Like my sluggish backhand

I am learning tennis. Have been for the past few months. I can hit a reasonable forehand shot now, but my backhand is another matter. I try to take position, take the backswing as directed and hit - the ball soars away from the court as my coach and me look up in wonder. But its not always like that. I get it right at times. Elbow straight, racket back, contact with that perfect "tang" and a  beautiful follow through - ball drops on the opposite court, as desired. Trouble is, we (my coach and I) never know when I will repeat that shot.

When I look at the management of affairs by the Chief Executive of the country, ie the PM, I am often reminded of my sluggish backhand. The country squirmed and looked on in horror in the months before the Commonwealth Games, when report after report showed what a state of non readiness the preparartions were in. The PM finaly declared that the persons responsible will not be spared. Surely, the PM would have his own mechanism for detecing the slippage much before it was out in the mdeia? One would expect that there would have been a given date by which all stadia and facilitis would be ready. There would be a planfor Indian athletes to practice in those stadia, to get a home advantage as also to try out and test the facilities. I was told a year ago that the PMO was monitoring this project closely. How was it then possible for it to slip, and why were actions not taken six months back against those who were mismanaging it?

The Supreme Court has raised some qustions with the PMO on the telecom matter currently under consideration by the court. The PM had appranetly put a classic "please discuss" note on a file some months back, which then went into the bureaucratic loop and did not surface till fished out. Not unfamiliar, but surely, any manager know that asking for a discussion is not enough - one has to follow that up. Can I get away with non performance on the ground that my deputies did not revert on some explanations that I had asked for?

There is of course a desirable side of the PM. A learned, clean and erudite person, he commands respect in the forum of world leaders. President Obama recently said that he considers the Indian PM a wise and experienced leader and people listen in international summits, when he speaks. I know that Obama said a lot of things to appease Indians, but I am inclinded to think that he meant this one, as he has said it before.

The fact that the PM is clean and that he is experienced and learned, matters. Lets think why it is important to have  a clean PM.  Poverty remains the biggest issue in India.  While internal studies show that 27.5% of the population lives below the poverty line, a recent study from Oxford University claims that 55% of Indians live below the poverty line. Our per capita income of $ 3.3 k is way below that of China at $ 7.7 k. Lack of education and health care are identified to be the most significant causes for poverty. India spends significant sums of money on education and healthcare, though their proportions to Gross National Product are below desirable levels. The amounts that are expended however, do not reach the target in many cases. Ther are reports of siphoning off Government funds meant for education and healthcare. So I believe that corruption is a large barrier to our growth, as it is a barrier in the way of funds and efforts reaching the masses in the target areas.

Recent studis show that while the country's GDP is growing well, corruption is also bounding up and there is no control whatsoever in this area.

My thought therefore is that we do need a better Chief Executive to run the country, and we also need someone like Dr Singh to provide direction, prmiarily because he is clean and is wise. It would be appropriate to have a Chief Operating Officer in the PMO to manage significant initiatives much like a project is managed in the corporate world. This person will have high energy, will have authority and will work under the supervision and guidance of the PM.

We need radical changes in the management of the country, and this would be an effective way for implementing the same.

Check out some paintings

Hi !

What better way to begin one's blog, than to talk about some paintings, currently on sale. Just looked through Saffronart's winter catalogue. http://images.saffronart.com/Auctions/2010/winterauc/ECatalogue/sa-wnt-ecatlg.html

There's a beautiful piece by N S Bendre as the first entry. MF Hussain's Untitled (No 3) face is a bold piece - in red and blue - strong and troubled expression on the face. Would I like to keep it in the house ? The question is hypothetical, as it is too expensive, but not really ! FM Souza's Trial of Christ is an excellent form - the power of simple strokes to depict expression and depth. His untitled piece (No 84) is "in your face" and sensuous.

Jogen Chowdhury's Untitled (No 36) is one of his more charming depictions of life and the human. A lot of his other work are a reflection of fear and violence and animal instincts of present day life. (Ganges Art gallery is selling some of his work now I understand).

Sudarshan Shetty's "To say it as it was" (No 55) is a beautiful piece. The object in focus in total harmony with the background in a blended pattern of colours (and yes, easier on the wallet compared to MFH and Bendre).

Check out Arunkumar's Nandi in Orange, the last entry. Great form in and interesting colour !

More later