Why Facebook DP Change Only For France?

After terror attacks on France, Facebook gave an option to change our profile pictures in a way to show our support to France. If you noticed the pattern, initially people felt "good" when they were changing their profile pictures. Gradually I saw a trend - people were seen criticizing Facebook for being "selective" in its initiatives.

In order to prove their point, some people, pages, journalists etc started posting ghastly images of mass violence from African or Islamic countries and started asking - Why did not FB give an option to display support to "these" countries?

If you think about their reasoning, it appears "correct". Why did not Facebook do it right "every time"? Why "only now"? I think this is a classic case of seeing a glass as "half empty" instead of "half filled".

I think through the profile picture change option, Facebook was giving a harmless means to express grief and solidarity towards a victim nation. If it worked well, it would make sense for FB to do the same next time for other countries also. After all, such activities keep users engaged and it is good for business. But if FB gets mostly criticism and faces a negative campaign against it after this episode; it will not be encouraged to give such options in future all together!

In the event of a humanitarian crisis, if by changing display picture a user feels less burdened; it helps in 'healing'. It does something 'good' even if small or inconsequential in total impact. So I think our criticism for FB does more harm than benefit to this world. Instead of asking "Why only towards France" and in a way insulting French people, or "Why not towards Iraq" and in a way insulting Iraqi people, and spreading negativity at the time of a humanitarian crisis, we should choose constructive feedback like, "I like this feature and hope they give this option even in future."

- Rahul

Swachh Bharat Cess

Recently Central Govt imposed a "Swachh Bharat cess". I read about it first in the newspaper-headlines as "Eating out, travelling and phone calls to get costlier from today". Naturally I got worried. The next day they wrote articles all over saying "Swachh Bharat Cess Is A Terrible Idea" etc. I got more worried. Then today after taking a taxi ride, I saw that I had to pay 38 paisa as "Swachh Bharat cess". 

I felt like "cheated"! After all, I was expecting this tax to really 'tax' me! Why should I be first made to believe that some grand injustice has been done in the name of Swachh Bharat and then in the end it should turn out to be just some coins?

I read that the funds collected through this cess will be used for construction of "toilets". Though the cess is only 0.5% of taxable services, Govt will get Rs 3700 crore through it this fiscal and around Rs 10000 crore in FY 2016-17. So it seems to be a very good idea. 

I can live without a few coins every once in a while in order to help make toilets in our country.

- Rahul

Attack On Paris!

God could eliminate all the demons and terrorists merely by His wish. 

But He wants "us" to do it. 

Can we do it by guns and bombs? 

France and USA failed in that so far. 

Then how can we do it? 

We can do it by Courage and Faith.

- Rahul

Happy Diwali!

Saw a man painting his house on Diwali. His was a humble one, if compared with his neighborhood. In fact only the front wall was in proper shape with a plaster on it. The man was painting the wall in blue - that blue which is used to give a shade different than regular whitewash. The man had climbed a ladder and his wife and son were holding the ladder and looking up at him with a concerned feeling.

The scene touched some cord. In one snapshot it told what a house means to a man; what a man means to his family and what a festival like Diwali means to people. Also I remembered something which a friend had said once - the kind of bonding you see in people with humble means can never be found in the rich families.

Wishing you all a very happy, prosperous and auspicious Diwali!

- Rahul

The Little Goat and A Little Girl

I want to tell you a story - or some little stories woven into one.

Our locality has a few shops selling meat. One goat is always tied to a tree trunk near the shop - perhaps it serves as 'safety stock'. One day a little girl was passing by - holding her grandmother by one finger. I could see that she had turned back and was making gestures with her other hand at the goat - as if trying to entertain it and gain its attention. She also spoke some cute words to the goat. The goat just stared at her.

Then outside a nearby chicken shop, that day only one white hen was seen in the cage. Perhaps the shop was soon to witness a stock-out situation - blame poor forecasting. Now a red cock was seen wandering on the ground. Perhaps it was a pet of someone and hence free. This big red cock looked at the solitary white hen in the cage - a damsel in distress - and made some sounds. The hen actually responded looking at the cock and spoke a few words. I think my heart skipped a few beats at the sight.

