Tuesday, July 31, 2012

The Energy of Live Concert

Vasu Reddy From Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

Mani’s madness concert was hosted by Devi Foods on Saturday 28th July 2012 in Copernicus Center in Chicago.  It was a well over three and half hours, and full of energy from the crowd and the performers.  It has been some time since I have been to a live concert and I have missed a few great performances.

First the organization was very well orchestrated by Devi Foods team (www.devifoods.com).  They had snacks prior to the beginning of the concert and food at half time for all the attendees, and the polish bar was pretty well stocked.  The concert started right as scheduled and the performers did not waste any time with trivial issues and got right to business.

Mani Sharma seems like a happy man with a smile continuously through the program, and the men and women performers seem to like what they are doing.   What makes it wonderful is the crowd immediately enjoying the performance from the get go and continuing to have a great time through the program.

Mani Sharma has orchestrated over fifty live concerts in USA and with each passing one he seems to get better and better with each one.  Right in the middle of the program they had a local girl perform a full dance sequence to a song, and the young girl was perfectly comfortable performing to an audience which I estimate at 600 to 700 people.  There was no personal banter or any political or unnecessary discussions, just music and sound.  The singers both men and women were no classical singers but were great performers.

One thing that touched my tunes is the remix of the golden oldies and they were certainly in my highlights of the evening.  Also, the musical medley was also the high energy performance of the evening.  Many memories of the times in India are always recounted with the performance.  It is hard to tune into the newest songs as they are high on volume and low on lyrics, but the constant exchange of the old and new made for the entertainment to be whole.

The little ones made little fuss and the younger and older lot seems to stay put through the evening, making for a great evening.  With the ticket prices of movies zooming up and up each day, the cost of a live concert seem very small considering the length of the live performance.  Mani Sharma has several more concerts planned in the USA on this trip, and everyone should go and see them live.  It is worth the money and time.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Planning for the Future

Vasu Reddy From Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

The current political situation with the timing and the presidential election of Pranab Mukherjee in India is quite well timed by the ruling party.  One of the most experienced and seasoned politician in the Indian National Congress is being sent to the presidential suite, while his services to the cabinet and current party could have been well served considering the tactical wisdom Mr. Mukherjee has displayed in his illustrious political career.

Is the congress party really gotten smart finally and placing a seasoned politician in the presidential suite by estimating the political uncertainties that they foresee in the near future, and with the next election cycle?

It is a fairly long question that political analysts and political observers have started to discuss.  For a man of Mr. Mukherjee to leave the ministerial position at a time of many crises in the party and nation, there has to be a plan.  The political observers have not yet started analyzing the impact of him leaving the cabinet into the president’s role.  While his election was far from a simple matter of vote, and had some dissent from the opposition, his election was simply a matter of record once his candidature was announced.

With the usual drama of the opposition parties and also some internal bickering between the INC and its allies in the current government, Mr. Mukherjee’s election and elevation to the presidency was just a matter of a few days to complete, and he will be sworn in as the 13th president of India this week.

Is it a seasoned politician who well deserved the appointment to the presidency, and or was it a calculated move by the congress party to place a long devoted congressman as the next president of India is the topic for discussion that might not be answered if there is no political strife in the country until the next election.  If there is a problem with the allies and the current government faces problems in continuing to hold on to power in the center, then the appointment of Mr. Mukherjee is a master stroke.  But, we might never know the value of his appointment until the country really goes into an emergency situation.

Mr. Mukherjee however is probably one of the best suited politicians and statesman India has to represent the largely ceremonial post of the country’s president, and also probably the best person to handle any crisis situation that might arise from the political uncertainty that us expected with so many issues facing the coalition government.

While he is elected as the President which is a very well deserved position for a man of his stature and statesmanship, Mr. Mukherjee is also a very loyal and obedient congressman.  While one will not want the country to go into a political crisis and face another emergency situation, it is also tactically a well planned positioning by the ruling party to have a tactical person in position of power, and while it may not be necessary to worry about an emergency situation, it is good to have someone who can handle the eventuality, and for congress it is one of their old hands in charge.  Mr. Mukherjee definitely has the political and tactical experience to manage the role of the President of India with ease.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

India United?

