side of the road is the sea and on the other side the river. A boatman appeared from nowhere and offered to take us for a ride in the river and show us Padukone village , the native place of the famous Prakash Padukone. now more famous as the father of Deepika Padukone a noted Film Actress.
We stopped at the beach resort Turtle Bay which is about 110 Kms from Mangalore. Quite a nice place, with 14 cottages and pristine private beach and offers a variety of water sports including diving are. I met with Abraham Chacko who owns this place and realised that we were neighbours in Kerala. World is really a small place.
He has been here for about 20 years and enjoys life in sync with nature. The resort also offers exposure to yoga and appears to be a wonderful retreat. The food was quite tasty and was value for money.
Back to Mangalore Airport to take us to Kochi for our one week whirlwind tour to enjoy what the ‘God’s own country” can offer.
The only question Isabella and I have in our mind is, “when is our next dive trip?”
Reference
[1] The history of the Murudeshwara temple dates back to the period of Ramayana. Legend says that Ravana (the Lanka King), prayed Lord Shiva in a strong devotion to attain immortality by getting the AtmaLinga. Atma Linga is the divine Lingam of Shiva that gains immortality to the Hindu Gods. As a result of the worship by Ravana, Lord Shiva appeared before him and asked him for a boon. Ravana requested the AtmaLinga as his boon. Lord Shiva agreed to give him the boon but on a condition that the AtmaLinga should never be kept on the ground. It is believed that if the AtmaLinga was placed on the ground, all the powers would return to Lord Shiva. Ravana started back on his journey to Lanka with the AtmaLinga.
However, Sage Narada realized that Ravana may obtain immortality and create ruin on earth with the AtmaLinga. He approached Lord Ganesh to help him. When Ravana neared Gokarna, Lord Vishnu blocked the sun and made it as dusk. Ravana wanted to perform his evening rituals. He was worried because the AtmaLinga was in his hands and he would not be able to do his rituals. At that moment, Lord Ganesh came near him in the mask of a Brahmin boy. Ravana requested him to keep the AtmaLinga until he performed the rituals. He told the boy not to place it on the ground. But Lord Ganesh fixed a deal with him. He said he would call Ravana thrice, and if Ravana did not return, he would place the AtmaLinga on the ground. As decided, Ravana could not return all of a sudden and Ganesh placed the Atma-Linga on the ground. The angered Ravana tried to pull up the AtmaLinga and destroy it but failed. He threw the holder of the linga to a place called Sajjeshwara which is 23 miles away and the lid of the case to a place called Gunavanthe (earlier known as Guneshwara) and Dhareshwara, 10-12 miles away. At last, he threw the cloth covering the AtmaLinga to a place called Mrideshwara in Kanduka Hill (Kanduka-Giri). Mrideshwara is later renamed as Murudeshwara.
Source: http://www.hindudevotionalblog.com/2009/05/murudeshwar-shiva-temple-karnataka.html
[2]Source Govind D. Belgaumkar, reporting in Hindu May 25, 2008
The Charm of the Seas
I was always crazy about the sea. Her charm is almost mesmerizing; the cool breeze moist with salty vapours has a magical touch to soothe the mind and rejuvenate the body. When I was in Jakarta I got an opportunity to take up sailing and I jumped at it with all my heart. I used to explore the open seas in a single seater dinghy sail boat (laser) for hours together, sometimes drifting in light wind and sometimes clipping in tight winds. It gave a feeling of high and a feeling of calm, a two-in-one package from the Mother Nature.
I also joined my friends on their diving trips; but restricted myself to snorkelling around a few of the coral islands. It offered a glimpse to the world under the choppy waves, a wonderland with brilliant colours, shapes and textures. The coral reef with its wild hues and out-of-the-world designs had a vibrancy of its own. Schools of fishes with scintillating colours dancing around beckoned me to their world and I was convinced that I should take up scuba diving to be one with them for a few minutes and not limit to a birds-eye view from the top.
