Vasu Reddy

Family and Heritage

2012-01-30T21:24:00.001-06:00

VasuReddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

Thevalue of extended family and the importance of the support structure that isinbuilt into the Indian family are invaluable. For hundreds of years and generations after generations the traditionsand values are continuously bestowed on the next generation and them respectingthe past and continuing into the future is a part of the Indian psychology.

Withtechnology, internet and a wide array of communications and television andother influences, there is a shift in the way people communicate and keep intouch with each other, but the influence of family continues to survive thetest of time and advancements. People dolive farther away from their families and the families themselves are no longerwith many brothers and sisters in each generation, but they still behold theirlove for who they are and where they come from.

Afterthe mobile phone and great expansion of telephone networks, people speak toeach other often and keep current on what their respective routines. In recent developments such as Skype allowspeople to use their internet existing services to even visibly communicate witheach other, and perhaps get to do more together and also see how theylook. So much technology advancements inlast 20 years from writing letters to call long distance to video and voicechat on demand. I am not sure what elseis there to develop or invent to bridge the distance from families and friends,but it is pretty close to quite invasive today as it can be as living together.

Marriagescan be shared from one part of the world to the other and photos or video clipsare as common as sending a text message. It bring backs the days when people were together and participated inthe family rituals, just that they could be thousands of miles away but notmiss out on the family traditions and practices. Technology has definitely helped in takingthe distances away and allowing the families to become more involved withthings they have been missing due to time and travel restrictions due to thedistances they are away from their families.

Wealso continue to maintain our traditions and heritage that we have left behindin our homes, but not in spirit. Even livingas far as in America, Indians devote a great deal of time and effort inmaintaining their identity as who they are where they come from. Not just by donating or visiting theirrespective local shrines, Indians truly maintain their home life as Indianswhile engaging in their respective professional duties without deviating fromtheir traditions.

Ms.Winfrey visiting India for a week and highlighting the way of Indian life andthe tolerance built into the Indian society due to its family structure. Although her trip is a recent event and sheparticularly highlighted the Indian family structure, there is a lot of pressto our family and our heritage. Thevalue systems in Indian families have never been in question for hundreds ofyears, just been adapting to the changes in people’s migration and technologyin being in communications with each other.

Therespect that continues from generation to generation will continue to fosterthe relationships and respect within the families. The friction within the systems andindividuals is always overshadowed by the unity displayed by the families, andthe communications of today are further cementing the relationships that arelong in distance but not in heart.

WhileMs. Winfrey’s trip to India and her observations highlight the family structureand its heritage within our society, it is something for us to take to heart asthe charm of an Indian lies with the family and traditions that come with eachperson. They will forever be built intoour life and will continue to influence our lives wherever in the world wechoose to live.

Trip to India

2012-01-17T07:36:00.000-06:00

VasuReddy From Chicagovasureddy@aol.com

Everysmall village in India has its own history and significance attached to thelocal area with tales of grandeur and architectural significance. Every place has great fables that are toldeveryday and people talk of the ancestors and their contributions with suchcloseness that exemplifies the dearness that beholds to the people and theirpast. For those visitors who traveled toIndia for centuries, the country continues to provide great interest inculture, heritage and definitely architecture. Although the urbanization of the country and the tremendous populationgrowth continue to encroach into the many historic and archeologicallyimportant part of the country’s vast historically significant findings, thecountry continues to hold wonderful heritage all across the stretch of thenation for people to learn and appreciate the contributions of the generationsof the past.

Thereare fascinating natural and manmade places all across the country which all deservesto be preserved for future generations to come. There is a great deal of learning to derive from the wonderful past ofthe country, which is as enlightening today as it might have been the day whenthey were created. While in India andsince relocating from India, the country holds the historical significance verydear to heart as the fascinating details of each of the places is endearing andbeholds the person visiting each one of them.

Fromthe valleys of Kashmir to the Vivekananda temple in Kanyakumari, From Bombay toCalcutta, or the matter of fact any corner of the country to the other Indiahas a rich history for its people and anyone else who visits. Thoroughly enjoyable are the wild life parksand many hill stations of India which are also all across the country. The fascinating train rides or bus rides thattake you to every part of the country while delivering immense pleasures withlocal cuisine and culture. Not to forgetthe local languages, customs and dialect which combined with localized Englishmakes it fascinating adventure. Thereare many pictorial and literary works that capture the beauty and essence ofIndia in great detail and have been for generations. There is no end to the glory and history thatcan be repeated over and over with equal enthusiasm and fascination as if it isbeing told for the first time.

Everywherein India you would find the incredible mix of religious and traditionalcultures and every possible religion represented and respected. There is no other place on earth that has itspeople of all faiths living in harmony and together while practicing whateverfaith they choose to follow. Everyinstance a new religion or tradition has been introduced into India; it hasonly broadened the country’s tolerance for expression of faith, and integrationof new ideas and opportunities to learn from each other. There is no place on earth that has the vastdiversity of people as India, which fosters every freedom of expression.

Visitevery part of India if you can and enjoy the place for its beauty anddiversity. Take a friend and family withyou and get your young ones introduced to and interested in the glory of our nation’sancestors and its significance to today’s inhabitants. The country is filled with tolerance toeveryone, democratic principles and the endurance it has had for centuries ofinvasions and occupation. Today we haveover a billion people and growing and man verses the limited resources, butstill possessing the great charms of the past coupled with today’s people whocontinue to represent the history of the country.

New Year’s Resolutions

2012-01-08T09:10:00.000-06:00

VasuReddy From Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

Anotheryear ended and a new one started without any real change in what is happeningaround the world. Except a few holidaysduring the Christmas and New Year things remain status quo, and remain sothrough the beginning of the New Year. They seldom seem to change although there is a lot of hype about makingresolutions.

Veryrarely things change during the course of the last week of the year and thebeginning of the new one. It is justimagining that we will abide by the decision to do or not do somethingovernight on the 31^st of December every year, as if we were not ableto do so in the first 364 days, it is unlikely the last calendar day of theyear will somehow influence decision making to alter things we normallydo. It is not being cynical about NewYear resolutions, but the fact of the matter is they better serve if thoughtthrough over the entire year and not as a prelude to a new calendar year.

Inthe past year we continue to see India struggle with the acceptance ofOmbudsman at the national level, and Anna pushing for sweeping anti corruptionlegislation. What started out to be oneof the national challenges somehow fizzled out in the last days of the yearwith the parliament unable to draft and passes a bill that would please theelected officials. The hype and dramathat was prevalent for most of the year dissipated once the electedrepresentatives had to table and vote on the bill in the parliament.

Thetrue chance of anti graft legislation fizzled out with the parliament unable toagree to a draft that is acceptable to the legislators, and never even got intothe discussion on what general public would like to see in the ombudsman. There is plenty of confusion on what the billis and how it should impact the elected officials and bureaucrats together, andwho should be and who should not be included in the bill.

Thehigh drama leading to drafting and tabling the lokpal bill fizzled out quicklyonce it got into the legislative agenda, and Anna got sick and was unable tofurther the cause with umpteen complications in the political and publicopinion. Everyone blamed each other fornot supporting the bill and also blamed each other for either having or nothaving the appropriate language in the version of the bill that the parliamentwas supposed to vote and ratify. Afterall the hoopla and drama nothing got done except everyone blaming the other fornot getting it properly written and passing the bill. It is as if the entire legislature did notwant to have any kind of ombudsman in place and implemented to monitor theabuse of power and graft. It is as ifeveryone seemed to be happy with the way things are and really did not have theheart to support across the board legislation to attack graft.

Afterthe debate and a lot of discussion nothing was accomplished except unanimousconsent to make issues of everything to not support the ombudsman and notdelivering the necessary legislation to attack the graft in the system. So, we start another calendar year and stillhave the same systems that foster looting of national wealth by a few, andcontinued finger pointing on who to blame for making the bill preposterous andunmanageable.

Soanother end of the year and beginning of a new one but it is the same oldsystems and same old story. We willcontinue to live with the system of graft and the hottest news on a daily basison the who’s who of Indian politics going to jail because of some scandal orthe other. We will continue to seemassive amounts of the national wealth being siphoned off to off shorelocations and will never be able to trace the money to bring back into theeconomy that needs the wealth. We willcontinue to show deficit budgets while having the enormous wealth that willdeliver positive budgets, but will never be able to deploy the appropriatefunding as it will continue to be siphoned into to some bank account or theother.

So,what do you want to try and resolve this calendar year that we have already notattempted to in the past. Whateverresolutions we make will make no sense until and unless the entire system willfoster such changes that will allow for decency and common sense. Until such time we are able to acceptappropriate changes to the way of life we live and the surroundings that allowfor positive and progressive thinking, there is absolutely no need forresolutions. The day we adapt positiveand progressive thinking, there will be no need for any resolutions, as thepositive changes will resolve any issues we might have.

Imperfect Democracies

2011-12-26T21:33:00.000-06:00

VasuReddy From Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

Throughout the documented history of mankinddemocratically governed countries have prospered and found ways to reinventthemselves when in danger of extremist governance. Communist rulers, dictators and oppressive regimescome to abrupt or violent end when people in these regimes begin to feel theneed for freedom of actions and speech. However difficult it is to endure a democratic government, it is stillonly as good as the current term and people can vote the elected government outif the governance doesn’t meet the demands of the general public.

History repeatedly points to the success ofdemocracies where people decide on the elected government and its leaders for adefinite period of time and when the elected officials don’t deliver to theirpromises they typically get voted out with a new team of government. Each government in its term typically sticksto its election promises and with proper planning, support from the economy andindustry and good weather and good harvests, typically can deliver to theirelection agenda and promises. It iscyclical to have natural and manmade disasters that greatly impact the deliveryof election promises by any government. Great governance comes with proper planning along with cooperation fromthe general market conditions and also nature’s cooperation, along with stableinternational markets and conditions.

We know that much of the global indicators pointto overall stability with the international communities with trade andgovernance, both internal to each of the countries, but also to the overallglobal communities. Many of the globalrecessions that we can trace account for rogue regimes inflicting undue burdenon the rest of the international communities. Although individual countries might function with proper planning andgovernance, the impact they have because of the other countries’ economies andgovernance is felt irrespective of the individual good governance.

India is going through a phase where it has afairly uncomplicated prime minister who has the reputation of a cleanpolitician, but his entire stable of functionaries and the major departmentscontinue to foster great scams that are unprecedented. At the same time we have a gandhian who ispushing for ombudsman to contain and eliminate the graft in the country. The prime minister has taken steps fordeploying the ombudsman which is a first step towards meeting the demands ofgeneral public not just Anna Hazare or his team. The entire Indian population is in support ofthe ombudsman and wants the politicians to adhere to a non graft system, andwill encourage the elected officials and also bureaucrats to agree toconditions that will lead the society away from graft and punish theindividuals that ask for favors while delivering to their prescribed jobs.

Anna is not the first person to voice againstgraft and will not be the last person to do so. He is instrumental in encouraging the entire country to rally for agraft free society. There is nothingmore commendable than the awareness he has brought to the ombudsman in India,and his proposals are well tabled with the general public and the electedpoliticians.

Now it is time for the public to first startaccepting the various forms of ombudsman so there is a beginning to the end ofgraft as we now know in India. The veryacceptance by the government and the opposition parties that graft exists andit needs to be dealt with immediately is a great step to begin the process ofeliminating the entrenched attitudes of the politicians that they deserve totake money and favors for what they are supposed to be delivering to the peoplewho elected them.

While delivering an all encompassing ombudsman inone session is practically dictatorial in a democracy, it is appropriate tofirst accept that there is a general issue of graft which is growing larger andlarger each day, and the government at all levels is willing to adhere to antigraft regulations is the start of tackling the issues from where it arises.

Be it top down or bottom up, making graft a crimeis absolutely necessary for the well being of the country and its meagerresources. Whatever we have left asnational resources should be best used for the people of the country and notfor the benefit of a select few, and legislation and appropriate regulationagainst graft is essential for good governance and democracy of India. To drive the process at a speed with whichthe elected officials and surrounding bureaucracy is unyielding may not resultin cooperation of the system that needs to move away from demanding andaccepting graft as a normal conduct. Wemust allow for debate and determination among the elected officials and thentheir support structures for ombudsman to be successfully implemented in a democracywhere everyone has their handout for the least amount of work they deliver tothe general public.

While we need a comprehensive ombudsman, it needsto be delivered through a democratic process and should involve the people’sopinions at large and make the elected and appointed officials accountable fortheir actions, while being available for common man to be able to reach out tothe law to take its course when there is a handout to do work that is a rightof every citizen. If it takes multiplerevisions so be it as long as the process of anti graft movement is in fullforce. That is what democracies aresupposed to work with, and have been successful in choosing elected leadersthose who promise to deliver and the office bearers will only get reelected ifthey deliver to their promises.

Where Are The Blockbusters?

2011-12-19T18:59:00.000-06:00

Vasu Reddy From Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

The days when the movies ran for 100 days, 200 days and some as many as 365 days or more in the same theater to packed houses have been long gone. Just about every language films had a long run at the box office and drew crowd’s day in and day out, and people enjoyed the time at the theater despite and glitz or pomp associated with today’s marketing of the movies. There was no television, internet nor aggressive marketing of a movie, except huge cutouts, radio advertisements, wall posters and news paper advertisements.

People flocked to the theaters and had great fun watching the movies four or five shows a day and if the movie was good it continued the house full boards for a long time. Some of the Indian classics ran for a year or more to packed houses, and people saw the same movie again and again and never got tired of the repeat performances. The actors worked on multiple movies at a time, some as many as six or more a year and delivered entertainment movie after movie and year after year to please the senses of the public. When they delivered a dud, people simply avoided the movie, and when the movie was well made it did not need aggressive publicity to keep running to packed houses. The days where people were showering flowers and whistles all through the movie are long gone.

If a movie runs into the second week with same number of theaters or shows it is a definite hit in today’s market. You no longer the see the movie run in a lot of theaters as long as four weeks, let alone 100 days or more. Gone are the days where movies ran 100 days or more in 100 centers. Nothing is generating and keeping the interest of the public at large on any movie as they come and go so quickly, it is difficult to remember what is playing next week.

Given the huge promotional activities actors and movie makers undertake these days, it will be near impossible for them to promote any more than one movie at a time and perhaps a year. They have to plan it, script it, make it promote it and release it and then only work on the next project, unlike the olden days where actors worked on multiple projects at a time, and effortlessly engaged in multiple characters simultaneously, and with great ease and dedication.

These days so much hype and hoopla surround a movie prior to its release and the fate of most of them is disastrous. There is no guarantee that a particular actor in any language is truly capable of delivering a crowd pleasing and money making movie at the same time. Gone are the days where bankable stars had the ability to act in multiple movies at the same time, choose quality scripts, work with hard tasking directors and deliver multiple hits each year. All we have these days is a lot of pomp and circumstance leading to the frosty reception at the theater, and people not responding to any kind of low quality product irrespective of the money invested in the movie.

Granted that we have instant access to critics reviewing and programming our thought process on what to expect from any given movie, it is likely that the general public have been getting smarter and savvier in spending their money on quality of the movie rather than hype. With the influence of the internet and piracy adding to owes of the films, only high quality films will draw continued crowds. People are still looking for entertainment that not only pleases their senses but will draw them repeatedly to the theaters, and when such film arrives it draws the crowds.

Relishing The Diversity

2011-12-13T08:01:00.004-06:00

Many diverse people and their tastes, traditions and their way of life make India a great country which embraces just about every aspect of life and its greatness. Every place has a Panjabi dhba, irani chai (although it is not from Iran), Dosa and idli, Biryani and samosa, pav bhaji, vada pav and a million other delicacies we fondly remember and chase down at every opportunity. It is not my intention to forget mentioning any of the delicacies as we have so many of them, which I may not list in my short essay.All of us Indians and non-Indians devour the fantastic delicacies irrespective of their origin or nature, and enjoy them day in and day out. Some of the foodies at midnight as some of the places cater to the taste buds at midnight feasts. Whatever region of the country we come from the food seems to transcend the regional boundaries, and just taste draws full praises while washing the delicacies down with a lassi or goli soda. Never in your mind has it crossed that the origin of the food going down has any bearing on the regional nature of the delicacy, rather the meeting of taste and culinary satisfaction.The Indian Buffet we so much enjoy is a culmination of the entire Indian nation’s delicacies that satisfy the palate of all Indians, but for some reason the regional differences seem to play a big part in creating major political and philosophical differences in policy making. There is one nation for all Indians, which is India and the internal geographical boundaries are no more than our own post independence histrionics that were created for political purposes along the regional language patterns. Granted that India has many different languages and dialects which essentially draw state lines in most instances, but is not necessarily the criteria for separate states. Neither the Indian population is so divided by religion that they form states based on religion. By and large the Indian states are divided on the language and lingo based divisions rather than religion. There might be economic issues that might form time to time become a bone of contention, and sometimes water is also contentious among the states.Indians by and large like each other and live in harmony despite the many language and traditional intricacies. The wonder of the population so diverse and so large living together and in unison is greatness of its democracy and tolerance. No other population as large and as diverse lives together in such harmony and enjoys the brotherhood of each other. Indians love to be together and enjoy the many diverse activities of the great population with so many variations in language, culture, religion and definitely culinary pleasures. We are one nation with a great fabric stitched together with every vibrant ingredient that god has created and man can think of, and nothing can be better together.

Twelve Trillion or Twelve Zeros

2011-12-08T08:42:00.001-06:00

The current US debt is at 12 trillion dollars and counting up. Each minute the ticker goes up and continues to climb each day. It is mind boggling to even count 12 zeros after a number, let alone 12. Every year we hear of congress and the president working on debt reduction, and lots of debate on what steps to be taken to reduce the deficit. In years and years of piling up the debt, the money set aside for interest on servicing the debt is larger than the budgets of many a countries in the world. Every couple of years there will be a big debate between congress and the president and talk of government shut down, and they always work out ways to compromise and make the deficit bigger and bigger.Not since the days of President Clinton, annual budgets have been revenue positive. Many years have gone by with the annual deficits getting larger and larger, and debt servicing getting to be a bigger and bigger part of the annual budgeting process. Years of multiple wars, natural and manmade disasters, poor planning, unemployment and other unplanned and unprepared activities have haunted the national budgets with excessive spending beyond what is expected from the economy to generate revenues to sustain the spending process.Individuals have been facing increased unemployment and reemployment has been challenging. High wages, benefits and perks are a thing of the past in the US economy nowadays and just holding on to a job has been more than magical. Daily stories of young people moving back with their families are very common, and putting perspective on the economic system is all but impossible.Thinking of the twelve trillion debt and servicing the debt is humanly incomprehensive, and will require a stomach with iron lining. By simply calculating the individual burden of the enormous debt will make one wonder the possibility of someday making interest on debt the largest item on the US budget process. If really planning to eliminate the debt burden is discussed by the congress, it may never have a beginning or ending to the discussion, as there will never be a real debate on how to solve the debt crisis, as no one has an answer to how to address the debt burden now and its ever increasing number.No one is willing to make concessions on their current benefits and will only use the budget deficit as an election ploy to point out that the president and the party in power has done nothing to cut it down or take long term steps to eliminate it. The biggest congressional battles are to increase the debt limits rather than cut them. There are always plans to cut spending but never get implemented as the individual congressmen and congresswoman will always pitch to preserve their own vested interests. The economy is independent of the congressional decision making in pushing prices higher and individuals working hard to make ends meet.There is crisis in European countries and many of them in need of bailouts from the EU or other major global players. Their situation is as bad if not worse than the US budget deficits. There is an enormous amount of impact on the global trade with countries suffering massive budget deficits, and not doing enough business with each other. To help the US economy the other trading partners should be strong and be able to pay their bills, and at this stage every country seems to be struggling to keep their own economies together. Even the Chinese have slowed down in growth to help with trade with USA, although they also run massive trade surpluses with the USA.There is no quick fix to the massive debt burden, but immediate steps are necessary to stop the increased burden on the US balance sheet. More innovation, cost cutting that may not be appealing to the public, tax structure that may help with increasing revenues and across the board spending decreases will help decrease the debt burden, and will start to help reduce the trillions owed and additional trillions in interest payments. It will be a long road to debt free budgets, which may not be possible if continued congressional dilly dallying on compromises that make no fiscal sense.

Political Yatras

2011-11-24T12:15:00.001-06:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

One of the oldest forms of political canvassing is conducting walking tours of the constituencies. Every day we hear politicians undertaking tours of their respective constituencies to promote their agenda, and mostly show up to the people's door step to make sure they are personally representing the agenda being promoted on respective tours. Even before India's Independence Gandhiji made walking very popular form of addressing the issues of people and making them a part of the formal protests he undertook. In those day except radio and new papers there was no 24/7/365 coverage of the events. They were strictly by word of mouth and telegram, and eventually on radio and news papers. They were very effective in involving people to participate and support the causes which were noble and represented the common good of the common man.

The country welcomed the walking tours with open arms and at every step waited to embrace the cause and support the movement. For decades the tours of Indian leaders gamely going from place to place and meeting people has been widely accepted as a fantastic forum for communicating directly with people and interacting with them on localized issues to understand the future agenda of the political parties. It has been a very effective platform for reaching out to various sections of the general population and hearing their concerns and what they would like as the agenda for the party in power.

Walking tours are an opportunity to meet people in person and people will see if you are a real person. There is nothing better than shaking hands and embracing people as personal touch is the best form of communication. Granted that with so many millions of people in each state it will be impossible to shake every hand, but even a few hands in each village or town will help build direct communication with that particular community. Each person you touch or speak to will be the medium to transfer the personal interaction to everyone he or she knows thereby putting a human angle to the interaction. It helps to identify the person and that the existence of the normalcy of an individual you have actually interacted with.

There is little expense involved with walking tours as the locals are willing to host you and your entourage. Food and shelter and refreshments are organized with much care and affection by the locals you visit and very likely they will promote your agenda as well once you visit with them. It is also a great way to meet small groups of people and understand their concerns and listen to their issues. Each home visited becomes a great medium to promote personal relationships and further implanting the personal touch to political canvassing.

Walking for long stretches daily keeps a person fit as it is a great form of daily exercise. Most politicians are disciplined and maintain healthy eating and exercise habits. The benefits of walking are often disregarded with the walking tours, and perhaps should be more promoted for their general health benefits. Walking a mile or two daily will help everyone, and perhaps the politicians adopting the walking tours should promote the benefits of regular walking to everyone.

Walking tours are also one of the best possible ways to communicate with small crowds. Large gatherings and rallies do attract massive crowds but keeps the speakers away from personally reaching out to the people. There is no room for personal interaction with a large crowd, and often the large gatherings are in place to hear you speak of your political promotions, rather than personal attention to local issues. Often politicians promise just about everything that locals wish for and people know that it is unlikely that every idea being put forward to the touring politician will not become reality. But we still ask, and they still promise to deliver and we continue with the cycle every season counts votes.

The political yatras will continue with national and regional politicians for time to come or as long as politics are around. Even with the proliferation of television and internet, it is still good to press hands and walk the local roads to communicate directly with the people. Granted that the media coverage will follow you through the walking tours, and they are kept busy with local idioms and festivities. The politicians remain fit with the exercise, and get to taste the local response for a few moments.

Method To The Madness

2011-11-16T09:59:00.000-06:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

As bad as the reputation of political leaders is today, there is some history to where the current crop of politicians in power have been up to and why many of them are in jail. When Nehru was the leader and followed by Lal Bahadur Shastri for a short stint as the Prime Ministers of India, there was no need for them to raise money for canvassing around the country, and be in front of the media 24/7. The leadership of the country relied on principals of democratic India and only had to express their desire to have India continue to be democratic and remove poverty.

Even when Indira Gandhi became prime minister after the death of Lal Bahadur Shastri, the big slogan was Garibi Hatao and removing poverty was the main slogan that people heard on the radio, prior to the days of the advent of television. There was never scandal related to the politicians and squandering national wealth in form of kickbacks. Only when the television and communications have been introduced into the country the money matters have become a staple of the societal owes in India.

To a large degree when BJP first came into power after the emergency rule declared by Mrs. Gandhi, the money matters were still bare budgeted campaigns and did not foster massive kickbacks. Politicians campaigned hard and visited all their constituents and power packed speeches which were long in rhetoric to huge audiences and promised to deliver to the poor almost in every speech. They were all predictable and spoke the language of the central politicians, and people were divided according to their party lines and voting and campaigns were all predictable.

Only when mobile communications and television were introduced across the country and with multiple licensees in the market big money being demanded and changing hands has become a common practice between the politicians and the business aspirants. Somewhere in the time the technology being introduced and common man having the ability to reach out to each other, the greed factor of politicians in demanding massive kickbacks has come into being a common practice. Instead of using the communications to promote the agendas of the political parties the politicians have been blatantly demanding and receiving massive amounts of money to line their pockets.

Tracing the money is fairly simple, and there is no need to expound on the intricacies of how the money is given, taken and sent to international destinations or into massive public investments. Every industry has been subjected to massive demands for money, and this directly impacts the national wealth system. It drives the price of licenses to levels that are impossible to sustain until the people of subjected to the massive greed factor of the politician in charge of making the decision. Real estate, communications, technology and whatsoever is involved with the markets and infrastructure automatically have to add the value of the kickbacks paid in building the networks and infrastructure and automatically adding to the cost of the end user. Every action taken to give out the country’s resources should have been done with obtaining the maximum value for the citizens of the country, but the reverse is being done while lining the pockets of the politicians. The old political slogan of Garibi Hatao would have been absolutely true if the resources were sold at market prices and the money used to meet the needs of the common man. India would not only be the largest democracy on earth, but also the wealthiest democracy on earth. Jai Hind.

Story Telling At Its Best

2011-11-05T21:55:00.000-05:00

CBS 60 Minutes commentator Andy Rooney died at the age of 92 on November 5, 2011. He has been on radio and television all of his life and just weeks ago did his commentary on 60 minutes. Many years I watched 60 minutes every Sunday evening and special focus to Andy Rooney’s segment at the end of the hour. He only spoke for a minute or two and picked on everyday subjects to comment or critique on, and always was to the point and even with humor. The humor was dry and to the point but ha always made it look like it is simple and true and to the point.

When I first start watching 60 minutes, I was interested in the human interest of the stories and mainly the interviews with the famous figures in the world. Newsmakers, presidents, prime ministers, business heads, dictators, and men and women who influenced the world in some way or the other, sometimes good and sometimes not so good. Many segments covered Africa and Middle East and Asia, and fascinating detail on the subjects and lands in every segment made you wait until next week for more. During winter season 60 minutes followed Sunday afternoon football, and was just after the coffee time to continue watching television Sunday afternoons after football. I still watch 60 minutes on Sundays when I can and still believe the storytelling is as compelling as it was when I first started watching the show years ago.

While the broadcast was compelling view all the time, Andy Rooney’s end piece of each segment was the most charming story of the broadcast. I mean no disrespect to the rest of the crew who capture great stories and tell them quite well but ending with Andy Rooney’s commentary was the icing on the cake for each of the 60 minutes. He told the story quite well and quite simply, and reached out to the sensibilities of all the viewers.

When Andy Rooney announced his retirement a few weeks ago, I was not surprised as he would have known when to stop broadcasting his weekly commentary. There was no replacement for the segment and now that the gentleman has passed away, there will be no other Andy Rooney to shed perspective on common man’s issues every Sunday. No one else will be able to shed such an insightful light on issues as Andy Rooney did every week. Rest in peace Mr. Rooney, and god bless you.

Amitabh Bachchan

2011-11-02T11:04:00.008-05:00

Amitabh Bachchan without a doubt is an actor and individual is a true superstar. He is always well mannered, unabated by the personality and fame and every word well chosen in speech and in writing. He has taken to the web lately and frequently shares his daily life with his millions of fans across the world. His taking the time to update his millions of fans on a regular basis is very commendable and brings him closer to his followers and fans. Every update is as elegant and well versed as all things he does. Just recently the Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray wrote in his column that Amitabh should be awarded the Bharath Ratna, which is the highest civilian award by the Indian government. No small recommendation from the chief of Shiv Sena, which can be echoed by millions of others across India on the well deserved commendation to the gentleman and superstar.

For decades his movies provided great action, great dialogues and great performances by all actors who worked along with Mr. Bachchan. Such was his screen persona, all his movies were great entertainers with style and substance along with great screen play and dialogues and song and dance included. Its likely that I may not mention every great movie of his, but Anand, Zangeer, Deewar, Sholay, Trisul, Mukkadar ka Sikandar, Sisila, Majboor, Chupke Chupke, Amar Akbar Anthony, Kabhi Kabhi, Lawaris, Don, Coolie, Dostana, Sharabi, Hum, Kudha Gawa, Cheeni Kum, Mohabatten and many more that have and will continue to enthrall the audiences across the decades of work he has done, and continue to do on the silver screen. His foray into television with Kaun Banega Crorepati is also legendary and continues to draw millions to see him in whatever medium he is willing to take on.

His ability to act out any character is well documented and requires no further dialogue that has not been already delivered. His tone and sometimes song has been enthralling audiences for decades and he seem to reinvent him self every single time he needed to present a different phase of his career and never running out of newness and fresh performances. From a tall and lanky young man to a dignified gentleman to a great looking 69, Amitji has continues to keep us glued to the big and small screen, all the while being a great dad and husband.

When I read about Mr. Thackeray voicing his opinion about Amitji should receive the Bharth Ratna, I felt what better weekly opinion piece that writing about my favorite Indian actor of all time. I still remember my younger brother, many of my friends and myself wearing big bell bottom pants with short shirts and long hair and trying to look cool with the styles of Amitji in those days. Everyone was cool, and looked cool with nice and dapper clothes modeled after the big man. Those were the days of abandon and carelessness outside of school or college trying to imitate the superstar. He still is very stylish and dapper and he is still and icon for today's generation. With his own inimitable style he carries an aura of a great personality with ease and dignity. He deserves the highest civilian award from the Indian government and any other citation or award that can be awarded to any achiever of his stature.

I hope Amtji will continue to entertain us for a long time to come, and he never retires. His body of work both on screen and off will always be in the highest form of entertainment for generations to come as it has been for last several decades. Here is wishing him well and a long and successful life and career moving forward.

Unexpected Benefits from 3 G Delay

2010-02-01T19:15:00.000-06:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

The continued delay in auctioning 3 G spectrum has not slowed the mobile subscriber growth in India. The month to month growth rates are amazingly stable and remain robust. By observing the debates on policy, planning, finance, legal and general issues of 3 G licenses, and in an environment that finds ways to delay any policy decisions, it is quite likely there will be a further delay in the auctions. We have newer reason today than we had a few weeks ago, or for last several months and years.

Subscriber growth rates being constant simply shows that the existing operators with the already allocated spectrum have enough capacity to maintain the robust growth, and the delay in 3 G is not causing any reduction in loading new mobile subscribers. It’s quite a valid observation as to the value of the existing networks having the ability to continue with the growth in user base.

By assuming that at least 2 new entrants will come into the foray with 3 G licenses, the already operating dozen or so networks in each region will only get more competition for the same subscribers. The delays pretty much limit the growth of operators in the short run, and might also allow for some consolidation in the market place. There is no doubt that we don’t need a dozen operators in each market. Consolidation will further improve coverage, network quality along with better usage of spectrum. All of them benefits to the customer, DOT and also the markets.

MTNL and BSNL have had 3 G airwaves for about a year now, and have not made any headway in loading up 3 G subscribers. Accept making noises of 3 G services both these operators have not benefitted by having the spectrum. Its time to look at why MTNL and BSNL are not attracting 3 G customers, if there is such a huge demand for the services? While the policy and other issues are being sorted out by the powers in Delhi, the failure to lure 3 G customers by MTNL and BSNL can be understood to develop the appropriate business and engineering plans to develop the 3 G customer acceptance. There is a perhaps simple reason such as services, value addition, cost, handsets, coverage, speed and the entire regular attributes that a particular customer expects to purchase the service, and may be at this time they do not exist in the Indian market, or the customer simply is not ready to upgrade to the next generation mobile services.

MTNL and BSNL can use the time left as 3 G monopolies to shore up their advantages to develop best practices and solutions to attract customers, and with the already established network and perhaps another year of monopoly in the 3 G arena, they can makeup for the losses in the 2 G and fixed line networks. The government should allow them to act quickly and decisively with 3 G planning and execution (unlike the decision making with 2 G sourcing which is at the speed of a snail) to capture the first in market advantages that certainly exist in the Indian mobile market.

MTNL and BSNL also will not have to pay the 3 G spectrum fees until such time the government. This certainly helps in keeping the cash with them and utilizing the resources for another year or so. This helps them with the balance sheet and also leverage for some more time.

The delays are unwarranted and purely because of poor planning, and too much tinkering by the policy makers. As of now, the proposed auctions have so many difficulties and issues, it may be best to just scrap the whole exercise and start fresh. The unexpected (perceived) benefits do not support the delay in 3 G auctions and launching these services. Albeit it illogical not to take immediate action on 3 G (while the rest of the developed markets might be looking at 4 G and beyond), there is some truth to the benefits of the delays to the existing networks, which have yet to recover costs of deployment.

Finding Common Ground

2010-01-28T18:57:00.001-06:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

Telugu people have more than just their language as common ground. We are for centuries have had our language, heritage, literature, culture, traditions, food, education, people and progress together, while we shared the misery, poverty, backwardness, poor politics and wasted opportunities together, while the past few years have shown progress of the cities and certain aspects of the population in isolation.

The last two months have derailed probably a couple of decades of progress in employment, education and progressive investment climate. No one benefits in an environment where the Universities are used for political activism, and shutdowns are called on by the most insignificant politicians. People have to live with the fear of being persecuted for just going to work or school and normal citizens will not risk it.

The state had tremendous respect in the central government just a few months ago with a chief minister who did things his own way, and delivered every potential populist promise to the people of the state. With the death of YSR there is no leader that can rein in the warring political factions even within the same political parties.

People of the state have lost billions in opportunities, and the current crop of students will lose a year of their life to this unmanageable crisis to the state. It might be fun to miss school for a few days and skip exams this semester, but it can never be made up in a life time. Lost time and opportunity for every student will never be returned. Parents and families toil very hard to pay for the kids to go to schools and colleges will be burdened to do this again and have to pay twice for the same. Outside of the loss of time and money, the students are exposed to the violence that comes with the political instability which will stay with them for a life time. No one wins, and we are given a common ground for all to lose, and just lose with this agitation.