Vasu Reddy From Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

So many people with so many languages with so many religions and so many traditions, and we can go on and on about so many of this and so many of that, and India would be a prime example of so many of everything.

Adding to the vast diversity of the country, there is political diversity in every part of the country that further fuels the real agenda of each of these parties that completely acts as counterproductive measure for any type of developmental activity.  After the independence in 1947, the primary focus was on planning for the country’s development and catering to the vast diversity of the nation, which was poor from being vandalized by the occupiers for centuries.  Indians never behaved as one nation prior to the independence in 1947, and they don’t seem to behave as one nation after that.

For a while after 1947 the freedom fighters were rewarded the leadership positions as they were the only alternatives and Indian National Congress was the party mostly made up of self made leaders who after the independence turned into the politicians who were the first representatives of the newly independent India.  The glory and aura of being the leaders of the independence movement sustained their positions of power for many elections and perhaps to this day the Indian National Congress banks on the glory of the leaders of Independence and the relationships to the Nehru and Gandhi family.

It is difficult to put value of the past sacrifices of people on obtaining independence for the nation, and the many leaders and their followers and families who sacrificed their lives for the country.  The nation in return continues to pay rich homage to their contributions, and will always do this.  The independence leaders should be paid homage by the nation as long as it remains independent and there is no denying the importance of their contributions to the freedom of the nation.

The decades of independence and multiple elections that have passed through the time have shown as a nation that is so different than the country that fought hard for independence form invaders for centuries.  Every section of the country with their own agenda for their own benefit, and no one seem to think of India as one nation.  The selfless attitude displayed by the independence leaders has disappeared with each cycle of politicians, who are enamored with their own self-benefit and self-indulgence.

National interest is just a thing of the past, and no one seems to really care about what is really national interest.  If anyone speaks of national interest it really makes no real sense as the national interest has been forgotten many elections ago.  Now we only have leaders who are there to rake in as much money as possible and grab as much resources to their own as possible in as short of a time as possible.  Too many political parties with absolutely no public agenda to work with, except the self-interest of the politicians and their own money making agenda.  It is difficult to make any political sense with the current crop of politicians as they really have only one agenda, which is self-interest.

If we are one nation, it does not look like we are striving for the benefit of the nation.  We are different people who really are not even a loose federation that work for a common goal.  We are not even able to represent a single agenda for the nation together, and not even the best interest of the people as a nation.  We are so divided in our agenda; it is even difficult to make any sense of a plan for the nation.  Politically we are in rock ages and don’t even represent the state, party or people, except ones self-interest.

How can we be united?  How do we address the vastness of our requirements?  What is our agenda anyway?  How do we present our self as one nation except in concept?  How do we discourage the looting of the nation by every politician?  What has independence given to us except a great big population with great set of problems?  So many questions and they keep getting larger and larger with every election cycle.

If the nation is only dealing with constantly reoccurring scams and politicians bickering, when will they have time to deal with the very demanding requirements of the nation?  It might take several election cycles and 100% clean government to minimize the impact of what has been happening in the last few years of complete disregard for the national interest.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Elevation of People’s Champions

Vasu Reddy From Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

The time when individuals who were really leaders with people’s agenda were elevated as lights of hope in the society has long gone in the world.  One last remaining and living leader might be Nelson Mandela of South Africa.  The leaders of yesteryear had nothing but human wellbeing in their hearts and mind, and spent all their life working tirelessly to better their brethren.  For most of mankind’s existence we have had great men and women who devoted their entire life for betterment of fellow human beings and advancing the humane aspects of societies.  For centuries every nation on earth has had exemplary leaders who lived their life for societal well being and advancing the human tolerance and intellect.  By simply mentioning a few names, there would be a disservice to the names that will be missed, so the reference to the men and women who strived for others is where we leave it at and remember the peaceful, non-violent and great harmony they advocated for fellow humans.

Every nation on earth is going through its own commotion in varying degrees with unemployment, depression, scams, internal strife, bombings and murder, and every imaginable difficulty that has been invented by human race.  People simply killing each other and those in power trying to retain power at any cost, and scamming or looting whatever they can, and trying to preserve the power they have both politically and financially.  Every major market has some scam that is intertwined into the decision making process, and no one and nothing is being spared from taint.

