Indian Softpower's Kodak Moment

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In the days to come, there will be widespread discussion on Slumdog Millionaire and whether it reflects the true worth of India and is indeed a representation of life in India. There will be many who will suddenly change their stance now that the film has won eight Oscars. While there will be silly marketing managers and their ilk who will try and devise strategies as to how Jamal Malik can now be the brand-endorser for all things which are basic and Indian. For me personally, the Oscar ceremony on February 22 at the Kodak Theatre was more than just about a film set in Bombay. It was about recognising the true worth of soft power and its role in building a brand: in this case, Brand India and I believe for that and that alone, we need to be grateful to Danny Boyle. The film could easily have....

Something is rotten in the state of England

3

One always looks forward to travelling to London when you are sure you won't bump into many tourists especially from India: considering one spends a whole year avoiding them, the last thing you want to do is make polite conversation in Hyde Park. This trip however, has been more of a revelation than most! If we think being saddled with a doddering Arjun Singh is bad enough, then think again. All of England is up in arms against Gordon Brown and never has a British Prime Minister been so reviled and so rallied against as Brown has. London is a ghost town. The high streets are empty and stores are on a permanent discount. One would have thought it would be a good time to buy but then where's the money? The scourge of investment bankers on the whole monetary system has made them pariahs and no longer are....

WHO'S GOING TO WIN THE NEXT ELECTIONS?

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A prominent editor in India has often remarked that parties in India don't win, instead they lose elections: a not-so-subtle hint at the prevalent fashion with regards to incumbency. The tragedy with our so-called democracy is that we often end up voting out, rather than voting in people who would be good to govern India. So is this real democracy after all when you are actually expending negative energy to make sure the same rogue doesn't return. The last five years have been terrible for India. Let's face it, even though the economic meltdown is not the fault of the Manmohan Singh government, one has to admit the reaction of the government both in terms of speed and depth has been woefully inadequate. There have been more terrorist attacks in the last five years than in all our history and we've had a joker running the Home Ministry at....

The Modern Day Maharajas

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There was a time when we adored the Gayatri Devis of the world and their mere presence said it all. Blue blood was something that could not be transfused. The royals behaved as they should have. As if they owned kingdoms. Which some of them truly did. Their jewels were the real stuff. Not some silly Italian brand that keeps opening expensive stores in five-star hotels. Their progeny was happier playing polo and dating white women than representing some odd French brand of luggage. This was a time that has long passed us by. The India of today has a different breed of royals. Men and women, who are commoners but like Edward, have become great pretenders. No longer are they accompanied by herds of caparisoned elephants. They instead ride in white ambassadors or fuel-guzzling SUVs. Their brand of blue blood is what they make of it. Not what....

The Teflon Tribe

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It is indeed interesting to note that post 26/11, not one bureaucrat was fired. Not one was suspended and nor has there been an enquiry against any of these jokers. It is almost as if their enduring teflon coating saves them from both responsibility and accountability every time there is a national crisis or calamity and this begs the fundamental question? Why do we tolerate so much slack in our bureaucracy and why do we allow these inept people to get away? I guess this too is a class issue. This country has created many cosy clubs. There is the media club; then there is the industry club and then there is the bureaucracy club: they all function as silos when they need to, and crossover when it is convenient which is why the politician is left out sometime. I have never seen a bureaucrat being hauled over the....