Unfortunately it is too late to save the kids or educational institutions. We have them pawned by politicians who have chosen them as sacrificial lambs in a political agitation. There is no agenda for any regional aspirations and there will never be one as the development of entire country will simply destroy the traditional political equations. When people are self sufficient and law abiding, politics will find common ground to cater to the public to stay in power, but we must first get to that stage where the kids will be throwing away a year of their education and parents helpless in doing anything to stop it.

Spectrum Sharing

2010-01-03T09:32:00.001-06:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

Another year and another month are up on us, and the growth of Indian telecom users continues unabated. The delays with 3 G licensing continue, as they continue to get postponed. The political issues between telecommunications and armed forces continue and many meetings have been organized without any definitive outcome. The CDMA and GSM operators continue to have their differences and no end in sight for a unified telecom forum. MTNL and BSNL are enjoying the 3 G spectrum but have nothing to show for the usage, as no user base to show for the expensive and limited resource granted to them, and they continue to lose market share to private operators. On the global front countries are launching 4 G networks, while India grapples with 2 G technology issues and 3 G auctions, which have been forthcoming for at least 3 years.

The good news about the whole charade is that the users don’t seem to care about the politics of spectrum and technology. They continue to grow in numbers and benefit from the ability to communicate. Perhaps the shareholders of the networks may have had some settling down in the returns, while the price per minute is continuing to be pleasantly appealing to the users.

The quality of service remains good with the networks and normal issues of crowding in the major markets is not yet an inhibitor to users. With 100% plus penetration in some major markets the services are stable with minimal disruptions to users.

There are a dozen or so operators in each circle and even if we don’t add new operators, there will no limiting the services offerings. Perhaps it is time for some radical thinking to manage the available spectrum, while allowing industry consolidation and new investments.

India has the engineering abilities to be ingenious in maximizing the utility of the available spectrum, while catering to the needs of mobile subscribers. For instance two scenarios can be contemplated as the continued delay in 3 G will only make the networks obsolete before they are launched.

(There is absolutely no scientific or engineering proof of what is being suggested, but it is not incomprehensive to imagine the scenarios for India)

Firstly, BSNL and MTNL already have the 3 G spectrum nationwide, and quickly construct the network. They can lease per user based space to all network to have their own registered 3 G subscribers to have the utility of a nationwide network, and come-up with a revenue sharing scheme similar to paying roaming costs to each other. All the operators can immediately start selling the services and retain their own user base, while offering the high speed wireless services. With the poor customer relationship effects of BSNL and MTNL, this may be a hard sell but if the pressure of private networks is added to the management of government controlled networks, there is bound to be some improvement in the areas of customer service. In reality the government networks are built quiet well and have good quality of service. This will immediately start to provide much needed 3 G services to private network operators, while eliminating the entry cost of the spectrum, and also eliminates the uncertainty of winning a block of spectrum.

Secondly, if there is resistance to BSNL and MTNL names, then scrap all the existing 3 G licenses and create one pan India network co-owned by all players who are interested in being a part of the consortium. Essentially the government creates a block of spectrum that is frozen (for example 50 MHZ total to all 3 G services) and all interested companies can pay an initial fee and join the consortium. Each operator identifies their own subscribers and the services are common to all users. In India this can be a socialistic network run by a consortium of people and a majority of the shares can be held by the market and disallow a single person or family to control the network. Limiting the maximum ownership to 5% to any one party can bring some sensibility to decision making and the government itself can be a stakeholder by providing spectrum for its share of the 5% stake. All players can provide towers and have technology decision made by majority. It will not be difficult o organize in a country that is run by coalition governments, but will be a novel concept of public-private enterprise with a common network while different networks owning their own subscribers in 3 G space. Long behold if this works, there will be uniform pricing and little room for subscriber churn in 3 G as there will be no reason to move to another network because of quality of service or service offerings.

Revenues to DOT and to the operators are still generated by the current mechanism, and there will be no impact on alternative spectrum sharing scenarios. It can be a huge 30 MHZ shared network in either scenario, which will be able to meet the demands of both the users and operators, and will have enough capacity to deliver the promise of high speed wireless.

Trying something radical and out of the box will solve many issues for Indian telecom market. The Indian market has the size and strength to have manufacturers devise efficiencies to deliver better services to its users. As outrageous as it sounds there is some merit to a massive shared network with all operators as stakeholders and all users are beneficiaries.

Leadership Vacuum

2010-01-01T12:37:00.000-06:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

Amazingly the state that contributed the most number of MPs to UPA government in 2009 and bringing Congress to power in the center for the second consecutive term seems to get no respect to dealing with the crisis situation with separation activity and destruction of wealth.

The death of YSR last year seem to have brought terrible lack of leadership, experience and intelligence to handle the complex state of affairs Andhra Pradesh seem to have fallen into today. With in weeks of the death of the leader of the state, the affairs seem to out of control and illogical for a common man to appreciate of understand why the state has fallen into such terrible predicament.

The current chaos is not a upraising in general public which was disenchanted with the administration or general living conditions. The state was seemingly doing quite well until Dr. Reddy’s untimely death, and all of a sudden fall into the crisis of every possible situation with natural disasters, political ineptitude, financial difficulties, unresponsive central administration and generally leaderless situation. A bunch of failed politicians and opportunistic voicing of opinions and disastrous reading of the state crisis by the central administration further complicated the December 2009 for the people of Andhra Pradesh.

Not a single policy or political statement has come out to handle the current crisis which has destabilized the state, curtailed the educational process, inhibiting the development process, created political inaction. All we hear is crappy language from people who really had no political stature prior to Dr. Reddy’s death. All of a sudden people are suffering the idiosyncrasies of every elected politician, who all of a sudden seem to have found a voice to blabber utterly idiotic words aimed at each other and nothing to stop the destruction of property in the State. No politician had died and they have successfully faked fast unto death schemes.

The central government has no handle on the sentiments of the people, and continues to dilly dally about the pronouncements of the politicians. If the politicians don’t represent the interest of the people in the assembly and work to improve the possibility of really representing the needs of the electorate, they should dissolve the entire assembly and appropriate measures should be taken to first install representatives who will stop personal abuse and present people’s issues.

There have been many issues that have been many divisions of states, and sometimes combining of territories in India. There is no reason for Telugu people to suffer such inept political process. Our people should reject the violence and admonish the people who are instigating the destruction. People should stop listening to illogical statements and pronouncements from failed politicians. The public should live normal life and stop miscreants from destroying property, and continued inconveniencing of life by the political parties.

Telugu people living across the world have the abilities, resources and wisdom to resolve their issues peacefully. We must strive to choose proper representatives that will bring the current chaos to a halt and successful process of meeting all Telugu peoples needs; both short and long term. We should reject the politics of destruction of our systems and life.

YSR may have had his own style of functioning, but certainly kept all political parties and people to work with each other, while engaging the central government to listen to the state’s issues. We should seek leadership, or provide leadership to enhance the value systems of Telugu people, and not be held hostage to the failed politician’s survival tactics.

Look for true solutions to erase the poverty, improve basic infrastructure, commonsense, education, jobs and right set of political infrastructure. When we do the right things to improve our state, division or together, will be a successful process.

Self Destruction

2009-12-06T17:37:00.000-06:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

The value of our common language and statehood seem to go into hibernation when politicians hack into the fabric of Andhra Pradesh in the name of individual district or regional rights. Andhra Pradesh has fostered a well positioned growth over the last 15 years or so, and continues to develop into one of the foremost investment destinations in India.

The last 4 elected governments 2 with YSR, and 2 before that with CBN, did quite well for the City of Hyderabad first, and then with YSR for the state. The untimely death of YSR, has really brought out the worst in the political parties, and in just a couple of months, the state has been thrown into chaos.

There is no easy solution to dividing the state, and its people. For decades they are one fabric. Albeit identified as 3 major regions in the state, they are one people and one language, bonded together with culture, tradition, customs, marriage, settlements and work, along with the capital city.

There is no reason for destruction of property; both public and private, and killings. No politician has died in this politically driven idea of separation. Each of the three regions of the state has their own gripes, and justification for agitation to bring more state and central resources.

A student destroying public and private property is simply no way to gain self sustaining states. The drama of politicians pretending to fast on to death is simply a drama, and not reality. The same politician had many years to demonstrate the will to negotiate the demands of the region, but failed with each successive year, and has minimal electorate support before resorting to a fast unto death, which did not last for 2 days, while enticing the public to start self molestation and destruction. There is absolutely no reason to support the movement as a political movement, but if real can be a student led process to demonstrate and establish credibility for separation of regions of the state, with proper commercial and regulated division, without discounting all the realities of separation.

We are poor and middle-class with a sprinkling of rich people in the state and country, and with all politicians cunning and scheming to be in power, and in press and make hay. In the democratic India we should respect the sensitivity of our fellow citizens and not politicians. By destroying property of our own we simply pave way for poorer infrastructure, and not a better state, be it a divided or together Andhra Pradesh.

Children, women, students, workers and everyone lost valuable resources for the past few days while there is shutdown and destruction. With each day lost in school no student will benefit, and with each day lost at work the state and its people lose. Go back to school and work, and don’t destroy the infrastructure and other people’s property. If there is legitimate demand for separation, elect politicians that will peacefully and purposefully achieve the separation, and all with keeping the best interest of the people at heart, and not politics.

Oblivious To Scandal

2009-11-07T14:44:00.000-06:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

You don’t need much to make a mess out of a good thing. As the old saying goes one bad apple spoils the whole bushel. The glory of surpassing the 500 million connections was superseded by the allegations of the largest telecom scam that ever suspected in the telecom world. While the delays in 3 G spectrum negotiations continue between the military and DOT, a new date has been announced along with a new fee structure.

The telecom minister seems unperturbed with alleged scam that totals a loss of 20,000 to 60,000 to Indian coffers. When the CBI raided the telecom ministry and DOT, followed by a number of locations across the country, there was no surprise element to the public. For several years there was suspicion of wrongdoing, specially supported by the new licensees generating exorbitant valuations, and actually getting paid for it from foreign telecom companies. These multiples (in billions of dollars) were generated without a network or subscribers. This doesn’t happen often with any industry especially with telecom. The opportunity for multiple transactions in billions of profits to the license holders was simply afforded because of the way the licenses were awarded, and at the cost at which they were purchased. If you value the license today, the losses (already extraordinary) will be humongous. Even the foreign telecoms that paid a huge premium (just for the license, without the network or customers) have already gained in value and should be quite happy with the price they paid for purchasing stakes into the licenses awarded at dirt cheap prices. They won’t be at risk of losing the licenses as they are not a party to the alleged scandal as they paid a premium on a cheap license. If properly valued much of these companies might never have been in a position to participate, and if they did they would have paid full price for what they purchased.

Arbitrary decision my the minister to change the dates for accepting the applications, processing them at will with no regard to the work that went into applying for the license, and then getting thrown out without cause was further fuel to suspicion of scandal. It is highly unlikely that any other country would have even envisioned such decision making.

Hording of spectrum by the early leaders might have prompted them to remain quiet when the spectrum was given away at prices that were set at least 6 years ago. You don’t hear any word of objection from the telecom operators now, or when the licenses were given away at cheap prices. The operators, manufacturers, support infrastructure, business and industry leaders and everyone else who was involved with the telecom industry did not protest this, except the few who were arbitrarily rejected with a cut off date that was changed to meet the convenience of the minister, or his department and no reasons for such decision.

The government continues to support the telecom minister and will continue to do so due to political issues that will crop up if they take a stance against him. The very fact that he is still in his job is extraordinary. In such sensitive position dealing with global telecom issues, and with CBI raiding his offices should have prompted him to get out. But it seems he and the sitting government is oblivious to scandal and don’t seem to care about at least showing serious intent to get to the bottom of this.

The irony is that the minister was reappointed after new elections, under a cloud of suspicion. The center could have acted wisely to appoint someone else when the cabinet was being reshuffled and reappointed. There could have been saving grace if there was a probe after the minister was no longer in charge of telecom, and the sleuths could have had an easier time with access to information on the scandal.

Such extra ordinary money can not just disappear and the very fact that CBI raided and garnered enough information to continue the investigation lends credence to the allegations. Telecom minister being a member of the sitting government and claiming to have followed the law and guidelines set for awarding the license and the senior leaders supporting his innocence to any irregularities that have scandalized his department while continuing CBI probe lends one to believe things are not kosher with what was suspicious activity to begin with.

There is a problem with what happened and perhaps the public will never realize the magnitude of the losses to the center. Each of the spectrum related sale opportunity is a blessing to any government, and India squandered one of the greatest assets it had with this particular opportunity. While the general public suffers and government borrows money to support programs, such a large amount money disappearing is truly scandalous. Even if no one benefitted personally, this is a case and point that should never happen, and allowing it to happen is a disgrace. And now that CBI is investigating a minister and his department while they are the ruling government, and the minister and the government claiming innocence is a further disgrace to commonsense. Be it with intent or without, such national loss should be accounted for with appropriate action and should be made sure that it never happens.

November 7th 2009
Vasu Reddy
President
Optus Technologies, Inc.

Planning For Global Expansion

2009-10-18T09:49:00.000-05:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

Three times it happened with the same company, twice by Bharti and once by Reliance Communications. Trying to merge with MTN of South Africa in the last year by the biggest telecom companies in India came up with nothing. It is interesting to note Bharti did this twice, despite their fantastic organizational setup. If we do acknowledge that Reliance failing to close the MTN tie-up has something to do with the big brother syndrome, it is surprising that Bharti will do it twice with the same result.

There could be a slew of reasons for the failure in negotiations, including respective laws, regulations, unions, shareholder issues, accounting, markets, and whatever else imaginable. But trying to do it 3 times in a year is a bit too much. MTN offers a nice relationship to the Indian telecoms with its own emerging markets to add to India’s own aggressive expansion of its mobile markets. But it really is not the only available opportunity.

When the negotiations fail the blame goes to the local laws of the negotiating countries. It is appalling to believe that the management teams ignored these laws when they contemplate the mergers. If they ignored the complexity of laws prior to beginning negotiations, the management teams simply failed to appreciate the real issue of compliance.

India’s own policies have never been too inviting and still have a lot to be desired by the global markets. But, so is every other market. Each country has its own set of complications that come with the inviting nature of the market. Seldom have the international market’s desire to expand and the individual country’s laws matched, rather the business development teams make the path to expansion with understanding, persistence and effort. Simply desiring to patch vast networks without clear guidance from the possibility will be Alexandrian in effort and individual companies may not have the sustainability to successfully expand their networks.

Just focus on emerging markets is not a visionary option. Public companies want to deliver shareholder value, and not just numbers. Western markets and already saturated markets deliver much higher yield then emerging markets. The expansion models to simply focus on emerging markets also comes with complexity of local laws, market inhibitions and currency and other economic conditions that are not commonplace with the western markets. The rules of engagement are published and no hidden agendas crop-up at the last minute to derail the negotiations. When the rest of the global telecoms are participating in India, the Indian telecoms should make attempts at the same. Why not go after stakes in ATT or BT. Is it the difficulty of negotiating with these companies or it is the complexity of upgrading the vision to a global vision from an emerging markets vision?

Standing up to what is right for the shareholders is the fundamental management principle. It is sort of convoluted in Indian companies as Individuals have fairly large stakes to drive the rest of the shareholders to accept their individual philosophies, rather then what is good for the shareholders. It is not to question the leadership qualities and organizational abilities of these individual leaders. The big Indian telecoms are fostered within the Indian regulations and politics, and all of them have been successful within the boundaries of India. For these companies to become global, they must learn the path of their partners who have successfully acquired stakes in Indian Telecom companies, and manage them well. If the Indian Telecoms are to become global, they need to acquire the skills of their partners who successfully operate in India, and start to acquire stakes in their respective markets and manage them with success.

One of the most interesting aspects of the failure to merge MTN with the Indian Telecom companies is that there is no perspective on why it failed. Typically in such a failure even once would have a complete analysis published for the world to learn on what exactly went wrong, and for the next time aspirants to be cognizant of what not to do. When we fail three times, and still don’t have a detailed analysis of what went wrong, this is probably the forbidden zone. The analysts who cover Bharti, Reliance and MTN should publish detailed analysis of why these mergers never materialized. The shareholders and global telecom markets deserve a detailed analysis on these misconstrued mergers.

It will be wonderful to see the Indian telecoms do what ATT, BT, Singapore Telecom, Vodaphone, Verizon and other global players do. Go after all markets that offer shareholder value along with expansion. There is no reason to just focus on emerging markets, rather focus on growth and expansion. One great strength India has its own NRI population, global reliance on its BPO and maintenance services and India’s software and support services. Going after the big fish is as opportunistic as just chasing emerging markets. It will be nice to see the Indians acquire stakes in ATT or BT.

October 18th 2009
Vasu Reddy
President
Optus Technologies, Inc.

3 G Opportunity

2009-09-20T09:45:00.000-05:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

BSNL and MTNL have a great opportunity on hand with 3 G network rollout. Because of their government backing and ownership they have natural advantages that can be immediately translated into huge payoff for both the companies themselves and the government of India.

Although the license fees that can be expected by the government can be in several billions for 3 G auctions, there is an immediate opportunity for both the government to realize the market based opportunity with 3 G networks. A little bit of imagination and a little bit of planning can bring enormous returns along with larger customer base with very high value customers to these networks.

The government owned networks have huge cash reserves and the government itself as the checkbook for never worrying about the network deployment. The is enough capital available for these network to fully rollout the 3 G network and make the highest value services available immediately. When money is not a concern, there is no reason to delay the deployment, and we can list out the multiple benefits that will come with planned 3 G rollout for MTNL and BSNL.

For various reasons the government has delayed auctions 3 G auctions for a number of years, and the past weeks news story claims that the military that holds the spectrum has objections to release the spectrum, which will invariably delay the plan for actually moving forward with the auctions. BSNL and MTNL already with spectrum on hand can move rapidly to deploy the network and the services. They are at least a year or more ahead of the other players with 3 G strategies and specially the available capital makes it a natural monopoly for some time to come.

The market competiveness comes with is deploying network and make services available to the demanding customers. This is a special case of natural monopoly for BSNL and MTNL, as to the delay in the auction is not monopoly by policy but by circumstance. Even a 2 year advantage is a crucial advantage that can be fully exploited to fullest advantage to these two companies.

Government can extend multiple options to customers to entice them to begin using BSNL and MTNL. Imagine the subscribers that are government employees both state and local, politicians that can make a statement by using government owned networks, contractors and other suppliers to both government and the networks themselves, and everyone that can be enticed with great service and uncluttered network.

Some of the largest networks in USA are experiencing quality issues because of the network rollout has been much slower then customer acceptance of the service. Global giants such as ATT have been learning the hard way that having an accepting customer is not good enough when the network will not support the technology that is sold to the customer, and the advances in user needs can only be met with network deployment. Network expansion or upgrades is not an issue for the government owned networks, and they can demonstrate this today. They don’t have the quality issues that the private carriers in India already have (without 3 G) and stressing the quality aspect is not necessary to demonstrate as customers will know this instantly. With number portability the unhappy customers from other networks can migrate without much fuss, and cost. The high value customers are clustered in the metros and for them to switch services or adapt to 3 G is simply a matter of the service being available. If you add the incentives of quality, support, availability and immediate access, then BSNL and MTNL can turn these lethargic and bureaucratic businesses into global leaders.

There is no problem of customer readiness with the Indian Telecom market. It is the greatest opportunity despite a 40% penetration. The high end usage that comes with 3 G networks has a pent-up demand and when introduced to market will satisfy the customers in waiting.

BSNL and MTNL have always had good quality networks compared to the congested private networks. The congestion is a function of the growth and acceptance of the mobile services, and the private networks have not been able to cope with the great demand for expansion. Private networks have to meet the demands of the shareholders along with the network expansion needs and the government owned networks have no such compulsion. This is a time for BSNL and MTNL by changing their existing market perception of not too keen on providing customer service to great customer service organizations by treating a customer as customer, along with providing state of the art services.

The opportunity in telecom market expansion and market valuation is enormous. By taking advantage of the natural monopoly that has been afforded to BSNL and MTNL, along with a little bit of planning will bring huge rewards to government of India, while providing to the immediate needs of the customer. Its funny how is made out of simple tweet comments by a minister of state, but imagine if the same political machine puts it mind to taking advantage of the available market conditions to bring great benefits to the coffers of the government without major policy or political mechanics. The finance ministry can be smiling all the way to the bank for many years to come.

September 20th 2009
Vasu Reddy
President
Optus Technologies, Inc.

The Importance of Expansion

2009-08-16T16:53:00.000-05:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

The last couple of years have been quite speculative for the Indian Telecommunications companies going global. Special references can be made to South Africa’s MTN and Bharti and Reliance trying to merge and create a top 5 global telecom company. The current due diligence and negotiations between Bharti and MTN are their second round in 2 years and still continuing, while Reliance’s tryst with MTN last year ended partially because Reliance’s family matters made it a spectacle in the press, and might have derailed the proposed merger.

India and its regulators and the government should encourage and become conducive to expansion of Indian telecoms into the global networks. Helping with changes with favorable laws and financial processes will bring the expansion plans to reality quickly, and lead to continued growth in telephone density.

Global acquisitions will bring global market understanding into the already robust growth in India’s own internal growth. Every country adapts to its own needs and looks at becoming a market leader in its own space. When you combine two or more market leaders the osmosis of better practices will flow within the merged entities and help in further understanding the market dynamics, and providing benchmarks for learning from each other’s successes.

Management expertise is a definite benefit from any major global merger. It might create tensions in the board room and at the CEO level, but certainly could bring multiple country expertise to middle level management and operations. Cultural and traditional intolerances and biases disappear when teams are merged together and work together.

India already receives about 5 times incoming calls compared to outgoing calls from the country. A mega merger with any international telecom will create an opportunity for greater share of the international long distance revenues with both incoming and outgoing traffic. The operators can start to benefit from both ends of the origination and termination traffic, and also save on costs they might be potentially paying to hand-off calls to others. Another added benefit could be any preferential agreements both the merging partners might have in place can come in handy for the merged network.

India has one of the lowest average revenue per user, and it will continue to be so due to the economic structure of the country. Most nations have a much higher ARPU, and any merger will immediately inflate the overall networks ARPU. A combination of additional revenue opportunities with roaming within the merged network, international long distance, cost savings with the network management and maintenance, services, product purchases, new product introduction and a slew of day to day activities, will certainly enhance the value for shareholders. Economic expansion into off-shoot of telecommunications with call centers, bandwidth management, tower construction and management, accounting and engineering are all aspects of the business that will benefit from huge mergers.

Indian currency today is much easier to convert to other currencies and back compared to previous decades but still is not a freely convertible currency. When we have a vast network of phone companies together and operating in multiple countries, trade and other practices will allow for better currency moderation, and brining the Indian Rupee to a fully convertible status. By no means a single telecom merger with another may not transpire the currency into a convertible status, but certainly will help. It is not just the moment of traffic, combining the network but also combines multiple trade opportunities along with the merger of networks, which in itself helps to further Indian economy into global center stage.

India itself has allowed massive investments into its telecom space from global players and investors and has benefitted greatly with the influx of expertise. Telecom India is one of the three largest providers of employment, taxes and economic output. Time is now for our telecom biggies to acquire or merge with other majors in the world to manage global networks, and start to behave like global managers.

Its one world we live in and it can be integrated with large expansion and acquisitions models and serve greater good than just a profit motive of the shareholders of two or more companies. Cultural, racial and economic barriers can be overcome by properly implemented mega mergers. The global carriers such as Vodaphone and Hutchison have successfully managed global networks while creating great wealth for its shareholders. Aspiring that the Indian telecom companies will achieve such success along with human relationships is not asking too much, rather a simple next step.

August 15th 2009
Vasu Reddy
President
Optus Technologies, Inc.

Familiarity Breeds Actors

2009-07-21T12:03:00.002-05:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

In the almost eighty year history of cinema we have cultivated the habit of watching performances from familiar names, especially form male actors. The great names of Akkineni and Nandamuri and Krishna, Shobhan Babu were weekly providers of melodrama and happiness to millions of fans. When these veterans stopped (except Krishna) Chiranjeevi and others entered entertainment scene and have continued to supply us with entertainment. Now we have a host of actors who come into our screens due to their lineage. Cinema continues to be a major pastime for our people even in this age of internet and television, and multiple other newly acquired entertainment venues.

The control of production and distribution channels plays a major role in bringing a movie to the market. Some of the new actors have advantages of their family name which other newcomers don’t have which certainly removes the barriers to entry for a movie hero, irrespective of their talent. The big budget produces and studios have their own homes to look for next generation of actors, and typically fund projects to promote their own kin. With the financial risk that represents each movie it is probably looked as safe to bet on their previous glory and their own family is a better hedge then investing big money into new and unknown talent?

There is no denying the fact that new actors and unfamiliar faces are sometimes successful in the movie business. But the big names dominate the print and media when they deliver even moderate success. The hype surrounding entry of a son or grandson or a nephew of a recognized name creates hysteria within the media channels, which clamor for every detail of the entrants abilities and often compared to their father’s or uncles who have a life time of achievement. Often times the new comers talent is rarely questioned due to the predecessor’s successful career and the clout of their fan base. Sometimes even before the scion’s first movie release, they are given huge titles that represent their father’s work and promoted with huge fanfare for a startup aspirant.

The dominance with access to exhibiting facilities determines the screens needed for successful collections. The new multiplexes also pay a role in bringing crowds to watch movies. The established actors and their producers control majority of good theaters in the state and with their families churning out actors who automatically get great exhibition for their movies.

The automatic preference of media and publicity to the known names is understandable due to the continued presence of the father’s in the limelight and sons and nephews coming into acting. The media’s following of the generations of actors continue to the newer generation, and the newness and inexperience of the actors is bestowed on the fans with the generational greatness. It is simple to ask people to carry the burden of legacy in both films and politics. People embrace familiar names without prejudice and support the new generation.

The name recognition of the master’s is automatic, and draws great numbers to expect the same magic that was produced in 100’s of movies. The past generation of actors performed in multiple movies at a time, and still maintained absolute magic on the audiences. There are instances when actors had a new movie out every month and still each of these movies attracted audiences. The numerous fan associations of each actor rejoiced every movie and mannerisms of their idol each and every time. One hundred day screening of a movie was a normal celebration and it was expected with each movie the hero acted in. The more movies every year from the hero the more we wanted.

The adoration we have for the legends of cinema is passed on to the new entrants with old names. As we keep our family tree in sacred regard, so goes the fans response to their hero’s progeny, and expectations of continued brilliance on screen. With today’s continuous coverage it is not impossible to keep these new generations scion visible and constantly promoted.

The need for entertainment outweighs the quality of the product. We hope the new generation of actors will perform to standards set by the legends of our cinema, and will continue to wish for the golden days of our cinema. With new breed of directors, wonderful foreign locals, graphics and a host of technology advancements and musical advancements, and should provide reasonable support structure to deliver quality entertainment. After a few attempts the new actors will have to deliver on their own irrespective of the name they carry with them. With the choices of projects and growing numbers with familiar names, it will be the rule to perform or perish. While the historical performances of the seniors is often remembered and cherished, there is a long time to come before the new entrants can be placed in the same pedestal that their fathers occupy. For the sake of entertainment and happiness, it is wonderful to keep hearing the same names, while wishing for the same quality of entertainment.

Associations

2009-07-11T10:18:00.004-05:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

A group of people with common ideas or aspirations form associations. We have 100’s or 1000’s of associations of Indian origin in the USA, and all of them successfully funded by the associates. We have several decades of history with Indian associations in the USA and most of the older ones have been quite purposeful in their activities.

As it happens with most successful enterprises each of our historical associations have helped fund temples, medical and educational organizations and multitude of wonderful non-for-profit enterprises with generosity and genuine goodness.

The bigger associations also have annual or semi-annual gatherings on a very grand scale that showcases the wealth factor of the NRI community, and draw thousands of like minded families to be together for a few days. They spend vast amount of resources for collective show of camaraderie of their associations, and make these gathering very successful in size and showmanship. As the years go by they have become more then just gatherings of like minded people, and have drawn large scale business, religion, literature, entertainment, food, social and time pass activities, marriages, dating and meeting and political connotations to the gatherings.

I for one enjoy the entertainment and food at these events. They are at most times fantastic in their appeal and cost is included in the ticket pricing. They are great value to the event goers. These shows also bring a lot of comedy and humor and the audience genuinely seem to be involved and entertained. The audience doesn’t really worry too much about the stature of the person entertaining them, but enjoy what is presented to them. Even the local singers and dancers who perform in any of these shows along with local associations are appreciated for their performances. It is great fun to see someone sing or dance or do a skit in your own language while you watch with thousand odd folks you associate with.

These gatherings are also great occasions to be with relatives and friends for a couple of days and relish the entertainment and food, along with the company of near and dear ones. A lot of people are from same town, same college and same caste and same sects, along with many similar affiliations which bring them together and bind them together. This is a natural way of life for Indians and people of our state. It’s nice to be with your own folks, and it is historically natural behavior.

Many of the original associations have become enormous in size and have split into multiple associations further identifying either ideological perspective or intergroup associations based on people’s preferences of who they would like to be with. There is nothing extraordinary about this type of separation when people of various perspective identifying with only a part of the larger association and define their own associates. It a natural behavioral progression of people in our society to group with their own kind as it satisfies personal and ideological tendencies that are a part of our make.

When separation happens it is difficult to the associates as they are being segregated from their long term likings and relationships. Their new association is desirable due to the choices they have made, and the old associates become distant in communication and perspective. Natural disagreements while separating become issues of debate and start to create community tensions. Each one of us have at least a few family members and friends and when we gather with them it is 100% agreement on that the other group is the one at fault for whatever they have done to cause the commotion. Once the groups of people start to justify what they are doing is correct, it becomes difficult to see the point of view of the other group of people they just separated from.

With each of the newly created associations we are simply reiterating the principals of what we did with the original associations; their principals and traditions, the values of our people, food and entertainment and above all our oneness. We form new associations and restate our commitment to our people, culture, traditions and working for social causes. We redraft the articles of association; we develop new literature and new communications for a smaller group of people. As travel is cheap, availability of celebrities and politicians abundant and disposable income to pay for the extravagances, it is simple to put together an event for a few thousand people.

Only the negatives of the splits with each community are given prominence in discussions and coverage, and nothing notable gets publicized on accomplishments of the associates. The greater good of big and small associations gets very small print and the differences a great deal of mileage. The people who come as guests from India be it political or other leaders have no sense of the way of life outside of India and will make utterances that are for their Indian audiences, which cause emotional responses from the local folks who paid for witnessing these inappropriate utterances, and fuel the feelings of decent and normally well behaved citizens who are leaders in their community and businesses.

We like having people from India come and speak to us and entertain us in the USA, and they like to speak to us as they are doing to the public in India. It is ironic that no specific and organized effort from the state or central government in India offers benefits to the causes of NRI. We have no offices that can handle the death, unemployment, resettlement and facilities that are without difficulties beyond comprehension, and yet we feel that a single unplanned discussion with personal comments with a visiting politician or entertainer should be given our personal support. Any outburst to such comments is an emotional reaction to the moment when we are in a large group of people rather then our normal daily behavior. We live here and have lived here for a long time and with our own community of people and prospered away from politics and personal prejudices of the current crop of people who come to see us and speak to us. We will sometimes get emotional when we hear inappropriate words from a stranger who might be making self-preserving comments. This should not be a cause for alarm as when we walk out such gatherings we will go back to being civil and professional, and live normal NRI lives worrying about our life and living and families and friends.

The associations we have today will continue to multiple and will continue to foster as long as the associates are willing to fund the activities and entertainers. All for being together with our own people and for a few days every year be in a gathering that is paid for by our checkbooks and with each year become grander in scale, and when they get large enough split into new associations. God bless all of them as they belong to us.

Associations

2009-07-11T10:18:00.000-05:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

A group of people with common ideas or aspirations form associations. We have 100’s or 1000’s of associations of Indian origin in the USA, and all of them successfully funded by the associates. We have several decades of history with Indian associations in the USA and most of the older ones have been quite purposeful in their activities.

As it happens with most successful enterprises each of our historical associations have helped fund temples, medical and educational organizations and multitude of wonderful non-for-profit enterprises with generosity and genuine goodness.

The bigger associations also have annual or semi-annual gatherings on a very grand scale that showcases the wealth factor of the NRI community, and draw thousands of like minded families to be together for a few days. They spend vast amount of resources for collective show of camaraderie of their associations, and make these gathering very successful in size and showmanship. As the years go by they have become more then just gatherings of like minded people, and have drawn large scale business, religion, literature, entertainment, food, social and time pass activities, marriages, dating and meeting and political connotations to the gatherings.

I for one enjoy the entertainment and food at these events. They are at most times fantastic in their appeal and cost is included in the ticket pricing. They are great value to the event goers. These shows also bring a lot of comedy and humor and the audience genuinely seem to be involved and entertained. The audience doesn’t really worry too much about the stature of the person entertaining them, but enjoy what is presented to them. Even the local singers and dancers who perform in any of these shows along with local associations are appreciated for their performances. It is great fun to see someone sing or dance or do a skit in your own language while you watch with thousand odd folks you associate with.

These gatherings are also great occasions to be with relatives and friends for a couple of days and relish the entertainment and food, along with the company of near and dear ones. A lot of people are from same town, same college and same caste and same sects, along with many similar affiliations which bring them together and bind them together. This is a natural way of life for Indians and people of our state. It’s nice to be with your own folks, and it is historically natural behavior.

Many of the original associations have become enormous in size and have split into multiple associations further identifying either ideological perspective or intergroup associations based on people’s preferences of who they would like to be with. There is nothing extraordinary about this type of separation when people of various perspective identifying with only a part of the larger association and define their own associates. It a natural behavioral progression of people in our society to group with their own kind as it satisfies personal and ideological tendencies that are a part of our make.

When separation happens it is difficult to the associates as they are being segregated from their long term likings and relationships. Their new association is desirable due to the choices they have made, and the old associates become distant in communication and perspective. Natural disagreements while separating become issues of debate and start to create community tensions. Each one of us have at least a few family members and friends and when we gather with them it is 100% agreement on that the other group is the one at fault for whatever they have done to cause the commotion. Once the groups of people start to justify what they are doing is correct, it becomes difficult to see the point of view of the other group of people they just separated from.

