Hmm....

I have always tried to achieve perfection in whatever I do. But, alas… miserably failed most of the times. In the guise of attaining perfection, one ends up coming around in vicious circles and I have not been an exception to this.

'Sometimes, it is better to be 80% right, revisit it again and see if we are in the right direction and if so, then proceed towards the balance 20% rather than trying and completing the whole 100% only to realize that we should have worked in a different direction altogether. After all, in most cases, it is easy to complete the first 80%, what is difficult is reaching the last mile.'

‘It is better to be approximately right, rather than precisely wrong’

The above realizations are thanks to some interactions with my Exec. Director in the recent past.

Really worth pondering over….

Tax them like crazy

I was recently reading an article on this low cost car and the thoughts are worth pondering over. I am sure the Tatas and Bajajs will be successful in bringing out a cost effective car that will make this prestigious mode of transport more affordable to the ever increasing middle class population. It will open a lots of business opportunities to the auto ancillary sector and will have a huge impact on the way we live.

All are fine, but at what cost?? Are we prepared to handle this in terms of infrastructure, petroleum availability and other connected loads?? With the existing traffic already choking most of the Indian roads, where is the space for all these cars to ply?? Will they fly?? Where is the fuel?? What will be the impact on our economy on multiplying our dependence on oil imports?? What will happen to our air quality??

There is a limit to imitating west. In fact, as Thomas Friedman wrote in one of his articles, we should not imitate his country which has become a harbinger of pollution and is incurring billions on health care. We should first build roads, build flyovers, improve the public transport system, and make it more efficient so as to dissuade people from using their own vehicles.

Government should tax such low cost vehicles like crazy. Being employed in the automotive industry, I shouldn’t be suggesting this, but if the future is to be at least at today’s level, if not better, there is no option. The Government should use the tax solely to improve infrastructure and promote fuel efficient techniques. There is already lot of infrastructure tax money available with the Government. This tax shouldn’t go that way. It has to be vested with some Infrastructure Corporation, headed by eminent persons from the Government and Industry, should be free of political interferences and should finish the projects taken in a time bound manner. Based on the level of infrastructure growth, tax can be brought down. Government cannot abdicate its responsibility and forget the infrastructural needs of a growing economy.

What if...??

Developments in the medical world are simply astonishing. So many advanced technologies and equipments have made it possible to scan each and every part of the body inside out and understand the problems. Not only diagnosis, but these equipments also end up helping in the ultimate cure of the disease. Operations are done without piercing the body. Patients can walk home freely after the operation, in a span of few days. No bed rest, no hospitalization…. One can soon expect cure for the dreaded Cancer and AIDS.

Not only this, even other forms of medicine like Homoeopathy, Siddha and Ayurveda are doing a great service to the mankind by their sheer efficacy.

It’s a different matter that as we advance in such medical technologies, the numbers and kinds of diseases also keep increasing. We are increasingly bonded by our own lavish lifestyles. Eyesight problems, back pains, spinal cord issues, mental tension, BP, Cholesterol, Diabetes.. the list is endless…

It looks like a mega race. On one hand, we end up discovering more medicines to cure our diseases, and on the other hand, we end up getting afflicted to more diseases to make use of these medicines. Only time will tell who is going to be the winner.

All said and done, we would have definitely saved you if only you had fallen ill now, rather than 15 years earlier, Appa.

Sorry....

I am taking all arable lands away, converting them into plots and making money. Just don’t care about what you will do for your survival.

I am drying out the potable water resources and don’t think long term while planning my water usage.

I pollute the environment in the best possible way I can. Automobiles, industries, coal, petroleum et al.

I release all possible hazardous chemicals into the land, unconcerned about your living conditions.

I let my ego do the talking when it comes to relationship with other countries, when it comes to respecting other religions, when it comes to listening to sensible advises. I am making your era more war prone.

I refuse to understand climate change, completely selfish when it comes to global warming and its repercussions, the glaciers melting, cities submerging….

I am just unconcerned about excessive urbanization, the loss of forest cover, the pollution of rivers, the death of farmers…..

I indulge in all possible bad habits and take excess work load, intoxicated by the hefty salaries I get, forget about my health and the resultant impact on my near and dear…

I am eating into your share of the earth. I am making your life more unstable. I genetically pass on to you more diseases than what my parents have passed on to me. I am living in the glee of the present, knowing well that I am depriving you of a decent life.

I am extremely sorry my dear successor generations…. I am still trying my best, talk a lot about greenhouse emissions nowadays, give Nobel Prize to activists working on the area, working on rain water harvesting…. Please behold…