No We Can't !

Not anymore ! Not after S&P finally downgraded the big daddy of all nations !  We can't expect the US to lead the world through economic recovery. Nor through geo-political recovery. The world is finally waking up to the fact that US has some problems of its own (and of its own making) that will take some time for it to sort out. We cannot expect that they will play the lead in significant change.


We can expect however that  many other countries of the world will gain prominence. We know where China is going. We also know about Brazil and about Russia. Not to forget our own Hindustan. While Greece, Spain and Italy are struggling, some European nations show promise to play well in the new world order. As for the US, they will possibly crawl out of the hole that they have dug for themselves, but one hopes that they acquire some responsibility in the process - towards the  world and its environment.


Apart from the US downgrade and the markets tanking towards the weekend, two good things happened. We watched Saurav Moni, a folk singer from Bengal belt out a couple of mind blowing numbers on MTV Coke Studio with Shaan, and we watched Zindagi Na Mile Dobara. Saurav showed once again the incredible  power of folk and especially of Bhatiali. Touched the soul. You can check him out on Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYIKCbohnq0


People are thronging to watch ZNMD as you know. I thought it has a very contemporary script with the sure to click formula of old college friends coming together. Nudges you gently to rethink your priorities. Its got me excited about deep sea diving !  


Cheers !

A short trip

Hi !

Have been quiet for some time. It was the holiday season, and work after return was hectic.

Spent an interesting 3 days in Singapore last week. We were there on work. A leading investment brokerage had arranged for us to meet a number of investment fund managers and analysts. About eight hours of meetings each day. That took us to a number of offices in Singapore's central business district. None of my earlier visits to the city exposed me to so many of its offices. In spite of Singapore's bad name for being mechanical and too perfect, office buildings show great architectural creativity. Each one is different and aesthetically designed. Open spaces and green patches are everywhere. I specially liked a building which has tropical rain forest creepers all over one huge wall in the spacious lobby. A writeup describes the types of creepers. The corner rooms and conference rooms in these buildings make the best of the bay view. And the imposing Marina Sands Hotel and Casino with the huge ship like structure spanning the rooftops of its three towers is visible from many angles.

I found some time to visit the Singapore Art Museum for an hour. While its collection is small and can in no way be compared to those with those in the large cities of the world, it did have an interesting collection of video art. This was an initiation for me into the area. Video art, for those who dont know, is a concept where the video artist shoots a clip and viewers watch the projection of it. Several small rooms in the museum are done up where large screen projections are running continously. They run for several minutes. The experience is rather like watching a short film but with a high level of artistic feel, often surreal. The music is to accentuate the senses, rather than to express explicitly. I especially remember one which was shot in a coral reef in Vietnam, where several men are shown pulling rickshaws under water. The struggle of the men and the swirling seas around them make up the artistic statement. Another one showed how the concrete urban landscape with its man made structures and graffiti is a silent spectator to the daily lives of those who dwell in and around them. Video art was a good experience. Plan to catch more of it.

Watched a mushy movie on the flight back: Letters to Juliet. Highly recommended for those who remain an incorrigible romantic like me!

Bye and hope to be back soon !
Cheers !

Sixth Sense

Hi !

My daughter introduced me to Sixth Sense Technology. Chap called Pranav Mistry from MIT Lab is the inventor of the concept and the device. (Check out the Pranav Mistry video on TED).

The technology tries to bridge the digital world with the physical world, as Mistry says. Imagine a pendant worn by you, consisting of a camera and a projector, connected to a computing device in your pocket. You wear coloured markers on your fingers. When you point your fingers at a spot or make a photo frame with your fingers or draw a symbol with your fingers, the camera on your pendant identifies the actions by reading the movements of the markers on your fingers, with respect to the background. The images are relayed to the computing device in your pocket.

So you could draw a symbol recognized by the computer as phone and the computer would bring up the dialing pad of a phone, which the projector can project. Where ? Anywhere, lke on a wall, or on the palm of your hand. You then use a finger with a marker to dial the number on your palm ! Or you could place a coffee cup on a map and the device could tell you about the nearest cafes. You could point at your boarding pass, and the device could tell you if your flight is delayed. You could point at a picture or a news item in the newspaper and the projector can show you a video of the same (much like Potter movies) ! Wow !

Pranav has built the prototype for $ 350. It is not commercialized yet.

Mistry says this will help people be more human and will avoid the need for carrying various devices, like a phone or a camera. I'm not sure about that, but it got me thinking about the enless possibilitis of such a device.

Consider these. You see a person at a gathering and you point your markered finger at her discreetly. Your device reports back : "Preeti Misra, 36, divorced, management consultant, loves lounge music and adventure sports. Send message ?" Or say you are planning a holiday. So you point at various spots on a map and see videos of the places, assess hotels, see your friends comments, etc. At a bookshop, you point at a book and get its reviews.    

In business, you could perhaps get quick briefs on people that you are negotiating with, or point at a piece of property or facility and know its ownership. Merged with a credit database, this can also bring up vital information on credit worthiness. I could bring up the keypad of a computer and a screen on my bare desk or on the back of an airplane seat and do my mails or a spreadsheet.

I am a wee bit worried about privacy though (hence the Preeti Misra example !) While Mark Zuckerberg feels that people should have no problem in sharing their identity with the world unless they are hiding something, I am not so sure !

Nonetheless, an exciting concept. The video is worth a view.

Cheers!

The Vibrant Week

Hi !

It has been a glorious week in Gujarat. The Vibrant Summit as you know was a grand event. Tremendous positive sentiment and MOU numbers with lots of zeros. It was followed by a beautiful long weekend, being Uttarayan, the annual kite flying time. The sky was full of kites, the air was crisp and cool and the sunshine bright. Lantern formations on kites sparkled in the night skies and the occasional firework embelished the spirit. What a week !

One starts wondering what all this will mean in the near future. The optimism, the interest from investors, the supportive Government and the local energy for growth. For national and multinational companies which will invest here, a supportive administration is a strong factor. Obtaining land, permissions and infrastructure support will be easier. The power situation is stronger in Gujarat than in several other states. There are also plans for setting up new power plants. The road network is good and getting better. Ports are being developed.

To set up an eficient plant however, you need skilled manpower. The lower skilled human resources will possibly come from Gujarat and neighbouring states. Skilled manpower will have to be brought in from other states while local forces are developed. The higher you go on the skill ladder, lower is the availability in Gujarat. This will only change over time as several large businesses bring in skilled resources from elswhere who settle in the state and eventually form a talent pool. There are a large number of people from the state who live and work in Mumbai and other cities, who would be the prime candidates to flock back to the state if they find strong career prospects and a god lifestyle in Gujarat.

It is comfortable to live in Gujarat. You can find a comfortable house at a reasonable price. The infrastructure is good and it does not take hours to get from one place to the other. The city however is still growing up and has to learn a few things, driving being one of them. The traffic police has to learn to manage traffic and enforce rules. There should be more and better schools, colleges and other developmental institutions. Which is again linked to the availaibility of appropriate resources.

As an investor,  corporate or personal, it may be a good thing to put some bets on Gujarat. Positive sentiment works wonders in business and investment. If your starting base is low and the pattern of the growth curve is fairly predictable, the only real unknown is the degree of the gradient. A patient investor, one would think, will surely reap his benefits by investing smartly in Gujarat.

Cheers !