I decided that I would take up scuba diving only after my daughter was old enough to join me. And I was ready to wait. When she was twelve, though I was not actively looking around in Mumbai for a dive trainer, I bumped into Jurgen Van Duffel, a certified dive instructor, and I immediately signed up for Isabella and me. (His outfit is suitably named The Life Aquatic with Lacadives)
He is quite passionate about his profession and takes his role as an instructor quite seriously. He delivered a five hour lecture cum demonstration and then gave us a 300 page book which covered quite a lot of theoretical foundation on diving. This included what equipment to use, what are the best practices to follow, how to take care of the risks of air embolism, nitrogen narcosis, oxygen narcosis, decompression sickness, and the discipline and etiquette under the sea. He made it clear that we should go down as visitors and not as plunderers and the colourful artifacts are only to see and not to borrow for our sitting room.
Then he took us to a swimming pool and taught us how to handle the equipment and the made us practice various exercises that we are expected to be familiar with to handle occasional emergencies; what to do if I run out of air, what to do if the air supply cable (the regulator) comes off, how to handle a cramp, how to take of and put on the total dive gear in the sea both at the surface and down under. He made us do this in the pool and told us that we should repeat this in the sea, for him to be convinced that we were good enough to be let loose in open water. In many of the exercises which needed a flexible body, Isabella did better than I! And she was mighty thrilled about it.
Initially we planned to go to the Andamans or Mali or even Indonesia for the dive certification. Then we decided to complete the certification somewhere near and then go to the far away locations as pros :- )
Jurgen promised me that Murudeswar near Mangalore was a good place to start. So we started our annual Christmas holidays there.
Where history and Fables meet
A three hour drive from Mangalore airport brought us to RNS Residency which is the best hotel in Murudeswar. It is situated on a cliff overlooking the sea with most of the rooms offering a brilliant view of the sea. You can sit at the balcony sipping coffee and stare at the vast expanse of the open sea.
Murudeswar is another name of Lord Shiva (the Hindu God) and as per mythology it considered to be the place where the cloth covering the ‘atmalinga’ fell after Ravana the demon king of Ramayana flung it upon his realization that he had been cheated by the Gods [1]. Therefore this is one of the five holy places of Shiva.
The temple is situated on ‘Kanduka Hills’ surrounded on the three sides by Arabian Sea. The temple complex has the world’s largest Shiva idol (123 ft/ 37 mt) and a 20 storied tower (Raj Gopura which is 249 ft tall is supposed to be the world’s tallest Gupura).The idol of the meditating Siva with a brilliant silver body and the golden snake around his neck gets sunlight all through the day, giving it a brilliant sparkle. The sculptors from Shimoga have captured the divine serenity of Shiva’s face very well.
A new fear to conquer
We were filled with anticipation about our first real dive and apprehension about how we could manage. Both father and daughter showed off how cool we felt; but the fear in our eyes was almost palpable.
The dive spot was near Netrani island about one and a half hour boat ride (about 20 kms) from the mainland. It is also called the ‘Pigeon Island”. The adjacent island is used by Indian Navy for target practice and one may see empty shells around Netrani too. Jurgen told me that in his previous trip he managed to see some unexploded torpedoes.
Netrani is a coral island and there are many exotic and endangered marine lives around. Out of the nine grouper fish species identified at the island, Cheilinus undulates (Humphead wrasse) was endangered and Rhincodon typus (whale shark) vulnerable. Netrani Island, which boasts two types of coral reefs, also has seven seaweed species, 12 jelly fish species, six sponge species, 92 finfish species, 17 crab species, four lobster species and three sea snake species, among others [2].
This island looks like an upturned boat from far and the steep cliff all around gives it the appearance of an imposing fort when you are near it.
Rawat who runs the local dive shop Dreamz Diving got all the necessary dive permits from the local police (After 26/11 there is strict requirement of permits for any diving or snorkelling in these locations).We loaded up our gear into a fisherman’s boat and started out to the dive spot at around 9 am. The sea was really choppy and the boat was getting tossed around. By the time we reached the dive spot, Isabella was really sea sick and surprisingly (considering the fact that I used to sail a lot) my stomach was also churning. We anchored near the island and the waves were really harsh. We decided to kit up in the water and jumped into the sea.