What to speak of dogs. With roads getting wider day by day and some dogs not learning how to cross roads safely - especially the newly recruited pups which popup in bunches some fine day - the situation is alarming. The only good thing is that perhaps the municipality is cleaning the roads soon enough for us. Or who knows, may be the fast vehicles do all the surface cleaning.

I had written about the fat cat in our neighborhood before - if you remember. A neighbor decided to steal one of her kittens to be raised as a pet and she religiously went to his house every evening and cried aloud. I can only update that this ritual went on for not less than a month after which either she got her baby back or else made some new ones to cope up with the situation.

On the way to morning walk, I find an unfamiliar noise coming out of a house whose doors and windows were still sleeping. Almost certain, it was a parrot making squeaky noises. Was it trying to wake up its owners? Oh, how I forget - it was responding to the call of nature. While we may find mornings lazy and uninvited, especially on working days of the week - birds find every morning worth celebrating. That parrot was acting like a bird - which I had to take time to come into terms with. So human like.

I think with cities growing high and wide, our earth is increasingly becoming unnatural for living beings which God designed to remain free and happy always. I don't count humans with these free-and-happy beings because I think we are too human to be these.

- Rahul [Views expressed are personal]

Not Tolerating Intolerance

If you follow any mass media, you would be aware that India has become 'intolerant' very recently. Specifically Hindu groups and individuals have turned intolerant. The commotion that has been created around this 'news' is pervasive; to the extent that if you even dream of being an 'intellectual', you have no choice but to 'condemn' it in the most outrageous manner possible for your profession (is that why I am also writing about it?). What to tell of small time thugs and petty politicians; positions of real power and influence like the President himself have ranted about 'intolerance' in most serious expressions. Yesterday, a political party brought out a 'protest march' to condemn 'silence' of PM on rising intolerance. Till day before yesterday, in a way a protest march was symbol of 'intolerance' and silence was symbol of 'tolerance' - but not any longer. We can't tolerate intolerance - that is the bottom line.

So how did the transformation start? It was a man beaten up to death in a UP village which started all this. Such crimes happen daily. But this one started like a wild fire. First news media started reporting it; then politicians made that village a pilgrimage, then a chain of attention-seekers took it off: writers, sorry, award winning writers, then President, then filmmakers, historians, showmen, businessmen and ultimately none other than Moody's Corporation. Is this what is called Butterfly effect?

Since President has given lecture about pluralism and tolerance two times in October 2015, it is apparent that India has suddenly transformed into an intolerant nation; it has not been a gradual process. Since this change has happened very recently - around last 2 months - logically something should have happened during these two months which was not present earlier - and hence the change. So what is it? If you even start to think on these lines, you would remember the big event - Bihar Assembly Elections!

This whole crooked episode which so called intellectuals call 'rising intolerance' is just a natural rising of pitch during elections. And it happens everywhere. If Donand Trump makes a racist comment on the blacks; or if Obama appeases a communal group and so on - in the run up to US Presidential elections - is it because America has suddenly become racist/communal? Of course not. Then why Indian intellectuals are so foolish that they can't see the plot? May be, they were not really 'intellectuals' all along!

[Views expressed are personal]

Cr.

I looked at my savings bank account statement and it so happened that I saw a lot of figures which ended with "Cr.". Now for a moment it appeared like "Crores"! Certainly some "Credit" to such an imagination :)

Selected Sanskrit Shlokas With Meanings

*** 

एकं सद् विप्रा बहुधा वदन्ति।

- ऋग्वेद [१.१६४.४६]

सत्य तो एक ही है लेकिन विद्वतजन उसे बहुविध प्रकार से समझते हैं। / एक ही ब्रह्म है, जो विविध नामों से विख्यात है।

(There is a single Truth, which wise people describe differently.)

