Debate

Bring down your walls mam’

Her face can launch a thousand ships, she writes, she dances and she acts.  She is direct oftentimes upfront, unlike many she has an opinion a very strong one at times.   There is always a burning desire in her to create.  She has the ability to sense ineffectual and sub optimal behavior she can strip masquerades and showmanship and have this ability to flee from it.  Her looks of vulnerability is absolutely seductive.  She is loving and caring and is liberal with appreciation and praise.  I ran into her 18 months ago and she wanted me to help her on some work.  Its at that point I realized her work culture…  l loved it.

Its easy to carry ill feelings through your life. But not this young lass, she puts it in the back burner and starts afresh.

When we met yesterday we discussed loads of business and life issues. It was then, at a point in time, I was sharing with her the Legal mind vs Liberal mind paradox.   Life, I told her, teaches the best when we keep away from either of the ends – Legal or Liberal.  OH!!!! NO!!!!! don’t you ever entertain the idea of balancing both.. if you do I warn you you will be spineless and characterless slimy wishy washy  person who deserves to be spewed out of the social setting.

If its not balancing and if its not taking either the Legal or Liberal side then what do I do?  one may ask.  I would say its about tapping the energy that flows between both the poles.  Don’t you know there is a strong magnetic feel that flows between this?  Okay if you don’t know here is an example for you .. Krishna wanted Arjuna to kill and Arjuna did not want to do that .. it went on and on, this argument, and it birthed Bhagavad Gita.  Do I have to tell you about the wisdom Gita contains?

So what happened out there?  There was a debate and discussion or an argument on the subject – TO KILL OR NOT TO KILL. The discussion meandered on various philosophical issues and life issues and left behind a trail of wonderful thought that went on to influence many over centuries including MK Gandhi.  Was the topic of the discussion resolved .. who cares???

In other words when you grapple with a particular problem you actually end up getting answers to some other future problem… its a kind of cross pollination.  Only the simple and naive would want solutions for all problems instantly.

So as we spoke on a particular issue we meandered to the moral dilemma and other issues related to boundaries that a typical middle class person sets and protects it vigilantly and guards with his/ her own life.   I have no problem with that.  The problem comes when the boundaries become more intimidating and more fearful than the issues . Most boundaries are ‘I TOUCH NO ONE AND NO ONE TOUCHES ME TYPES’.  That boundary is to protect you but then you end up playing the part of the boundary and start looking for clues about those who are trying to creep into your space.  Becoming a boundary yourself you end up isolating yourself slowly and thereby denying yourself of good relationships.

Thats why I love privacy settings its more human its certainly not a brick wall

Now let me share my privacy setting :

When instinct and emotion over rides intellect .. its time to scram from that person

Politics is not for sissies

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With all the pampering around people are sure becoming softer, the stories they are exposed to are cotton candy stuff. We were talking about the sacking of Rome by Atilla the Hun, then I dipped into the other battles that involved Rome – the Norman attack, the Vandals – the complicated group relationships and dynamics they are so fascinating.

Politics is all about making collective decisions .. and has to do with complex group interactions.. but the word POLITICS, has got such negative connotation today.. that people prefer insulating themselves and living for themselves.. which i think is terrible. Add to this the lack of patience and attention of the NOW generation, then the lack of language skills in complex social interactions, most prefer to slay political activity and politicians sitting in the drawing room.

The Landmark Debate – Civil services

I met this bright young lass, who is also a DJ in a FM channel, rummaging through some books at the Landmark, helped her move away from the usual section and pick up Milan Kundera.  Then met up some people and watched the platform being set at the landmark book store  (the last minute works)  The setting was fantastic, with books staring at you and a Grand debate was expected.

What a let down I must say.  The topic was an interesting one, “Is civil services losing its charm?” Its started out with Radhakrishanan of the Hindu, spewing fire even as  the moderator, Sanjay Pinto, needs to carry the ‘can’ for introducing the topic with some really frivolous quotes and jokes. Dr Santosh Babu, the IAS officer, had to defend, and he did a very fine job but moved into the subjective side and then came Vivek HariNarayanan responding with some definitions and wry humor, finally Rajesh Das pinned it with some display of emotions and brought a bit of cheer to the audience.

Well by this time the debate had moved into the red hot zone, it was slugfest time.. But fun.  Just that I could not personally take it, let me explain why.

My expectations were very high.  Landmark was contextually primed to discuss the future of Civil Services, and I realized that a super topic as this was being discussed the way Harbajan slapgate or the 3 idiots’ get discussed in TV channels.

The discussion of the changing social climate and the influence of the information era and the changes it ushers in was completely set aside.

Well I guess the social media revolution, driven by the world wide web, has empowered the private citizen and facilitated connectivity with like minded people to form social groups that can handle issues collectively.  The Estonia clean up model as the prime example.

If that be so, the withering away of the traditional governance framework becomes inevitable. We will all become Politicians and Bureaucrats while they become ordinary citizens – a social leveling is bound to happen with the knowledge explosion.

As of now we, in India, are straddling the Industrial and Information age, the Biotech era is on the doorstep when computing technologies will achieve unimaginable levels.

There was this steel and plasticity tack being discussed quite elaborately.  Bureaucracy was considered to be the steel frame for the country (J Nehru)  so today’s malleability of the officers was criticized.  Well personally I think it’s the rigidity that is harmful,  at least at this stage of development.  The steel must be replaced with some self correcting, self healing and self performing substance, when even the destructive cells in their destructiveness will help in progress of mankind.