The waves were so high that at one point I saw the sick, puzzled and uneasy face of Isabella with strong traces of fear, when she was lifted up by a wave more than 5 feet high. With some difficulty and lot of help from Jurgen and Rawat both of us got into our diving gear. We were being thrown around like empty coconut shells. I threw up whatever was left in my stomach. I was thankful that I did it before I went down with the regulator in my mouth (Jurgen comforted me that the regulator is designed to allow the diver to vomit, if needed, without taking the regulator out; what a relief I should say!)
The waves were so high that at one point I saw the sick, puzzled and uneasy face of Isabella with strong traces of fear, when she was lifted up by a wave more than 5 feet high. With some difficulty and lot of help from Jurgen and Rawat both of us got into our diving gear. We were being thrown around like empty coconut shells. I threw up whatever was left in my stomach. I was thankful that I did it before I went down with the regulator in my mouth (Jurgen comforted me that the regulator is designed to allow the diver to vomit, if needed, without taking the regulator out; what a relief I should say!)
This also was un-nerving experience for Isa and she was shaken. But still she was ready to proceed. I went down first, slowly holding on to the line to about seven metres and waited for Isa to come down with Jurgen.
I was quite nervous and also worried about Isa. After about 25 minutes, Jurgen came down with the bad news. Isa appeared to have an infection in the ear that was hindering her equalization process as she descended and she had to abandon her dive.
I climbed back to the boat and found her sprawled in the bottom like a withering flower. So we abandoned the dive plan for the day. The sea was still rough and I had to reach out of the boat and vomit again. We were now on the way back to the hotel, dejected and almost wondering whether it was really our cup of tea.
We were tired and pooped and crashed out completely the whole afternoon; of course after a sumptuous lunch from Naveen restaurant which is the only decent non-vegetarian joint in town. This also belongs to RN Shetty who owns practically everything in town from hotel to hospital to school to colleges and the temple.
Anyway I decided to take written exam for my certification and the fact that I scored 90% was a morale booster; the only one for the day.
The next day morning we decided that Isa was still not ready for the plunge (ear problem) and I decided to do it alone. The weather was beautiful and the sea was calm. I did not want anything to deny me the excitement.
So I swallowed a tablet to prevent sea sickness.
We kitted up in the boat to avoid any waste of time and by the time we anchored we were ready for a back-flip, though I was a bit apprehensive about a back-flip fully kitted.
I released the air from the BCD and we were slowly sinking and Jurgen guided me down to eight meters and then lead me forward initially holding my hand. I was uncomfortable and not sure of the uncertain surrounding. Jurgen had promised that all the tests would only be in the next dive and helped me to get comfortable slowly.
With some trial and error, I got my neutral buoyancy right and drifted forward. The feeling of weightlessness with perfect buoyancy gave a heady feeling. I stopped being hassled and started feeling snug and secure in this new surroundings.
I started experimenting with this new freedom of multidirectional mobility; up, down, right, left, vertical, horizontal; a near approximation to zero G. Wow! Now that I was sure that I could survive and not too conscious about the apparatus that was strapped around me, I looked around to cherish the dazzling colours and varied shapes dancing, prancing and serenading around me, offering one of the best private performances; a one of a kind choreography of life that bring more variations than any maestro can dream of.
Then the pressure gauge reminded us that this was not our home turf and we needed get back to the boat for our air supply. I had almost started feeling at home here. Although the dive site was
next to the island, it was not possible to land there as there was no sandy beach; just an imposing wall of rock.
After the lunch, (consisting of a few biscuits and some juice) we were ready for the next dip. Jurgen wanted me to first finish my exercise before we drifted. I could do them all OK and then we moved forward with Jurgen leading the way. I was feeling quite at ease with buoyancy under control and was managing the dive quite well.