With each of the newly created associations we are simply reiterating the principals of what we did with the original associations; their principals and traditions, the values of our people, food and entertainment and above all our oneness. We form new associations and restate our commitment to our people, culture, traditions and working for social causes. We redraft the articles of association; we develop new literature and new communications for a smaller group of people. As travel is cheap, availability of celebrities and politicians abundant and disposable income to pay for the extravagances, it is simple to put together an event for a few thousand people.

Only the negatives of the splits with each community are given prominence in discussions and coverage, and nothing notable gets publicized on accomplishments of the associates. The greater good of big and small associations gets very small print and the differences a great deal of mileage. The people who come as guests from India be it political or other leaders have no sense of the way of life outside of India and will make utterances that are for their Indian audiences, which cause emotional responses from the local folks who paid for witnessing these inappropriate utterances, and fuel the feelings of decent and normally well behaved citizens who are leaders in their community and businesses.

We like having people from India come and speak to us and entertain us in the USA, and they like to speak to us as they are doing to the public in India. It is ironic that no specific and organized effort from the state or central government in India offers benefits to the causes of NRI. We have no offices that can handle the death, unemployment, resettlement and facilities that are without difficulties beyond comprehension, and yet we feel that a single unplanned discussion with personal comments with a visiting politician or entertainer should be given our personal support. Any outburst to such comments is an emotional reaction to the moment when we are in a large group of people rather then our normal daily behavior. We live here and have lived here for a long time and with our own community of people and prospered away from politics and personal prejudices of the current crop of people who come to see us and speak to us. We will sometimes get emotional when we here inappropriate words from a stranger who might be making self-preserving comments. This should not be a cause for alarm as when we walk out such gatherings we will go back to being civil and professional, and live normal NRI lives worrying about our life and living and families and friends.

The associations we have today will continue to multiple and will continue to foster as long as the associates are willing to fund the activities and entertainers. All for being together with our own people and for a few days every year be in a gathering that is paid for by our checkbooks and with each year become grander in scale, and when they get large enough split into new associations. God bless all of them as they belong to us.

In Country Long Term Plans for Indian Telecom

2009-06-08T07:45:00.000-05:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

It will not be expensive. It will not require big budgets. It will not need any investment bankers. It will not need any government approvals. It will not need shareholder consent. It will be a simple strategy to look for greater revenue sources with long term profit for telecom companies.

India still offers great internal opportunity for long term growth with sustainable revenue and profit opportunities in telecom.

Telecommuting
Billions of hours and dollars are spent on the streets fighting traffic and consuming fuel. Let us not forget the pollution and all other costs of travelling. The stress is another factor in simply getting from place to place. There is no place in India big or small where traffic doesn’t far exceed the capacity of the roads, and it is only getting worse.

With most urban India well connected, companies can start looking at telecommuting as an option to ease the burden of traffic and cost. Internet and phone service is no longer expensive, and can be deployed for a multitude of support services, and work at home options for many jobs. Specially the telecom related services can be well handled away from the offices and can be effective. Indian enterprise should take a leaf from many of the western environments where working from home, and remote locations is common.

Wireless Villages
Close by tower can provide internet to villages nearby, and provide Internet access. Each village can be a self containing telecommunications center albeit small. Many people from the villagers already have mobile phones and already in the mobile user group and bringing internet to every village will further develop their ability to access the world through computers.

Village Web Sites
Probably the most fascinating thing about India is its villages. Nowadays there are many well educated people from the villages who no longer live there, leaving behind their families. There are also a huge number of NRI who belong to the rural India. Adapting to telecommuting, introducing wireless services into the villages will only enhance the community to become a part of the global landscape. A simple website can be very inexpensive to create and maintain. Perhaps this is also an initiative that the government can undertake in real rural development programs.

Voter registration, weather bulletins, agricultural programs and updates, political news, people and productivity issues, local happenings and other individualized information can be instant to the village websites. Involving the local talent from the village will help in keeping things up-to-date and informative.

Government can post the local project activity, development plans and any relevant issues to the locals. Local schools and colleges nearby can be made responsible for making every effort to keep data current and help maintain the websites. It may be a great idea to include such activity into the daily learning for school and college going kids, who will enthusiastically work on them and will learn the mechanics at the same time.

Online Education
Simply linking the wireless villages, websites and complete communications access will enhance the ability to learn from long distance. Both the rural children and adults will benefit from online education.

Outside of the vast amount of free information available on the internet, it is simple to design and provide online education. Every school with a small computer center can serve the purpose of both real time and offline education.
Children during the day time and adults during the evening can benefit from learning.

As the country continues to grow, it is also important to have intellectual growth to continue to make the nation reinvent itself and adapt to the changing times. Be it agricultural methods or software development India needs to keep learning and improving to prosper for ever, and no better ways to keep providing the edge to the people than education. Online education is inexpensive and available all the time for people who want to learn.

While we should support global expansion of our homegrown telecom companies, we should plan for continued growth with in the country. If the new government plans to wipeout all slums in India within 5 years, it can easily support to incorporate telecommunications reach to 100% of Indians in the same timeframe.

June 7th 2009
Vasu Reddy
President
Optus Technologies, Inc.

Indian Telecom – The Case for Faster Growth

2009-05-03T19:14:00.000-05:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

Some 429 million or more users and adding quickly to this is quite an attractive case for faster growth. Government of India and the private sector should push for more rapid and positive changes in telecom. The positive effects on the overall economy due to the communications industry are enormous; 13,000 Crores of possible revenues for DOT in 2009, with 55,000 Crores of revenues in past five years, with a 15% estimated increase in the 2009 revenues to DOT for the foreseeable future. These are billions of dollars every year and just to the DOT as licensing fees from operators.

There is positive earning that contributes to income tax that further enhances government’s take from communications industry. There is no begrudging these numbers, rather the fantastic positive effect of the communications industry to the nation’s coffers. Every minute people are calling out to someone, there is revenue to the government.

There are government enterprises such as BSNL, MTNL and other communications players that further add to the revenues, along with huge market valuations on the enterprises. As these public enterprises are well funded and well capitalized, their market valuations are equal to or better then a private enterprise. If there is a quick need for raising capital taking BSNL public will create a huge inflow of cash into the coffers.

For more than a year 3 G license auctions have been close to being held and they could happen in 2009. This will again add another 20,000 to 40,000 Crores to the government coffers. And added to the initial fees, the additional networks will only drive the user growth in areas where there is network congestion, and need for additional value added services. 3 G networks will certainly add a higher value per user which again adds to total revenues and to the DOT take on fees collected.

Adding all these thousands of Crores is an exercise that will delight the finance ministry as well as the government which is just finishing the elections, and start spending to meet those wonderful promises made to the public to get their votes. Budget deficits can be trimmed or eliminated so that real development programs can be funded rather then paying interest on past debts.

The government should focus on making telecom a priority and implement every possible policy that fosters the industry for faster growth. Spectrum allocation, M&A practices, new license auctions, adding the rest of India to the telecom footprint and separating the military network needs with civilian network needs; all of these should be handled expeditiously. Making telecom regulation and issues a national priority will help with a multitude of positive influences on the economy. India is a nation that focuses on IT exports as a big external source as a revenue generator, should focus on telecom as an internal revenue generator. If the industry is well managed and regulators focus on problem solving rather than fixing past issues, the opportunity is there for telecom industry helping the national owes with many areas including budget balancing, employment and communications.

Some nations have achieved 100% mobile penetration and 120% plus in telecom user base. India can do it with very little effort. Indians are very adaptive to the mobile and fixed networks, and if available we will be a billion users plus country.

The budget process focuses too much on software and IT exports, while telecom revenues are growing furiously. Telecom will and should compete for being the top revenue generator for the government. Faster growth in telecom will make it the biggest revenue generator for the government.

Telecom creating better employment opportunities is obvious. With each ten to fifteen million users added every month, thousands of jobs are also being added to support the growing user base. Construction of new infrastructure, sales and marketing, accounting, maintenance services, management and support services are all added every month with the increase in users and thus bringing educated workforce to contribute by paying personal income taxes. They also bank with credit and debit cards, buy products on installments and add to the circulation of more and more money every month; increasing the consumption and production of every industry in the country.

Telecom companies have solid management teams, and compete with each other with style, substance and services. The partnerships in all major private enterprises consist of who’s who from the global pool of investors and operators who enhance the already talented Indian management team. Each of these teams will never cease to rest in loading more users and attaining better profits for their investors; only way they can do it is being better at providing products and services that retain and grow their user base. At this moment they have a lot of room to grow and prosper in the Indian market.

Indian government should immediately seize the opportunity and focus on the telecom industry, and help it grow faster. Regulators and politicians can handle this segment with utmost care and sensibility to help faster growth and uninhibited competition. For sure the regulators and industry will argue that they are focused on telecom and making things easy for new competition, but not enough has been done to simplify the regulatory environment. There is continued ambiguity with fee structure, differences of opinion of spectrum management, entry and exit issues, competitive imbalances and poor regulatory management. The industry has prospered and contributed despite these continued and nagging issues.

In the just concluded elections, people were promised everything on earth for free, but no politician promised a free mobile or subsidized talk time to its constituents. If there was a freebie that would have attention of the people, it would have been a free mobile with lifetime service contracts. As all incoming calls are free in India, it would have been a great giveaway, but the election commission might have had a fit about such giveaway. The government could have been smart enough to give them away and have argued that they were keeping people undated of weather or something useful like commodity prices or something of that sort. Fun aside, the telecom business is a serious business with positive implications for the nation for a long time to come.

May 3rd 2009
Vasu Reddy
President
Optus Technologies, Inc.

Too Successful To Regulate?

2009-04-12T09:20:00.001-05:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

Every wireless communications company in India is big. By big meaning they have already paid huge upfront costs for license and infrastructure even before they get started. Each wireless player have to pay hundreds of millions to get a UAS license and then pay for the area licenses, along with infrastructure and people costs. There is no small mobile services company in India; each and every one all of them are big investments.

There is constant squabble about the impending changes to regulations in the communications markets, and constant delays in implementation of changes and advances. The much delayed 3 G license auctions is an example of squandering a wonderful opportunity to help relieve the congestion in the mobile airwaves, and allowing for much needed high end mobiles services. 3 G services would help bring in more low ARP users who need basic services into the mobile population, while allowing the migration of high ARP users to move to the 3 G network, allowing new users in the 2 G network.

The constant discussion on the fund to support the development of rural telecommunications is simply a huge fund collected but unused to really fund the expansion of telecommunications in rural India. Hefty goals to include all parts of India into the network is easily possible if the money already collected and on hand is used to do this.

Awarding 3 G licenses to only the government owned networks is simply the slowest way to bring the services to the market, as these government owned networks while well funded and well endowed with spectrum, are the least efficient of all networks. There is nothing wrong with the networks, simply the way they are managed makes them lethargic compared to networks where the government has no ownership.

Termination calls to each other has also courted controversy. What mobile operators pay each other has been constant since early part of this decade, and has been subjected to modification this year. If it goes up it hurts the new operators, and if it goes down the incumbents have a grouse about losing revenue.

The private networks (even the smallest operating network) are loading tens of millions of users every month. Every market survey indicates that the user base will double fairly quickly. So, the lack of market opportunity is not a barrier to entry. It is really the availability of spectrum and transparency in handling the licensing process. The success of the market continues to attract global investment into India’s mobile markets. The combination of Indian market opportunity and semi transparent policies continues to attract global investors to keep evaluating the interest into India.

Regulators must choose implementation of guidelines to improve the quality and affordability of the services to the entire market. While making sure that neither the size of the company or investment it makes should allow for onerous disadvantages to any other company that wishes to compete in the same space, the regulators must continuously monitor and implement policies that are constantly in favor of fair competition and people oriented. India despite its massive telecommunications market is still behind in monitoring and implementing its own set of guidelines.

Simplification of the current guidelines, tax structure and tariff plans may not be as easy as a discussion or a panel. The delays with new services, the disparity in the size of enterprises, the political and economic clout enjoyed, the disassociation of laws from one service to the other, the unimagined growth, the market clout of the enterprises, and a whole set of cultural and traditional influences that are unique to India; are all the factors that drive the implementation of policy. Having said that, it is not impossible to simply use fair and unbiased market standards for communications markets, and it is not impossible to take the great Indian telecommunications market to adopt policies that are fair and unbiased to all competitors.

The big players are already in great strength with users, valuation and balance sheets. The regulators should start distancing themselves from the influence of individual companies or technologies, and start showing independence in formulation of future guidelines that fit the future needs of the market. Law, taxation and regulations must continue to seek answers for the future needs, and stop relying on the past. Barriers to entry should be competitive and global rather then protectionist.

April 9th 2009
Vasu Reddy
President
Optus Technologies, Inc.

Slumdog Telecom

2009-03-08T14:05:00.000-05:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

Using the “Slumdog” title in the Telecom story is not to just attract attention. It’s really a great title for the Telecom Industry in India, which has been a great story for 15 plus years now, and continues to get bigger and bigger in the Telecom success stories of the world.

Despite the extraordinary growth with the market (with over 400 million subscribers) there is continued debate amongst the network operators, policy makers, politicians and technologists. All the commotion is not all that bad with the Indian Telecom market and it for sure makes great reading. There are endless delays with new spectrum auctions, allocation of spectrum to the already approved operators, debates on value of the 3 G spectrum, more committees to decide on future, BSNL and MTNL continuing to get preferential deals, bickering amongst the CDMA and GSM operators, TRAI and DOT differences and whatever that can be remotely controversial is all on the table.

3 G story is rather cumbersome one to tell as it still continues to go back and forth with politicians and technocrats still wrangling with each other, with sidebars with incumbent network owners adding to the confusion. The initial fees will not matter in the long run if the networks load subscribers at the current rate, as the annual royalties will more then makeup for any initial fees that are being estimated. If we add at least three years of loss of interest, fees and other benefits that would have accrued by the country, and continued delays of releasing the 3 G spectrum will only be greater. The regulators should stop tinkering and get the auctions done as soon as possible to get the 3 G networks into production. The spectrum allocation must be done at close of auctions rather then a protracted delay as it has happened with 2 G networks. The long term rewards will outweigh any immediate shortfall in expected initial fees. Quick deployment expands the subscriber base by moving the premium subscribers into the new networks while allowing new subscribers who need basic services into the existing networks. Whatever the initial fees that is generated certainly supports the budgeting of defense network and allow some budget relief for programs earmarked for this new revenue. The greater impact to overall telecom revenues will be with increases the ILD and LLD traffic across the networks by adding smaller communities to the network.

While the world has gone through a peak period of valuations and now working through a recession and perhaps back into an upswing, the value of more people connected in India will help with the overall economic growth. India has been thriving even the worst years of global economic slowdown. New opportunities for expanded role of more Indians to add to the GDP growth of the country will keep this momentum in positive indices while the world will work its way back into overall positive growth.

The 30 paisa per minute termination of a call rate that is being debated between old and new network operators also should be dealt with quickly.
Incumbent’s verses new entrants should not be dealt as an adversarial situation, rather then combining the strengths to offer the best value for customers. The market should drive the pricing rather then regulation.

The early entrants have enjoyed the benefits of lower pricing on their license fees, albeit they also risked the uncertainty of the markets. But the unchanged policies which are older then 6 years and over 300 million users ago, should be dealt with the reality of today. People have recovered their initial outlay of capital and the new entrants have a bigger outlay today with lower revenue per user, and by trying to impose mechanics established many years ago in today’s environment may not be the most positive way for serving the current needs.

Rural education, mobile banking, video and voice transmission and many other areas of communications will become more prominent with higher speed wireless networks. More mobile value added service will be introduced with the new networks and will create more opportunity for developers.

It is time for all agencies and individuals to stop poking at the process and let the market define it self. There is a need to grow employments and new networks will bring in hordes of opportunities in engineering, sales, development, towers and a whole slew of new VAS development.

The Indian Telecom market is ready for continued success. Success despite the bureaucratic shenanigans and technology lobbying is simply a matter of fact. Just imagine the economic and intrinsic benefits when the subscriber count crosses 800 million in a couple of years? The benefits of well connected India with people communicating with the world will yield untold benefits to the overall economy of the country. Let the market have access to all available spectrum and let the users have the choice of technology. Let the users choose from a variety of choices of networks. Let everyone in India get connected and prosper.

March 7th 2009
Vasu Reddy
President
Optus Technologies, Inc.

Telecom Village Project

2009-02-08T08:11:00.001-06:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

Introspection is quite personal. While continuing to write regular perspective on Indian telecom, its governing agencies and its major players, the time has come to make a project on brining the benefits of telecom to a village.

My personal telecom project is to try and bring present day network to my own village in Andhra Pradesh. It is in Kadapa district near the town of Proddutur and known as Korrapadu. There are about 2,000 to 2,200 total homes in my village with about 6,000 people living there. The local education stops at 10th standard in the village. The high school has about 300 students, which is a number that is vastly improved number from may be 10 years ago. The school is well maintained and well organized. The village folks contribute to the school by being generous with donating to children who come first in school, and also to children who do well in various subjects. There are approximately 100 fixed lines connections in the village. There is no internet connection available yet.

It is a typical South Indian village with a small school, hospital, temple, a bus station and families who have lived there for several generations. It is surrounded with wonderful agricultural lands, and has reasonable irrigation facilities and in good monsoon doesn’t have problems with water. Over and above it has my people, and thus very special to me and my personal interest in my Telecom Village Project.

There is no grand new scheme being for my village. For a couple of years this has been taking shape, and once this initial step of publishing the plan is complete, recruiting the support of the school and the village will commence. We need to make sure that the villagers support the project, and the already educated and computer literate folks of the village will help building this project. No financial support will be sought from anyone in the village so the project will be embraced for what it intends to, rather then a burden to them.

A simple plan is to fund the following:

1. Computer Center – The high school is within a small little compound, and can accommodate a computer room. If not a new room will be built to house four to six computer stations, have a sitting area for reading or having a discussion group, and if needed convert the room into a training or viewing room. This room can be used in the evening for adult education programs, training people of enterprise or agricultural programs, women’s education and family planning.
2. Computers – Once the village and the high school approve of the plan for establishing the computer room, we will purchase new computers with latest speed and technology to become the property of the high school. Six machines will be networked together, and will have at least one large screen. They will be able to be on www, and also available for education programs and even entertainment.
As a part of the project we will request the high school to allow all students access to the computers on a scheduled basis. The plan is to have the already computer literate people of the village to volunteer for training the students and teachers and make them self sufficient to use the computers and internet.
3. Internet Connectivity – Next to the purchase of the computers is bringing internet connectivity into the village. The nearest town is about 7 miles away, and there is a cellular tower nearby the village. Whatever needs to be done, internet will be made available to the computer center. The hope is every student, teacher and anyone else in the village who wish to be on the internet will be able to for free, and make themselves a part of the www community. Many have mobile phones in the village, and it is very likely some will purchase their own internet connectivity once this plan takes shape.
4. Licensed Software – Everything installed in the computer center infrastructure and software will be legally acquired. Software for learning word, excel, photo shop, simple software and other interne tools, and any other training or learning material will be purchased or made available through donations. The kids need to start to learn the value of licensing from the beginning.
5. Local area network – There are computer trained youngsters in the village or from the village. They will be recruited to help volunteer to setup the local area network within the computer center.
6. Solar Lamp and Back-up Power – The village is in same situation as rest of the rural India and has its share of power outages. A quality solar lamp and a backup system that can sustain the use of computers if power fails will be part of the budget to make sure that there will be minimal or no interruption to the planned use of the computer center.

The biggest hurdle may be to get high quality and high speed internet on an uninterrupted basis into the village. If for whatever reason acquiring internet becomes a problem, we will probably build a cellular power to bring in wireless internet. There are quite a few villages around a 10 mile radius, and it might be great to get a tower around the village. This might even become a revenue generator to support all the ongoing costs of the project.

Before I write my last column for 2009, I intend to not just fund this but also see this succeed, and make it a part of every child in my village to have access to a computer and the internet, along with the benefits of www. In the next 11 months this will be implemented with the support of my village and the blessing of the headmaster and teaching staff in the village.

Many other benefits and perhaps issues will for sure surface once we bring this project to light. Once we secure the blessings of the villagers, we will press on with the implementation.

There is no ideological initiative with this small project for Korrapadu. It is simply to make an effort to further implore the value of communications. There will be an immediate and everlasting value for the children by having access to computers and internet. When they go off to junior college they will have the tools to do research and learn quickly and more importantly without the burden of purchasing a lot of books, or travelling to the town to get to the library. There will be benefit to the adults in understanding the use of immediate and instant access to information; be it neither the weather or the news. Who knows they might watch a movie with their family on the computers and do something that they normally will not do with their entire families. It will be connected and informed, and that is the payback.

February 7th 2009
Vasu Reddy
President
Optus Technologies, Inc.

Imagining Value Addition from 3 G Networks

2009-01-16T15:26:00.000-06:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

It is anticipated that India will soon conduct 3 G auctions. Although the dates for these auctions have been moved, it is certain sooner or later they will happen. There is continued debate with the regulators on how many 3 G licenses should be auctioned, and how much should be the floor price and competition and other issues. It is very likely that these issues will be resolved and in some form or fashion the auctions will go on. When the auctions are successfully completed and new networks come to life, the users can look forward to added features and functionality with 3 G.

With the expectation of some great new ways to use these new networks, here are some predictions and services that can become real.

Video chat is probably one of the exciting features that can become a viable and inexpensive option with 3 G networks. It will be a great way to see folks while we chat, and perhaps a good value added feature to push on the new network. With the incoming calls into India expanding by the day, and if the cost of incoming traffic is free to the users in India, you can bet on the video use to grow exponentially.

Movies on the mobile can become a value added feature that perhaps will allow the bored commuters to subscribe and enjoy. Imagine the super rich of Mumbai or Delhi or any other major metro in India being driven around in the traffic. They sure would love to get news and entertainment on the go, and even perhaps a movie they would like to watch on demand.

The great Indian roads certainly can be more accessible with GPS and directions from the mobile. The complexity of new development and old time infrastructure makes life for new drivers very difficult due to the poorly marketed roads. Even experienced drivers have great difficulty with navigation. 3 G can certainly get voice activated directions as you go and make life simpler for drivers. It will be a great idea to have directions on the go in multiple languages.

Perhaps one of the favorite wishes is to get help with the kitchen. A live demonstration of cooking on the phone so your daughter in the far away land can watch you and follow in creating amazing dishes for friends. Several amazing things can happen by simply linking phone to a home computer for recipe management. Instead of calling mom in India everything you need help, 3 G can store and retrieve information on a need basis.

It may be possible to replace the use of Yahoo Messenger for showing off what the new baby is doing to folks in India. There will be no more hanging around the yahoo messenger and pointing the cam towards the action, as the 3 G phone can go where ever to show off. With the price per minute of telephony low enough, it will be a great way to start showing off the snow, beaches, people, parties and whatever we can to folks in India. Oh my God, the possibilities of sharing personal space is endless, provided we don’t go over board.

While making a wish list of things to do from a 3 G network, there are amazing ways to expand the business and support infrastructure to support the networks. Mapping, video, GPS, storage, voice and data retrieval, shopping, file storage and many such simple and economical solutions can be implemented to meet personal and professional needs of the users.

3 G should move the heavy duty users on to the new networks and free up the congestion of the existing GSM and CDMA networks. This has dual benefit as the new users in both networks will no longer experience the congestion that has become a way of life in crowded areas.

These networks will foster a new generation of developers who will cater to the value addition needed while creating more telecom jobs, more companies in mobile applications, and more internet to mobile connectivity. 3 G surely should bring new energy into the great Indian telecom market.

Whatever the price they will command in an auction, 3 G promises more users for the Indian mobile market. Here is to hoping that these auctions will bring a lot of money to the Indian Treasury and also great deal of value addition to the users. It will be another fantastic year for mobile markets in India, with great value in services with the highest quality.

January 14th 2009
Vasu Reddy
President
Optus Technologies, Inc.

Can Telecom Come To The Rescue?

2008-12-05T12:16:00.001-06:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

Communications users in India continue to grow at record pace with tens of millions of new users added every month. With hundreds of millions of people trying to reach them from within and outside of India, represent a potent force for personal and business uses. Each day the enormous outreach of this group of communicators is expanded, and will continue to expand. It’s December and with the holiday season coming upon us, it is time perhaps to look at what else can Telecom do to help the nation and its user base.

While looking at the benefits of communications and the valuations of these networks; enhancing both the shareholders and users, it is time for some social innovation that can be brought into helping with both user and national concerns. Each and every time we hear of advancements in communications or value addition, they typically cater to either a very niche segment of the market or trying to add numbers to the lower end of the market to the subscriber base. There is nothing wrong in building a bigger subscriber base which can someday attain 100% penetration of communications in the country, but the industry can introspect and start value adding to the needs of its subscriber base. India although democratic and capitalistic, is still a state with huge differentiation in classes of people. A lot can be done by some simple processes and value addition by the key players and operators to help with a multitude of things:

A Global Helpline: Many a death of Indian NRI, especially young Indians have been reported in the recent months outside of India. It is an unusual phenomenon that is new to the NRI community. Never before the frequency with which we hear of Indians killed by someone, possibly within their own family, or friends or some stranger, as we hear these days. Everyone is connected on the phone or Internet and the industry can think of a global helpline. There is no reason to believe that a well publicized and well organized helpline for Indians everywhere will stop any killing, but it certainly can bring forth the need for such service which might highlight the need for more protection. It can be a great value addition by simply highlighting the dangers and how one might protect self from possibility of an attack.

Accountability: The recent terror attacks on Mumbai clearly indicate that the terrorists used SIM cards that were obtained without proper verification. There are a number of instances including the Hyderabad bombings earlier this year where the terrorists used communications to destroy the fabric of India. With millions of users coming onboard every month there is no reason to cut corners in accounting for the users. Strictest policies should be put in place by 100% of the communications industry to account for every user. There should be no exceptions. The industry should actively cutoff subscribers who have not previously provided appropriate proof to purchase communications, and also implement measures to never add a subscriber without verifiable proof. The business of quick money making will lead to misuse, and the Indian telecom industry doesn’t need to make a quick buck in return for the destruction of its own people.

Help with Budget Balancing: India is democratic and fast growing country which still has a lot of its population who are not in the prosperity cycle. There is no need to just recount the evils of the politics, poverty, illiteracy or any other perils of our society nor must we continue to rehash the progress made with all the advancements in technology and communications. We simply should look at what can be done to extend the benefits of the country’s enormous growth to its entire population. A strong push to help with budget balancing will be a good idea. There is enough benefit to the shareholders of the expanding communications networks and those making a sustainable contribution to help balance the national budget will only make the country more adept to communications. While there is a strong lobby against any user based or revenue based fee structure, a voluntary team made-up of the largest stakeholders of the networks can caucus with the political leadership of India, and set an aggressive agenda that fosters a partnership to help eliminate the budget deficit. An imaginary scenario will be to have zero deficits to help fund development programs, which in turn enable more people to afford communications. The preaching is not just to the communications industry but to all high growth and highly profitable enterprise in India, where a select group of people control the scarce resources of the country. A cycle of development, enhancement, zero budget deficits and continued affordability will be to the best benefit of all concerned.

Emergency handling: The industry should deploy services in concert with all emergency and security agencies. Implementing definitive measures to prevent the misuse of communications is an absolute for national welfare. Coordination with the transportation, hospital systems, weather forecasting, air and rail systems and any government programs to communicate the good and bad to the users will make people better prepared in day to day living.

December 5th 2008
Vasu Reddy
President
Optus Technologies, Inc.

Technology Conundrum

2008-11-03T08:12:00.000-06:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

GSM
CDMA
TDMA
WiMAX
Dual Technologies
3 G
VoIP
Next Generation Networks

We can go on about the long list of technical or fancy terms that we continue to read about in reference to communications. Talking about the technology is a global feature that typically announces the latest and greatest with each major communications event. It is typical to claim that each such advancement is life changing. India has its share great lobbying groups for various mobile technology offerings, and they are merciless in promoting their own vested interests as the best available alterative to solve the ever growing need for spectrum.

India is blessed with explosive growth in the new subscribers each month. The country’s new subscribers each month equal to many small countries total subscribers, and with no slowing down in these projections the value of spectrum is increasingly evident.

No new mobile technology is being introduced specifically for the Indian market, rather the time tested and well deployed networks are being promoted in India. In reality there is no new advancement in mobile network technology that will radically alter the capacity or behavior of users. Each of the networks already deployed are well designed and well tested prior to their commercialization, and offer varying degrees of abilities to the providers and users. In some instances the advancement of technology is to facilitate more users on the same spectrum, while many of the new networks being promoted offer more services such as video, data and multimedia, outside of the traditional voice. Obviously the new services will require more bandwidth compared to the voice only services used by majority of the people who use mobile networks.

It is reasonable to emphasize the efficiencies of a technology in handling number of subscribers. Outside of this a subscriber is not preview to the technical parameters of the network. A user will look at quality, availability and price of the service in the particular area where he or she needs telephony. Only a small percentage of the overall subscribers are high-end data or video or multimedia users, and perhaps 90% of India’s users are voice only users. Without preview to the exact nature of the user base, it is quite obvious that simple feature like voice mail is not very prevalent with Indian mobile subscribers. Indian market has one of the highest busy and abandoned calls in the world as there is no voice mail, and a caller keeps calling until the subscriber responds. Even if a small portion of subscribers have the need for multimedia functionality, the networks are primarily dependent on high volume of users with voice communications as their primary need.

The telephony service is cheap, available and when needed, and thus the huge growth in numbers. To believe that technology is in the minds of 95% of Indian subscribers is simply an assumption which will remain an assumption. Pricing of service is the primary driver when the service becomes available in a market and the technology is not a decision driver.

The market value of the network is naturally driven by numbers; subscribers, revenue per user, profit per user, management, organization, availability and a multitude of variables that drive the valuation, along with the capacity of the network. In India the capacity probably is a great measure of future value of the network as the forecast for increase in subscribers is greater then the technical viability of current networks to handle the subscriber base. This is not a market or technical factor for India alone, but a global challenge for high growth markets. India with its own rules and regulations of licensing and managing spectrum sometimes self imposes these technology issues, which are irrelevant in the life cycle of a telephone network.

Manufacturers always will find new innovations to tackle the available resources verses forecasted users in every given technology. As spectrum is not a variable resource, the utility of spectrum is constantly bettered with technology life cycle, and users are seldom inconvenienced by the evolution of technology. Indian markets are not isolated in such transformation of networks, and there is no dearth in advancements. We already have technology available that will meet the needs of subscribers in the foreseeable future. Except with the vested interests there is no technology conflict. Technology will always be ahead of user needs.

The man with the mobile on the street is not looking for any more than quality service at inexpensive rates. The discussions on technology preferences and superior qualities are for the manufacturers and vested interests in different formats of the technology, and really is not an overwhelming factor in decision making for the consumer. The technocrats and the policy making bodies should find the most viable technology which offers most to the consumer, and let the rest to the market forces. There will always be something bigger, better and will be with more options.

November 3rd 2008
Vasu Reddy
President
Optus Technologies, Inc.

Perfect Telecom Market

2008-10-05T17:51:00.000-05:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

Unprecedented growth in users usually creates great opportunities for investors and customers. Be it a capitalistic society or a socialistic society, market forces typically take over in managing the imponderables with rapid growth in users and revenues and profits of any industry.

Last year, this year and future years hold great promise for the Indian telecommunications market, as the user base continue to grow at a pace that by most optimistic projections looks continuously attainable. Manufacturers, operators, suppliers, distributors and marketers are all beating their expectations and the users don’t seem to complain about what is being offered to them. Every inexpensive or most expensive offering seem to be lapped up in big numbers and customers hungry for more innovative products and services will keep the telecom market robust for years to come.

The latest developments with 3 G, VoIP and WiMax will deliver more products and services, along with bringing multitude of new users into the Indian telecom market. A 50% plus market penetration in the next few years from the close to 30% today is not a far reaching goal. Adding the rural landscape to the telecom network will certainly improve the ability of all of India with the rest of the world and bring economic opportunities along with the communications.

Indian Telecom market is almost perfect for consumers and investors. The market is delivering continued and rapid growth in services and growth in value of product offerings, while delivering growth with ROI for investors. The intermittent interruptions with the regulators interference seem to be just noise with the growth in the market. There is no question on the confusion that prevails with each new offering in Telecom market when it involves licensing and fee structure. There is also confusion with technology choice and which technology is robbing more from the government treasury. There is always tension between policy and implementation. There is no communications between various government departments. As usual in the Indian political landscape there is a debate on which one of them is right more correct for the country.

The backdrop of the super rich and already big telecommunications companies interfering and influencing the political and bureaucratic process is ever hanging on the Indian markets (including the telecom market). This is not an uncommon phenomenon in any other global market, but especially so in the Indian market as the government itself sides with the needs of its own political interests. We survive in a capital market with a system that is based on bias, influence and continued socialistic philosophies. Political parties can undercut major development simply to get vote blocks in the short term. Industry has the money and muscle to influence monopolistic business practices to ensure that the industry is curtailed and favors the very rich. The country seem to have innumerable vows of its own making and still the Indian telecom market seems to be a perfect place for growth while meeting the demands of the consumers.

It is almost perfect, while surviving the gaffs of policy and implementation. Bharti and Reliance losing out on the deals with MTN is not as surprising as both the companies have inherent limitations. Whatever the issues that have caused these big deals to make Indian telecom global, they were not insurmountable and should have been resolved, but were not. The worst part was one of them got derailed by a brother. The failures with making MTN deal will certainly be case studies for many years to come with what not to do with global telecom deal making.

DOT and TRAI and other ministries have constant been in the news for disagreement more than policy making. Instead of concentrating on quick delivery of spectrum to the market and making the new telecom services possible, years of delays have been caused by internal disagreements. Worst kind of planning is heaped on in organizing the next round of licensing. The incumbents certainly don’t want additional competition and also don’t like to pay up as they feel they have contributed to the growth but don’t like to admit that the current value of the franchises are much greater than what the government valued them. The incumbents certainly want to tax prospective new entrants with heavy burdens to discourage international majors to come into the market. Even the GSM and CDMA organizations fight, go to court and file law suits against anyone and everyone rather then seek consensus leading to the best practices in the market.

For the first time in global trends in telecom, manufacturers are releasing products in Indian market before anywhere else. Some of the announcements from Nokia offering its sophisticated mobile in India prior to anywhere else demonstrate the clout of Indian telecom market.