*** 

आयुर्नश्यति पश्यतां प्रतिदिनं याति क्षयं यौवनं

प्रत्यायान्ति गताः पुनर्न दिवसाः कालो जगद्भक्षकः।

लक्ष्मीस्तोयतरङ्गभङ्गचपला विद्युच्चलं जीवितं

तस्मान्मां शरणागतं शरणद त्वं रक्ष रक्षाधुना।।

- शिवापराधक्षमापनस्तोत्रम् [१३]

प्रतिदिन आयु नष्ट हो रही है, यौवन का क्षय हो रहा है।

बीता हुआ दिन फिर वापस नहीं आता, काल संसार का भक्षक है।

लक्ष्मी (धन-संपत्ति) जल की तरंग-भंग की भांति चपला है, जीवन विद्युत के समान क्षणभंगुर है।

इसलिए, आप जो सभी को शरण देते हैं, अब इस शरणागत की रक्षा कीजिए।

(Every day life is seen reducing and youthfulness decaying. Days that are gone never come back. Time is devourer of the world. Wealth is as fickle as the breaking of the waves of water, and life as transient as lightning. Therefore, you who gives refuge to all, protect me now who has come to you for refuge.)

*** 

ब्रह्मार्पणं ब्रह्म हविः ब्रह्माग्नौ ब्रह्मणा हुतम्।

ब्रह्मैव तेन गन्तव्यं ब्रह्मकर्मसमाधिना ॥

- भागवत गीता [४.२४]

- जिस चम्मच से अग्नि में आहुति दी जाती है, वह ब्रह्म है। जिन (घी आदि) पदार्थों की आहुति दी जाती है, वे भी ब्रह्म हैं। जिस अग्नि में आहुति दी जाती है, वह भी ब्रह्म है। आहुति देने वाला भी ब्रह्म है। उस ब्रह्मरूपी कर्म में समाधि को प्राप्त योगी को मिलने वाला फल भी ब्रह्म ही है।

Human Side of Shopping Should Not Be Ignored

Bought a cellphone from a small shop in our neighborhood market. Online shopping portals have made their life so miserable (they have to work longer hours to make the same revenue, which is only to reduce with time) that it felt like a social service to buy from them. The human side of shopping can also not be ignored.

In our childhood in our small town, shopkeepers were important part of our society. People depended on them and they depended on customers. There was a mutual respect. Society functions when people bond together and no one is isolated. Today, since I was not getting the cellphone model I was looking for, I had to do a survey of 6-8 shops. I visited all these shops for the first time ever. I talked to all these shopkeepers for the first time - person to person. Despite living in the same locality for so many years I had not "needed" these guys till yesterday - for me they had not existed or if they did, fulfilled some purpose alien to me - all due to shopping from online portals.

When I visited these shops, I saw so many new things; got to know a bit about my fellow neighbors (shopkeepers), and their places. For me as a part of society, this is important.

I also negotiated with them a bit and when we made the deal - I could see a sense of satisfaction in the eyes of the shopkeeper. I was happy too as a customer. I saw how respectfully he treated me. I saw him writing my 'name' on the receipt with his hands. Online portals don't care about my name - they even don't care if I am a man or a robot - until they are getting orders which are getting paid for.

I can go on but I think you have understood the message. I think it is a good idea to buy from our neighborhood shops every once in a while. The smaller the shops - more humane would be our experience. Even if they are not as good, not as polite as we want them to be, but remember - they are "us". And we should take care of each other.

- Rahul

Disclaimer: Written by Rahul Tiwary on 18 Oct 2015. Views expressed are personal.

Durga Puja and Nav Ratri

या श्रीः स्वयं सुकृतिनां भवनेष्वलक्ष्मीः 

पापात्मनां कृतधियां हृदयेषु बुद्धिः। 

श्रद्धा सतां कुलजनप्रभवस्य लज्जा

तां त्वां नताः स्म परिपालय देवि विश्वम्।।

- जो पुण्यात्माओं के भवनों में स्वयं ही लक्ष्मी के रूप में, पापियों के यहाँ दरिद्रता के रूप में और शुद्धचित्त वाले व्यक्ति के ह्रदय में बुद्धि के रूप में, सत्पुरुषों में श्रद्धा के रूप में तथा कुलीनों में लज्जा के रूप में निवास करती हैं, उन देवी को हम प्रणाम करते हैं, हे देवि! आप समस्त जगत का पालन कीजिए!