We moved along and the sight around was really beautiful. The rock structure around the island which at times formed meandering passages with rocky sidewalls was quite impressive; and offered a feeling of adventure. The fishes did not appear to be scared but were happy to move out of the way. Then came an angel fish to the centre stage like a prima donna; absolutely unconcerned
about the human company (or was she performing for the humans?). She did an aweso
me dance, flipping and flopping against the granite background that I was convinced that she had witnessed the shooting for ‘Blue Hindi movie’ or ‘Kites’ down under and watched the Bollywood models in action! This dive too lasted for about 50 minutes.
We saw a variety of fishes including Moray Eel, Parrot Fish, Snappers, Trigger Fish, Angel Fish, Butterfly Fish, Trevally and Puffer Fish. All these names and species were Greek and Latin for me and Jurgen gave me a crash course on nature appreciation. The fauna was great though flora was not much; at least where I have been. We also saw some patches of coral. (The diving enthusiasts may read a better written dive report by a more seasoned diver giving much better details)
I missed having Isa with me after all the extensive planning and she was heartbroken too. We promised ourselves to venture again in near future to make up for what we missed.
Winding Down with Water Sports
We decided to stay for a day more at Murudeswar after the dive to relax and enjoy the beautiful seashore. The sea was quite calm and shallow for quite a distance. The beaches were nice and sandy. There were a few jet skies and two inflatable bumper boats tied to a speed boat that tugged these bumpers quite fast on top of the waves. The boatman was good and made the whole ride quite exciting like a roller coaster with both the floats flinging all around and bumping into each other.
Isabella and I enjoyed this very much and kept going back to them. We also went for a ride in the boat to a small island nearby called honeymoon island. We were not lucky, like most of the tourists, to see any dolphins which were supposed to be there. Anand the operator of these rides was quite an enterprising person and was sharing with me his dreams of how he planned to make that place more interesting.
Adios to Murudaswar
The drive back to Mangalore airport with Ganesh our driver explaining the stories about everything on the way was an experience in itself. For a long stretch NH 17 passes between Arabian Sea and Souparnika River. We stopped at the roadside at Marawante where on one side of the road is the sea and on the other side the river. A boatman appeared from nowhere and offered to take us for a ride in the river and show us Padukone village , the native place of the famous Prakash Padukone. now more famous as the father of Deepika Padukone a noted Film Actress.
We stopped at the beach resort Turtle Bay which is about 110 Kms from Mangalore. Quite a nice place, with 14 cottages and pristine private beach and offers a variety of water sports including diving are. I met with Abraham Chacko who owns this place and realised that we were neighbours in Kerala. World is really a small place.
He has been here for about 20 years and enjoys life in sync with nature. The resort also offers exposure to yoga and appears to be a wonderful retreat. The food was quite tasty and was value for money.
Back to Mangalore Airport to take us to Kochi for our one week whirlwind tour to enjoy what the ‘God’s own country” can offer.
The only question Isabella and I have in our mind is, “when is our next dive trip?”
Reference
[1] The history of the Murudeshwara temple dates back to the period of Ramayana. Legend says that Ravana (the Lanka King), prayed Lord Shiva in a strong devotion to attain immortality by getting the AtmaLinga. Atma Linga is the divine Lingam of Shiva that gains immortality to the Hindu Gods. As a result of the worship by Ravana, Lord Shiva appeared before him and asked him for a boon. Ravana requested the AtmaLinga as his boon. Lord Shiva agreed to give him the boon but on a condition that the AtmaLinga should never be kept on the ground. It is believed that if the AtmaLinga was placed on the ground, all the powers would return to Lord Shiva. Ravana started back on his journey to Lanka with the AtmaLinga.