No matter how many distractions with policy and incumbents, the market seems to be going in one direction, up. With some important adjustments to the policy we will have big telecoms join the incumbents and keep making the Indian network progressive. Next few months promise introduction of 3 G and VoIP networks, and more of our people into the talking sphere.

There is nothing stopping our country with its drive towards greater communications standards, and someday towards every Indian with availability of telecommunications services.

October 5th 2008
Vasu Reddy
President
Optus Technologies, Inc.

Going Green with Telecom

2008-09-04T08:14:00.000-05:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

The subject is not about green bucks (US Dollars) but the environment. With millions of mobile communications users being added each month to the Indian talk space, it is probably time to start to think of going GREEN now and prevent the undue effects of the toxic waste left behind by the equipment; mobile phones and ancillary devices will pose to the already fast depleting Indian resources and surroundings.

Laws
We don’t have any favorable set of laws that encourage active recycling of mobile materials across the world. Much of the waste is creating hazard in select locations in China and other parts of the world, destroying the environment. India can adopt favorable laws for encouraging a pollution free mobile industry before it gets to be one more dump the rivers and destroy them activity of Telecom waste. Favorable laws will also allow for early investors to look at funding such enterprises.

Innovations
Early awareness of the problems with Telecom waste should also encourage innovations with how to handle such waste. With millions of new phones, accessories and SIM cards along with the plastic wrapping flooding the Indian markets, it can be easily a money making profession for innovators to recycle and create Green Telecom environment.

Awareness
Nothing solves problems of the environment more than the awareness of why it is necessary. India is going through the nuclear debate. Mobile waste in the scale of hundreds of millions can be disastrous to already over populated and depleted natural resources of India. All operators and government agencies should begin encouraging clean disposal of the products for easy recycling.

Swap
The existing programs to swap old phones for new ones should be further advertised and encouraged. All phone users can be given an incentive to dispose of their old units and accessories at drop off locations or at a mobile store, and perhaps encouraged with a credit for minutes or new products. Swapping and clean disposal should be mandated, encouraged and rewarded so that the people can actually see the benefit of proper disposal.

Long Lasting
As the mobile use quite prevalent in India and people constantly speaking, the use of batteries is also quite normal. Devising long lasting batteries and proper recharge mechanisms can help with the mobile waste management. It will help save energy costs and also allow people to speak longer. Manufacturers should start investing more into longer lasting and cheaper batteries. Most of the phones sold in India are cheap and should not be made with cheap materials. Telecom operators should look at subsidizing the lower end phones for better quality and longer lasting units preventing the disposal to the minimum.

Inject the emotions of Save India
Nothing sells like human emotions in the world. We should inject the emotion of saving the precious natural resources of India into Green Telecom projects. As we would like to see our forests and rivers and natural wonders of India saved, it is also a wise ploy to make Green Telecom as an emotion into the Indian psyche. With the massive numbers involved in Telecom, emotional display of Indians to save India from this future waste disaster will be a welcome emotional involvement for the talkers and movers.

With 300 million mobiles and going to 600 million soon, this Green Telecom business can be well worth investment in. Venture capital, private equity, innovators, Reliance, Bharti, Tata and all others with deep pockets can definitely plan and benefit with funding this revolution now. India is a terrific place with all things we have now, our land, our mountains, our rivers, our forests and our people are unique and secular. Our country has already shown that investing in India communications has rewarded not only the investors but also the people who communicate, and communicate a lot. Its time to plan well in advance to go GREEN with Telecom waste and plan well to benefit from not adding Telecom as one of the polluters of our great nation as other industries have already done. India should GO GREEN with Telecom now and start adopting steps to keep taking progressive path to keep talking clean.

Communications Menu

2008-08-04T20:29:00.001-05:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago

vasureddy@aol.com

Some 300 million people in India own a phone and are communicating with each other wit in the country and probably with many millions more across the world. The number of subscribers in India is growing rapidly and shows no sign of slowing down. In five years from now we could have 700 million or more and perhaps the largest mobile community of the world from India. To estimate the market growth has been is to simply underestimating the potential of the Indian market, and the demand seems constant. Dozens of operators, thousands of innovative companies, tens of thousands of outlets, millions of advertisement minutes and constant press on the communications revolution will keep pushing a variety of options and opportunities for the Indian Communications Consumer.

More 2 G Networks

Outside of the expected 3 G networks, more 2 G networks are inline for deployment. There is plenty of rural India to be covered by the current operators, and as it is mandated by the license agreements to cover the rural markets, there is more people joining the networks.

M&A Factor

Idea, Spice, Hutch, Vodaphone and many other deals will help consolidate the industry even prior to the 3 G operators coming into force. With these deals are happening the market is not just consolidating the numbers but also creating value for both the users and investors. Better management, better network coverage, better offerings and eliminating the inefficiencies of the operations are all commonplace with the mergers and acquisitions activity. It is surprising that the government owned MTNL and BSNL have not gotten into the M&A activity with their huge cash surpluses. If there is no restriction on them to acquire other operators, they should do so now.

3 G Networks Are Coming

Just announced 3 G auctions should give some cheer to potential operators who are not already in the Indian telecommunications markets. With multiple operators contemplated for each sector it will be a new menu of phones and services for the existing mobile population, while delivering advanced services for people who have been waiting for such services.

The 3 G should also deliver a strong boost for the next year’s central government budget. If the estimated 30,000 to 40,000 Crores in license fees are realized, then Indian Finance Ministry can develop many positive economy signals for years to come. If the additional annual collection from revenue base is added the value of 700 million people using communications will drive the economic scenario for many years to come.

Cheap and High End Phones

The high end phones with more functionality allow users to access value added services, and create more opportunity for revenues for the services providers. Be it with the Chinese phones or the coming 3 G phones, both the high-end and lower RPU users will have the ability to use the slew of value added services that are being developed for the Indian market. The cost of the phone eventually will become a non-issue as the biggies of the mobile manufacturing will competitively price their phones if the cheap phones with high end options from China garner a sizable market share. The users can wait and watch the price drop for handsets rapidly.

Declining Rates

Per minute airtime rates have been coming down, and innovative schemes have continued to be deployed by the operators. Free rental or no rental, friends and family plans, free or limited charges for night and weekends, and promotions for use of minutes are all being deployed by the wireless operators. The regulators are also actively involved in keeping the price per minute down. Although per minute cost in India is small, when compared to the GDP verses cost per minute it is still high. With many 3 G and 2 G networks coming into the market, it is quite certain that the prices will come down further, or the value for the same money can be increasingly greater.

Incoming Calls For Free

This is one feature that can draw more and more usage to the market in both business and personal lifestyle of the Indian market. Personally Indians seem to adopt a more social lifestyle and communicating more. The mobility has provided the young and old Indians with communications freedom and it is showing in the increased numbers of users. Businesses which are growing are also use communications rather than people resources and realizing savings in return. Having all incoming calls free will continue to inspire greater number of people to become mobile users and be available to those who need to find them.

We Love To Speak

No question of Indians loving to make their point. We love to speak. This is a good enough reason to look for expanded growth with the markets. We are now mobile and we love to speak. There is no question of just 700 million phones in India. We may be 100% connected very soon if the telecommunications menu is affordable.

The recent pronouncement that there will be no license fee for rural operators might also pull in entrepreneurs to look at making a business case out of the uncovered and unwired markets in India. Subsidizing the wiring of rural India with the already stashed generated with ADC and other charges imposed on the existing operators might lend some credence to supporting rural telecommunications. The Internet and other services which require high speed bandwidth will further the educational and business opportunities for rural India. The consumers can start to pick and choose services, products and plans that will cater to every aspect of their life style. Service providers in India have always been innovative, and the expanded license base will only make them more aggressive and innovative in keeping their customers. A lot of exciting times for the Indian communications markets in the coming months with the market deploying more networks and technology, and customers ready to choose from an expanding menu of offerings to speak and speak some more.

Policy Innovations

2008-06-28T14:38:00.001-05:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

Effective politics have always used innovative schemes to attract voter blocks. Many such policies are short lived while effective in pleasing the appetite of the electorate. The subsidized rice scheme which provides a kilo of rice at two Rupees is a great one and has been used several times in the last 25 years. The great fan fare this attracts at election rallies is phenomenal, and perhaps brings votes to the party that subsidizes Rice at such low price. This is not a clever policy but a populist political scheme, which really doesn’t do justice to the budgets of any state.

Indians, especially Indians in the opposition parties decry of political opportunism whenever we hear of such schemes, but never really protest against it. The ruling party can pretty much establish policies that are popular and cost a lot of money to the treasury, most times money that is not budgeted. The Indian democracy is happy with fighting market forces. The latest issue with the uptick in oil prices is a great political rabble-rouser for opposition parties. No one is bothered that the price is following the demand and supply theory. Not a single indicator shows the consumption is lower because of the gas prices, but opposition parties make it an elections issue and blame the government for a market driven issue. Capitalism should never forget the demand and supply principals, but the opposition parties conveniently forget that the democracies with capital market will never be able to control the true forces of global economies.

Collecting maximum amount of money for making public any resources owned by the Indian people should be a normal practice, as it would be in any democracy and be of benefit all people of the country in general. India has been a free country for decades and should start practicing the true logic of being a democracy and a capitalistic society. Every democratic country on earth should do this, and India should start to lead the way to all others. India and its politicians should not be against globalization of Indian markets, rather embrace them. We should not forget the foray of Tata into many markets, along with many other Indian corporations foraying into to purchase of companies and assets outside of India. If a Vodaphone is willing to fork out a few billion for purchasing a piece mobile markets we should welcome it, rather then prohibit it. Be it in communications or in medicine or any other industry India should be aggressive in allowing and going after industrial globalization. Only when you sell is when you realize the true value of what market believes your true value is, and as the rest of the capitalistic world does, the Indians should also try and realize the potential of their true value. Most often then entrepreneurs who sell their businesses go back and invest in their next enterprise, and create more value for themselves and people around them.
The classic Indian business heroes are worshipped initially and when they start achieving valuations in markets that crowns them as leaders in their respective industries, they start becoming national figures with their businesses becoming big enough to employ tens of thousands of people, and their clout in Delhi big enough to favor their market position. Unlike any other capitalistic democracies, Indian success stories are fabled as India’s pre-British leaders, who forever are looked upon as legends. They certainly deserve the stature for path-breaking in their contributions to masses of Indians, who show reverence to leaders.

The past two decades have given added reverence with the late Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani creating an empire that is the most valuable enterprise in India today, and he had no roots like a Tata or a Birla. Looking up to Mr. Ambani even after his death is a natural inclination where a country full of dreams can dream of achieving what he did. It is a perfect example of a simple man achieving the capitalistic dream with hard work and attitude to achieve aspirations that are beyond a common man’s abilities. The well made movie “Guru” in 2007 although dramatizing his story, well reflects the journey of a determined man to achieve great successes. Many such stories outside of Reliance have become common place in India, and the evolution of Information Technology, Telecommunications, Medicine, Construction, Real Estate, Automotive and all ancillary and support services have made it possible. Much has changed since the advent of economic reforms started with Late Mr. Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure as Prime Minister, and especially when Mr. Narasimha Rao was the president with the current Prime Minister Mr. Man Mohan Singh was the Finance Minister and Mr. Chidambaram was the Commerce Minister. In fairness many of the senior bureaucrats today were young and upcoming bureaucrats at that time, and have continued to do good work on helping the country become an economic engine that has been growing rapidly through the past fifteen years or so.

Despite the growth and development, India suffers from protectionist mind frame especially from political opposition. Each of India’s big business successes come with global participation, technology, funding and expertise. When we are able to integrate the organizational and economic fundamentals of others into our culture and develop great value from the outsider’s influence, there is nothing wrong in trying to allow them to become a part of our enterprise. When an Indian company acquires a company outside of our own shores, what is wrong with us allowing them to integrate into our enterprise?

Global participation allows for maximizing the value for the enterprise and the individuals who own the enterprise. Shareholders benefit when they are allowed to sell their stakes to whosoever pays the maximum value. People invest to make money from their investment and would like to maximize their profits, and India and every other democratic nation should allow their people to obtain maximum value for their investment.
When enterprises seek measures to benefit only their interests the government should reject them, but when markets seek reforms to grow the government should support them. Taxation and tariffs should be minimal to allow enterprises to reinvest and grow more rapidly, and government should accept that it is demand and supply that makes markets what they are. There is not a single democratically elected government that has been successful in managing low inflation, high economic growth, with completely satisfied public opinion and manages to stay in power for as long as they would like to. There is no Utopia on earth and our country is far from being one.

Telecommunications is one area where there is ample room for government to become proactive. The upcoming 3 G auctions can yield great benefits for the treasury to cover much of the inflationary pressures on the government. Continued growth in subscriber base will deliver sustained and growing revenue for the government. Perhaps a partial public offering of BSNL will net a handsome reward for the government, while making the lethargic enterprise more competitive. Creative and proactive policy making is possible and is not against the interest of the public and markets, and it can deliver value, growth and employment. The government doesn’t even have to think of being creative if they simply use commonsense approach to policy making. Good policies sustain for long term and deliver sustained growth.

To have protectionist polices is good when protecting national treasures, or resources, and its people. Our innovation should be in value creation and not with restrictions to economic growth. Policies that favor wealth creation should be encouraged. Policies that foster true globalization should be encouraged. Definitely policies that sustain economic growth should be sustained.

The New India Company

2008-06-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

India’s national interest is in making Indian management and investment successful in the world and outside of its own well defined confines. There is no questioning on the Indian minds being some of the best in all fields of business and global affairs. The technology and information boom of the last decade has transformed services industries around the world with major contributions from Indian resources. Many IT services companies from India have not only become billion dollar profit makers but also become entrenched in every aspect of global technology development. Decades of excellence in medicine and science has always been the Indian forte, but last decade has seen Indian enterprise freely expanding and reaching markets that once were even difficult to visit.

The shareholders of these booming companies have continued to realize the benefits of betting on these now global companies early. Not underplaying today’s volatility of the Indian and global markets, it is nevertheless these IT pioneers have created dramatic and everlasting changes in the Indian economy and life styles, while also attaining the financial results over a decade that please any long term investor. These companies seem to make bold and long term moves to keep growing and entrenching into local markets around the globe. They have started not just to rely on Indian resources, but now actively integrating into global teams, thereby ensuring the acceptability in local conditions while maintaining the Indian component.

Also, the oldest brands in India are no longer being looked down. Tata acquiring Range Rover and Jaguar is a fine example of India’s enterprise is not just competent but is also best suited to tackle global issues and create value for its shareholder’s on a global basis. Any company that bring “Nano” to becoming a reality and also acquire the brands of Range Rover and Jaguar in the matter of months should have the stature of thinking globally. There have been many instances in Steel, Medicine, Manufacturing and Mining that have seen Indian enterprises successfully acquiring foreign entities. Not until recently these examples of once in a blue moon global participation has now become thing of reality for Indian enterprise. IT companies also have been quite aggressive in acquiring companies and resources globally, and auto manufacturers have been exemplary in bring not only brands to India in partnerships but have built long term relationships that have brought technology and abilities that have been making affordable cars while making driving an impossible task.

There is no looking back at this stage as Indian economy is able to withstand the downturns and inflation comparatively as well as other developed nations. The daily discussions on the value of the Rupee and price of gold in global standards are indicative of capital markets that prosper in democracies. Market forces are being driven independent of politics, although a touch of bureaucracy is still a model of functioning in India.

Bharti and Reliance going after a company such as MTN is a great example of the telecommunications companies of India coming of age. There are no absolute leaders in telecom, and whosoever has the money and the ability to convince the regulators of the world can become a part of the global telecom management. It will be wonderful for Indian entities becoming a part of the overall management of global markets in telecom. Te Indian success with bringing value to all customers with mobiles and communications can add to the still growing markets in developing nations and further drive the economies of these markets. There is no immediate end to value addition to the communications markets and many of them still are in their infancy with market penetration and services.

If there is a model of success in telecom that the Indian markets have derived in the last five years, and if it can be deployed in other nations, the value of such exercise can flow into other commercial and trade arrangements enhancing the ability of Indian enterprises to do business in countries where there is little or marginal trade today.

The participation in a global telecom market will also influence the Indian economy to start looking at external forces to drive further changes into its commercial, financial and banking practices that will eliminate any current impracticality of the emerging systems to be more competitive and proactive to deal with the global Indian company. While India continues to embrace systematic approaches to regulations, it still has enormous strides to make in policies and procedures for fully market driven business environment. The global Indian company can begin to eliminate negative market forces that may have curtailed the real possibilities of what the country’s true potential could be.

Emerging into a global company can be quick and managing globally should not be a great task, provided the Indian company believes and behaves as a global entity. The continued privilege of the large enterprises in India is not a part of the global culture, but each country has its own local giants. When you combine these diverse but likely benefactors the benefits can be immediate and enormous. About 20 years ago India was looked on as a third world (along with China and Brazil) country, and today it has made giant strides in growth in real and human capital.

If there is an opportunity to expand the Indian company it is now time. Many countries can use the learning of the Indian company from the past two decades, and build similar and local models for dramatic economic growth. Communications will help every individual and rapid growth in communications will lead to rapid economic growth.

The big Indian company should start aggressive and good deal making, while embracing the global markets. Size matters in being big, and seizing the opportunity to become global should be done now, and with great care and organization that will continue to foster the growth of the Indian company and the markets it embraces.

Will You Allow ME to be A BIG Telecom?

2008-05-10T21:27:00.000-05:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

In India things are not the same anymore. Everything in India seems to be big these days. Indian is synonymous with enormous pride and growth. Every industry segment in India is zooming in growth and valuations. So, if the Indian market allows me, I will be a big telecom.

Here is what will allow me to be a BIG Telecom:

We have the second largest telecommunications subscriber base in the world. We have enormous opportunities in mobile, land line, rural and other forms of communications services. We may be the most attractive investment destination in the world for telecommunications markets. We have been slowly erasing the sins of over taxing and removing the taxation barriers for the operators for faster growth with investment and attractive pricing. We have the ability to allow more competition and become a natural capital market where both users of the services and providers of services can get the best of each other. We can continue to grow both subscribers and services at the same rate until we can’t invent any new services to help people communicate with each other and also satisfy the fads of communications.

The rule makers should have been just TRAI and DOT. For some reason the already big telecom communications companies in India seem to also have become rule makers, especially when it comes to arguing against any new competition in the mobile operations. Just in the last decade these folks were start-ups with capital from many a foreign companies and they used every resource they could to start their own businesses. They certainly lobbied hard for concessions and spectrum. They did work hard to go start-up to mega company status in no time, and all their success which is well deserved is based on their ability to manage their businesses well and attract subscribers with affordable and value based offerings.

While the DOT and TRAI don’t seem to see eye to eye with each other on the allocation of spectrum and pricing the spectrum, the already established players arguing for no new competition is a farce. Indian market should never allow such highhandedness especially by companies that became big in less then a decade of operations.

One of the biggest arguments with 3 G licensing through open auctions and open bidding for anyone with ability to bid and comply with law is that they will have less advantage over the incumbents in investments. That is the biggest nonsense if there was an argument. Once again the incumbents must be reminded that they were new ten years ago, and the success of the Indian Mobile market show that there is no need for any sympathy to new players. There is plenty of venture and private capital available along with vendor and other company financing to fund what it takes to build networks at the same speed as the incumbents. Why would any competitor cry about another’s returns and where does any rules making body have experience in money and investment management?

Allow me to participate in the growth of India. Don’t let me be stifled by the so called invested parties as their market valuations reflect their worth, and don’t just allow them to continue to become so big that they can dictate terms to users and the rule makers. Let rule makers make the rules and not worry about the ability of new companies to build networks as quickly as the already working ones. They probably will build faster and have better services then the incumbents, and perhaps force incumbents into better coverage and services, along with better pricing.

Let the government of India benefit from open auctions. If allowed through transparent and fair bidding or e-auctions there will be a huge value on the spectrum, and will benefit the government. The new players will be better prepared and better planned to handle their rollout as prescribed by the rules of the license.

If the DOT, TRAI and incumbents allow me to participate there is no reason for me to fail in the telecommunications growth in India. They just must allow me and it is very likely along with me there will be several new giant telecommunications companies that will be created along with already existing ones. Let us have rule makers make rules and not start worrying about ROI. Let us grow while allowing everyone to take their own risks and benefits, and not stifle competition. Me here is the entire world who already have no piece of the action in Indian Telecom, and if India allows me I will also take the risks and become a BIG TELECOM.

May 5th 2008
Vasu Reddy

Can Indian Telecom Foster Cottage Industry?

2008-04-03T22:22:00.000-05:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

Indian enterprise and cottage industry go hand in hand through the ages and successfully thrive along with the growing industries with huge workforces. The communications revolution of the mid-nineties through the mind boggling subscriber growth through 2007 and early 2008 should offer opportunities for India’s cottage industry to get involved in the opportunity to develop jobs and create wealth for small business person in all areas of India. The Indian cottage industry is quite enterprising and some great examples include:

· While the Mumbai workers run off to their offices and markets, the food delivery system makes sure they are served home cooked and almost hot food at their desks and on time. It is the coordination and planning that still baffles many a strategists who may never plan it as well as it is done in Mumbai.

· Farmers with very small tracts of land still are a large source of food for the Indian population. Farming in India is a cottage industry. It is exemplary that a very small piece of land can be put to use with such dedication by generations of families that live off of the land, and do it year after year.

· Weavers all across India produce materials that drape every form and shape and are famous across the world for its fine quality and beautiful work. From very simple white cotton to the most exquisite silk, all come from all over India’s weavers and for generations have had maintained their quality and beauty.

Telecom coverage is spreading into the rural areas in many parts of India, and all major carriers have announced their next round of expansion and coverage plans for rural India. The opportunity to create small businesses across the country that mirrors the enterprising cottage industries will certainly benefit a large segment of new entrepreneurs in rural India. The success stories of Micro financing in India and Bangladesh are common and similar ideas can be implemented with support from the major Telecommunications companies. There are great examples of such stories in Tamilnadu with enterprises using Kiosk owners to span into other small industries.

Indian Telecom is planning to build 1000s of towers to expand coverage to places where there is none today. Although an old idea, here is something that can be done to accomplish multiple objectives for rural India.

Each village or congregations of people require fresh water and a small tank will ably help with the supply of fresh water. Why not build a public and private enterprise relationship to create a water tank for every community with a small pumping station. On the top of the water tank install the antenna and also co-host the base equipment with the pumping station. They share power, housing and safety needed for the equipment. The financing of the water station can be through cooperative bank, which can collect for the rent through the company using the tower, and multiple companies can house small antennas to share the infrastructure. If the pumping station and water tank are built with proper specifications to house multiple companies, it will better serve the needs of coverage and also help pay for the infrastructure.

Telecom companies have recently announced that they will be building towers together with competition to save money. Investing in rural development projects, while building towers is not a bad plan for general economic development.

Further each village with a thousand homes or more has a school and can be used as a village computer center. As the telecom towers can bring in band width to each school as they are typically close to water tanks, they can be used for educational purposes, and thereby connecting them to the rest of the world. There are many state and global programs that help rural schools with libraries and computers and even the telecom giants continue to sponsor the educational programs, which further enhance the opportunity matrix for the parents of these village children.

The educational centers can start to promote their local products through the Internet. Local businessmen or co-operatives can create their own opportunities by using the internet, and also state and local governments can promote local products through the available communications means.

The Indian Telecom companies evolved very quickly compared to the global telecom companies. Be it with planning, deployment, technology and use of resources these new economic giants have been quite well structured, well managed and well planned. These excellent management attributes clearly reflect in their market valuations. Planning rural networks and economic development hand in hand is not going to be an enormous task for these very smartly managed companies. If effectively included into the telecom planning the vast Indian rural population ca not only just communicate but can become a model for economic development by simply utilizing the centuries old cottage industry and farming. Several such small initiatives to develop cooperative programs and bringing them to the global markets is already happening, and by planning rural development, promotion of local industry and communications together will be a great model for future India. People can work from where they are and not move to towns and cities that are already polluted and over populated. People can be wit their own folks and not worry of being strangers in really strange places. Children and adults can work together throughout the year and be more self-sufficient. Overall the new opportunities for commerce, education and development will lead to an India that is developing across its span, and not just in pockets.

Many alternatives are available to pass on the Telecom growth to small industry to replace the loss of export oriented jobs and farming jobs. In fact the workers of a village or rural areas who solely depend on farming have less than half a year’s work and by making simple cottage industry options available, they can work fulltime. When people participate in enterprise they not only put time to good use, but also start to get educated in money and employment matters, and will begin to translate their learning to educate their children and further develop future generation of growth all around them.

Some 20 years ago very few people in USA worked from home. They all drove or took public transportation to work, and did this for many decades. With the developments in communications and internet, now work at home is just as normal as it is going to work. We can only imagine what can be done by connecting the rural India to the world; the opportunities are unfathomable.

Putting to use the enormous abilities of the communications, implementing simple and affordable plans for rural development, including small cottage industry into the main stream development of the nation, basic education, supporting the localized industry and sharing the benefits of global knowledge; should be easily to implement. Simply start implementing small plans with every new tower that is required by the Telecom expansion, and my India will be a wonderland.

Can Value Addition Be Reality In Indian Telecom Market?

2008-03-05T15:30:00.002-06:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com
On March 2, 2008 Virgin announced its entry into the ballooning Indian mobile market via value added services targeting youth segment with a franchise agreement with Tata Teleservices. Virgin provides value added services in various mobile markets around the world. Virgin doesn’t actually hold any wireless licenses. It simply brands its services in partnership with mobile operators as value added. It is quite a common practice across the globe to buy bulk airtime, add new features and resell with custom branding.
On March 4, 2008 the DOT asked for clarifications from Tata Teleservices on this agreement and asked to stop any services under the arrangement with Virgin until the agreements are reviewed and in accordance with the license issued by the DOT.
The COAI also has been asking for clarity on this agreement and has written multiple letters to the DOT, and has clearly articulated that the Virgin-Tata value added services agreement was illegal under the current license agreement. By the time the review and approval or disapproval of this agreement for value added services is completed, there will be many arguments about the wording of the license agreement and multiple interpretations of the same. When Mr. Tata went public about the deal with Virgin on the value added services there was global coverage of Virgin’s entry into the Indian market, and just 2 days after the announcements it became contentious.
The two major contentions against the deal are:
1. Is Virgin branding the mobile services under Tata name and marketing them to customers as per prescribed guidelines in the license agreement.
2. Virgin in its own way has made presentations that did not mention Tata name in promotions, and thereby ignored or simply was arrogant in assuming there will be no objections to the promotional strategies in entering into the highly competitive and extraordinarily difficult Indian market
In the already contentious Indian market where GSM and CDMA operators are at odds, the demand for new spectrum is greater than what is conceivable, every major industrial house interested in a piece of the market and all above and beyond the demand form the growing subscriber base, it will be impossible to practice dynamics of an open market where market rules will be interpreted to serve the best interests of the consumer.
Both Tata and Virgin will make every effort to point out that this value added services through Tata Teleservices is a legal arrangement that is allowed by the license and the others will make sure that the agreement and the license are at odds, while the DOT will scrutinize this and eventually provide their take on it. There is no guessing what will transpire at the end, but it does show that the Indian market is contentious, which is a fact since the beginning of privatization and it continues to be and will be, and both Virgin and Tata were not as smart in presenting the value added services in such a way the agreement would comply to the letter of the law. The law is by rule ambiguous and will cause continuous ambiguity with interpretation.
In any case, this latest instance of providing services in the Indian mobile market is challenging. It will certainly help to framing the industry rules and regulations to fit every conceivable value addition and what is, or make value addition a preference of the operator.
If the Indian Telecom market has to look at value addition seriously, the technology challenges are minimal whereas the legal implications become onerous.

In reality many services are simple:

· A wireless operator can use a combination of technologies to expand services.
· An ISP can essentially provide conference facilities to all its broadband users.
· A village within a cellular tower can become a WIFI point.
· An individual mobile user in a village can start a small mobile enterprise to serve to the village folks in meeting their in-coming or out-going call needs.
· An Internet café can become a conference point for both Voice and Video.

These are some of the many instances in the mobile world which can be simply replicated to the growing needs of network and coverage. The existing strict guidelines may not allow for such massive changes in operations with our licenses today.

Simplification of existing guidelines and developing better revenue management will be prudent. In both spectrum auctions and revenue sharing, it is essential to make the market a level playing field for all aspirants, big and small while the ultimate benefit of progressive revisions to the telecom operating guidelines will be to both the GOI and the consumer.

The first place to start is the already propagated for auctions for scarce spectrum, and it has the highest value revenue for GOI and DOT, and also attracting serious bidders who have deep pockets for paying for both the spectrum and infrastructure. It is absolutely necessary to get serious about spectrum allocations as there are many global operators willing to invest long term and would like to participate in the Indian market. It is fallacy to believe that the new operators will be more susceptible to longer periods on ROI. When the number portability is adapted across the networks the user will simply go to where the value for his money is and will never be tied to an old or new operator. Presuming that the newer technologies and value additions will be common place, the more choice the better the consumer. Only the fittest of the operators who provide value and quality will get the subscribers. All the global markets have demonstrated this formula, and the old operators in India should be vigilant to this dynamic of the mobile market. Open the licensing process for honest bids and let the players spend freely on both the acquisition of spectrum and building the network.

Revenue sharing between the operators and GOI can be implemented through a simplified tax structure without much debate if it is across the board for all communications services. The current taxes and revenue sharing models were put in place for operations implemented in 1990s and did provide adequate return for the GOI while parting with a monopoly and valuable spectrum. In today’s environment they are outdated and contentious. Now that the market has been maturing (may be less than 50% of what it can eventually be) and continues to grow beyond anyone’s reasonable expectations, it can be a wise idea to have a blanket Universal Communications Tax on all purchases made a communications user. It can be one fee for all use of communications, and every time a purchase is made by an individual, groups, business or any type of person or entity, charge a fixed percentage of the sale that is collected at the point of sale and paid to the GOI. That should eliminate the imbalances of fees collected on each type of service and eliminate the bias that exists. Regular phone service, Value added services, new innovations, VOIP, broadband, mobile, satellite, WIFI, WIMAX and everything else will be taxed at the same rate and GOI gets exactly same percentage of the sale on all communications use.

Simple mathematics can be applicable for licensing, auction and uniform percentage of the sales as GOI revenue. When someone bids and acquires spectrum or a license, they will have no value by just holding it. The spectrum or license has to be operated at the highest sales that it can generate, essentially requiring infrastructure to promote sales, and with sales revenue for GOI.

By Simplifying licensing process and revenue management it will further allow for more innovative partnerships and investment into the communications industry. The positive changes will not hurt the incumbents as they already have a great deal of value with their spectrum and installed user base. The newer entrants will have a level playing field with uniform rules and clarity with operating guidelines. Both the old and new operators will benefit from a single type of revenue sharing or tax on the sales, and GOI with a lot more revenue because of the innovations with additional revenue sources.

India is unique in its own corporate structure. It has started to selectively shed the monopolies and licensed industries (“for sure not completely done”). India already has created new heavyweights in Telecom who don’t have roots or dynasties. It was possible because of the quick transformation on Telecom industry from a monopoly to a competitive market. Even today majority of the Telecom services belong to big names in the Industry, with some consolidation already completed. Foreign players such as Vodaphone have already priced the Indian market to global standards, and Hutchinson’s exit from India is not surprising. But the Indian grown Telecom Majors are a model of wealth creation in rapid time which probably was not seen in any market forecasts. The market values derived by the Telecom companies are from Indian consumer’s adaptation to utility of communications, and clearly reflects the possibilities of such vast growth in value creation. By simplifying the rules of engagement it will only encourage more of such value creation, along with innovation, technology and value addition.

If Tata and Virgin, both global brands and formidable global corporations are having difficulty with the regulations to operate value added services, it is inconceivable for a smaller player to operate in the same environment. It is however possible to simplify the guidelines and generate more revenues for GOI, while making sure the consumers get value, quality and choice. We just have to pick the best practices available in the global market to make value addition a reality in the Indian Telecom market.

Spectrum for Budget Balancing

2008-02-10T07:18:00.000-06:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

There is a fix to just about every business and budget in the world. The on-going C Block spectrum auctions in USA have crossed 20 Billion dollars as of the 2nd week of February, and still have until June 2008 to close. This auction could fetch 30 billion or more when done, giving a nice chunk of change for the FCC and the USA government to erase some of the budget deficit.

This not only creates an extraordinary value for the US government in using the scarce resource in an already saturated mobile market, but also caters to the open access protocol being pushed by Google. This means that VOIP, Internet, Mobile and other content based services will be available on these new networks, creating opportunity for new generation of services and products. It is a win for the government, and also a win for operators along with a win for consumers who continue to crave the enhanced services. There is a great deal that can be emulated from this to the Indian market where the adaptation of value added services seem to be a natural for consumers.

The western markets continue to reap the benefits of selling airwaves and making big bucks for their governments, the Indian market is still coping with the 2G licensing and how to extract enough spectrum for the already outstanding LOI to multiple players in each market. 3G and other spectrum availability in India and how to place this in the hands of the market are still under bureaucratic and military consideration.

If the USA budget can get a healthy dose of good medicine with the 30 to 40 billion dollar C Block Spectrum money we can only imagine what can be done to the Indian Budget which can benefit from the same? The wonderful valuations for the mobile networks remain same irrespective of the markets they operate in. Be it the western markets or Africa or India, there is huge valuation for wireless networks, and global investors continued to put money in them.