We perhaps need a telescope to find a few good men and women who will be selfless in leading the society, and a fairly long and powerful machine to find them.  No one is teaching fairness and proper etiquette to the young ones who are constantly being barraged with the news of someone or the other doing something illegal, rather than pointing to a progress of politics, business and nature.  It is difficult to find the examples for the young ones to look up to and think positive in their outlook.  India is not alone in guys scamming and going into judicial remand, the world over the process has become so common that major leaders of the society seem to be going into custody and their lifelong work of generosity and leadership is question because of the actions they have taken during their distinguished careers.

Many people in our own community both in India and in the USA seem to have similar issues of doing something that is not appropriate at the height of their successful careers.  Although the long distinction of social service and professional success somehow get entangled in disturbing detail of impropriators suddenly putting them under the legal scanner, and diminishing their contributions.  We perhaps don’t learn from the issues the Indian community faced with years of scandal both politically and financially.

It is time for the leaders both in positions of power, or those who are aspiring to become leaders should look closely at the last few years of irresponsible behavior of people in positions of power.  Perhaps it is time for countries to look at their pre-independence time where selfless service was the daily theme rather than me only attitude.  It is time for a few good men and women to come forward and champion the good causes of human race.  It may not be a bad idea to look back at each of our nations at least a hundred years or so, and start to appreciate the individuals and their aptitude for fair and decent societies.

Tuesday, July 03, 2012

National Past Time

Vasu Reddy From Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

India is a country where the population is voracious in reading the news papers.  Its guaranteed each page and each line get read every day with the diligence of a student preparing for final exams, and not only read but also get discussed in the normal discussions following the news reading.  We not only love to read but also discuss the news and the scuttlebutt that goes with the news and make up our own assumptions on what is being reported.  Added to the news papers we also have television and now the internet adding the feed to the ever curious public which is always interested in continuing to follow the story, however long and old it might be.

Prior to the television and internet bombarding people with mostly hearsay and gossip as news, the news papers were the only source of fodder for people, and they were read very diligently by the public.  Many folks waited for the paper to arrive, as it was as addictive as the morning coffee.  Not a day would go by without going through the new paper from page one to the last, and then sharing the same with everyone around.

When television become a common medium to dispense stories, people were still interested in news papers, but their daily dose of gossip was now not limited to one news paper being delivered daily but along with the daily paper, the 24/7/365 barrage of journalistic melodrama.  With so many channels and so many agendas, it is difficult to believe what are throwing at us at breakneck speeds, and if you flip the channel the exact opposite of the story will be communicated.  There is 100% affiliation of each channel to a particular political party or individuals with a certain caste or religious affiliation.  The conviction that is shown in delivering gibberish without facts is absolute to the audience that it is catering to, and absolutely no bones are made in just throwing accusations and innuendo, without any facts.

Every political party has their mouthpiece in every language and they constantly badger people with glory of their affiliates while constantly batter the opposition or people who are not of their following.  Incredible stories are relayed as if they are facts, and no one goes back to recant their obvious lack of verification.  The international standards in presentation are the only truth to the journalistic behavior, and everything else is made-up on the fly.  The congressional and bureaucratic agencies selectively leak information to their favorite channels regularly, without identifying themselves, and the channels sensationalize the leaks as facts.

The glory is in who sends the most accusations out into the media as quickly as possible, rather than journalistic reality or verification of facts prior to reporting.  Amazingly the people who are at the receiving end simply brush it off rather than bring the reporting to justice.  Then again what justice can be delivered in a society that is so polarized in the lines of caste and religion, and much of the time influenced with political affiliations.

At the end of each day it is a national past time to devourer the gossips of news and try to filter the reality, and when you go to bed with a overdose of arrests, scams and investigations, along with some spice added with international activity added for the benefit of nationalists, you must have nightmares of the daily life that people go through in a society that can’t find bright spots in the vast wilderness of news reporting.

Cinema and its Magic

Vasu Reddy from Chicago vasureddy@aol.com   While in my college days in India, there was no internet, not much television except single chan...