However, Sage Narada realized that Ravana may obtain immortality and create ruin on earth with the AtmaLinga. He approached Lord Ganesh to help him. When Ravana neared Gokarna, Lord Vishnu blocked the sun and made it as dusk. Ravana wanted to perform his evening rituals. He was worried because the AtmaLinga was in his hands and he would not be able to do his rituals. At that moment, Lord Ganesh came near him in the mask of a Brahmin boy. Ravana requested him to keep the AtmaLinga until he performed the rituals. He told the boy not to place it on the ground. But Lord Ganesh fixed a deal with him. He said he would call Ravana thrice, and if Ravana did not return, he would place the AtmaLinga on the ground. As decided, Ravana could not return all of a sudden and Ganesh placed the Atma-Linga on the ground. The angered Ravana tried to pull up the AtmaLinga and destroy it but failed. He threw the holder of the linga to a place called Sajjeshwara which is 23 miles away and the lid of the case to a place called Gunavanthe (earlier known as Guneshwara) and Dhareshwara, 10-12 miles away. At last, he threw the cloth covering the AtmaLinga to a place called Mrideshwara in Kanduka Hill (Kanduka-Giri). Mrideshwara is later renamed as Murudeshwara.
Source: http://www.hindudevotionalblog.com/2009/05/murudeshwar-shiva-temple-karnataka.html
[2]Source Govind D. Belgaumkar, reporting in Hindu May 25, 2008
Friday, December 11, 2009
Salute to Middle Class Morality
“How do you make a line shorter without rubbing of a part of it?”
“Draw a bigger line next to it”
This is a riddle as well as it teaches you how to compete like a gentleman. It teaches you that you should try to win by doing better than your competition and not by belittling and demeaning your opponent by spreading canards or through unethical means.
However, when we see the way many of our senior political & business leaders and bureaucrats behave, one wonders whether these lessons on values that are often preached are nothing but a way to build the ranks of the ‘middleclass’, the ‘common man’ enmeshed in the “middle class morality” as Eliza Doolittle’s father observes in “My Fair Lady”. Quoting Paul Samuelson, out of context, “The less of them who become sophisticated, the better for us happy few” [1] so that there are splendid opportunities to skim ‘alpha’ not just from the capital market but in many more segments.
Once you are playing a game of high stakes, whether in politics or in finance, nothing else other than self aggrandisement at whatever cost seems to be the norm. Even governance (corporate or otherwise) is often about how ‘not to get caught’ or how to become ‘too big to fail’.
The fourth estate also joins the melee and surrenders valuable real estate in the news papers that could be well used for more useful purposes. In fact, they happily join those who are looking for ways & means to denigrate and suppress people or institutions who are trying to make a difference; sometimes by mis-representing facts or by publishing one-sided or biased reports. Some even let themselves to be used to fight private wars and push private agendas.
Shashi Tharoor makes an innocuous remark on ‘cattle class’ then we see a barrage of criticism and moral posturing much more than warranted. Sachin Tendulkar makes a statement that Mumbai belong to India and there is protest from some quarters. (There are many more examples, but I have limited to the less controversial) But then these have news value
The irresponsible coverage, of the 26/11 siege, by many channels demonstrates what is there for sale in the fight for better visibility. Some of the television coverage would have provided the terrorists better support than they could have managed with their friends and well wishers out in the front!
On the other hand, many utterly reprehensible behaviour even in the parliament hall and the shameless looting of public funds to the extent of thousands of crore get easily suppressed quite fast.
This is the reality that every thinking person has to confront. Being true to yourself like Roark or be willing to renounce your conviction for expediency like Wynand in Ayn Rand’s “Fountainhead”.
If we do not build a bureaucratic machinery and elect political leadership which largely serve the public, have a judiciary that protects those who try and a responsible press that provides dispassionate and honest reporting, there is no doubt where the majority is going to be.
1. Capital Ideas Evolving; Peter L Bernstein
“Draw a bigger line next to it”
This is a riddle as well as it teaches you how to compete like a gentleman. It teaches you that you should try to win by doing better than your competition and not by belittling and demeaning your opponent by spreading canards or through unethical means.
However, when we see the way many of our senior political & business leaders and bureaucrats behave, one wonders whether these lessons on values that are often preached are nothing but a way to build the ranks of the ‘middleclass’, the ‘common man’ enmeshed in the “middle class morality” as Eliza Doolittle’s father observes in “My Fair Lady”. Quoting Paul Samuelson, out of context, “The less of them who become sophisticated, the better for us happy few” [1] so that there are splendid opportunities to skim ‘alpha’ not just from the capital market but in many more segments.