Assuming that the Indian market will double in 4 years to 500 million users, it is absolutely necessary to release adequate spectrum to the operators. While doing so, there is no reason for the Government of India and DOT to use the auction process for releasing the new spectrum. The open auctions bring in global players and big investments into India. Some of the many benefits of open auctions include:

1. Fair play – I am not an expert in the policy making of DOT or have no opinion on how this spectrum is allocated now. But adapting to an open auction with majority of ownership with Indians as it is now is fair game. The global players and investors will definitely participate in the auctions, and let anyone and everyone who has the cash to bid, do so. Set minimal guidelines and use of spectrum deadlines, and let them bid. Set minimum bid price for a block of spectrum, define the usage guidelines and let it be open and transparent. The auction will create great wealth for India.
2. Huge new infrastructure investments for the networks – There is no doubt about the billions needed to construct networks, and people needed to run them. This is an area that has proven to be a boon outside of IT jobs. There will be hundreds of thousands of new jobs with each nationwide network, along with services, banking, maintenance, support, showrooms, manufacturing and whatever we can think of within the Industry. There will be growth in every village or town with the added communications. It is also possible that the manufacturers who are just shipping into India will all start to make their network and consumer products in India, so more jobs will be created. There is no question about the parallels in economic development with communications development, and the already robust growth in Indian economy will further speedup.
3. New Jobs – More jobs with more development is already an established fact with Indian economy.
4. Budget balancing – What better way to balance the budget by using the airwaves. It is not selling land or minerals or people force, its airwaves and they work for the benefit of the Indians truly with vast global investments coming into the market. It may not completely balance the budgets but billions will help in coming close to balanced budgets, and there is no need for any negotiations or backroom deals for open spectrum auctions. Let us just do them, and get the highest value possible for the airwaves.
5. Continued share of revenues – There is a constant revenue source for the DOT coffers with revenue sharing, and with the subscriber growth, it will continue to grow. No need for any planned collections or tax policies, as the operators are obligated to do this, and it is great revenue for the government. The more networks, the more users and more service fees.
6. Services at competitive pricing – I have already reflected on the cost per minute to the current Indian subscribers in January 2008, and with more networks the pricing will definitely come down. Along with the price drop, the services portfolio and customer focus will also improve with competition. The more networks we deploy, there will be more choice for the individual customer, and it is always better to have a choice, let alone multiple choices.

This is the 2008 annual budget time in India. The rapid growth in telecommunications subscribers and the need for spectrum is well defined. No one should complain about auctioning the spectrum and using the proceeds to budget balancing. By meeting market needs, creating competition and focusing on the customer and also erasing the budget deficit the Government of India will only serve its national interest.

Having watched the spectrum auctions in the USA for the last couple of decades, it is never late to get as much money as possible for the GOI for the scarce and very valuable air waves, especially in a market that will double in 4 years. We can really wipe out the Indian Budget deficit if the valuation of the spectrum reflects the valuations of the existing and potential customer base.

Satisfying India's Communications Needs

2008-01-27T15:44:00.000-06:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

Hundreds of high profile applicants are lining up for spectrum in India, and there is much confusion about when there will be clarity on who will be next in providing mobile communications for the fastest growing market in the world. There is market driven valuations floated at hundreds of billions of dollars, but nothing focused on the affordability of the services for the consumers.

To draw parallels and calculate the USA and India market affordability for about 500 minutes a month per user, we estimate that approximately $40.00 per month is spent with services with basic SMS services and 500 mobile minutes in the USA. If per capita of USA is $30,000 annually, then the percentage of income spent on an annual basis is $480.00/$30,000.00 or a 1.6% of per capita income spent on the services. If we calculate One Rupee per minute for the same service or 500 Rupees per month, or 6000 Rupees, or $150.00 on an annual basis and if the per capita income is $2,000 for India, it is about 7.5% of per capita income that is costing the users. Even by reducing the cost of services in half it will still be a proportionally high per minute value paid by the Indian user.

If the USA market is almost saturated, Indian market is over 25% penetration and growing fast, and can double in a couple of years. If the communications are making the overall Indian available and competitive, imagine what it can do if the entire population can communicate, and afford the same.

Perhaps the regulators can look at the globe for examples in adaptation while encouraging the rapid growth.

Global GSM conference held in Cape Town last year was announcing the next big thing to keep an eye out for in telecommunications is 4G or fourth generation networks. India is still contemplating what to do with 2G and not yet set process in motion for 3G. There is no doubt historically telecommunications has been defined by the type of services delivered as well as by the technology that enables economic and social development. First, there were basic voice services. This was then followed by a trend to enhance voice with in-band data services. The next evolution was to separate these two networks. Then mobility was added to the mix. Finally, the fourth dimension to this equation was adding video over this new network allowing voice, video and data to be delivered any time, at any place.The two most notable growth trends in the telecommunications industry over the past decade have been mobility, as delivered by second generation networks like GSM, and fixed data services as delivered by the Internet. The freedom of mobility and the power of information are driving the telecommunications industry to a converged solution via mobile Internet services. There is news declaring WiMax as an IMT2000 standard brings a new dimension to the debate. This will effectively allow operators to be able to deploy mobile WiMax in 3G spectrum globally.

Although 4G has not yet been officially defined, it is expected that fourth generation networks will be able to deliver mobile broadband services such as mobile Internet. The mobile Internet service presents several new challenges to the telecoms world such as the ability of mobile networks to deliver broadband services, the ability of mobile terminals to support broadband services, and above all for these services to be cost effective.India has already issued multiple ISP licenses and has a reasonably good service in the urban centers.

A combination of technologies with VOIP, WiMax, GSM, CDMA and local networks will simply allow the operators to bring services to more rural places. It will also increase the value of each of the investment already made by the companies with these licenses. There is no need to keep discriminating the operators from providing services. The big money involved in mobile licenses will always be preset, but utilizing the already invested ISP and simpler services will bring more communications to the Indian market. One last thought on this is if the rural development program is of such high priority in the government’s plan, a simple plan to provide ISP and VOIP services to very village can be subsidized by the State and Local governments. With the budget sessions coming up and pork being handed out to various segments in the market, it is not a bad idea to promote simple services at the village level, while the big money players fight it our for 2G or 3G or may be even 4G networks of India. While the DOT rakes in billions, it also can allow the already available licensees to do some good, and the politicians can claim focus on rural communications.

Leave Chiranjeevi Alone

2007-10-26T19:33:00.000-05:00

October 26, 2007

It is an unbelievable situation for Chiranjeevi.

His daughter keeps asking him to do things like meet her in-laws, and she has their blessings. Then why does he have to do anything? She can simply go to their home. Chiranjeevi and his family has said that they accept her wish. Outside of his money there is no more he can offer her. Now she has a husband and his blessed family. So she should get off his back and go where she pleases with who she pleases. Stop harassing the man through the media and so called attorneys. In less then a week, Mom, Dad and family are strangers for this girl, and they should let her go and do what she pleases. She is unable to appreciate that this attorney, this media and this guy she married are never after her but her father's name and fame. He earned his good name for 30 years and she is killing this.

This idiot who eloped with a 18 year old doesn't have a job nor support of his family. He claims to be upset at the police. Doing stupid stuff first and then getting a little support from someone and starting to showoff for a few days. He should be made to answer how he will take care of this girl. If he is not after her money, then why make noise. Just get a job and leave her family alone.

It is also stupid to see so many columns about so called run-away bride. If she was not Chiranjeevi's daughter nobody would care. So let them get a life and leave the man alone. They shamed him and continue to make stupid claims. Just shut up and get a life, and show him that they really are good citizens, and not just stupid kids who got in front of the mikes because of him and blame him for what they have done.

Rama

2007-09-26T13:14:00.000-05:00

September 25, 2007
Vasu Reddy in Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

If there was a name that is pronounced each day, daily, and if it gets counted the total number of times people say it - Rama is definitely going to reverberate around the Universe daily. The Hindu God Rama or Srirama is the single most revered God in the history of Hinduism. There are no parallels to his virtues, no comparisons to his leadership, no blemish in his personality and not a single story that has been told that belittles his good name.

In the last few weeks the reports on Lord Rama’s existence and if it can be proved if he built Ram Setu Bridge to Lanka has been questioned by the authorities who want to dredge the bridge. As stupid as it sounds to question the believability in Rama, it is also quite foolish to link the easy way to dredge the holy bridge to weather the Lord really went to engineering school and which one?

Hindus everywhere worship and adore Rama. If some idiot questions of his existence let us simply remember that Rama is forever and everywhere. There is no need to prove if he existed many thousands of years ago, as he lives in every person who believes in him. There is no need for dredging Ram Setu as it will cost very little to dredge the land around it and not touch the holy belief of Hindus.

May be God will make sure that the idiots who question the existence of Rama will somehow realize that there is no reason to destroy beliefs of those who do. The non-believers are human and will never live tens of thousands of years, as the Lord Rama has, and forever be remembered.

The government of India and the state, the current politicians who were elected is specs of dust compared to the name Rama. They will be gone soon, and Rama as he has been through the ages will be revered forever.

Just build the stupid canal thru the land mass and don’t touch Ram Setu. You can believe whatever you chose to but don’t be stupid to ask if Rama really went to an engineering college and which one? Remember that the good Lord Rama did not need engineering degrees and archeological departments; he did this with Monkeys and a Squirrel. Let me emphasize that all of them are smarter than you stupid idiots who question the most revered name in Human History.

Independent Republic

2006-01-25T20:40:00.000-06:00

January 28, 2006
Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

Indian finance minister Mr. Chidambaram proudly points out that the Indian GDP is growing at 7%, and could possibly go to 8%. A sustainable growth of 7% to 8% GDP will definitely influence the Indian economic might globally. The Indian politicians in power are making statements that imply the current government policies are influencing the excellent but sustainable GDP growth. The current government is less than two years old, and it is practically impossible to influence a GDP turnaround in that short span of time. The real architects of the forward looking economic policies; Dr. Man Mohan Singh and Mr. Chidambaram who originally were in the early 1990s government of Mr. Rao, today run the country and its finances. The growth in GDP should be attributed to the long term and positive influence of the then progressive looking government, and the good fortune to have the same leadership back in power after fifteen years to enhance the opportunity to extend the economic benefits.

Independent India after getting rid of the British rule was governed under the leadership that felt that we were a country of poor people, who needed basics to live. To a large degree the first three leaders of the independent India were simply trying to deal with the aftereffects of India’s independence from the British, and tried a combination of democracy and Marxism to rule the independent India. Many a noble men and women who sacrificed their entire life to gain Indian independence from the British were freedom fighters, not politicians nor trained administrators to handle the enormous list of issues an independent India faced. The people themselves did not appreciate the value of democracy, as they perhaps did not have a feel for democratic thinking for hundreds of years under the divide and conquer rule of foreigners. The leaders of Independent India invested their entire thought process into achieving an independent republic, and perhaps never had the time to think of governing an independent country. When we finally became independent, we lost the father of the nation quickly to one of our own, and perhaps Mahatma was the best non-office seeking politician we ever had. His loss also set independent thinking amongst the freedom fighters turned politicians to frame their own agendas for the independent India. The magic of being independent India lasted for at leas the first couple of decades and perhaps Mr. Nehru and Mr. Shastri, and then the government of Mrs. Gandhi.

Mrs. Gandhi when she came into power after her illustrious father and a short span as prime minister by Mr. Shastri, was also perhaps the first leader of the Indian republic to face the reality of Independent India’s list of problems and she could not avoid them in her tenure as her predecessors did. She enjoyed the benefit of her father’s goodwill and her astute observations of the governing of India, and also understood the psychology of the Indian people before she came into power.

Mrs. Gandhi’s real challenges did not come until the 1970s. She was jubilant with war with Pakistan and supporting the separation of East Pakistan that became Bangla Desh. Although India helped Bangla Desh become independent, the long term political relationship with the neighbor has not been positive. Our relationship with Pakistan only went from bad to worse and no immediate plan to sort out the Kashmir issue. The controlled areas of Kashmir by Pakistan and China seem to be under their control for good, and the land grabbing by the neighbors seem to be OK with the international community, which clearly is undecided about the position that Kashmir belongs to India. The policies that allowed the occupation of Kashmir by the Chinese and the Pakistanis is simply lack of aggression and global astuteness of the Indian politicians. Granted that they were more concerned about how to take care of the newly independent India, but they for sure were not capable of laying claims to the land that belonged to India and keeping it as a part of India.

Ignoring the challenges of our neighbors the country’s ever growing population put a lot of demand for food and basic necessities. Hunger and poverty are the biggest diseases humans can get in contact with and India with its ever-expanding population suddenly found itself very independent and very hungry. Political parties and dissent in the congress forced the emergency rule. There were a lot of terrible decisions made by the government to keep the political power, but all said and done history tells us the Janata Party and other offshoots came into power, quickly lost it, as they did not have any better solutions, except a lot of rhetoric.

When Mrs. Gandhi came back to power she continued to be confronted with the massive problems of the huge population that was expanding faster than what was politically possible to solve. Mrs. Gandhi also made small strategic errors such as attacking Golden Temple, and believing that she was in control. Her killing was unfortunate, instead of voting her out. But again the country had already tried another government, but it was not a good option for the people. When Rajiv Gandhi became the prime minister after the death of his illustrious mother, he did bring fresh outlook into politics. I believe Rajiv Gandhi was truly forced into the leadership of a country that believed in dynasty rule. Remember that the 2006 Congress plenary in Hyderabad is demanding Rahul Gandhi to take over. Going back to Rajiv Gandhi, once he was thrown into the leadership of a vast country that needed everything, he did make great progress with policies. He hired great support cast and was open to changing the way the political structure behaved to the country’s needs. I believe he was the first leader of the post independent India to take necessary steps to meet the demands of the country. Rajiv Gandhi was surrounded with intelligent people who made some good decisions to make the country market driven. They started to take into account the reality of the resources available to the nation and what can be done to meet the needs. Although Rajiv Gandhi survived for several years, and then lost elections and then eventually assassinated by Tamil zealots, he was in my opinion the first leader of the independent India to make decisions and enforce policies that started to bring India into market economy, and move away from “Jaribi Hatavo” slogan and start doing something about removing poverty.

In any case the eventual political turmoil after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, and the coalition government of Mr. Narasimha Rao, is what I believe that started the economic powering of India that is happening today. Toady we speak of Tata acquiring companies in USA, or people from other countries hired to word in India, BPO boom, IT dominance and a host of foreign investments in every imaginable area in India. I worked in the time when India was easing restrictions on foreign investments, currency conversion and communications. Today’s Congress leaders were a part of that government and they were reformists then who promoted progress. Those policies of the early 1990s helped to create the IT and communications boom, that helped every other industry, and in turn made India grow at a rapid pace. The GDP growth over the past 15 years has been more than double that of the rest of the world, and only the Chinese may be growing at the same pace. Our current leadership is capable of driving extraordinary growth of the country.

Great countries grow over decades of extraordinary management of their policies and politics. I believe India can do the same. The politicians continue to banter about the things that are wrong but no one from the opposition seem to recognize the achievements of the Indian industry and commerce. They are simply finding faults on a personal basis, or complain of wrongdoing of people who are dead. I think the country should separate the political grandstanding and become independent of the personalized politics. A leader should become popular for what great policies and achievements on his or resume, not because of what the last name is, or what caste he belongs to or who he is associated with. Let the country’s politicians believe that they must continue to earn the right to govern the country, and not believe that they are the rulers of a country. Our democratic land has always been keen on politics and preserving the right to vote, as we did even with Mrs. Gandhi and voted her out of power when we no longer could deal with the autocratic rule. India today is independent and growing and becoming its own within the global community. Indians are smart, intelligent and politically very astute. The people in power most times are behaving well and taking notice of the needs of the people. The opposition parties by and large are focusing on the past wrongs of the dead leaders, or simply opposing the current leaders on every project or initiative. All said and done sustaining the growth of the country needs continued fiscal management and clear thinking. Politically and economically, the leaders of the independent India must continue to be progressive. The country doesn’t have time to think of the past, but look forward to the future of prosperity. We as a nation have always been world travelers with the intelligence to keep doing the right things to help our family and country.

Our independent republic slowly has been taking charge of its own destiny and the politicians who are given the opportunity can be as independent as the people who put them in power. Make independent and forward looking decisions, and make India the best place in the world to live and work. The beauty of independence is that it has a mind of its own, and nothing can stop independent thinking from progress.

Congress And Andhra Pradesh

2006-01-21T07:53:00.000-06:00

21 January 2006
Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

As I write this week, the Congress party is having its AICC Plenary session in Hyderabad. Every Congress leader that has any position of power in India is probably in Hyderabad. It is not astonishing that every newspaper, every Internet magazine and every TV station is covering this event in great detail. It should as Mr. Man Mohan Singh and Mrs. Sonia Gandhi are both heading this up, and are in same location for 3 days. I am always fond of Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh. Also, I am fond of our food (actually all food, but partial to Indian food). I am also fond of the development these great big events will bring to the infrastructure. To enlighten myself I have been watching with great interest the happening just before this big Congress party gathering in Hyderabad. The usual stuff listed has been happening in preparation for the big gathering of Congressmen and Congresswomen in Hyderabad.

Ø Roads widened and cleaned.
Ø Buildings painted clean.
Ø Trash out of the way.
Ø Restaurants and Hotels completely full.
Ø Lot of cash spent on flowers and fruits and gifts.
Ø All tourist places full.
Ø Sonia Gandhi in town.
Ø Man Mohan Singh is also in town.
Ø City is full of posters and cutouts competing with movie posters.
Ø Tourism money and full demand for everything.
Ø Autos, busses, cars and jeeps full of congressmen and congresswomen.

Here are great details on what is happening in Hyderabad:

Busy Schedule

The three-day 82nd Congress plenary session, which commenced in Hyderabad on Saturday with the meting of the extended Congress Working Committee, will have a hectic schedule over the next two days. According to the schedule released Saturday evening, the All India Congress Committee session will commence at 9.30 am on Sunday with flag-hoisting by the Congress president Sonia Gandhi in the presence of Congress Working Committee members, Pradesh Congress Committee presidents, Congress Legislature Party leaders, AICC and CPP office-bearers and chairman, reception committee.

The AICC meeting will begin at 10 am with 'Vande Mataram', followed by a welcome speech by the chairman, reception committee. Once the condolence resolution and organizational constitutional resolutions are adopted, the AICC general secretaries will present their reports. After confirmation of the minutes of the previous AICC meeting held on August 21, 2004, the AICC will be converted into Subjects Committee.

The Subjects Committee meeting will begin with the opening remarks of the Congress president. The resolution on political affairs will be taken up for discussion around 11 am, followed by a resolution on economic affairs at 2 pm, resolution on agriculture, employment and poverty alleviation at 4 pm and resolution on international affairs at 6 pm. Members can take up any other matter with the permission of the chair at 7.30 pm. The meeting will end with the concluding remarks by the Congress president.

On the third and concluding day (Monday), the plenary session will commence with the arrival of Congress president at the venue at 9.30 am. After flag-hoisting, party functionaries -- CWC members, PCC presidents, CLP leaders, AICC and PCC office-bearers and chairman, reception committee, will escort the Congress president to the dais in a ceremonial procession.

After 'Vande Mataram' and welcome address by the chairman, reception committee, the plenary will adopt condolence resolution as well as the constitutional resolution. The Congress president will make her speech and later discussion on the political resolution will commence at 11.20 am, followed by discussion on the economic resolution at 1.20 pm.
Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh will address the plenary at 3 pm.
This will be followed by discussion on the resolution on agriculture, employment and poverty alleviation and the resolution on international affairs.
After the concluding remarks by the Congress president and vote of thanks, the plenary will conclude with the national anthem at 6.45 pm.

Great emphasis on FOOD

South Indian delicacies like the hot and Spicy Sambar, Idli, Vada, Dosa and Utappam will be among served to Congress President Sonia Gandhi and the delegates for breakfast. For the lunch and dinner the attendees would be served with three types of Chapatti, Rice, Sambar, Brinjal, Beans, Chicken, Fish, Green Salads and Fruit Salad and some Italian delicacies. Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh’s menu will mainly consist of Punjabi recipes. Three types of Punjabi Roti, Paratha and Nan were being prepared specially for him. I am sure he will enjoy them, and as well as everyone around him.According to estimates, The Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee would be spending about one Crore Rupees on food during the three-day event, which will be attended by more than 11,000 delegates. Over sixty varieties of mouth-watering dishes, including the Hyderabad Dhum Biriyani, popular ''Chepala Pulusu'' made of fresh fish specially brought from West Godavari District, and ''Ulava Charu'', a special gravy made with Horse gram by coastal Andhra cooks. There will be six food courts at the plenary session with food laid out with great care. Of the six food courts, one would be exclusively for the AICC delegates, one for the media and three for PCC delegates. A small food court would cater to the over 100 members of the extended Congress Working Committee, including PCC Presidents, Chief Ministers, former Chief Ministers and former Governors. The food courts would be manned by 15 legislators to extend due courtesies to the guests. Through out the three-day sessions, snack counters will be setup to serve fresh juices, coconut water, tea, coffee and snacks, including Bondas and Samosas to the delegates. I only wish I was there to enjoy just the food.

Rahul Gandhi is coming?

As his father did from an unknown field to come into politics and did quite well as a politician, before his own people killed him, congressmen await Rahul. I am not sure of his likes or dislikes, but he is already a member of parliament and a politician. His Mom is in control of Congress and he has some experience in being a politician, and he is after all a Gandhi.

The three-day All India Congress Plenary is expected to bring Amethi parliamentarian Rahul Gandhi to the center-stage of Congress politics, which he has sought to evade for many years now.It is evident that there is a clamor among party cadres and leaders to induct the 34-year-old son of Congress President Sonia Gandhi into the high-powered Congress Working Committee and entrust him with organizational responsibility so as to groom him for taking over the reins of the party at a later stage.
The mood in the party seems to be in favor of not delaying any further the launch of the high-profile first-time parliamentarian into active politics.Though Sonia revamped the 25-member CWC, the highest policy making body of the 120-year-old party, ahead of the AICC plenary, she has left five seats vacant. This is seen by political observers as a clear move to accommodate Rahul, and four 'Generation Next' leaders of his choice into the CWC.Rahul Gandhi is the only person other than Sonia, Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and Pradesh Congress Committee President K Kesava Rao whose pictures figure in the plenary hoardings and posters put up all over the 'Pearl City'. Sonia has reportedly received requests from several PCCs and Pradesh Youth Congress Committees, asking her to nominate Rahul to the CWC.There were also speculations that Priyanka Vadra, the daughter of the Congress president, was keeping away from the plenary only to allow her brother to bask in the limelight. In all likelihood, Sonia will nominate Rahul after the AICC plenary.Prime Minister Singh has reportedly expressed a desire to induct Rahul into his ministry in the impending expansion of his Council of Ministers but the young parliamentarian is apparently unwilling to accept a ministerial responsibility at this stage. Congress managers say he would like to first work for the party before taking up an assignment in the government. Leaders close to the Gandhi family are also in favor of Rahul first taking up an organizational responsibility, like his father Rajiv Gandhi.The plenary may have significance in many ways but what party workers and the AICC delegates are keenly looking forward to be whether Rahul will oblige them by accepting an organizational responsibility.

Corruption Of Mind

2006-01-14T05:53:00.000-06:00

January 8, 2006
Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

Pay for performance was my dear friend Colin said, when we spoke of the financial results of our old company we both worked for in the mid 1990s. It has been long since we worked for someone else, but when a reader asked me to write about corruption this past week, I had to think of my own take on how to deal with corruption.

Much of my working life I have been a business development guy, traveling world over. I was in many countries when it was still communist or government controlled environment, and worked hard to make the two big companies I worked for many a profitable ventures. I learnt a lot from my experiences and made many friends across the world, and still keep them in cherished position. I am 100% sure that countries such as India where I worked hard on being on the teams working on privatization, have come a long way and millions of people working in the private enterprise. In a recent visit to Delhi, I was told my old employer had a multistory building that it owned. If I think of the little office space they had when I went to India first, it made me proud to think of the enterprise building that a group of us bravely undertook. A lot of my colleagues and myself faced no dilemma in finding new business opportunities for our employers, and we did what we could to find good business deals. We negotiated on behalf of the company and found many partners in then remote parts of the world, where no American company did business. I think we were rewarded well with great tour of the world, many a great friends with their diverse cultural and business backgrounds, and a taste of being one of the first global traveler’s with a budget. One thing in specific that none of our companies asked is how we got the business started in these new business environments, expect that our employers wanted high returns on their money and did not want to get senior managers involved in any controversies. We had a lot of leverage in starting the work in any country that afforded the opportunity, and the risk of our own neck with both our employment and performance. We had to get the deals done to satisfy the budgets, and we had to perform in the environment to get the business deals done. These objectives were in obvious conflict of each other, but were the only way to live happily to work and deliver to the employer.

I survived many years of serious business development in two companies, but ended up leaving both of them after achieving great financial results to both of them and their stakeholders. No regrets from me after all these years of leaving them, and no scoops to be told after all this time. I really am still fond of the times I did work for them. I will always be fond of the great times of business development in the early 1990s, especially in telecommunications.

Corruption is a serious issue in almost all countries. To be corrupt in mind is no different than blatant request for money for getting work done. Have you been to a temple in India? They have three ways of getting to see the god.

Stand in queue and wait until you get pushed to the front of the God and quickly say whatever is on your mind, and get pushed hard to be out of the temple.
Pay money to buy a ticket to see God faster than the general queue, but still get pushed around when you get into the queue, and get pushed out same way as people who don’t pay anything.
The third way is that you have influence where they stop the queue or someone escorts you to the front of the lord, and you have a few minutes in front of God, and you don’t get pushed around in the queue. But you sure make thousands of people in line wait and probably curse you.

I don’t know if we can call the influenced people corrupt. They are simply taking advantage of the available option to make others inconvenienced while they take advantage of the system that allows them privilege.

Same thing happens when you know a person who can help get you the privileges of information or access. By having a friend you get access. In business a friend is an associate or a consultant or a person who is available to make a business proposition. Simply by making corruption a global issue the access privileges of who you know will not go away. Darwin theory is simple, that the fittest will survive. In the early 1900s people brought in many a communist societies that were supposed to be equal in access and privileges to all of the citizens. At the end of the 1900s these so called perfect societies collapsed, leaving the capitalistic societies to continue to flourish. Democracies and capital societies somehow survive as they allow people to make informed choices. So, if I equate corruption to democratic principles and capitalistic societies, people who give to get favors are primarily the conduits to the process of developing the mindset for corruption. I am only a human being, and I will use the resources I have for making the most out of the situation I am faced with. When visiting a temple, developing a relationship, getting permission to do a business, gifts for my family and any potential situation where I am faced with making a choice, I am sure I will use the resources I have to get the privileges in my favor. My mind is democratic and competitive in a capitalistic society. Please don’t let me preach the theory of corruption, and we much be corrupt to get things done, and we must pay for everything. But, let me speak of the democratic mind set, and using resources to get things done. Perhaps the mind will begin to associate the degrees of corruption, make informed choices that what each instance requires and make necessary adjustments in judging the level of corruption it will tolerate. Simply think of this as a informed mind, making informed choices to make informed payments or adjustments to get things done, that are of importance to live life in a democracy.

I don’t support payoffs and favors for getting things done. I don’t support monopolies. I don’t like people asking me for money to do their jobs. I don’t like the discomfort of not being able to afford the ability to do business in any country. I don’t like talking about corruption. I don’t like to discuss how to do business in a new place. I can’t even speak to my old experiences of how I worked in so many places for my two employers, and survived so many deals. I just don’t like to speak of the anything that is not necessary.

Life is full of adjustments. People need money to make things work. Some need it more than the others. Elections cost money. Homes are expensive. Families need money. Food, clothing, comforts, cars and every single thing need to be supported. So, room for corruption exists, and the more we support the process the more expensive things get.

Mind you, it is you the individual that will have to make choices to do the right thing. Don’t push the blame of your acceptance to give as the societies acceptance to take. It is the corruption of mind that leads to the societies making corruption a part of the process. Wait in the queue, and don’t worry about how long it takes to see the Lord. The comfort factor should not make you bend the mind to accept the normality of corruption.

Privilege of an NRI

2006-01-14T05:50:00.000-06:00

January 14, 2006
Vasu Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com

In the past few weeks as in most of the last few weeks of December every year, the planes are busy with folks going to India and coming back. Be it Chicago, be it Frankfurt, be it Hyderabad or be it London, the planes are bustling with Indians going and coming. Lot of people are traveling and at the same time and a lot of their families are also going back and forth and adding to the big crowds at every airport that has a flight to India. No matter what airline and no matter what airport, lots of our folks are getting on planes. Travel is cheap, and the families are larger and the numbers are bigger. All of us, with NRI status and our families simply go back and forth and can afford this long journey much easier than the olden days. I mean olden days simply because, a phone call was a luxury in the days when we had smaller NRI population, but I believe a reported 1.4 million people of Indian origin now living in USA, and their extended families equally big if not bigger than the reported 1.4 million, along with huge numbers of people working in IT consulting jobs on temporary permits obtained by their companies, we have a sizeable number of our people who are occupying almost every seat on the planes going back and forth to India. Every one of us should believe that we have worked hard for their personal privilege of their success.

Non Resident Indian (NRI) is no longer a stranger to the world. They have the money and resources to yield the economic power, and command respect of the global community. Business and education, jobs and power, wealth and travel, along with name and fame are all part of parcel of what NRI has achieved, as with many an immigrant communities have done so in the United States and the West. It is a privilege to be recognized in the global community for the success of a nation’s people who work hard and contribute to their adopted lands. I am quite proud of belonging to the community of great achievers. By and large the members of the Indian community outside of India are hardworking and well mannered. The aspect of family and friends continue to be a big part of our community aspect, despite the distance we live away from our motherland.

The NRI also is quite visible in India with their contributions to the political process, business establishment, individual investments in homes and farms, building hospitals, schools and whatever their affordability to help with the perceived need of our country. For name and fame, no better way to contribute back to the society where we originally come from, and spending our holidays in India gives the motherland much needed tourism dollars and the local economies the benefit of the purchasing power of the dollar. Its great to see the NRI community spend money in India, and build things in India with their earnings from hard work abroad, and increasing the awareness of the multinational aspect of living. It’s a wonderful privilege to be able to move freely from India to wherever the NRI lives, and be able to participate in the growth of both places.

The additional privilege is that our motherland represents a place of great dignity that respects the NRI achievements and invites the NRI to be a part of its rapid growth. India needs help to grow at a much rapid pace than that of the west to bring basic amenities to its citizens, and keep creating jobs and opportunities to become a place where simple things are affordable. Water, power, transportation, communications, education and housing are continuing to be in great demand for the billion plus people in India. NRI community can help with the developmental aspects of the national needs without the need for any additional recognition to support the development. NRI already has the money and abilities, and their special skills (along with their money) need no further privileges in India, as the very privilege is to be a part of the community that is their homeland.

Awards and honors are not needed to help, especially when you can. They are reserved for outsiders, who seek recognition for their work. NRI is not a stranger, rather a part of the community fabric of India. What better privilege than a nation of advancement and rapid growth? The ability to contribute is a privilege. It’s becoming a native in America that has made the NRI the success story that is well documented, so it must be easy to do the same in India without any additional privilege.

When we travel to India, there is certain amount of anxiety (with water for me especially) with what will be the conditions that await us. Its alright to feel anxious about the time it will take to get from Chicago to Hyderabad, and weather we will get a cart that will fit those huge bags. It is all right to imagine if the first breakfast will have our favorite snacks, and plenty of them. It is OK to think if people are available and old friends still in town. It’s all right to make plans for spending time in places we grew up in, and thinking if they have changed. Just about all-personal anxieties are simply things we are used to and wanting them to be unchanged. But why expect privilege to be a part of growth of the nation if you can help with its development.

If every NRI returning to India and making an investment into it seeks privilege to its system, the country will be a place of discontent and cannot afford to develop a plural system. All things may not be right with the current system of working, but to create a system that differentiates its own people because of the wealth factor or contribution factor, it will become a bigger bureaucracy that it already is. If a system of NRI privilege is created, then it becomes a system of classes that has more money than the others, and only when privilege is given contributions are made. Isn’t that what we all campaign against everyday and why should we need any special system for helping when we can?

There is no need for special cells, there is no need for even calling an Indian person NRI, there is no need for making special allowances, there is no need for free permits, or any other privileges to NRI or anyone else who can afford to do things the same way as rest of the citizens. The community doesn’t need to bring in one more class of people who claim privilege to the workings of the nation, and add additional burden to an already needy environment. The patience to wait in line, the ability to survive in strange lands, the opportunity to contribute to ones own nation, the tenacity to be successful and the status of an NRI is already a global privilege. We don’t need any more privilege.

The best physicians, the best builders, the best engineers, the best bankers, the best communications experts, the best money managers and the best of many a fields don’t need additional privileges to be involved in India. They can simply be privileged people who can be selfless in simply be great citizens of the motherland. Citizens help without self-interest and become aggressive in contributions to their land. That will make India a place of privilege. The attractive privilege is making India a global force it can be. Every NRI should take the privilege of being an Indian, and the honor of its success. Privilege is what we are, but not what we get in return for what we do. The country doesn’t need to afford us any free passes or award us any plaques for being good citizens.

A Happy India

2005-11-05T12:07:00.000-06:00

4 November 2005
Vasu Reddy from Chicago

I am sure all Indians are happy now. I have to imagine we Indians are either farmers or cricket fans. I am sure there are people who will debate on my categorizing all Indians into farmers and cricket fans, but if someone has an issue, please forgive my generalization of the farmers and fans, as I want this week’s column to be a happy one.

India has been getting good rains, and perhaps more than necessary of rain this season. Monsoon has been on time and many a tropical storms and cyclones have been lashing India, and rivers overflowing and many areas flooded. I feel sad that many farmers lost crops and low laying areas effected with floods and lost homes, huts and livestock. But the farmers in many areas are blessed with timely rains, and good crops.

India in the last two weeks has a new captain in Rahul Dravid, and a bunch of new young players, who have been the latest Sri Lanka team as they would play with armatures, and so far have won the series 4-0 of the seven games. Although I have not seen a live match played a long time, the recent series win over Sri Lanka seems to lift my spirits to levels of happiness I used to experience when I was in India seeing India win.

I am proud of being Indian for simple stuff. We Indians seem to be happy with simple things, and as in a win in cricket and a good crop for the season. Comprehensive happiness is not possible for farmers and cricketers as each season brings its own fortunes. Continued happiness (prosperity) is only possible with prolonging the cycle of success. As with any other business, the business of farming and the business of cricket need to be nurtured with care. The current problems of earthquakes, scandals, bad politicians, bad luck, bad markets, bad karma and bad everything is a part of our life, and it is not just meant for Indians. The great part about us is that very little of happiness makes the entire population happy.

Mom always says to think of God in bad times and good times, and everything seems fine if you keep thinking of him. I agree. But beyond being fine, I want to be happy and I want to associate happy things to make sure I remain happy. I am sure the current Indian team will foster into a great team and then begin to age and start showing their age. I am sure that the current rains will some year become scarce as the rain gods will have to go somewhere else, or may get tired, and may not rain well for a season or two.

Hey you know what we should do?

