WELCOME, 2012 !
The Yahoo homepage on our Firefox browser shows the date as January 1, 2012. It is just another day, but it represents a new beginning : a new year has dawned. The cloudy weather due to cyclone Thane has gone for now and I see bright sunshine in Bengaluru now. I hope that is also a harbinger of things to come as well : there were a few areas that were black spots in 2011. As a new year starts, I hope the spots vanish and there is a promising 2012 for all of us ! We wish you and your family a happy 2012 !
2011 has passed us by. The time is set for a few reflections. The year was remarkable for few events :
* We saw an India shaking off its apathy (the famous "chalta hai" attitude) to support a simple 74 year old social reformer. Anna Hazare has become a hero in 2011 due to his insistence to set up a strong mechanism like Lok Pal to fight corruption. Young and old identified with his ideas and resulted in a groundswell of support for him, particularly visible in August 2011. My personal opinion is that he is a simple man, who believes in talking what he thinks. That is why his response of "Only one slap" when the minister Sharad Pawar was slapped has to be taken as such. Later he has also issued a clarification as seen in http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2656472.ece, but I would say it was still a spontaneous response. Similarly, his idea of tying up drunkards and beating them up as a last resort sounds extreme, but it is just his view. Young India may find these thoughts regressive, but that should not detract from Annaji's idealism and passion for social reform in the rural scenario.
* * India won the cricket world cup at home. This was tempered by the 4-0 loss in England and the loss in Melbourne, but the world cup win was still an important one. A new generation has discovered a new set of heroes ! I have written about it in http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.com/2011_04_03_archive.html.
* Sadly, both the Indian government and the Karnataka government have betrayed expectations. There has been a policy paralysis in the Centre and the struggle to keep the government functioning in Karnataka has led to an ordinary year. It was good to see the debate in Parliament over the Lok Pal bill. To me, the debate showed what is good in democracy. I feel more Indians need to watch such proceedings simply to understand that voices of dissent in opposition are also a necessary part of progress. Of course, if it results in stalling of governance, then it is negative criticism, which needs to change ! Still, the process needs praise.
* Another positive development in 2011 was the number of political leaders in jail. It may not have scared other corrupt people, but at least a beginning has been made !
* My friend who rode on the Bengaluru metro says that it is world class. Now if only the stretch from Kanakpura Road to Yeshwantpur is completed soon, it would be better ! I noticed few vehicles going on to the ramp at Veerannapalya on the Ring Road, near Hebbal in the middle of December. Our feeling was that this would be completed in 2012 only. Hopefully, the promise
* The Eurozone economic crisis in Greece and Italy and Europe boiled over in general, which showed its effect in India also. GDP growth is low, inflation is high and the signs are unhealthy. The world stands poised on the edge of another recession.
Personally, the highlight of the year was the trip to Jaipur, Agra and Udaipur. More details are at http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.com/2011_11_13_archive.html. We enjoyed the week. Professionally, it was largely status quo: I enjoyed settling into a role and supporting a new group. My wife and I went in for a health check up at the end of the year. While there are a couple of areas of concern for me, the new year brings with it hope for better health also ! I will end with this quotation by Mother Teresa :
The Yahoo homepage on our Firefox browser shows the date as January 1, 2012. It is just another day, but it represents a new beginning : a new year has dawned. The cloudy weather due to cyclone Thane has gone for now and I see bright sunshine in Bengaluru now. I hope that is also a harbinger of things to come as well : there were a few areas that were black spots in 2011. As a new year starts, I hope the spots vanish and there is a promising 2012 for all of us ! We wish you and your family a happy 2012 !
2011 has passed us by. The time is set for a few reflections. The year was remarkable for few events :
* We saw an India shaking off its apathy (the famous "chalta hai" attitude) to support a simple 74 year old social reformer. Anna Hazare has become a hero in 2011 due to his insistence to set up a strong mechanism like Lok Pal to fight corruption. Young and old identified with his ideas and resulted in a groundswell of support for him, particularly visible in August 2011. My personal opinion is that he is a simple man, who believes in talking what he thinks. That is why his response of "Only one slap" when the minister Sharad Pawar was slapped has to be taken as such. Later he has also issued a clarification as seen in http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2656472.ece, but I would say it was still a spontaneous response. Similarly, his idea of tying up drunkards and beating them up as a last resort sounds extreme, but it is just his view. Young India may find these thoughts regressive, but that should not detract from Annaji's idealism and passion for social reform in the rural scenario.
* * India won the cricket world cup at home. This was tempered by the 4-0 loss in England and the loss in Melbourne, but the world cup win was still an important one. A new generation has discovered a new set of heroes ! I have written about it in http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.com/2011_04_03_archive.html.
* Sadly, both the Indian government and the Karnataka government have betrayed expectations. There has been a policy paralysis in the Centre and the struggle to keep the government functioning in Karnataka has led to an ordinary year. It was good to see the debate in Parliament over the Lok Pal bill. To me, the debate showed what is good in democracy. I feel more Indians need to watch such proceedings simply to understand that voices of dissent in opposition are also a necessary part of progress. Of course, if it results in stalling of governance, then it is negative criticism, which needs to change ! Still, the process needs praise.
* Another positive development in 2011 was the number of political leaders in jail. It may not have scared other corrupt people, but at least a beginning has been made !
* My friend who rode on the Bengaluru metro says that it is world class. Now if only the stretch from Kanakpura Road to Yeshwantpur is completed soon, it would be better ! I noticed few vehicles going on to the ramp at Veerannapalya on the Ring Road, near Hebbal in the middle of December. Our feeling was that this would be completed in 2012 only. Hopefully, the promise
* The Eurozone economic crisis in Greece and Italy and Europe boiled over in general, which showed its effect in India also. GDP growth is low, inflation is high and the signs are unhealthy. The world stands poised on the edge of another recession.
Personally, the highlight of the year was the trip to Jaipur, Agra and Udaipur. More details are at http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.com/2011_11_13_archive.html. We enjoyed the week. Professionally, it was largely status quo: I enjoyed settling into a role and supporting a new group. My wife and I went in for a health check up at the end of the year. While there are a couple of areas of concern for me, the new year brings with it hope for better health also ! I will end with this quotation by Mother Teresa :
"Be happy in the moment - that's enough. Each moment is all we need - not more."
Kiran. I guess it is not so easy to tame this corruption monster yet. I hope other attempts will be made by Swami and Ramdev baba in 2012.
ReplyDeleteOn a related note there is a disruptive change happening in the Indic psyche. I am reading Being Different by Rajiv Malhotra. More on that later.