Once you are playing a game of high stakes, whether in politics or in finance, nothing else other than self aggrandisement at whatever cost seems to be the norm. Even governance (corporate or otherwise) is often about how ‘not to get caught’ or how to become ‘too big to fail’.
The fourth estate also joins the melee and surrenders valuable real estate in the news papers that could be well used for more useful purposes. In fact, they happily join those who are looking for ways & means to denigrate and suppress people or institutions who are trying to make a difference; sometimes by mis-representing facts or by publishing one-sided or biased reports. Some even let themselves to be used to fight private wars and push private agendas.
Shashi Tharoor makes an innocuous remark on ‘cattle class’ then we see a barrage of criticism and moral posturing much more than warranted. Sachin Tendulkar makes a statement that Mumbai belong to India and there is protest from some quarters. (There are many more examples, but I have limited to the less controversial) But then these have news value
The irresponsible coverage, of the 26/11 siege, by many channels demonstrates what is there for sale in the fight for better visibility. Some of the television coverage would have provided the terrorists better support than they could have managed with their friends and well wishers out in the front!
On the other hand, many utterly reprehensible behaviour even in the parliament hall and the shameless looting of public funds to the extent of thousands of crore get easily suppressed quite fast.
This is the reality that every thinking person has to confront. Being true to yourself like Roark or be willing to renounce your conviction for expediency like Wynand in Ayn Rand’s “Fountainhead”.
If we do not build a bureaucratic machinery and elect political leadership which largely serve the public, have a judiciary that protects those who try and a responsible press that provides dispassionate and honest reporting, there is no doubt where the majority is going to be.
1. Capital Ideas Evolving; Peter L Bernstein
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Of Intel Boxes & Intel People
I have many geek friends who are willing to help me be in the know of the new trends in the field of Information Technology (IT). One of the ideas that has caught my attention for some time is how to manage large and mission critical applications with commodity hardware which is often referred to as Intel Boxes.
Normally when we think about mission critical data centres, reliability and scalability takes precedence over cost. Then what come to our mind are high end servers and mainframe computers that cost oodles of money.
With everybody, industry, government, health et al looking for more and more data to crunch, conventional approaches to data centre management soon reaches its limit and explodes in cost. That is when smart geeks put together solutions that can manage this big number with arrays of commodity hardware.
The basic idea of software design in this paradigm is that any box in the array should be allowed to fail without affecting serviceability.
When a box fails the technician just walk across, pulls out the faulty piece and replaces it with a similar piece. With commodity hardware, it is not too costly to store enough spares. Important thing to take care of is, to use standard hardware and standard system software consistently across.
My friend Shuvam (who is one of the best techies in town) recently made a presentation on this, at our office. The key learning from his presentation were:-
When you are confronted with any problem which requires data crunching on millions of records (like Insurance premium, Interest calculations, MIS report generation, Searches through large data sets) or any transaction system which has a very high rate of transactions on unrelated records (like Trading systems, Settlement systems, Core banking system, Issuing Unique Id to Indian residents) the solution is to set up (i) A cluster of cheap servers with local disks with High-speed connectivity (Gigabit or faster) then (ii)Slice data horizontally, (iii) distribute among nodes, (iv) Send the query out to all nodes, so that each node can compute and send back answers, (v)Aggregate the results coming from the nodes, and (vi)Re-do logging for fault tolerance. Divide and Conquer!
In a layman’s language, it means that we learn to use lots of average people to do complex and large scale processes. This is what the Mumbai Dabbawalas have shown in human processes much before Google demonstrated in IT processes. A brilliant implementation with ‘common hardware’, none of them individually equipped with any training in logistics management or operations research, collectively manage a highly scalable and reliable service delivery with better than six sigma levels of quality.
What are the conceptual framework that is common to both Google data centre and Mumbai Dabbawala that is worth learning?
Process design that allows for any component to fail, i.e.; the processes should be as person independent as possible and it should be possible to scale by adding more components without adding to the complexity.