The current team, its captain, its coach and the selectors should do dramatic things to encourage the current players, future players and the establishment to make moves that prolong the success cycle. Team should do team things, and ignore everything that doesn’t suit its success needs. The longer the success the more the happiness for Indians. Why not develop a long winning team that makes a nation happy for a long term. No need to panic, as even meaningless matches that our team wins, we will still be happy. It doesn’t matter what game you will, as long as you win we will be a happy nation. Give up selfishness; forget politics, make sacrifices and play with your heart (not forgetting smart) will help the winning aspects on a continued basis.

Farmers can always rejoice each good monsoon, and grow great things for themselves and the country. Great monsoons and continued seasonal rains will also need water management. Dams and canals, irrigation projects, water management and removing politics from farmer’s issues will prolong the great monsoon season’s benefits to years of drought and poor monsoon.

I always think simple things make life simpler. We Indians are simple folks and simple things make us happy. I wish for a continued success with all wakes of farming and great success for our cricket team. They both make us a happy bunch of Indians.

Indulging in Perfection

2005-10-26T21:15:00.000-05:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
26 October 2005

I have been imagining how I can be perfect? Before the readers go on to imagine what is this guy talking about, being perfect, I still haven’t thought of what I am going to be qualified to be perfect in. So, while indulging in imagination of how I can be perfect, some potential possibility of perfection.

While people, actions, companies and things can strive for perfection, we the humans will always be human, and perhaps never perfect. Here is my take on some fine examples of things that can be close to striving to do as well as they can.

My friend last week said that Infosys, Wipro, Satyam and Tata are all brokers and did not add any value to the Indian system. My friend is a computer guy and came to the USA in the new entrants who are the information technology bunch. Me being an old guy contemplated a response, and I did contemplate for several days before I responded to him. I don’t think these companies are perfect nor they are close to being perfect. They certainly have added great wealth to their owners, created better employment for thousands of people, created export markets for abundant human resources of India, make huge profits, by and large remain focused on making money, creating expanded employment, bringing Indian IT to the world. I have no experience of working in these companies, but they seem to be continuously expanding employment, profits and Indian profile. I hope they continue to be global citizens and create vast employment opportunities, and eventually develop indigenous products that will power the world. I recently read that the Indian chip will power the new Boeing Dreamliner and Airbus next generation aircraft. Makes me proud to be an Indian. I admire Bill Gates and Microsoft, but I know people criticize Bill and Windows constantly. But can we imagine anyone else in near term duplicating what Bill’s Microsoft has done to the world? It is admirable, because of its sheer magnitude and the impact it made on the computing world. Indian IT companies and other services companies are at an advantage due to abundant talent, cost of people, government support and envy of the other industries. These Indian IT giants along with other Indian services companies can develop long term plans to enhance the outlook of their employees, create sustainable employment, develop global habits, become responsible global citizens and perhaps try to continue to perfect their internal processes to be good companies that respect customers, employees and shareholders. They may never be perfect but can continuously evolve to become better and better in managing money and people.

I got up from an afternoon nap, and on the television saw Chiranjeevi dancing. My mind immediately told me that I could never dance like him, even for a minute. I thought about individual talents and aspirations to be perfect. It is probably impossible to be perfect with any one aspect of our being. I am sure we all try and imagine becoming perfect. I like Amitabh Bacchan, and I really have to admit that he is the only actor I always liked since I was a kid. I think he tires hard and works very hard even in this sixties, and perhaps more productive with his career today than he was 30 years ago. Do you guys remember Sam Pitroda, the man who spent endless years in the 80s and 90s working to impress the magic of technology on the Indian markets? Sam is still preaching his IT mantra, but many in his mission to force rapid technology changes also shunned him. I personally worked with many Indian technocrats who were involved with the Rao government, and they were excellent listeners who embraced change as a habit. Very little is spoken of the Rao government and its contributions to the Indian economic advancement, especially after Rao was no longer in power. I believe a great number of participants in Rao’s government including the current PM Man Mohan Singh, were forward thinking people who made many changes to Indian economy possible with their forward thinking. For me it is difficult to imagine the progress with Indian markets without the changes accepted by the Rao government, which till today continue to benefit the Indians globally.

Bill Gates and Warren Buffet have been my guys (gentlemen) who I personally look up, and I read everything I can find about them. Microsoft and Berkshire Hathaway are the companies they run, and the results of these companies are great measures of value creations for their shareholders for sustained periods. Perhaps one way of looking at perfection is to improve oneself on a continuous basis. I am hoping the Indian services companies will start to look at management and market models that will emulate the models of Microsoft and Berkshire Hathaway; they are in my opinion excellent companies to emulate. I am sure our readers will have their own models for emulation and will find their own exemplary role models. I am certain each one of us will have great role models of people and companies we admire.

To dream to be a perfectionist is perfect. Its good to keep evolving into a better being. People and companies, governments and politicians, should strive for betterment, and continue to strive to be perfect. One last thing on being perfect is that it is to remember that we are human and only can strive for perfection, as someone else will think of doing things better, and we will continue to chase the dream of perfection. The chase to be perfect will continue.

Why are they very mean?

2005-10-22T09:58:00.000-05:00

Chinni,october 22,2005

Most of us have been to a school in India and also in the America. I had been to a very good school in India. And now I am going to a College here in Chicago. I find a lot of difference in the teaching style. Teachers in India show more Interest in teaching brilliant students rather than concentrating on dull candidates. Teachers were very mean in my school. I myself faced a bitter experience when I had been to school in India. I was then very small and would take the help of my Dad to complete my homework. One day my Madam corrected my book and didn’t notice any mistakes that I had written wrong. So, then my Dad got very angry at her that he wrote a note in my notebook itself that “Please check my daughter’s mistakes before you correct them.” The next day when she had my notebook for correction She had seen the note written by my Dad. From then she started being very mean to me. Though I did my exams well, she used to complain something or the other or would not permit me to go out to drink a glass of water. I was always scared to go to the school till I got done with her class. Here I feel very comfortable with all my professors and they help us a lot and treat all the students equally. Infact I love spending time in the College rather than at home.

Some Precious secrets about Smoking cigarettes

2005-10-20T18:21:00.000-05:00

Chinni,october 20,2005

When we buy a cigarette pack, we see a caption written on the back of the pack that, “Smoking is injurious for health.” Yesterday we had a friend for dinner and he wanted to go out and smoke, I got so mad at him that I said I’d not accompany him if he ever smokes again. He seriously asked me,” do you know why I smoke?” I asked why?? He seriously replied cigarettes are injurious for health that is the reason I am burning them and throwing them away. And He started telling me few facts about smoking cigarettes. The next thing He asked, you know People don’t get older at all if they smoke. I was surprised and asked him “why”? He again replied seriously that people who smoke wouldn’t survive till they get old. Then finally He asked, you know no theft will happen in any person’s home if he smokes. I was bit confused and surprised too. I asked him the same question again” why”? He again replied seriously, coz guys who smoke cough all night, so how can a thief loot their home. He was so funny that he made us laugh saying funny things about smoking cigarettes. We really had a wonderful and funny evening together. Hope you too enjoy them!

Heart Attack or Gas

2005-10-20T14:24:00.000-05:00

October 20, 2005
Vasu Reddy from Chicago

Our reactions to our body and mind are quite difficult to plan. I was reflecting on one of my cousin’s situation from a couple of days ago. Said she was getting heart pain and probably heart attack, and she was suffering from pain. Not much I could do except express concern as we live 10,000 miles away. I was thinking about what could be wrong, and was not sure if she was having heart attack how show could be still talking on the phone. She was going to see the doctor and get to the bottom of this. I am sure everyone was concerned, and probably worried.

The next day I called to check on the situation. She ha already been to the doctor and she had indigestion, and nothing close to any problems with heart. Probably heart burn due to a heavy lunch. Although we laughed it off, it could have been a serious situation. Reflecting on the situation in afterthought it is funny, and I am sure next time I talk to her I will have a few laughs.

We will react very quickly to what happens with our body with the little knowledge we have on what could be wrong. No one knows what is wrong with it, except to react to the situation.

A couple of weeks ago, while visiting a friend’s family and their little girl, something similar happened. The kid was less than a year old, and was crying hard. I thought it was indigestion, and needed some relief. My recommendation was to give a drop of Mylicon, and it will help the child feel better. They had never given the drops to the child, though the doctor had advised the same. My friend was running some errands, so, I ran to the store and got some. The minute we gave a drop, the kid was back to playing and making happy noises. I am neither doctor nor experience with medicine, but my reaction at the time was to think of relief.

Since that ay I know her diaper bag has a bottle of Mylicon, and her parents administer the medicine when she looks like she has gas. It is just another addition to bottles of milk, water, juice, diapers, wipes and now Mylicon. It helps.

Timely and planned life is just about impossible. Whenever we are in distress we probably are thinking everything is wrong. These instances although not rare, they are not common. Our day-to-day body functions are fairly regulated and only occasionally we get the body under stress, and it will not listen.

We love to eat and indulge in the best things in life. I mean food generally. I love to eat and most times pay for the consequences later in the day or next day. As I know Mirchi Bajjis are fantastic to eat, but they create lot of trouble to the weak stomach. I love to eat dosas, idlis, pooris and whatever else that are put in front of me. No question of thinking about the number of them I eat. I eat to my full and as spicy and hot as I can. I seldom think (at least so far I have not to date before I eat) about the size of my stomach. My mind always thinks of just the taste an never about the spice.

Although the sudden changes to our body’s constitution is medically simple to fix, when it happens it is hard for the individual to understand what is really happening. Our immediate reaction is to think of the worst possible thing happening to us, such as heart attack instead of heartburn. Luckily we get over this quickly and laugh it off by saying we panicked for nothing. Most of us might even joke about it.

It may be a wise thing to learn about simple remedies to practice just in case that our body may give occasional trouble. I am not advising we take a bag full of medicines, but try to understand the simple things that cause our individual bodies to react, and try to either don’t create the situation or understand what will give us relief. It’s not easy, but we can try. Just to be safe and have peace of mind.

I tried many times to indulge in my favorite things. It is not easy, specially being Indian. It is very difficult (personal opinion) too many sweets, too many foods and too many occasions in our colander. It never works. But all I advise is some restraint, or learn to cope with the situation with a calm mind.

My first writing experience

2005-10-18T17:05:00.000-05:00

Chinni,Oct.18th 2005

Guyz..........dont get scared reading my article. If you are not interested,just skip reading. This is my first experience in writing something on the Internet. Ok...now let me share some of my opinions here on my blog. I came to the USA long back and spent a lot of time here. But when i go back and think what i've done all these years. Nothing comes into my mind...coz...done nothing all these years except sitting and surfing the internet and hangingout with friends. This year,hope i did something useful for my life,not the blog though. Guess?? Joining in School in my Criminal Justice program. Which i started on August 22nd. The first day went pretty well and everything was new to me in the college. It seemd exciting to me. I am having 15 credits for this fall semester and i thought it was damn easy to get graduated. First week went pretty kool.
Later started tons of tests and assignments. Though i enjoy submitting them on time and getting good grades.

I dont want you to get bored reading all about my school. Let me talk about something different.When I sit alone and think of something to write. Many ideas pop-up in my brain like friends,enjoyment and teasing. I was very happy when i was in India with all my childhood friends. We used to have a lot of fun at school and out side. My best friends were Prasanthi and Jyothi. Prasanthi is a fun loving girl like me,but Jyothi is a sort of reserved type. And there was another girl,Sowgandhi who was my classmate. Sowgandhi is an orthodox brahmin. Don't be surprised coz....i think even now we can find few more orthodox here in the USA who don't touch girls and still are completely vegetarian. That was when we were in our 8th grade. All of us used to get-together to have lunch under a tamrind tree inside our school campus. Prasanthi and myself were bit naughty in our class. We used to tease and have fun a lot more than anyothers in our class. Sowgandhi used to turn her head if she sees anybody eating non-veg. And sometimes used to throw out the food she ate. We thought it was just an over acting. So, one day Myself and Prasanthi thought a way to tease her. I forgot to tell onething,no matter lunch or breakfast,we all used to share with each other.

Jyothi got some idlis,Sowgandhi some rice with dhabbakai pickle,Myself dosa with peanut chutney and Prasanthi got some rice with meat keema(minced meat) which looks similar to carrot deep fried. So, we all shared lil of everyone's food. I like Prasanthi's food much bcoz...her mom cooks very spicy and tastey. So as Sowgandhi and Jyothi. Sowgandi had her first handfull and stuffed her mouth with the keema. She liked it so much that she wanted to share some more. Myself and Prasanthi were almost about to tell her. But Sowgandhi was lucky that we were out of time to attend our class period as our break time was up. Prasanthi told not to reveal that to Sowgandhi as she would get mad and kick our ass.

I wish Sowgandhi would not read this and get mad at us after 8yrs. Here i don't find any such friends coz...almost all of them eat beef here. So, now i gotta be careful not to eat beef or teased by any of my friends here. Hope i didn't make you guys bore. If so i am sorry!

Why Are These Guys Yelling?

2005-10-12T21:09:00.000-05:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
12th October, 2005

Our inadequacies make us angry!

One of the things I always remember and say when I deal with business, and every time I have to make a professional judgment I remember that I only get angry when I don’t have an answer. I rarely have the pleasure of yelling at people at work because no one will listen to me if I yell at them. They will simply quit working or ignore me.

Do you watch the programs covering the politicians? Two things that immediately come into the picture when the cameras are present.

1. If there are two or three parties in the same location as in the assembly, it’s really fun to watch them. No one allows the other guy to speak and keep yelling at the speaker. That poor guy must be suffering from earache from so many people really yelling at him.
2. If the politician gets the mike to himself, he will simply blame everything on the opposition party, specially the guy who is in power. It doesn’t need any rhyme or reason. Everything is the fault of the party’s leader in power.

Going back to my theory on yelling, I really think that the guys who are not in power like to disrupt the proceedings because the party in power might get to do something good. If you are in the majority and have the backing of the central government you will certainly want to continue to remain in power, and will want to start keeping some if your last election promises. At least some of them must be kept. If you are allowed to publicly show that your party is able to deliver towards the promises you made, and really keep them, people will remember those promises kept. Even if they are small promises, people will remember them if they are kept. I am sure the party in the majority will make good on their party’s referendum, even if they have the opposing party or parties simply protesting them. But if the opposition parties allow the party in power to keep their referendum, especially the promises made prior to elections and or popular programs, that too on nationally televised events it seems too much to digest.

I rather enjoy the short telecasts that give us a daily briefing on what’s happening in India. But they become yelling sessions when the congress is in session. I first (probably wrote in previous columns) thought this was entertaining. But as I watch them in sessions, it is really obvious that even the smallest thing such as amount of time a guy speaks gets objected. One of the very fashionable things that the opposition seems to do on a regular basis is to walkout. I really don’t have the resources but there must be someway of tracking if an opposition party and its leader stages a walk out, did they go to some filmy function that evening? Were they doing something worthless to the cause of the people in the time they should be legislating?

Lately lot of our politicians seems to happen in filmy parties and entertainment functions. This is not abnormal, but everyday politicians finding time to attend the filmy gatherings is surprising, if they have so many issues that they yell at in front of the cameras. No problem with protesting the wrongs of the others, but what is wrong is just yelling and not making any sense in what you are yelling at. My deduction to this is that the guy who is yelling is simply making a point of disturbing the proceedings and making a scene to get noticed. Nothing more than that is accomplished if guys simply are yelling all the time.

Also, the individual attention grabbing when a camera and a mike are stuck into a politicians face is to blame all evil on the party in power. I have to imagine no one can screw up that much to create illiteracy, poverty, floods, tsunami, global warming, famine and every imaginable evil in the few months they are in power. No imagination or planning is required to blame the guy running the show, and it simply doesn’t matter weather he is good or bad with what he does. He simply is in power and is not a good worker, not a good human being, not a good politician, not a good administrator and not good for anything. That’s exactly what we hear about the guy in power, when the opposition leader gets the mike in front of a camera. If we go specific in to AP politics, even affiliated party can raise slogans against the party that gives you minister positions in center. This must be an anomaly, as it should not be allowed even in a democracy. Politicians either believes people don’t understand them speaking in front of a camera, or think we simply don’t know what party they belong to. It is no longer entertaining to see these grown men simply keep telling that the other guy is bad, screwed-up and totally a waste fellow. Why don’t they start telling what are they doing to make life better for their constituents? Perhaps people will hear that and vote them into power so that they can deliver to their promises.

Stop yelling and do some constructive work. Everything people in power do is not wrong, or right. Each party and has its own plans and agenda, and if people don’t like the ruling party this time, they will be replaced as the last one. No point yelling as no one will listen after a while. People like to see their needs met, not watch politicians on TV simply yelling. You get no votes for yelling.

Tapping the Rich Markets of India

2005-10-07T09:34:00.000-05:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
4th October 2005

Many of the NRI families come from rural areas and smaller towns of India. For example everyone doesn’t come from Hyderabad, although we may have a family member or a relative who live there. With almost 10 million some people in Hyderabad, it is likely that in over 70 some million people who live in Andhra Pradesh, at least we have someone who we know or somehow related to in Hyderabad. In that context the market power of the capital city is obvious. Political center, industrial center, hitech center and cultural center along with the huge population is attractive for businesses to hoard their wares in Hyderabad. Big homes, big fancy cars, multiplexes, cinema and other entertainment centers along with advertisers who constantly spend zillions of rupees in the big city is natural.

But think of the NRI families that are from smaller centers such as Vijayawada, Guntur, Nellore, Tirupathi, Proddutur, Amalapuram, Badrachalam and many other towns, and in cases villages where our families live, and have all the affluence necessary to afford the luxuries of wealth.

In reality the ratio of people who are affluent may be higher in the smaller markets rater than in the big city. From the Internet cafes to Mercedes showrooms of Hyderabad cater to the affluent folks of the city, and the rich of the rural Pradesh have to go all the way to the big city to get some of these high-ticket items. I am sure the gold and sari shops of the smaller cities are as posh as the big city. How about the big-ticket items, cars, appliances, specialist markets that are very affordable to the very rich who live in the villages, but are not advertised in the smaller communities or available easily.

I really don’t have a business model that can take every luxury affordable and available in Hyderabad and take them to the village, but there has to be a way to make things easy to acquire if you can afford them. The transportation facilities seem to be much improved since a generation ago and there is better communications with wireless networks.

May be it is time for many of our dynamic NRI to think of modeling the business strategies to develop access to their communities, where by the folks form the rural areas don’t have to go to Hyderabad or next big city to buy stuff. For example this year I have been to small communities, which are fairly affluent but have neither Internet nor mobile coverage. This is one of the small things that can help better communication. For example if my mom can see me on the Internet (for which there is a need for Internet connectivity) and can speak to me on the telephone (for which the wireless or wire line networks must work if they are there or they need to be built) then I won’t miss her as much as if I am unable to find her. By simple development the communications can be deployed. I am not sure why the private enterprise has not made inroads into small community infrastructure development?

There is a lot of development with educational facilities over the last generation, with many technical colleges springing everywhere. There is plenty of human resources all around the state, to provide for opportunity for enterprise to grow in every area of the state (for that matter the country). And thanks to the NRI wealth there is every village with a decent population that is rich and can afford all the high-ticket items. There is plenty of opportunity in all parts for business of transportation, communications, agriculture, commerce and other areas that can be upgraded to the levels of the big city.

The congestion of the big city and the extraordinary difference in cost of living is a good reason to make all parts of the state accessible. With the affordability of the rural population (it perhaps is a greater than the big city) serious efforts to bring all things that are available in the big city to all parts of the state, except the congestion and high prices. While the market is there with the rich farmers and traders along with the NRI families, only planning is necessary to capitalize on this.

I have been seriously thinking of various models that extend the infrastructure of the big city along with its big-ticket items to all parts of the state. Much has been said about development in the state with various governments including this one, but bringing the entire state with similar market system as the big city will need enterprise doing the planning and work, not just the state government. Companies, individuals and enterprise should seriously start planning for catering to the whole state and bring products and services to every community that can afford them. Think of the impulse buying people go through everyday when they go shopping. Whatever is on your list plus whatever else you see available become your targets for buying. The rural markets become the same. If it is available people will but it. Be it cars, apartments, gas stove or beans, if they are easily available they become your targets for impulse buying.

People can afford things, and are willing to pay for them and need them. I invite all NRI and the folks with people in the smaller towns to work on solutions. Every market need met, is simply better business for all people involved. Every additional service available in your town is a value addition to the family, government and the development of the state in general. It will be incredible to not rely on just going to the city to buy stuff but simply be at home in the village and have the pleasure of the product or service delivered to you. Indians are great spenders and acquirers and no question they will welcome all the luxuries money can buy into their communities, and all the services they need to be in touch with the rest of the world without traveling to the big city. I would believe that the small markets are really not that small. It is the entire state that is rich with farmers, merchants and NRI. They can make Andhra Pradesh a big market by acquiring for all things that are accessible to them. They can afford them.