Sustainability of Loss Making Online Companies

How do you swallow this: Flipkart which was established in year 2007 has never earned profit till date. It has accumulated losses in hundreds of crores till now (e.g. it reported Rs 281 Crores in losses in FY 2013). But this year Flipkart founders Sachin and Binny Bansal have become India's 86th richest persons with wealth of $1.3 Billion each.

Compare this case with Kingfisher and Vijay Mallya. The company was making losses while Vijay Mallya was India's 84th richest man till year 2013. Perhaps not many would have raised brow even at him if he kept finding investors to keep his loss making company running. But ultimately his company went bankrupt and he also came out of India's 100 richest persons list. It was not only a personal loss for him but it meant disaster for thousands of his employees.

Can the story repeat itself with Flipkart? Most likely no - but it is only a guess. Flipkart has some 33,000 employees. What if the company fails? It would surely be tough for its employees and their family members. Same case with so many other online retail companies.

My point or concern is simple: what are our regulators doing about it? Is not some government regulator meant to keep track of such risky businesses - losses for 8 years straight with owners rising high on the Billionaires list? Of course I am not saying ban them; but owners should be held more responsible by regulators if their employees count goes > a threshold.

I think there is a strong case to bring out some sort of mechanism to protect workers and other stakeholders in case of such companies.

- Rahul

[Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal]

Recent Reading List

Book: ‘The Business School’ by Robert Kiyosaki

‘The Business School’ by Robert Kiyosaki is a book written to promote and sell network marketing business - pyramid scheme businesses where you acquire another customer who acquires another and the chain goes on, each member in the chain earning a little commission while trying to make some ROI on the initial investment done. I am not much of a fan of the network marketing business. Although the book started by trying to address the concerns of people like me, at the end of it I was still unconvinced. So I shall leave it at that.

Book: ‘Fools Die’ by Mario Puzo

‘Fools Die’ is a novel by legendary Mario Puzo revolving around the business of casinos and gambling. The story is by and large set a Las Vegas in USA. Apart from gambling this novel also touches publishing and the film industry. 

After reading many of his novels I have observed that each of his novels is a commentary on some business area or the other. In this respect Mario Puzo has created a niche for himself. 

I loved the way the story started – by introducing four friends each a different than the others. But afterwards the story moved into a lot of things and connection was broken. 

Main characters in the novel are John Merlyn, Cully Cross, and Jordan Hamley and the initial portion tells their gambling plays at the legendary Hotel Xanadu. One night Jordan kills himself in his room and then the story takes a turn. 

In the later parts of the book several other characters die in different fashion. 

This book is relatively new as it was published in 1978. 

After reading most of his books I can say that this is the weakest of all others. I had to turn pages in ‘fast forward’ mode later on in the book. 

The author has tried to get into too much of technicalities of the business of gambling as well as of show business in later sections; forgetting that not all may be equally interested. 

But like all other classics, this one is also a Mario Puzo classic and hence I recommend it to all of his fans.

Book: ‘The Last Don’ by Mario Puzo

'The Last Don' is one of the masterpieces from the brilliant novelist Mario Puzo. I found this one equally chilling like The Godfather. 

After reading almost all of Mario Puzo novels I have observed that each of his novels is in the backdrop of some profession or the other. In this novel the author brings to us the background of movie industry. Along with that it also touches casinos (in Las Vegas) and of course the mafia. 

The story starts with Don Domenico Clericuzio who is a mafia boss now in old age planning legitimacy for his family. Then story gets into life story of his grandnephew Cross or full name Croccifixio. 

There are several parallel side-stories going on, a lot of which I did not find too interesting, but the central story is amazing one and really brilliant. 

A warning: the novel, like other mafia stories from Puzo involves violence. Chilling ones to be specific and hence you should read it only if you like reading crime or mafia stories. 

This novel is also the basis of Mini-series on Television. 

Book: ‘Omerta’ by Mario Puzo

This is a mafia story and competes with The Godfather in brilliance as per my opinion. 