The key ingredients that one needs to take care of this are;
i) Ensure that the process flow is really smooth with no scope for inventory pile-ups
ii) Break down the job to clear and self contained modules that can be performed without waiting for instruction from the top
iii) Develop Crystal clear ‘standard operating procedures’
iv) Make sure that each member joining the team has this SOP embedded to his brain stem and not just uploaded to his brain
v) Have enough redundancies
This same idea is one of the core components of what Toyota people have popularised as the LEAN principle in manufacturing.
One of the big concerns that we often hear from the mangers is that they are unable to deliver and or scale because they can’t afford to have high quality people (sort of IBM mainframes and Sun Servers) for doing mundane things as smart people are costly and difficult to retain. The discussion above shows how you can scale with Intel Boxes and Intel People.
You don’t need such high-end hardware (human ware) in abundance to build
‘Teams that Scale' ; what you need is to have a leader who has a vision and a committed team of evangelists (Jesus Christ and his twelve disciples) who can build and motivate troops who are willing to build on their faith.
Normally when we think about mission critical data centres, reliability and scalability takes precedence over cost. Then what come to our mind are high end servers and mainframe computers that cost oodles of money.
With everybody, industry, government, health et al looking for more and more data to crunch, conventional approaches to data centre management soon reaches its limit and explodes in cost. That is when smart geeks put together solutions that can manage this big number with arrays of commodity hardware.
The basic idea of software design in this paradigm is that any box in the array should be allowed to fail without affecting serviceability.
When a box fails the technician just walk across, pulls out the faulty piece and replaces it with a similar piece. With commodity hardware, it is not too costly to store enough spares. Important thing to take care of is, to use standard hardware and standard system software consistently across.
My friend Shuvam (who is one of the best techies in town) recently made a presentation on this, at our office. The key learning from his presentation were:-
When you are confronted with any problem which requires data crunching on millions of records (like Insurance premium, Interest calculations, MIS report generation, Searches through large data sets) or any transaction system which has a very high rate of transactions on unrelated records (like Trading systems, Settlement systems, Core banking system, Issuing Unique Id to Indian residents) the solution is to set up (i) A cluster of cheap servers with local disks with High-speed connectivity (Gigabit or faster) then (ii)Slice data horizontally, (iii) distribute among nodes, (iv) Send the query out to all nodes, so that each node can compute and send back answers, (v)Aggregate the results coming from the nodes, and (vi)Re-do logging for fault tolerance. Divide and Conquer!
In a layman’s language, it means that we learn to use lots of average people to do complex and large scale processes. This is what the Mumbai Dabbawalas have shown in human processes much before Google demonstrated in IT processes. A brilliant implementation with ‘common hardware’, none of them individually equipped with any training in logistics management or operations research, collectively manage a highly scalable and reliable service delivery with better than six sigma levels of quality.
What are the conceptual framework that is common to both Google data centre and Mumbai Dabbawala that is worth learning?
Process design that allows for any component to fail, i.e.; the processes should be as person independent as possible and it should be possible to scale by adding more components without adding to the complexity.
The key ingredients that one needs to take care of this are;
i) Ensure that the process flow is really smooth with no scope for inventory pile-ups
ii) Break down the job to clear and self contained modules that can be performed without waiting for instruction from the top
iii) Develop Crystal clear ‘standard operating procedures’
iv) Make sure that each member joining the team has this SOP embedded to his brain stem and not just uploaded to his brain
v) Have enough redundancies
This same idea is one of the core components of what Toyota people have popularised as the LEAN principle in manufacturing.
One of the big concerns that we often hear from the mangers is that they are unable to deliver and or scale because they can’t afford to have high quality people (sort of IBM mainframes and Sun Servers) for doing mundane things as smart people are costly and difficult to retain. The discussion above shows how you can scale with Intel Boxes and Intel People.
You don’t need such high-end hardware (human ware) in abundance to build
‘Teams that Scale' ; what you need is to have a leader who has a vision and a committed team of evangelists (Jesus Christ and his twelve disciples) who can build and motivate troops who are willing to build on their faith.
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