Millenium City ,Gurgaon - baffles me

Gurgaon is dubbed as 'Millenium City' - reason being it represents India of new millenium. I have been in Gurgaon for last few weeks and experienced the 'Millenium City' first hand. The growth visible in Gurgaon is appreciable on one front - top notch corporate companies are here and dozen more come here by day.However what is disappointing to see is the overall state of affairs in Gurgaon. There is hardly any public transport,chaotic urbanization and a shroud of dust that engulfs Gurgaon.

In my opinion Gurgaon represents quintessential India -growth without proper planning. The paradoxical combination of the shining facade and the cloud of dust would amaze you beyond expectation.However Delhi Metro presents an entirely different picture of successful urban infrastructure projects in India. The Metro is already full to the brims and it is a gratifying feeling to see the look of pride and comfort on common man's face traveling in the Metro. India desperately needs more Sreedharans and Sheila Dikshits to handle the menace of chaotic urbanization and to channelize the energy of its youth.

Auto rickshaws - bane of the traffic on urban Indian roads

Driving on the Indian roads isn't for the faint hearted - guess it's a known thing but if you analyze closely,the worst offenders of traffic rules are the auto rickshaw drivers. They seem to operate with complete impunity and brazenness. Making stops anywhere and everywhere is not an exception rather a norm for the auto-rickshaw drivers.The drivers ain't well-behaved either.The burly buses aid to the chaos on the road.There need to be stricter regulations as far as the day to day operations of auto-rickshaws is concerned.

Incidentally I found an innovation borne out of the vacuum created by auto rickshaw drivers in Gurgaon, it is called Radio TukTuk . It's the radio taxi equivalent for tuktuk or auto-rickshaw. I used there services couple of times and I must say it offers a refreshing change from regular auto-rickshaw. Can more services like Radio TukTuk show the way to regulate the obnoxious problems caused by auto-rickshaws ?

India @ 64

I have been thinking about this for sometime;where does India stand in her 64th year of post independence period. Prima-facie India is on a roll with a fast growing economy, increasing global influence and the stupendous rise of the middle class. I personally consider this as a re-emergence of India. Going by what Angus Madison, famous economic historian, mentioned that India and China were around one-third each of world GDP until 1700s, what we see now is the re-emergence of the same situation. Both these countries have the right ingredients namely big populations, huge natural resources & long continued civilizations to make it where they were in the past.

The biggest amazement for me however is the political experiment that India is. With hundreds of languages and sub-cultures, the idea of democracy in India post independence was an experiment. Today India is more unified than ever in the last two millenia in all senses. The biggest indicator of this is the emergence of a pan-Indian culture. Liberlisation of the economy,Cricket & Bollywood have acted as social lubricants for this phenomenon. One can often hear Bollywood songs in a wedding in Bangalore now and Idli is one of the most popular breakfasts in New Delhi now. Dhoni is the captain of Chennai Super Kings and Ramoji Film Studio in Hyderabad hosts maximum number of Bollywood movies for shooting.

India however faces a lot of challenges. It is in a difficult neighbourhood and has quarter of its population below poverty line. Decision making is still subjected to political expediency and a unified vision for the country is still elusive. Caste system is an antiquated social structure whose grip has be loosened as early as possible.

I am certainly hopeful about India's future because she has come off well despite many challenges.Democratic set up provides the right setup to manage the so very diverse country.With her growing role India also has to take bigger responsibilities at the domestic and international fronts.

Scope of things in life...

I often notice most of us create our own mini-world comprising of family,friends and acquaintances and jostle to stay ahead in this 'self-created world'. I asked myself the question why most of us do this and the answer I got was that instinctively most of us are paranoid and this paranoia drives us in creating and then pushing to get ahead in our own worlds.

If one tries to see things in larger scope of things, does it matter where you are compared to people in your own world? There would always be people who would leave you desired to be them.I feel if one can ask herself the question what do I want and am I doing the right things to get what I want,life would be simpler :))

An inner conflict is raging in me.

Over last few months I have been noticing an inner conflict raging within me. I realised how much more I have evolve in terms of appreciating others' sensibilties.Its not that I don't try my best but I still fall short of my own expectations.

Am I being unrealisitic or I need more conscious effort is the raging conflict within me?

Settling in a new country makes me feel like a kid again...

Settling in a new country makes me as curious as a kid. It is good to observe things around you and make sense. I have never lived in the West before so it is a virgin experience for me.

Enjoying it to the hilt ... C'est la vie...

How much is just enough?

I often wonder how much is just enough. I believe realms of articles have been written on this but this issue still remains the biggest paradox of human civilization.

Guess it is to ask and tough to answer...

The changed world order after the financial crisis.

There seems to be a clear shift in the perceived global order today.It is in line with what was predicted as the third wave of change in modern times after Renaissance and Industrial Age i.e Globalization.G-8,the so visible face of previous world order has given way for G-20 as the de facto group for world order.

I have been dormant on this blog for quite sometime.I have started my MBA at Vlerick Leuven Gent of Mgmt,Belgium this Sep.I shall try to be more regular here on.