Indian Villages, Living and Factionalism

2005-10-04T17:41:00.000-05:00

Compiled by Vasu Reddy from Chicago
30th June 2005

The Villages - Settlement and StructureScattered throughout India are approximately 500,000 villages. The Census of India regards most settlements of fewer than 5,000 as a village. These settlements range from tiny hamlets of thatched huts to larger settlements of tile-roofed stone and brick houses. Most villages are small; nearly 80 percent have fewer than 1,000 inhabitants, according to the 1991 census. Most are nucleated settlements, while others are more dispersed. It is in villages that India's most basic business--agriculture--takes place. Here, in the face of vicissitudes of all kinds, farmers follow time-tested as well as innovative methods of growing wheat, rice, lentils, vegetables, fruits, and many other crops in order to accomplish the challenging task of feeding themselves and the nation. Here, too, flourish many of India's most valued cultural forms.Viewed from a distance, an Indian village may appear deceptively simple. A cluster of mud-plastered walls shaded by a few trees, set among a stretch of green or dun-colored fields, with a few people slowly coming or going, oxcarts creaking, cattle lowing, and birds singing--all present an image of harmonious simplicity. Indian city dwellers often refer nostalgically to "simple village life." City artists portray colorfully garbed village women gracefully carrying water pots on their heads, and writers describe isolated rural settlements unsullied by the complexities of modern urban civilization. Social scientists of the past wrote of Indian villages as virtually self-sufficient communities with few ties to the outside world.In actuality, Indian village life is far from simple. Each village is connected through a variety of crucial horizontal linkages with other villages and with urban areas both near and far. Most villages are characterized by a multiplicity of economic, caste, kinship, occupational, and even religious groups linked vertically within each settlement. Factionalism is a typical feature of village politics. In one of the first of the modern anthropological studies of Indian village life, anthropologist Oscar Lewis called this complexity "rural cosmopolitanism."Throughout most of India, village dwellings are built very close to one another in a nucleated settlement, with small lanes for passage of people and sometimes carts. Village fields surround the settlement and are generally within easy walking distance. In hilly tracts of central, eastern, and far northern India, dwellings are more spread out, reflecting the nature of the topography. In the wet states of West Bengal and Kerala, houses are more dispersed; in some parts of Kerala, they are constructed in continuous lines, with divisions between villages not obvious to visitors.In northern and central India, neighborhood boundaries can be vague. The houses of Dalits are generally located in separate neighborhoods or on the outskirts of the nucleated settlement, but there are seldom-distinct Dalit hamlets. By contrast, in the south, where socioeconomic contrasts and caste pollution observances tend to be stronger than in the north, Brahman homes may be set apart from those of non-Brahmans, and Dalit hamlets are set at a little distance from the homes of other castes.The number of castes resident in a single village can vary widely, from one to more than forty. Typically, a village is dominated by one or a very few castes that essentially control the village land and on whose patronage members of weaker groups must rely. In the village of about 1,100 population near Delhi studied by Lewis in the 1950s, the Jat caste (the largest cultivating caste in northwestern India) comprised 60 percent of the residents and owned all of the village land, including the house sites. In Nimkhera, Madhya Pradesh, Hindu Thakurs and Brahmans, and Muslim Pathans own substantial land, while lower-ranking Weaver (Koli) and Barber (Khawas) caste members and others own smaller farms. In many areas of the south, Brahmans are major landowners, along with some other relatively high-ranking castes. Generally, land, prosperity, and power go together.In some regions, landowners refrain from using plows themselves but hire tenant farmers and laborers to do this work. In other regions, landowners till the soil with the aid of laborers, usually resident in the same village. Fellow villagers typically include representatives of various service and artisan castes to supply the needs of the villagers--priests, carpenters, blacksmiths, barbers, weavers, potters, oil pressers, leatherworkers, sweepers, water bearers, toddy-tapers, and so on. Artisan in pottery, wood, cloth, metal, and leather, although diminishing, continues in many contemporary Indian villages as it did in centuries past. Village religious observances and weddings are occasions for members of various castes to provide customary ritual goods and services in order for the events to proceed according to proper tradition.Aside from caste-associated occupations, villages often include people who practice nontraditional occupations. For example, Brahmans or Thakurs may be shopkeepers, teachers, truckers, or clerks, in addition to their caste-associated occupations of priest and farmer. In villages near urban areas, an increasing number of people commute to the cities to take up jobs, and many migrate. Some migrants leave their families in the village and go to the cities to work for months at a time. Many people from Kerala, as well as other regions, have temporarily migrated to the Persian Gulf states for employment and send remittances back to their village families, to which they will eventually return.At slack seasons, village life can appear to be sleepy, but usually villages are humming with activity. The work ethic is strong, with little time out for relaxation, except for numerous divinely sanctioned festivals and rite-of-passage celebrations. Residents are quick to judge each other, and improper work or social habits receive strong criticism. Villagers feel a sense of village pride and honor, and the reputation of a village depends upon the behavior of all of its residents.Village Unity and DivisivenessVillagers manifest a deep loyalty to their village, identifying themselves to strangers as residents of a particular village, harking back to family residence in the village that typically extends into the distant past. A family rooted in a particular village does not easily move to another, and even people who have lived in a city for a generation or two refer to their ancestral village as "our village."Villagers share use of common village facilities--the village pond (known in India as a tank), grazing grounds, temples and shrines, cremation grounds, schools, sitting spaces under large shade trees, wells, and wastelands. Perhaps equally important, fellow villagers share knowledge of their common origin in a locale and of each other's secrets, often going back generations. Interdependence in rural life provides a sense of unity among residents of a village.A great many observances emphasize village unity. Typically, each village recognizes a deity deemed the village protector or protectress, and villagers unite in regular worship of this deity, considered essential to village prosperity. They may cooperate in constructing temples and shrines important to the village as a whole. Hindu festivals such as Holi, Dipavali (Diwali), and Durga Puja bring villagers together (see Public Worship, ch.3). In the north, even Muslims may join in the friendly splashing of colored water on fellow villagers in Spring Holi revelries, which involve village wide singing, dancing, and joking. People of all castes within a village address each other by kinship terms, reflecting the fictive kinship relationships recognized within each settlement. In the north, where village exogamy is important, the concept of a village as a significant unit is clear. When the all-male groom's party arrives from another village, residents of the bride's village in North India treat the visitors with the appropriate behavior due to them as bride-takers--men greet them with ostentatious respect, while women cover their faces and sing bawdy songs at them. A woman born in a village is known as a daughter of the village while an in-married bride is considered a daughter-in-law of the village. In her conjugal home in North India, a bride is often known by the name of her natal village; for example, Sanchiwali (woman from Sanchi). A man who chooses to live in his wife's natal village--usually for reasons of land inheritance--is known by the name of his birth village, such as Sankheriwala (man from Sankheri).Traditionally, villages often recognized a headman and listened with respect to the decisions of the panchayat, composed of important men from the village's major castes, who had the power to levy fines and exclude transgressors from village social life. Disputes were decided within the village precincts as much as possible, with infrequent recourse to the police or court system. In present-day India, the government supports an elective panchayat and headman system, which is distinct from the traditional council and headman, and, in many instances, even includes women and very low-caste members. As older systems of authority are challenged, villagers are less reluctant to take disputes to court.The solidarity of a village is always driven by conflicts, rivalries, and factionalism. Living together in intensely close relationships over generations, struggling to wrest a livelihood from the same limited area of land and water sources, closely watching some grow fat and powerful while others remain weak and dependent, fellow villagers are prone to disputes, strategic contests, and even violence. Most villages include what villagers call "big fish," prosperous, powerful people, fed and serviced through the labors of the struggling "little fish." Villagers commonly view gains as possible only at the expense of neighbors. Further, the increased involvement of villagers with the wider economic and political world outside the village via travel, work, education, and television; expanding government influence in rural areas; and increased pressure on land and resources as village populations grow seem to have resulted in increased factionalism and competitiveness in many parts of rural India.
Village in India - Unity and Divisiveness
Villagers in India manifest a deep loyalty to their village, identifying themselves to strangers as residents of a particular village, harking back to family residence in the village that typically extends into the distant past. A family rooted in a particular village does not easily move to another, and even people who have lived in a city for a generation or two refer to their ancestral village as "our village."
Indian Villagers share use of common village facilities--the village pond (known in India as a tank), grazing grounds, temples and shrines, cremation grounds, schools, sitting spaces under large shade trees, wells, and wastelands. Perhaps equally important, fellow villagers share knowledge of their common origin in a locale and of each other's secrets, often going back generations. Interdependence in rural life provides a sense of unity among residents of a village.
A great many observances emphasize village unity. Typically, each village recognizes a deity deemed the village protector or protectress, and villagers unite in regular worship of this deity, considered essential to village prosperity. They may cooperate in constructing temples and shrines important to the village as a whole. Hindu festivals such as Holi, Dipavali (Diwali), and Durga Puja bring villagers together. In the north, even Muslims may join in the friendly splashing of colored water on fellow villagers in Spring Holi revelries, which involve village wide singing, dancing, and joking. People of all castes within a village address each other by kinship terms, reflecting the fictive kinship relationships recognized within each settlement. In the north, where village exogamy is important, the concept of a village as a significant unit is clear. When the all-male groom's party arrives from another village, residents of the bride's village in North India treat the visitors with the appropriate behavior due to them as bride-takers--men greet them with ostentatious respect, while women cover their faces and sing bawdy songs at them. A woman born in a village in India is known as a daughter of the village while an in-married bride is considered a daughter-in-law of the village. In her conjugal home in North India, a bride is often known by the name of her natal village; for example, Sanchiwali (woman from Sanchi). A man who chooses to live in his wife's natal village--usually for reasons of land inheritance--is known by the name of his birth village, such as Sankheriwala (man from Sankheri).
Traditionally, villages in India often recognized a headman and listened with respect to the decisions of the panchayat, composed of important men from the village's major castes, who had the power to levy fines and exclude transgressors from village social life. Disputes were decided within the village precincts as much as possible, with infrequent recourse to the police or court system. In present-day India, the government supports an elective panchayat and headman system, which is distinct from the traditional council and headman, and, in many instances, even includes women and very low-caste members. As older systems of authority are challenged, villagers are less reluctant to take disputes to court.
The solidarity of a village is always driven by conflicts, rivalries, and factionalism. Living together in intensely close relationships over generations, struggling to wrest a livelihood from the same limited area of land and water sources, closely watching some grow fat and powerful while others remain weak and dependent, fellow villagers are prone to disputes, strategic contests, and even violence. Most villages of India include what villagers call "big fish," prosperous, powerful people, fed and serviced through the labors of the struggling "little fish." Villagers commonly view gains as possible only at the expense of neighbors. Further, the increased involvement of villagers with the wider economic and political world outside the village via travel, work, education, and television; expanding government influence in rural areas; and increased pressure on land and resources as village populations grow seem to have resulted in increased factionalism and competitiveness in many parts of rural India.
India's caste system
India has a hierarchical caste system in the society. Within Indian culture, whether in the north or the south, Hindu or Muslim, urban or village, virtually all things, people, and groups of people are ranked according to various essential qualities. If one is attuned to the theme of hierarchy in India, one can discern it everywhere. Although India is a political democracy, in daily life there is little advocacy of or adherence to notions of equality.
Castes systems in India and caste like groups--those quintessential groups with which almost all Indians are associated--are ranked. Within most villages or towns, everyone knows the relative rankings of each locally represented caste, and people's behavior toward one another is constantly shaped by this knowledge. Between the extremes of the very high and very low castes, however, there is sometimes disagreement on the exact relative ranking of castes clustered in the middle.
Castes system in India is primarily associated with Hinduism but also exist among other Indian religious groups. Muslims sometimes expressly deny that they have castes--they state that all Muslims are brothers under God--but observation of Muslim life in various parts of India reveals the existence of caste like groups and clear concern with social hierarchy. Among Indian Christians, too, differences in caste are acknowledged and maintained.
Throughout India, individuals are also ranked according to their wealth and power. For example, there are "big men" (bare admi, in Hindi) and "little men" (chhote admi) everywhere. "Big men" sit confidently on chairs, while "little men" come before them to make requests, either standing or crouching down on their haunches, certainly not presuming to sit beside a man of high status as an equal. Even men of nearly equal status who might share a string cot to sit on take their places carefully--the higher-ranking man at the head of the cot, the lower-ranking man at the foot.
Within families and kinship groupings, there are many distinctions of hierarchy. Men outrank women of the same or similar age, and senior relatives outrank junior relatives. Several other kinship relations involve formal respect. For example, in northern India, a daughter-in-law of a household shows deference to a daughter of a household. Even among young siblings in a household, there is constant acknowledgment of age differences: younger siblings never address an older sibling by name, but rather by respectful terms for elder brother or elder sister.
Even in a business or academic setting, where colleagues may not openly espouse traditional observance of caste or class ranking behavior, they may set up fictive kinship relations, addressing one another by kinship terms reflecting family or village-style hierarchy. For example, a younger colleague might respectfully address an older colleague as chachaji (respected father's younger brother), gracefully acknowledging the superior position of the older colleague.
Purity and Pollution
Many status differences in Indian society are expressed in terms of ritual purity and pollution. Notions of purity and pollution are extremely complex and vary greatly among different castes, religious groups, and regions. However, broadly speaking, high status is associated with purity and low status with pollution. Some kinds of purity are inherent, or inborn; for example, gold is purer than copper by its very nature, and, similarly, a member of a high-ranking Brahman, or priestly, caste is born with more inherent purity than a member of a low-ranking Sweeper (Mehtar in Hindi) caste. Unless the Brahman defiles himself in some extraordinary way, throughout his life he will always be purer than a Sweeper. Other kinds of purity are more transitory--a Brahman who has just taken a bath is more ritually pure than a Brahman who has not bathed for a day. This situation could easily reverse itself temporarily, depending on bath schedules, participation in polluting activities, or contact with temporarily polluting substances.
Purity is associated with ritual cleanliness--daily bathing in flowing water, dressing in properly laundered clothes of approved materials, eating only the foods appropriate for one's caste, refraining from physical contact with people of lower rank, and avoiding involvement with ritually impure substances. The latter include body wastes and excretions, most especially those of another adult person. Contact with the products of death or violence are typically polluting and threatening to ritual purity.
During her menstrual period, a woman is considered polluted and refrains from cooking, worshiping, or touching anyone older than an infant. In much of the south, a woman spends this time "sitting outside," resting in an isolated room or shed. During her period, a Muslim woman does not touch the Quran. At the end of the period, purity is restored with a complete bath. Pollution also attaches to birth, both for the mother and the infant's close kin, and to death, for close relatives of the deceased.
Members of the highest priestly castes, the Brahmans, are generally vegetarians (although some Bengali and Maharashtrian Brahmans eat fish) and avoid eating meat, the product of violence and death. High-ranking Warrior castes (Kshatriyas), however, typically consume non-vegetarian diets, considered appropriate for their traditions of valor and physical strength.
A Brahman born of proper Brahman parents retains his inherent purity if he bathes and dresses himself properly, adheres to a vegetarian diet, eats meals prepared only by persons of appropriate rank, and keeps his person away from the bodily exuviae of others (except for necessary contact with the secretions of family infants and small children).
If a Brahman happens to come into bodily contact with a polluting substance, he can remove this pollution by bathing and changing his clothing. However, if he were to eat meat or commit other transgressions of the rigid dietary codes of his particular caste, he would be considered more deeply polluted and would have to undergo various purifying rites and payment of fines imposed by his caste council in order to restore his inherent purity.
In sharp contrast to the purity of a Brahman, a Sweeper born of Sweeper parents is considered to be born inherently polluted. The touch of his body is polluting to those higher on the caste hierarchy than he, and they will shrink from his touch, whether or not he has bathed recently. Sweepers are associated with the traditional occupation of cleaning human feces from latrines and sweeping public lanes of all kinds of dirt. Traditionally, Sweepers remove these polluting materials in baskets carried atop the head and dumped out in a garbage pile at the edge of the village or neighborhood. The involvement of Sweepers with such filth accords with their low-status position at the bottom of the Hindu caste hierarchy, even as their services allow high-status people, such as Brahmans, to maintain their ritual purity.
Members of the Leatherworker (Chamar) caste are ascribed a very low status consonant with their association with the caste occupation of skinning dead animals and tanning the leather. Butchers (Khatiks, in Hindi), who kill and cut up the bodies of animals, also rank low on the caste hierarchy because of their association with violence and death.
However, castes associated with ruling and warfare--and the killing and deaths of human beings--are typically accorded high rank on the caste hierarchy. In these instances, political power and wealth outrank association with violence as the key determinant of caste rank.
Maintenance of purity is associated with the intake of food and drink, not only in terms of the nature of the food itself, but also in terms of who has prepared it or touched it. This requirement is especially true for Hindus, but other religious groups hold to these principles to varying degrees. Generally, a person risks pollution--and lowering his own status--if he accepts beverages or cooked foods from the hands of people of lower caste status than his own. His status will remain intact if he accepts food or beverages from people of higher caste rank. Usually, for an observant Hindu of any but the very lowest castes to accept cooked food from a Muslim or Christian is regarded as highly polluting.
In a clear example of pollution associated with dining, a Brahman who consumed a drink of water and a meal of wheat bread with boiled vegetables from the hands of a Sweeper would immediately become polluted and could expect social rejection by his caste fellows. From that moment, fellow Brahmans following traditional pollution rules would refuse food touched by him and would abstain from the usual social interaction with him. He would not be welcome inside Brahman homes--most especially in the ritually pure kitchens--nor would he or his close relatives be considered eligible marriage partners for other Brahmans.
Generally, the acceptance of water and ordinary foods cooked in water from members of lower-ranking castes incurs the greatest pollution. In North India, such foods are known as kaccha khana, as contrasted with fine foods cooked in butter or oils, which are known as pakka khana. Fine foods can be accepted from members of a few castes slightly lower than one's own. Local hierarchies differ on the specific details of these rules.
Completely raw foods, such as uncooked grains, fresh unpeeled bananas, mangoes, and uncooked vegetables can be accepted by anyone from anyone else, regardless of relative status. Toasted or parched foods, such as roasted peanuts, can also be accepted from anyone without ritual or social repercussions.
Water served from an earthen pot may be accepted only from the hands of someone of higher or equal caste ranking, but water served from a brass pot may be accepted even from someone slightly lower on the caste scale. Exceptions to this rule are members of the Water bearer (Bhoi, in Hindi) caste, who are employed to carry water from wells to the homes of the prosperous and from whose hands members of all castes may drink water without becoming polluted, even though Water bearers are not ranked high on the caste scale.
These and a great many other traditional rules pertaining to purity and pollution constantly impinge upon interaction between people of different castes and ranks in India. Although to the non-Indian these rules may seem irrational and bizarre, to most of the people of India they are a ubiquitous and accepted part of life. Thinking about and following purity and pollution rules make it necessary for people to be constantly aware of differences in status. With every drink of water, with every meal, and with every contact with another person, people must ratify the social hierarchy of which they are a part and within which their every act is carried out. The fact that expressions of social status are intricately bound up with events that happen to everyone every day--eating, drinking, bathing, touching, talking--and that transgressions of these rules, whether deliberate or accidental, are seen as having immediately polluting effects on the person of the transgressor, means that every ordinary act of human life serves as a constant reminder of the importance of hierarchy in Indian society.
There are many Indians, particularly among the educated urban elite, who do not follow traditional purity and pollution practices. Dining in each other’s homes and in restaurants is common among well-educated people of diverse backgrounds, particularly when they belong to the same economic class. For these people, guarding the family's earthen water pot from inadvertent touch by a low-ranking servant is not the concern it is for a more traditional villager. However, even among those people whose words and actions denigrate traditional purity rules, there is often a reluctance to completely abolish consciousness of purity and pollution from their thinking. It is surely rare for a Sweeper, however well educated, to invite a Brahman to dinner in his home and have his invitation un self-consciously accepted. It is less rare, however, for educated urban colleagues of vastly different caste and religious heritage to enjoy a cup of tea together. Some high-caste liberals pride themselves on being free of "casteism" and seek to accept food from the hands of very low-caste people, or even deliberately set out to marry someone from a significantly lower caste or a different religion. Thus, even as they deny it, these progressives affirm the continuing significance of traditional rules of purity, pollution, and hierarchy in Indian caste system. 1995 data. India's caste system. Courtesy Library of Congress.
Although many other nations are characterized by social inequality, perhaps nowhere else in the world has inequality been so elaborately constructed as in the Indian institution of caste. Caste has long existed in India, but in the modern period it has been severely criticized by both Indian and foreign observers. Although some educated Indians tell non-Indians that caste has been abolished or that "no one pays attention to caste anymore," such statements do not reflect reality.
Caste has undergone significant change since independence, but it still involves hundreds of millions of people. In its preamble, India's constitution forbids negative public discrimination on the basis of caste. However, caste ranking and caste-based interaction have occurred for centuries and will continue to do so well into the foreseeable future, more in the countryside than in urban settings and more in the realms of kinship and marriage than in less personal interactions.
Castes are ranked, named, endogamous (in-marrying) groups, membership in which is achieved by birth. There are thousands of castes and sub castes in India, and these large kinship-based groups are fundamental to South Asian social structure. Each caste is part of a locally based system of interdependence with other groups, involving occupational specialization, and is linked in complex ways with networks that stretch across regions and throughout the nation.
The word caste derives from the Portuguese casta, meaning breed, race, or kind. Among the Indian terms that are sometimes translated as caste are varna, jati, jat, biradri, and samaj. All of these terms refer to ranked groups of various sizes and breadth. Varna, or color, actually refers to large divisions that include various castes; the other terms include castes and subdivisions of castes sometimes called sub castes.
Many castes are traditionally associated with an occupation, such as high-ranking Brahmans; middle-ranking farmer and artisan groups, such as potters, barbers, and carpenters; and very low-ranking "Untouchable" leatherworkers, butchers, launderers, and latrine cleaners. There is some correlation between ritual rank on the caste hierarchy and economic prosperity. Members of higher-ranking castes tend, on the whole, to be more prosperous than members of lower-ranking castes. Many lower-caste people live in conditions of great poverty and social disadvantage.
According to the Rig Veda, sacred texts that date back to oral traditions of more than 3,000 years ago, progenitors of the four ranked varna groups sprang from various parts of the body of the primordial man, which Brahma created from clay. Each group had a function in sustaining the life of society--the social body. Brahmans, or priests, were created from the mouth. They were to provide for the intellectual and spiritual needs of the community. Kshatriyas, warriors and rulers, were derived from the arms. Their role was to rule and to protect others. Vaishyas--landowners and merchants--sprang from the thighs, and were entrusted with the care of commerce and agriculture. Shudras--artisans and servants--came from the feet. Their task was to perform all manual labor.
Later conceptualized was a fifth category, "Untouchable" menials, relegated to carrying out very menial and polluting work related to bodily decay and dirt. Since 1935 "Untouchables" have been known as Scheduled Castes, referring to their listing on government rosters, or schedules. They are also often called by Mohandas Karamchand (Mahatma) Gandhi's term Harijans, or "Children of God." Although the term Untouchable appears in literature produced by these low-ranking castes, in the 1990s, many politically conscious members of these groups prefer to refer to themselves as Dalit, a Hindi word meaning oppressed or downtrodden. According to the 1991 census, there were 138 million Scheduled Caste members in India, approximately 16 percent of the total population.
The first four varnas apparently existed in the ancient Aryan society of northern India. Some historians say that these categories were originally somewhat fluid functional groups, not castes. A greater degree of fixity gradually developed, resulting in the complex ranking systems of medieval India that essentially continue in the late twentieth century.
Although a varna is not a caste, when directly asked for their caste affiliation, particularly when the questioner is a Westerner, many Indians will reply with a varna name. Pressed further, they may respond with a much more specific name of a caste, or jati, which falls within that varna. For example, a Brahman may specify that he is a member of a named caste group, such as a Jijotiya Brahman, or a Smartha Brahman, and so on. Within such castes, people may further belong to smaller sub caste categories and to specific clans and lineages. These finer designations are particularly relevant when marriages are being arranged and often appear in newspaper matrimonial advertisements.
Members of a caste are typically spread out over a region, with representatives living in hundreds of settlements. In any small village, there may be representatives of a few or even a score or more castes.
Numerous groups usually called tribes (often referred to as Scheduled Tribes) are also integrated into the caste system to varying degrees. Some tribes live separately from others--particularly in the far northeast and in the forested center of the country, where tribes are more like ethnic groups than castes. Some tribes are themselves divided into groups similar to sub castes. In regions where members of tribes live in peasant villages with non-tribal peoples, they are usually considered members of separate castes ranking low on the hierarchical scale.
Inequalities among castes are considered by the Hindu faithful to be part of the divinely ordained natural order and are expressed in terms of purity and pollution. Within a village, relative rank is most graphically expressed at a wedding or death feast, when all residents of the village are invited. At the home of a high-ranking caste member, food is prepared by a member of a caste from whom all can accept cooked food (usually by a Brahman). Diners are seated in lines; members of a single caste sit next to each other in a row, and members of other castes sit in perpendicular or parallel rows at some distance. Members of Dalit castes, such as Leatherworkers and Sweepers, may be seated far from the other diners--even out in an alley. Farther away, at the edge of the feeding area, a Sweeper may wait with a large basket to receive discarded leavings tossed in by other diners. Eating food contaminated by contact with the saliva of others not of the same family is considered far too polluting to be practiced by members of any other castes. Generally, feasts and ceremonies given by Dalits are not attended by higher-ranking castes.
Among Muslims, although status differences prevail, brotherhood may be stressed. A Muslim feast usually includes a cloth laid either on clean ground or on a table, with all Muslims, rich and poor, dining from plates placed on the same cloth. Muslims who wish to provide hospitality to observant Hindus, however, must make separate arrangements for a high-caste Hindu cook and ritually pure foods and dining area.
Castes that fall within the top four ranked varnas are sometimes referred to as the "clean castes," with Dalits considered "unclean." Castes of the top three ranked varnas are often designated "twice-born," in reference to the ritual initiation undergone by male members, in which investiture with the Hindu sacred thread constitutes a kind of ritual rebirth. Non-Hindu caste like groups generally falls outside these designations.
Each caste is believed by devout Hindus to have its own dharma, or divinely ordained code of proper conduct. Accordingly, there is often a high degree of tolerance for divergent lifestyles among different castes. Brahmans are usually expected to be nonviolent and spiritual, according with their traditional roles as vegetarian teetotaler priests. Kshatriyas are supposed to be strong, as fighters and rulers should be, with a taste for aggression, eating meat, and drinking alcohol. Vaishyas are stereotyped as adept businessmen, in accord with their traditional activities in commerce. Shudras are often described by others as tolerably pleasant but expectably somewhat base in behavior, whereas Dalits--especially Sweepers--are often regarded by others as followers of vulgar life-styles. Conversely, lower-caste people often view people of high rank as haughty and unfeeling.
The chastity of women is strongly related to caste status. Generally, the higher ranking the caste, the more sexual control its women are expected to exhibit. Brahman brides should be virginal, faithful to one husband, and celibate in widowhood. By contrast, a Sweeper bride may or may not be a virgin, extramarital affairs may be tolerated, and, if widowed or divorced, the woman is encouraged to remarry. For the higher castes, such control of female sexuality helps ensure purity of lineage--of crucial importance to maintenance of high status. Among Muslims, too, high status is strongly correlated with female chastity.
Within castes explicit standards are maintained. Transgressions may be dealt with by a caste council (panchayat), meeting periodically to adjudicate issues relevant to the caste. Such councils are usually formed of groups of elders, almost always males. Punishments such as fines and out casting, either temporary or permanent, can be enforced. In rare cases, a person is excommunicated from the caste for gross infractions of caste rules. An example of such an infraction might be marrying or openly cohabiting with a mate of a caste lower than one's own; such behavior would usually result in the higher-caste person dropping to the status of the lower-caste person.
Activities such as farming or trading can be carried out by anyone, but usually only members of the appropriate castes act as priests, barbers, potters, weavers, and other skilled artisans, whose occupational skills are handed down in families from one generation to another. As with other key features of Indian social structure, occupational specialization is believed to be in accord with the divinely ordained order of the universe.
The existence of rigid ranking is supernaturally validated through the idea of rebirth according to a person's karma, the sum of an individual's deeds in this life and in past lives. After death, a person's life is judged by divine forces, and rebirth is assigned in a high or a low place, depending upon what is deserved. This supernatural sanction can never be neglected, because it brings a person to his or her position in the caste hierarchy, relevant to every transaction involving food or drink, speaking, or touching.
In past decades, Dalits in certain areas (especially in parts of the south) had to display extreme deference to high-status people, physically keeping their distance--lest their touch or even their shadow pollute others--wearing neither shoes nor any upper body covering (even for women) in the presence of the upper castes. The lowest ranking had to jingle a little bell in warning of their polluting approach. In much of India, Dalits were prohibited from entering temples, using wells from which the "clean" castes drew their water, or even attending schools. In past centuries, dire punishments were prescribed for Dalits who read or even heard sacred texts.
Such degrading discrimination was made illegal under legislation passed during British rule and was protested against by preindependence reform movements led by Mahatma Gandhi and Bhimrao Ramji (B.R.) Ambedkar, a Dalit leader. Dalits agitated for the right to enter Hindu temples and to use village wells and effectively pressed for the enactment of stronger laws opposing disabilities imposed on them. After independence, Ambedkar almost single-handedly wrote India's constitution, including key provisions barring caste-based discrimination. Nonetheless, discriminatory treatment of Dalits remains a factor in daily life, especially in villages, as the end of the twentieth century approaches.
In modern times, as in the past, it is virtually impossible for an individual to raise his own status by falsely claiming to be a member of a higher-ranked caste. Such a ruse might work for a time in a place where the person is unknown, but no one would dine with or intermarry with such a person or his offspring until the claim was validated through kinship networks. Rising on the ritual hierarchy can only be achieved by a caste as a group, over a long period of time, principally by adopting behavior patterns of higher-ranked groups. This process, known as Sanskritization, has been described by M.N. Srinivas and others. An example of such behavior is that of some Leatherworker castes adopting a policy of not eating beef, in the hope that abstaining from the defiling practice of consuming the flesh of sacred bovines would enhance their castes' status. Increased economic prosperity for much of a caste greatly aids in the process of improving rank.

Are Marriages Made In Heaven?

2005-10-01T15:47:00.000-05:00

Are Marriages Made In Heaven?

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
31st March 2005

Relationships are funny things. Friendship, brotherhood, parental, children and marriages are quite sacred with all of us. We can appreciate the value of each of these relationships by simply engaging in them and benefiting from the enormous positive support that each of those relationships provide to comfort us.

My best friend, my mom, my dad, my brother, my sister, my uncle, my aunt and my wife and my children are quite common introductions we make when we associate with the people around us. I am sure that everyone alive cherishes the relationships they value, and enjoy.

Here is an email I received from one of my readers, and I have taken out some personal references while leaving the content to reflect my current week’s subject:

Dear Mr. Vasu Reddy,

Once in a while, when my busy life permits me to surf the net, I seek pleasure in reading intellectual columns and blogs. I am very pleased to say your column!

While I thoroughly enjoyed some of your columns, I felt that some others were mediocre, but not bad. Probably it is due to my taste in those topics.

For long I have been wondering about one topic that cannot be covered enough - The psyche of Indian women when it comes to a mixed marriage couple. I wish you would write a column on this topic to educate people.

I knew my better half for almost six years now and am married to her for four and fathered a wonderful child of two years. During our moves across the country, we have faced lot of sneers and jeers from Indian Women. I am not sure what irks them most when they see us
together. Comments such as "Why did he marry her?" or "You can tell their son is a hybrid” etc really piss me off at their ignorance. Of course ignorance is bliss!

These women, just like me, came from India all the way to US in search of better opportunities and life styles. Yet, they cannot stand their own fellow mixing with others? Or is it pure jealousy? I don't know jealousy of what though?

My other Indian acquaintances - I am sorry I can not call them friends anymore -They will call me at my work and on my cell but never at my home! They will invite me for parties or to their homes only when they know my wife is out of town! Foolish on their parts, shall I say to think that I will go!

Some even stopped talking to me after they knew that I am married to a white girl! But when they need something, comes a phone call with sweetest voices possible!

I am really sick and tired of this and started telling people to f off! If they can't accept me for what I am, go to hell. I don't know what is your readership but I am sure whoever reads it is intellectual enough to appreciate and understand the feelings of a human being and know the difference between right and wrong!

Hope you will write a column with your thoughts on this!

And please keep up the good work!

Sincerely,

I asked the permission of the email writer to allow me to use his message as a backdrop to the column, and got the consent to do so.

I first started to list these as things to discuss, and let the readers make sense out of the hypocrisy involved in behavior of people who subject others to such techniques.

1. Men and women marry.
2. Color, race, religion, caste, money, countries, boundaries, beauty, convenience are political developments over the centuries or human existence.
3. People always stereotype their own idiosyncrasies.
4. Marriages are a matter of heart and convenience, and are not engaged to satisfy others around you.
5. People have a right to abuse you as long as you allow them to do so.
6. Relationships are funny and can change if the other person doesn’t feel the convenience of taking advantage of the relationship.
7. People who are not related to them can abuse others children for no reason, just because they don’t like the child’s parent’s color.
8. Indians are still evolving as social beings when they move out of India and move into western societies, as they have not least yet that children are not hybrids, they are simply children.
9. Even friends are stupid as they feel they have a right to run your life.

So many thoughts come to my mind as I reread the email. Is our evolution of thought so primitive that we have not learned to respect the friendship to demean the relationship of a friend and his spouse and his child?

When I start to reflect on the concept of race and relationships, it suddenly dawned on me that if the social environment I live in is tolerant of all types of people then the issue of race is irrelevant. Amazingly so, the USA is supposed to be one of the most tolerant places on earth for social integration. When you are truly integrated into this society or any society you will start to appreciate the positives of the overall behavior of the people, and the respect for law and living. The same people who disrespect the couple and child referenced in the email, came to the USA for betterment in living standards, but continue to foster the tendencies of stereotypes of their original places, which themselves are mired with sociopolitical issues that have been plaguing the Indian nation. If marrying into color were the solution for perfect society then India or any such place would have no sociopolitical issues. We all know even the wealthiest of nations still need a lot of development. Special reference can be made to people who are unwilling to respect others choices, be it political or social. I a not troubled by the email but by the lack of respect for ones friend, his spouse and the innocent child. Are these the same people who made fair and lovely an acceptable beauty aid?

We don’t marry for convenience, as we clearly believe the need beyond convenience. When you get married you already have your family, friends and acquaintances along with your culture, heritage, color and anything else you already own. I am not sure there is any significance with any of these people and where you come from while making a choice of marrying. Just that most of these folks instead of supporting your individual choices of life, seem to have most times opinions on what you should do with your life, and specially when it mixes with race and color. In a nation where thousands of years of migration, occupation and tolerance exists, people of the country simply have forgotten that the Indians are a mix of every type of people and culture which is what we now call India. How can we alienate the people of our own race because they marry someone who doesn’t look like us and try to find ugly names for their children?

With many of my columns I don’t have perspective but just thoughts on how to reflect on what is happening around us, especially when Indians in USA have such narrow view of the world. The same people who are your friends find the most stupid things to say about you and your choices when you are not around, and to your other friends. May be the message is that you are simply alone in the world, and sometimes it seems that you have some company that is a matter of convenience.

I am touched and associating my feelings with the email and simply don’t care for anyone telling others what to do with their life, specially when it is something as simple as marrying and having a wonderful child. What is this? We are OK with coming to a western country to make money and buy a big car and big home, while sending money to buy useless stuff in India, but we have a problem with one of our own people marrying someone who doesn’t look exactly like you do. My advise to everyone is try to look around you and your life outside of India. You are the one who look different by not integrating into the society you came into. You just don’t get money in a country and become a part of it. You try to live their life and try to become tolerant of all people.

The writer of email is anguished, as he feels betrayed by the very own people who he trusts to be his friends. Outside of the betrayal of the friendship, I think the stupidity of alienation because of his individual choice of marrying is inhuman, and specially calling a child names is idiotic. These guys are not just bad friends but bad human beings. They are the ones who need to be alienated.

Bhadrachalam

2005-10-01T15:45:00.000-05:00

Bhadrachalam
Combining Religion and Industry in Small Town India

Vasu Reddy from Chicago

10th February 2005

It is fascinating to look at India and its small towns, which combine the age-old traditions of India and also the modern manufacturing and way of life into the landscape. One such town is Bhadrachalam is located in Khammam District, Andhra Pradesh at a distance of over 300 KM slightly northeast of Hyderabad. A famous pilgrimage shrine, the abode of Lord Rama, situated at the bank of holy river Godavari, and also the home of ITC PSPD which is one of the premier paper manufacturers in the world, while retaining the charm of a rural Indian town. Combining high technology and modern facilities with stable employment, and retaining the religious and holy nature of the age-old practices makes Bhadrachalam a great place to visit.

Today devotes of Lord Rama can still be a part of the services performed from the time of the construction of the temple, and visit the beautiful surroundings of Bhadrachalam. Also, not forgetting the modern infrastructure built by ITC and the modern techniques and life of the people who work for the paper manufacturer.

Legends
The temple in Bhadrachalam is closely connected with the life of the saint composer Ramadasa who was known as Gopanna. Gopanna was the Tasildar of Bhadrachalam (second half of the 17th century) is said to have utilized money from the government treasury to build this temple, and was imprisoned in a dungeon at Golconda. Lord Rama is said to have miraculously given the Sultan the money spent by Gopanna, after which he was released. Gopanna then became Bhadrachala Ramadasa, and went on to compose several songs in Telugu in praise of Rama.

Bhadrachalam and Vijayanagara are sites said to have been closely associated with the Ramayana. Rama, Sita and Lakshmana are said to have stayed at Parnasala, 35 km away from Bhadrachalam. Rama is said to have crossed the river Godavari on his way to Sri Lanka to rescue Sita, at the spot where the Bhadrachalam temple stands, on the northern bank of the river. Legend has it that the son of Meru - Bhadra performed penances towards Rama here. Kabirdas, a Muslim by birth is also closely associated with this temple. It is believed that the images of the deities miraculously disappeared when Kabir was refused entry into the temple and that they reappeared miraculously upon his being permitted to enter.

Bhadrachalam attracts hundreds of thousands of devotees from all over the world. This hill place that is encircled by Holy River Godavari flowing towards southern direction is the famous shrine Bhadrachalam - The name derived from Bhadragiri (Mountain of Bhadra - a boon child of Meru and Menaka). The history of this shrine stands for the significance of Ramayana Era, the coherent hill place existed in " Dandakaranya " Of Ramayana period where Rama with his consort Sita and brother Laxmana had spent their vanavasa - and vicinity of the temple had its incongruous add mixture of another story which depicts the exigency of " Sri Mahavishnu " to manifest himself as Rama and shuffled again to the mortal coil - long after Ramavatara was to fulfill his promise to his Bhakta Bhadra (a mountain king), a sage who had been continuing the frightened penance to get grace of Lord Rama.

Exigency of Incarnation
The history depicts that the need emerged the incarnation of Vykunta Rama was that to fulfill a long desire of his ardent devotee Bhadra. The Saint Bhadra performed penance at the bank of river Godavari in Dandakaranya to get grace of lord Rama and in countenance of his beloved God - The exulted "Rishi" implored Rama to be seated on his head, but Rama who was in search of his consort Sita gave promise to his Bhakta that his desire would be fulfilled on his way back, after finding Sita and accomplishing the process of punishing the wicked Ravana and establish ‘Dharma’. Thus the sage had been in continuation of the frightened penance, as Rama could not accomplish the promise in Ramavatara. Then Sri Mahavishnu manifested himself as Vykunta Rama and rushed to his devotee Bhadra, signaling his arrival by blowing 'Shanku', accompanied by his consort Sita and brother Laxmana, resembling that of 'Gajendra Moksham ' - Thus, the deities of Rama (having four hands) - Shanku on the right, Chakra at his left and Dhanurbhana (Bow and Arrow in the rest two hands), Sita had condescended on the left lap of Rama and brother (at Ram’s left) are existed. And the hill place where the Deities were seated on, was the head place of Bhadra - Achaia (hill), thus this shrine was transformed into Bhadrachalam.

Pokala Dhammakka found the idols of Vykunta Rama, Laxmana and Sita. She was an ardent devotee of Rama lived in 17th century was inhabitant of Bhadrireddypalem, a mile away from this holy place. One night, she had darshan of Rama in her dream and was told by lord Rama “the saints and sages are worshiping my embodied deity settled on Bhadragiri” and asked her to trace them, perform pooja and attain salvation. On the very next day morning she started searching for the idols - peeped into an anthill and found the idols hidden in it. She poured hundreds of pots of Godavari water on the anthill, which tardily dissolved and gave way to appear the hidden Deities. Since then, she used to perform pooja daily and offer 'nivedyan' with fruits fallen from near palmyra tree and constructed a mandapam with the help of local villagers.

Bhakta Ramadas and construction of temple
Kancharla Gopanna popularly known as Bhakta Ramadas in the year 1630 AD constructed Bhadrachalarama temple. He was born to Linganna Murthy and Kamamba in Nelakondapalli village of Khammamett Taluk in 17th century (1630 AD). As Tasildar he was discharging his official duties earnestly and collecting revenues due to Nawabs in continuation of daily preaches - Chanting of 'Ramanama' and the feeding the poor at his house. Ramadasa who heard the news that the villagers of palvoncha paragana were proceeding to witness Jatara at Bhadrachalam, He too out of curiosity visited Bhadrachalam. He found the deities in an amazing appearance; Ramadas then asked the villagers to contribute liberally for the construction of the temple .The villagers in response appealed him to spend the revenue collections for the construction of the temple with a promise to repay the amount after harvesting the crops. As such Ramadas constructed the temple with an amount of Rs 6 Lakhs collected from the land revenues with out the permission of the Nizam Nawab.

When temple reached to nearing completion, he had a problem of fixing 'Sudarshana Chakra' at the crest of the main temple. He deeply distressed and fell into sleep. On the same night, Rama in his dream asked him to have a holy dip in river Godavari where he will find that - accordingly. On the next day morning Gopanna did so and found holy Sudarshana Chakra in the river with out much difficulty. He presumed that Sudarshana Chakra itself was shaped up with the divine power of his beloved God Rama. Soon after the construction, his miseries started. He was dismissed from service for mis-utilisation of revenue for constructing the temple and was kept in jail for 12 long years in Golconda Fort and was tortured. Unable to withstand the miseries, Ramadas implored Rama to relieve him by singing many praising and emotional songs, which got popularized from the stanzas of 'Dasaradhi Sathakam ' and 'Keertanas' of Bhakta Ramadasa.

The Nizam Nawab Tanishah, the then ruler of Nizam's territory became a devotee of Rama who realized the devotion spirit of Ramadas after his imprisonment and took over the charge of temple administration. This resembles the communal harmony amongst the Hindus and Muslims.
The Nizam Nawab, Tanishah realized Ramadas's devotional spirit and dedication towards Rama, when Rama and Laxmana repaid 6 lakhs Mohurs exposing themselves as Ramoji and Laxmoji, the servants of Bhakta Ramadas to get release of their devotee from the imprisonment. Thanisha gave voucher to these divine looking persons who approached him at his house during late night. Then they kept the voucher under the pillow of Gopanna where he was jailed. Tanishah who woke up on the very next day morning realized that those divine looking persons were none other than Rama and Laxmana and made arrangements to get release of Gopanna and prayed to forgive him by placing all the Gold Mohurs received last night at the feet of Gopanna. But, he refused to take back those mohurs except two as a mark of divine significance, and these two coins can still be seen in Bhadrachalam Temple.

Influenced by the majesty of Lord Rama, Golconda Ruler Tanishah earmarked the income derived from the said Palwoncha paragana which came to Rs 20,000 and odd for the maintenance of the temple which was continued during Nizam's reign and offering Pearls on the occasion of kalyana mahotsavam (Sri Rama Navami) to Deities on an elephant through a specially sent messenger. That procedure of sending pearls to the Deities is still followed by present state Government and continued to offer during Sri Rama Navami Festival.

Tumu Narsimha Dasa, Tahasildar of Palwoncha paragana, along with his associate Varada Ramadasa came here from Guntur and took over charge of Bhadrachalarama temple after Ramadas made inscripted the performance of Nitya Poojas and sevas right from early morning "Suprabhata Seva" till night "Pavalimpu Seva" before closure of the temple as "Silaasaasanaalu" on these two pillars. This inscription gave details of daily dittam and daily rituals also.

ITC Bhadrachalam Paperboards & Specialty Papers Division
Over 1,500 employees, 800 staff and 6,000 plus some workers are employed at the ITC Bhadrachalam accounting for some 10,000 people employed, and over 2,000 people live in a planned colony with all modern facilities integrated into it. This division came into existence in November 2002 with the amalgamation of ITC Bhadrachalam Paperboards Ltd. with ITC Ltd. and incorporates Tribeni Tissues. ITC entered the field of paperboards in 1975 when it incorporated Bhadrachalam Paperboards Ltd. The new company was setup as an integrated paperboard manufacturing facility. The Bhadrachalam mill today produces 210,000 TPY of papers & boards and is the largest single location mill in India. The mill is focused on producing paperboards for packaging and graphics segments. Very recently (Sep 2002) the Bhadrachalam mill also commissioned India’s only Elemental Chlorine Free pulp mill with a capacity of 100,000 tonnes a year. This location will also see the commissioning of an 80,000 TPY board machine from Voith by June 2004. The Bhadrachalam location today has two board machines and two smaller paper machines. The unit is ISO 9002:2000 series accredited. The unit is also ISO 14001 certified for Environment Management Systems.

The Tribeni Tissues unit has a hoary history and traces its founding to British American Tobacco and commenced operations in 1949 manufacturing papers for the cigarette industry. Between 1961 & 1988 Tribeni was part of the Wiggins Teape Co. of the UK. It merged with ITC Ltd. in 1992. ITC Ltd. modernized the mill with an investment of USD 35 million and refurbished two of the paper machines with latest drives and electronic controls. The Tribeni mill has a capacity of 33,000 TPY and has expanded its product range beyond cigarette tissues to fine papers, packaging papers and specialties. The unit now has three paper machines making a stunningly diverse range of papers from Cigarette Tissues and Components, Laminating Base Tissue, Acid-Free and Anti-Rust Tissues, Low Grammage Printing Papers, Décor Papers to Insulation Grade and Medical Grade Papers. The unit is ISO 9001:2000 version and ISO 14001 accredited. The third manufacturing location at Bollarum near Hyderabad produces 5000 TPY of Cast Coated Papers and Boards, 10,000 TPY of Poly Extrusion coated boards and 10000 TPY of C2S art boards and Ivory cards. The unit is ISO 9001:2000 series accredited.

This Division is the market leader in South Asia in carton boards and ranks second in turnover within the Indian paper industry. It provides paperboard for most leading Fast Moving Consumer Goods Brands in India and is the largest Exporter of coated boards from India. About 20% of total sales supplied to the international markets in Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Iran, Australia, UAE, Turkey, China, Singapore, UK, Greece, Germany and USA. The address is ITC LIMITED- PAPERBOARDS AND SPECIALTY PAPERS DIVISION, Bhadrachalam UNIT, Sarapaka, (Andhra Pradesh)

ITC-PSPD, unit Bhadrachalam has exclusively setup an energy cell in 1982 and appointed a dedicated Energy Manager on a full time job with one engineer in each discipline to Audit Energy on all ENCON activities. The unit has its own plantation makes available high-yielding disease resistant clonal planting stock developed through biotechnology, with the use of these clonal plantations farmers have brought 16000 hectares under these plantations. The clones are procured by forest department of Andhra Pradesh; Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and West Bengal in all 8000 hectares have been planted. The Unit has put enormous efforts to reduce energy, chemicals, and water consumption by updating technology and constantly strives to bring the consumption of all inputs at par with international practices.