Book: ‘The Forth K’ by Mario Puzo

"K" stands for Kennedy and this is a story based on presidency race of a Kennedy and the tragedies involved. A very different line of story from other books of Mario Puzo, but as brilliant as it could get. 


- Rahul

Recent Reading List

Tuki's Grand Salon Chase

‘Tuki's Grand Salon Chase’ (Flipkart Link) by Parul Sharma is a wonderful story of a young girl’s struggles with professional and personal challenges in a city like Mumbai. Tuki works at a high end salon and a large part of specially the initial portion of the book talks about that. Later the story gets into her flings with boys who chased her and one whom she chased in a way. The story is never boring and extremely well written. Highly recommended for light pleasant reading.

A Hundred Lamps

‘A Hundred Lamps’ (Flipkart Link) is a compilation of short stories about doctors. Stories come from a few legendary writers like Premchand, Renu, (all translated into English) as well from several other authors. I liked the story ‘Alloveda’ by Ramesh Upadhyay most which deals with how relative fates of Allopathy and Ayurveda changed in our country as well as the mindset of recent generation of doctors in India. It is written wonderfully. ‘Mantra’ by another gem which deals with how doctors being emotionless and only commercial minded can take toll on common masses. There are some other stories which I did not like as much but nonetheless the book is a selection of stories throwing light on different aspects related to life of doctors.

The Family

‘The Family’ (I bought from Flipkart) is Mario Puzo’s last book and tells the story of Borgia family of Italy and how scandal and crime ridden persons can even hold posts like Pope of Vatican. 

It is a chilling story filled with violence, suspense and crime all along. 

But it also tells the humane story of Rodrigo Borgia (became Pope Alexander VI) who tries hard to protect and strengthen his family. 

It is a dark and chilling story of how his plans for his sons and daughters are rather shaped by the events of chance and fate and the end is quite different from the one he meticulously planned. 

There are so many different characters all developed very well. Minute events and sentiments are captured so well by the brilliant author. When I reflect on it; this is hell of a story. Mario Puzo is mainly known for writing mafia stories; but this is very different yet as intense one as it could get. 

This is a story which you won’t forget ever. Highly recommended only if you like Mafia stories or other books from Mario Puzo.

The Dark Arena

The Dark Arena (I bought it from Flipkart) was Mario Puzo’s first novel, published in 1952, years before The Godfather. Set in Germany during World War-II, it is the story of a young American soldier called Walter Mosca and his love with a native German girl called Hella. Apart from being an intense story of a young American soldier and his sad love story with a German girl, it also tells about the life and the times. I loved the historical account the novel presents to us. Nazi Germans tortured Jews but after reading this book I realized that Germans in general suffered not less at the hands of the "victors". American soldiers could pick any girls from the streets; children begged for food all around; and people paid anything to get essentials like food (and 'American cigarettes') (only the army was stocked with plenty while common people struggled every day for everything). Whole society was corrupted due to the instability. But this is only in the background of this brilliant book which deals with stories of multiple characters, primarily of Walter Mosca. It is the story of teen revolt and pains of growing up. It is a touchy sad love story of Hella, a German helpless girl, and Mosca, a strong American officer. Another character is Leo, a Jew, whose father was German and mother Jew and he lost his childhood to the concentration camp. There are so many different characters all developed very well. Minute events and sentiments are captured so well by the brilliant author. When I reflect on it; this is hell of a story. Mario Puzo is mainly known for writing mafia stories; but this is very different yet as intense one as it could get. 

The Fortunate Pilgrim

‘The Fortunate Pilgrim’ (I bought it from Flipkart) is Mario Puzo’s second book – and importantly before he became famous and all after publication of ‘the Godfather’. Away from his previous book, the protagonist of this book is a woman. Lucia Santa is an Italian migrant who came to the United States of America to live forever. Her life journey is truly filled with struggles and difficult decisions. It is truly an amazing one. The little stories within the stories have come up so well. At so many places I broke out laughing and at many places my heart sank. The way it ended felt like a relief of a lifetime and a personal achievement. Truly a masterpiece...

Disclaimer: Written by Kumar Rahul Tiwary. Views expressed are personal and do not reflect views of organization author is associated with.