The Two Faced Indian!

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What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the following word?

BUSINESS MAN

That was a question I asked on my Facebook Page couple of days back. The people that follow my page belong to multiple demographics and since there is no right or wrong answer for this question the answers were many, ranging from Dhirubhai, Ambanis, Profits, Gujjus, Suits, Money, Cheat, Trade, Profit, Loss, etc, etc. Most of the answers were universal and could be understood by everyone but there were a couple of answers that I am sure baffled the rest of the people and made no sense whatsoever. The answers were Puri Jagannath & Mahesh Babu.

Now who the hell are Puri Jagannath and Mahesh Babu and what do they have to do with the word Business Man?

Ask any Telugu person worldwide or anyone living in Andhra Pradesh; he or she would instantly identify the names and chances are, before this weekend ends would have at least tried to watch the latest Telugu flick releasing today ‘BUSINESS MAN’ starring Mahesh Babu, directed by Puri Jagannath. I say “at least tried” because as per reports every single show of the film is sold out for next few days.

In the city of Hyderabad it has released in a maddening 110 cinema halls with one multiplex playing 34 shows of the same movie on day one and every single show is SOLD OUT, yes every single show. Yet, interestingly most of the rest of India is ignorant about the existence of a film called BUSINESS MAN as is evident from the comments on my page and otherwise too.

Crazy isn’t it?

Ok, if that wasn’t crazy enough, consider this.

Lokpal vs Lok PAL

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First things first, how does the Government tackle the ongoing fast by Anna Hazare which has now turned into a full blown revolution since the tone has changed to "it is now or never."

A quick solution:                                     

Going by my experience in project management and looking at how great organisations expand and implement new ideas, especially in situations where everyone thinks their solution is the right one, this is what the Government needs to do.

Implement the Jan Lokpal Bill proposed by the Civil Society with immediate effect but with a condition.

The condition being, it will be a limited beta release as they say in software terminology, the same that even Google is doing right now with its new social networking toy, Google Plus. Release the bill but implement it only on a small focus group. Choose few departments, maybe the RTO, Passport office or few other Government enterprises and implement it in a few sample cities and towns. Let the system function for some time, maybe a year, and then compile the results and let the public see if the system works. Iterations can be made as and when public feedback is unanimous for any change in what is implemented. For the time being, forget the Prime Minister and focus on the common man. There is no better way to test this system.

Well, the Govt could also try their version on a similar sample and compare the results with the Civil Society version. Sounds fair for everyone I guess. No? Then I would like to know if you have a better idea. You can post your views in the comments section below.

Now let me come to my actual blog post on what I think of the Jan Lokpal Bill and what could be an ideal solution. If you are the kind who is totally convinced with the Jan Lokpal Bill and don’t think there can be anything better, you can spare yourself the trouble and skip reading the rest of the blog post.

Z to A of Zindagi na milegi dobara!

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We often hear the term ‘A to Z’, but in case of the movie Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (ZNMD), the term ‘Z to A’ is more apt. When we teach kids we start with the letter ‘A’ but when we attempt to teach adults, the same theory needs to be reversed; instead of starting at ‘A’ we need to begin at ‘Z’ and turn the clock backwards. Wait a second, what does teaching have to do anything with this movie? Isn’t it a fun road trip movie with 3 guys in search of a Hangover in Spain?

I have heard few people remark that ZNMD is nothing but a promotional video for Spain tourism. It would be a pity if the movie reaches the cult status it is heading towards in the same league of a Dil Chahta Hai, Rang De Basanti, Rock On and 3 Idiots and people think it is because of Spain or the extremely good looking and talented cast or the tomatoes. I am sure many of you have better reasons for liking this film, I have mine too. I shall not talk of Spain but try to preach my point of view especially since ZNMD does not sound preachy at any point of time. I am assuming you have already seen the movie, in case you haven’t, you can stop reading this post right now and go watch the film first.