If you are in India and in the Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh region and have the opportunity, please visit Bhadrachalam. Help in developing the article is from Vamsee Krishna. She is originally from ITC Bhadrachalam.

History of Telugu Language

2005-10-01T15:41:00.000-05:00

History of Telugu Language
Compiled by Vasu Reddy

28 July 2005

Origin of the word Telugu

The most popular explanation that is given to the word telugu is that it comes from the word trilinga, i.e. from the three temples at Srisailam, Drakasharamam, and Kaleshwaram. Many scholars may not accept this view.
Some diverse views on Telugu:
Khandavalli Lakshmi Ranjanam
It probably comes from the word talaing. Since tala refers to head, talaings refers to leaders. Probably, talaings were civilized people and conquered the tribals in the area of current Andhra Pradesh. Hence the name talaings. Later this must have given rise to the words telungu and trilinga.
Godavarti Ramadasu
Some say that the word Telugu comes from the Sanskrit forms trilinga or trikalinga: Actually, the word kalinga itself is a Dravidian word. In Kui language, rice is called Kulinga. Since Kuis were mainly rice eaters, Aryans might have called them kulingas or kalingas.
Marepalli Ramachandra Shastri
In Gondi language, unga is form for plural. Telu means white. Hence, telunga probably refers to people who are white in complexion.
Ganti Jogi Somayaji
Ten refers to south in Proto-Dravidian. Hence tenungu refers to Southerners.
Which of the two words is older? Telugu or tenugu? Some say that tenugu is older than Telugu because Nannaya used the word tenugu and Ketana who is younger than Nannaya used the word Telugu in his Andhra Bhaashaa Bhushanam. Malliya Raechana wrote a grammar book (Lakshana Granthamu) called Kavi Janaashrayamu. But he didn't use this word in the place of 'praasa' anywhere, so we are not sure what he really used.
The popular notion is that the first person to use the word trilinga is Vidyanaatha in Kakatiya era. Actually, the first person to use the word trilinga is Rajashekhara in Vidhdhasaala Bhanjika. He is the first person to use trilinga with a ra vattu. Markandeya and Vayu Puranas mention only tilinga. One of the oldest works in Tamil called Agattiyam says Konganam Kannadam Kollam telungam. On the whole, it is more probable that the word Telugu is older than the word tenugu.

Telugu script: Onamaalu
The Telugu alphabet is called Onamaalu. There is a good reason and a little bit of history for this.

Just as Buddhism was widely practiced in the ancient Telugu country, Jainism flourished in the Kannade country. The writers of the earliest Kannada literature were Jains. They were the religious leaders and educators of that day. Common folks sent their children to Jain gurus for education. The gurus initiated the Aksharabhyasam of the children with a prayer to the Thirthankaras and Siddhas. That prayer started with "Siddham Namaha."

The close ties with the Kannada country helped spread the Jain traditions in the Telugu country. There is even a school of thought that the Jain and Buddhist literature that existed before Nannaya was destroyed by scholars and kings who embraced Hinduism. Even if the literature was destroyed, the traditions survived and Aksharabhyasam continued to be initiated with the prayer - Siddham Namaha.

In later years, between 10th and 14th centuries, Saivism became wide spread in the Telugu country (Paa So wrote Basava Puranam during this time). Now the religious leaders and teachers were the Saivites and they initiated Aksharabhyasam with a prayer that started with "Onnamassivaaya." But the Jain tradition did not die away. The initiation prayer generally took the form of "Onnamassivaya Siddham Namaha." Over the years it became O-Na-Ma-See-Vaa-Yaa-See-Dham-Namaha and the alphabet that was learnt with this prayer came to be called "O-na-ma-lu."

Source: Mana lipi puttupoorvotharaalu by Thirumala Raamachandra.

Telugu script: cha, tcha, chha; ja, tja, jha.
In Telugu we have three distinct pronunciations for "cha" and "ja". While the soft sounds of "cha" and "ja" and the harsh sounds of "chha" and "jha" are not uncommon, found in many if not all-Indian languages, the "tcha" and "tja" of Telugu are rather unique and have interesting history both in terms of their pronunciation and the way they are written. As you know, "tcha" and "tja" are written as "cha" and "ja" but with the Telugu numeral 2 written on top of the letter.

"Tcha" and "tja" are found in Marathi also. But unlike Telugu, Marathi was derived from Sanskrit and Prairie, neither, of which have "tcha" or "tja." Hindi, which also derived from Sanskrit and Prakrit, does not have these sounds. So, how did Marathi get them? It is believed that the sounds were adapted from Telugu. Some scholars believe that Telugu and Bengali in turn acquired them from Pali.

Kakanuri Appakavi, a grammarian from the 17th century, wrote that a dot placed on "cha" indicates the pronunciation of "tcha" and similarly a dot on "ja" indicates "tja". That tradition, if it was ever practiced, has long since disappeared.

Who started the current tradition of writing the Telugu numeral 2 on top of "cha" and "ja" to note their pronunciation as "tcha" and "tja" respectively? Looks like the credit for that goes to Charles Philip Brown (popularly known as CP Brown). His reason for this notation is simple: a Telugu person knows the difference between the pronunciation of cha in Chandrudu and Chali (cold) but how will a foreigner reading a Telugu text know the difference? To make it convenient for non-Telugus to learn proper pronunciation, Brown placed Telugu numeral 1 on top of "cha" and "ja" for standard pronunciation and Telugu numeral 2 on top of "cha" and "ja" when they are to be pronounced as "tcha" and "tja" respectively. This notation became popular and was recognized in 1836 in the Telugu grammar written by Ravipati Gurumurthy Sastry. With the passage of time the printing presses dropped placing 1 on "cha" and "ja" but continued to place 2 on the letters to indicate "tcha" and "tja."

Source: Mana lipi puttu purvotharaalu by Thirumala Ramachandra.

Interview with Comedian Sunil

2005-10-01T15:39:00.000-05:00

On location in Hyderabad
Shooting for Venkat Kuchipudi’s Modati Cinema
9 AM in Jubilee Hills area on 22nd August 2005.

Vasu Reddy - Your Full name please
Sunil - I Sunil Verma

Vasu Reddy – Your native place?
Sunil – Bhimavaram

Vasu Reddy – How did you get started with acting?
Sunil – Even as a child I was very interested in acting. While in school I used to skip school and go and see a lot of movies and also in college I used to skip college and see movies. As soon as I finished college I wanted to become an actor and not work on anything else. I used to act in dramas and when ever I got an opportunity to act in small skits. I was very confident that someday I will get an opportunity to act in films and I kept trying until I got to the movies.

Vasu Reddy – Do you have any formal training in acting?
Sunil – I attended a two-month workshop with media workshop and training. The reason for my attending this training is not that they will be able to teach me something in a short time but to get opportunities to act. I thought this was a good enough time to try for opportunities. If I did not get a chance to act at least I would have tried and then go back home.

Vasu Reddy – What are your first movies?
Sunil – The first movie I acted in was “Chirunavvuto” and the first movie with me in it released was “Nuvve Kavali”. Both movies were made simultaneously.

Vasu Reddy – You act in a lot of movies, is this because of compensation?
Sunil – In the movie industry pay is not like a government standard scale. If the producer is in a good financial position he pays well and on time, and when a producer’s financial position is not good, we make adjustments.

Vasu Reddy – Outside of Telugu language films are you acting in any other language films?
Sunil – I don’t know any other language outside of Telugu. For me without having the command on a language it will be difficult to act in the movies. AT this point of time I am not trying to act in other language films.

Vasu Reddy – What type of style of acting do you emulate?
Sunil – From the beginning my inspiration is Mr. Chiranjeevi. Also Mr. Venkatesh is a great inspiration. When I was young I wanted to follow Mr. Chiranjeevi. When I came into movies, Mr. Venkatesh was the first major hero with whom I had an opportunity to work. He was very helpful in framing the scenes and very patient with me. Then I got opportunity to work with Mr. Chiranjeevi. He was able to even improvise my roles and show me how to act, and I learnt from that. He encouraged me a lot. I leant from my seniors and fellow actors.

Vasu Reddy – Outside of situational comedy are you planning to do any other types of roles in the movies?
Sunil – Yes. I will act in any type of roles given to me. Mr. Nagarjuna gave me a role with a difference and I think I did a good job of it.

Vasu Reddy – Are you performing on stage in India or abroad?
Sunil – No. I am not doing any stage shows at this time. I am very passionate about films and not much into stage shows. Frankly speaking I have not given any thought to stage shows. I started with stage shows and skits before I came into cinema, so I don’t want to go back to stage shows now. The stage performances require a lot of rehearsals and practice and are very difficult. You need a lot of qualities to make people laugh all the time and I am not sure if I have such qualities. I will be able to do stage work but I am now focused on cinema.

Vasu Reddy – How many movies have you acted so far and how many are doing now?
Sunil – I have acted in about 150 movies and I am acting in 9 movies now.

Vasu Reddy – Any message to your fans?
Sunil – Everyone wants to achieve comfortable living in life, and I do also. I hope everyone can do this with respect and hospitality. Even without 100% talent people can be successful by being good human beings. That’s my message to my fans.

Acknowledgements – To Venkat Kuchipudi for allowing me to tape the interview and Sunil for being gracious in taking the time to speak to me and posing for pictures. Best wishes Sunil and Thank you.

Twenty Five Year’s Of Living In Chicago

2005-10-01T15:38:00.000-05:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
17th February 2005

Have you ever lived somewhere for a quarter of a century? I am almost getting close to this with Chicago. It is hard to imagine how many things have happened and how many instances are required in ones life to build that many years in a place. I really like this town. It is a city that is cold and hot and warm and damp and full of experiences I am fresh with.

Recounting the experiences of Chicago is always wonderful. As I continue to write weekly, it is also a great pleasure to recount some of the experiences of the town and what my recollection of the past and present.

Swami Narayan Mandir, Bartlett, Illinois
On February 14, 2005 I went to visit the Swami Narayan Mandir. In the beginning of August of 2004, I covered the inauguration of the Mandir in Bartlett, Illinois. Visiting this temple is always a wonderful experience. It also happened to be Valentines Day morning. First thing that struck me is the spiritual calmness of this place. Every time I visit it seems cleaner and holier to visit this temple. Today we participated in the abishekam for Swami Purushottam, which was conducted by Mehul. It was wonderful to do this in pairs and no grandness with the ceremony but Mehul explaining the significance of the event. Right after that we went upstairs to attend the Aarti, which was conducted by Swami Tyagaratna Swami. Kannubhai was very gracious in accompanying us to the Mandir and walking me through the Aarti process. Once the Aarti was done Kannubhai introduced me to the Swami Tyagaratna Swami. The Swami before his current holy vocation was a dentist. He smiles very easily and very kind with his words. I recollected my covering the inauguration of the temple and my visit with the Pramukh Swami Maharaj, and the joy of working on the stories of the Mandir with the Swami. He offered to sit down speak to me at leisure and I promised to work on covering the temple at every opportunity I get. I promised myself that I would visit often and feel the peace of this wonderful Shrine. I encourage all the readers to make it a point to visit this holy place and experience the peace. They have a wonderful gallery depicting the many contributions to the arts and sciences along with religious contributions between corridor connecting the main hall and the temple and great space to sit and meditate. Although a new contribution to the many great places of the greater Chicago area, the BAPS center in Bartlett is definitely a place I am sure will be one of the most spiritually enlightening places of the great city. For more information on the Mandir visit www.swaminarayan.org.

Cold Weather and Winds of Chicago

I originally came from Andhra Pradesh in India. I think by end of February the mild winters of Andhra Pradesh are done, and by March it is hot and gets hotter and hotter. Some evenings the temperatures get to about 100 degrees and you feel the relief if there are mild winds. I remember that in a City like Hyderabad in temperatures of about 75 or 80 degrees, people thought it was cold and wore sweaters. As I write this there are about 15 to 20 mile winds blowing and cold but in 40’s in Chicago. This evening I was walking with just my shirt without a coat on while shopping and did not find it too cold. The weather is not too cold not too hot in Chicago, but if the weather gets to some 40 degrees in Andhra Pradesh as it is in Chicago as I write this week’s column, or in Southern India I am sure there will be catastrophes with people unable to cope with the winters. Then again who doesn’t like the weather of Chicago. It is always changing and by the time I finish this paragraph it might be cold again.

When I first came the cold never bothered any of my friends or me. We simply had limited cold experience and most times enjoyed the snow and cold of Chicago. I don’t remember my being worried too much at the temperatures or snow or wind in my new days of Chicago. Now a day I don’t worry either except the Internet keeps reminding me how cold or hot or snow or wind in Chicago. One thing for sure the weather is beautiful all the time in Chicago as it keeps changing all the time, and you will eventually get the type of weather or wind you like. Just stay for a little while and your weather wish will come true.

Time Warp With My Folks in Chicago (or is it in America)
My Indian habits of speaking and eating remain the same, as they were when I first left India for good for the good old USA. Lately there are a lot more Indians in the USA and as is in Chicago. So you find a lot of folks to speak Telugu, Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil, Malayalam or any of your choice Indian language in any suburb or city. I still remember the days when the only Indian folks we had were family or friends from school. When I was in school, we sought out any one who looked Indian (really any one from the Indian Sub-Continent) was a friend as they were so few of us. My friends Yash, Jay, Shahid, Nagesh, Eric, Raj, Arvinda, Kirti and Selvi (forgive me if I forgot names as there are a lot of them I was good friends with and still cherish my time with them) were together a lot and did a lot of things together. I think of them often and some of them I speak on an irregular basis. I am always happy to find my friends from school, and when I hear of them or read of them I am proud. As we all are a part of the Chicago landscape it is wonderful to have these guys as a part of your Chicago experience. Hey guys if you do read this, believe me that I was and will always be fond of my time with you all and I still miss you guys.

My favorite subject of food is still on the top of my list of same habits. I also notice that everyone around me also cherish the same type of food as was many years ago, and the favorites continue to be the same old Indian dishes. Aloo, dal, rotis and rice still feature in almost all meals at home and restaurants. Something new that has come into life is the Chinese combination of Indian food in some buffet restaurants. I am not too sure of this as there is plenty of Indian food available and I may not do justice to the term buffet with two types of great foods in one sitting. But it has a popular flavor and people seem to enjoy the Indian Chinese combination. In any case I eat the same stuff and with same style of food and if so much more conscious of what I what I eat in the Indian foods. Quarter century has not made me change any of my eating habits.

One big change in our daily habit of having lunch has dramatically changed. I am used to eating lunch in the cafeteria or eat a sandwich at my desk, or a quick bite with colleagues in a nearby restaurant. Now a days folks go home and eat a full hot meal. This is a trend that has become normal with the influx of IT folks, and commendable as a great big lunch (along with a great big breakfast and perhaps a great big dinner) everyday is a killer on the old gut, and must be tempered with generous doses of exercise. By the way where do you find time for exercise with all the work and time allocated for eating and family?

I remember the Krishna temple near Devon on Lunt Street well still. I think on Fridays the guys went there to say prayers and have a free feast. The food was great as I did go there one time in 1981, and they did not charge you for this. Today we have a great many temples (and very grand ones) all across the greater Chicago area. I like temples, and go to as many as I can. Once a week visit to one of temples helps in ask the big guy to give peace and prosperity, and our community is making sure we have the opportunity to form the bond with our beliefs. Our temples are now great places to congregate, and some of them have huge halls to facilitate the gatherings, weddings and cultural happenings. One good thing is most of them have good size parking lots to cater to a few hundred people and kitchens to support the Indian food being served with parties. The only time they get crowded is when they have to handle thousands of people on major festivities, and some of the temples are planning better and better to cater to the ever expanding devotee population. Also most of the temples have great kitchens, usually managed by volunteers and have great hot food. Try them out next time you are in a temple, and the kitchens of the temples nowadays contribute greatly to the income of the temples. So, by visiting the temple and donating generously, and also frequenting the temple kitchen and eating generously will help reduce the debt burden of the temples that still have debt, and help manage the ones better if they don’t have debt. I only wish all of them are debt free.

Speaking Indian language everywhere was uncommon as you hardly found anyone in the early 80’s except when you went to a party or to Devon. Even then you needed English as folks may not know your mother tongue and you ended up speaking in English to communicate. Nowadays that is never a problem. I have been practicing ample doses of multiple languages with people from India. Restaurants, mall, mailbox, grocery store (even the Mexican stores), movies, parties, temples, associations and any other avenue including work are great places where you find a great many number of Indian folks with whom you can easily converse in multiple languages. As I had written a few columns ago, many times in a combination of multiple Indian languages, and grammar, context and Indian idiosyncrasies are all included in the discussions.

Devon Then and Now
One place that remains the same is Devon. In 1981 or so Gandhi India Restaurant was opened (sorry if I get the date wrong), and is still there. I used to frequent this place as they had a buffet for fewer than five bucks (I think), and was a great deal to eat for hungry students. Some days I would eat the buffet and not eat for a whole day as I was so stuffed. All the guys like my good friend Ramu who for a period I lived with may be the cause that the buffet no longer serves unlimited tandoori chicken, and serve limited number of pieces of chicken at the table. We used to eat too much of this stuff. There are lots of great eating-places in Devon and the greater Chicago area. The difference is that Devon still has these little places that serve great food that still reminds me of India. Although the posh down town and suburban Indian restaurants are great to dine in, but the Devon Avenue still offers great treats. From sweets to biryani, no better place and no better bargains. The Jewelry shops look a little grander, the clothes merchants charge stiff prices, the roads and parking as dirty as they were a quarter century ago, with lots of the people still intact. The only difference is it is a lot more crowded, with a lot more of the newer immigrants crowding the place. I can’t complain as they bring new money and new enterprise to Devon. Devon still has great bargains, great food, the Indian look and lots of the same good folks. I don’t want to forget India Tribune (although not on Devon Avenue, but close by) has been around for more than a quarter of a century. Make sure you visit www.indiatribune.com. One major improvement I notice is that many shops have improved the outside architecture and overall features of the shops. This is great as they do attract more visitors and make the place look cleaner. And again the old problem of crowds, and non-available parking, dirt and papers on the road, poor maintenance is still there, while adding to the ambiance of the Indian Street we call Devon.

I have many more things that I am continuing to experience after all these years in Chicago, but I know that my publishers don’t want to publish my personal journal. But for those of us who live in Chicago I am sure you will agree this is a good place to call home. I am sure I will find someway to integrate more of Chicago into my columns. I love Chicago.

Upwardly Mobile Desi

2005-10-01T15:36:00.000-05:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
16th June 2005

From apartments crammed with new generation of software engineers walking around with leather jackets to transformed suburbanites is the Upwardly Mobile Desi ("UMD") of the today’s America. While reading the news someone was Bill Gates for hiring cheap software labor through H 1 B visas and paying people small wages. I suddenly thought if 60,000 plus dollars all the way to 150,000 plus a year in income is not cheap labor, and here is the UMD living and prospering in the USA.

The wealth factor is very different for the new UMD. Previous immigrants needed to have multiple years of education, training and living in their new environment before they made it possible to earn wages to afford families and homes and common luxuries that are of immediate accessibility to today’s UMD. Life in the USA is as simple as getting H 1 B, landing in the USA and getting a nice paying job. Many of the old immigrants spent years accumulating the necessary wealth to marry, buy a home and a reasonable car, but today’s immigrants can do this almost instantly. The continued inflow of new immigrants have the training and will to make things happen fast and have the courage to pick and choose day-to-day needs. Many of them are very mobile and have traveling jobs on a regular basis.

What I thought in the 80’s was a luxury is no longer even worth giving a second thought. Making a phone call to India or for that matter to anywhere else is a routine habit now days. Eating out, going to movies, watching a concert or simply having a party was of great expense in the olden days, which is a daily occurrence due to the UMD today. Small vacations in the USA were a big deal and going to India was not a small deal. It required a lot of careful planning and a lot time spent saving and before undertaking the trip much thought was given to affordability. Today it is as good as going to a picnic. Our folks can afford to take breaks, go to India at will, and travel frequently to destinations that were so far out of reach for a new immigrant.

I have always looked critically at the difficulties of social integration of immigrants into a new society. It seems no longer a necessary thing to worry about, as UMD is capable of both retaining the ability to be who they are and also work and earn effortlessly in this age. Not just software professionals but all types of entrepreneurs are able to easily leverage their skills into work and business and become successful. America or western societies seem to be full of new immigrants who seem to find their own space in integrate into their own way of building comforts. For generations it seemed so foreign to move out of India and settle in a foreign land. Now it is the opposite of that with new immigrants not only are quick to make use of the opportunity in their newly migrated homes, but also create necessary infrastructure in their hometowns in India. What once used to be a dream of all immigrants is quickly a reality with UMD. Building homes in India, acquiring businesses and frequent trips were only thing of the affluent immigrants in the old days, but it is of common nature to today’s UMD. They seem capable of working hard and also investing hard.

Going back to the criticism of cheap labor and making software professionals into that category, it is difficult to imagine how these professionals can be called inexpensive. It takes many years for a local graduate to educate, find employment and earn 50 plus thousand dollars a year. This is nothing but a starting salary for many UMD. The contribution from UMD to specific industry is explicit when it comes to software and engineering enterprises. The value chain is driven from demand and supply and the UMD ability to grasp to the need of the industry and the world. The phenomenal vertical integration of our people into software and technical fields around the world is unparalleled, and shows our people’s ability to not just migrate but cultivate into the services field. This is with minimum help from the government in education, with minimum facilities to learn and train from, and minimum experience when they get started. The barriers of language, distance and newness is quickly being transformed into wealth that makes the UMD a group of new socioeconomic force that has the ability to live in two different continents and make things seem simple by being confined to the specifics of work and habits that doesn’t require major shifts into sociopolitical issues of their new home.

Valentine’s Day

2005-10-01T15:29:00.000-05:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
3rd February 2005

Every February, across the country and the world, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine.

But who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this holiday?

The history of Valentine's Day -- and its patron saint -- is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred.

History of Valentine’s Day
As early as the fourth century B.C., the Romans engaged in an annual young man's rite to passage to the God Lupercus. The names of the teenage women were placed in a box and drawn at random by adolescent men; thus, a man was assigned a woman companion for the duration of the year, after which another lottery was staged. After eight hundred years of this cruel practice, the early church fathers sought to end this practice. They found an answer in Valentine, a bishop who had been martyred some two hundred years earlier.

According to church tradition St. Valentine was a priest near Rome in about the year 270 A.D. At that time the Roman Emperor Claudius-II who had issued an edict forbidding marriage.

This was around when the heyday of Roman Empire had almost come to an end. Lack of quality administrators led to frequent civil strife. Learning declined, taxation increased, and trade slumped to a low, precarious level. And the Gauls, Slavs, Huns, Turks and Mongolians from Northern Europe and Asian increased their pressure on the empire's boundaries. The empire was grown too large to be shielded from external aggression and internal chaos with existing forces. Thus more of capable men were required to be recruited as soldiers and officers. When Claudius became the emperor, he felt that married men were more emotionally attached to their families, and thus, will not make good soldiers. So to assure quality soldiers, he banned marriage.

Valentine, a bishop, seeing the trauma of young lovers, met them in a secret place, and joined them in the sacrament of matrimony. Claudius learned of this "friend of lovers," and had him arrested. The emperor, impressed with the young priest's dignity and conviction, attempted to convert him to the roman gods, to save him from certain execution. Valentine refused to recognize Roman Gods and even attempted to convert the emperor, knowing the consequences fully. On February 24, 270, Valentine was executed.

From Your Valentine
While Valentine was in prison awaiting his fate, he came in contact with his jailor, Asterius. The jailor had a blind daughter. Asterius requested him to heal his daughter. Through his faith he miraculously restored the sight of Asterius' daughter. Just before his execution, he asked for a pen and paper from his jailor, and signed a farewell message to her "From Your Valentine," a phrase that lived ever after.

Valentine thus became a Patron Saint, and spiritual overseer of an annual festival. The festival involved young Romans offering women they admired, and wished to court, handwritten greetings of affection on February 14. The greeting cards acquired St. Valentine's name.

The Valentine's Day card spread with Christianity, and is now celebrated all over the world. Charles, duke of Orleans, sent one of the earliest cards in 1415 to his wife while he was a prisoner in the Tower of London. The card is now preserved in the British Museum.

History of Cupid – God of Love
Cupid is the most famous of Valentine symbols and everybody knows that boy armed with bow and arrows, and piercing hearts. He is known as a mischievous, winged child armed with bow and arrows. The arrows signify desires and emotions of love, and Cupid aims those arrows at Gods and Humans, causing them to fall deeply in love. Cupid has always played a role in the celebrations of love and lovers. In ancient Greece he was known as Eros, the young son of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. To the Roman's he was Cupid, and his mother was Venus.

There is a very interesting story about Cupid and His mortal Bride Psyche in Roman mythology. Venus was jealous of the beauty of Psyche, and ordered Cupid to punish the mortal. But instead, Cupid fell deeply in love with her. He took her as his wife, but as a mortal she was forbidden to look at him.

Psyche was happy until her sisters persuaded her to look at Cupid. As soon as Psyche looked at Cupid, Cupid punished her by leaving her. Their lovely castle and gardens vanished too. Psyche found herself alone in an open field with no signs of other beings or Cupid. As she wandered trying to find her love, she came upon the temple of Venus. Wishing to destroy her, the goddess of love gave Psyche a series of tasks, each harder and more dangerous then the last.

For her last task Psyche was given a little box and told to take it to the underworld. She was told to get some of the beauty of Proserpine, the wife of Pluto, and put it in the box. During her trip she was given tips on
avoiding the dangers of the realm of the dead. She was also warned not to open the box. But Temptation overcame Psyche and she opened the box. But instead of finding beauty, she found deadly slumber.

Cupid found her lifeless on the ground. He gathered the deadly sleep from her body and put it back in the box. Cupid forgave her, as did Venus. The gods, moved by Psyche's love for Cupid made her a goddess.

Today, Cupid and his arrows have become the most popular of love signs, and two hearts pierced by an arrow, Cupid’s arrow, most frequently depict love.

Valentine’s in Modern Times
In Great Britain, Valentine's Day began to be popularly celebrated around the seventeenth century. By the middle of the eighteenth century, it was common for friends and lovers in all-social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes. By the end of the century, printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one's feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine's Day greetings. Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began to sell the first mass-produced valentines in America.

According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas. Women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines. In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.

Although the Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the middle ages written Valentine's didn't begin to appear until after 1400, and the oldest known Valentine card is on display at the British Museum. Esther A. Howland created the first commercial Valentine’s Day greeting cards produced in the U.S. in the 1840s. Howland, known as the Mother of the Valentine, made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as "scrap".

Definitions of Love
1 a (1): strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties (2): attraction based on sexual desire: affection and tenderness felt by lovers (3): affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests b: an assurance of love
2: warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion
3 a: the object of attachment, devotion, or admiration b (1): a beloved person: Darling -- often used as a term of endearment (2) British -- used as an informal term of address
4 a: unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another: as (1): the fatherly concern of God for humankind (2): brotherly concern for others b: a person's adoration of God

Definitions of Valentine
1: a sweetheart chosen or complimented on Saint Valentine's Day
2 a: a gift or greeting sent or given especially to a sweetheart on Saint Valentine's Day; especially: a greeting card sent on this day b: something (as a movie or piece of writing) expressing uncritical praise or affection: Tribute

I wish a very Happy Valentine’s Day to all our readers.

Watching News For Entertainment

2005-10-01T15:23:00.000-05:00

Vasu Reddy from Chicago
7th April 2005

Only recently we acquired the pleasure of viewing two Indian channels on a 24/7 basis. Being a Telugu home naturally we subscribed to Gemini and Teja Television channels along with the dish network. The experience of subscribing to the service and getting service installed it self is an entertaining experience, but the value of these channels is immense when you watch these Indian channels. As a late acquirer of the pleasure of subscribing to these channels, I allowed my little experience of about five weeks to reflect on the entertainment value of the highly priced service.

The daytime soap operas on American television probably continue to enthrall the audiences for generation’s prior and generations to come. I still remember the afternoons being packed in the common room where a television was available, when the soaps were on. People were glued to the television, and nothing happened for a year or so but the audiences closely followed the twists and turns of the daily drama. In the 80’s I was an avid watcher of the primetime drama called “Dallas”. Watching the weekly drama was not just entertaining but something dramatic. The weekly wait for the hour long show was well rewarded with the predictable events that seemed melodramatic, while taking a great deal of tension away when you finished the hour. I think I might even contemplated on guessing what could happen this week. Although I don’t think I started watching “Dallas” when it first came out I am sure I was one of the avid followers of the drama. It was an experience I no longer can describe. Coming back to my current experience of watching television, the brief latest muse is nothing like watching “Dallas”. It is predictable and entertaining. First comment on this is that the news is not live in the USA homes, although the screen says it is live. For that matter all talk shows and or news shows say live but they are at least 12 hours time delay to provide the USA audience their daily fodder of news, movies, music, talk shows and serials (soaps).

The reason I elaborated on the “LIVE” is that after the first one day cricket match between India and Pakistan that India won (I knew this from scanning the Internet and knowing Sehwag and Dravid scoring centuries), Teja made some comments on their nightly news. As usual the comments were about the ground, the respective team captains comments on their team’s upcoming performance and the weather report for the match. Although about 12 hours behind the LIVE label on the television.

My Favorite Television Watching Session

Around 8:30 PM each night and repeated with the same 30 minutes news on Teja Television is the most entertaining part of my watching the news in Telugu. Although I admit the news half hour is no longer the same entertainment since the assembly sessions ended for the Andhra Pradesh state. First thing that entertains me is the language that is used on the assembly floor. Fir those of my readers who do not know the current political background in the Andhra Pradesh state, the current ruling party is Congress and the opposition party is Telugu Desam. There are a number of smaller parties who have won seats in the assembly including TRS. Dr. YS Raja Sekhar Reddy is the Chief Minister of the state representing congress and Mr. N. Chandra Babu Naidu is the leader of opposition party Telugu Desam. Congress came into power about a year ago, by winning margins and replacing Telugu Desam, which was in power for about nine years. Forgive my political history of Andhra Pradesh, as I am at best spotty with it.

The daily assembly sessions were presented in short segments, so they capsulated news presented quite intense personal attack each day by the opposition and challenged by the ruling party. Both leaders were on the assembly floor (they were most days when I watched the news during the sessions) and were part of the verbal exchanges. Not surprisingly no matter that was relevant was allowed to come up on the floor by the opposition party, that has a couple of senior leaders who constantly cribbed and challenged every aspect of the ruling party’s agenda.

As a deviation I made a list of things I thought I would follow if I ever became a politician:

If I am in Power

1. Pretend that everything that you do is only for the good of the people.
2. Anger is not a good emotion when you are already in power. Pretend to be above board even if you are really pissed off at the comments being made at you and your family and friends by the opposition.
3. Make sure that the people remember the promises you made by attempting to keep them on the agenda.
4. Do good things for at least your own districts.
5. Don’t fear the opposition party’s remarks as if you remember you made the same comments and they did not stick and you won.
6. You did something right or did something to convince people you deserve to be the ruling party, so do the good things you promised when the budgets and time allows them.
7. If the same party you belong to is also in the center make sure enough central leaders come to your state as it is unbeatable to get big powers who don’t speak your language come to your state and say lots of good things about you although in a language most commoners won’t understand.
8. I think you definitely must look like the winner as long as you are in power so the opposition looks like they are crybabies when they complain. Simply respond with a smile or let the public know you are there as they want you there and the public was democratic in throwing the opposition out.

If I am in Opposition

1. Never allow any issue that has any bearing on public needs to come on the floor. It might help the ruling party.
2. All things you did right must be wrong as you are out of power. So, even the most progressive aspects of the new government must be obstructed.
3. Make sure you raise the stink on the new governments major projects by blaming them for nepotism, grating favors and political anarchy.
4. Make sure any personal holdings you have acquired are accounted for and legally protected. Otherwise give them to charity.
5. Put really smart guys on television so they make no sense to common folks by speaking in English or some other foreign language that no one understands including the TV anchors. The TV anchors are really always in the opposition, as they want the dirt to keep their 30 minutes of coverage live everyday. If you are really smart and you do the people’s work when would you find time to talk to someone who is wearing sponsored clothes and has no idea of politics and asks you subjective political questions and expect you to answer them.
6. When you make noise on the assembly floor share that with your fellow politicians so you won’t be the only person asking irrelevant questions that are fully avoidable.
7. Walk the Gandhi path, as it will always work to follow the nations father. If nothing people will give you sympathy if not votes.
8. You might want to be nice to some one in the ruling party just in case you want to change parties.

Going Back to Entertainment

Both parties really yell pretty hard and address their rhetoric to the speaker, yelling “adhyaksha” meaning president of the house in my translation. That gentleman must have gone mad everyday, as no one seems to care for quorum or manners. They simply yell their hearts and speak out of turn. Sometimes even the chief minister gets interrupted while he is explains the issue or debating the opposition. The opposition leader specialized in walk out with his party every single time he has no more yelling or debate left to counter the ruling party. I must assume that the ruling party or the majority did not care much as they pass the laws or budgets with simple majority, and the opposition was taking early lunch break or had something more important than finishing the daily sessions. This walk out business is wonderful as they simply go away and don’t have to sit and listen to the ruling party really do some good work for the people. It will not help the opposition if the ruling party really does the good deeds for the people, and walk out supposedly is a form of protest that is lodged against the wishes of people, where are the opposition is taking time off from people’s work.

I have to say a few words on the speaker. This gentleman was a handsome and well-attired politician. But he never got heard and spoke to the yelling and screaming members with as much decorum as possible reminding them of the rules of the house and behavior that befits the house. He spoke English and Telugu very well, and I wonder if the speaker’s job is worth keeping for a full five-year tenure if this year’s exhibition is going to continue every year. I seem to like him, as he seems to be coolly reminding everyone of the rules, but no one seems to care. God Bless Him.

I was sad when the assembly sessions ended at the end of April and thus ended up recounting my entertaining sessions during the brief time I had the pleasure of the Indian channels. I also was full of pointers for both the ruling and opposition parties on their exemplary behavior in public. Lastly I think the TV channels need to find capsulation of them into a daily serial as the viewers will enjoy the daily drama of yelling and screaming while the parties are away and not in the assembly.