Last photo shoot

Posted on September 4, 2016 by Rajiv Kapoor

Came across this photo of the Beatles during a random search and realized what a great journey their life must have been, up to that point in their lives. They had seen so much together and experienced so much success and celebration, by this time in their lives. An end of an era was coming and all our lives were changed, by this group of musicians, in some way or form. They wrote and sang the anthems of a global generation and their poetry and music lives on in our memories and hearts. John, Paul, George and Ringo lived our dreams for us and sang our words and played our music, and many moments of our lives were lived, listening to them on the radio, in our homes or with friends in public venues celebrating life.

Even today my internet password is a song from them and the ultimate tribute I paid was when I danced the father daughter dance at my daughter’s wedding, to the Beatles singing “In my life,” and I have loved her and them more. It was a magical time when the British invasion was successful in the US and a culture of Rock and Roll, Blues and Jazz all came together into a new era of love and peace. We the fans loved them and hated their lifestyle and wondered how happy they must be in their success, and wondered why our lives were so ordinary. They inspired us to find our own dreams of love and happiness. Drugs, counter culture, revolution, peace , love, compassion, charity became new symbols that we proudly carried into our hearts and homes. There are so many details of our lives being intertwined with theirs, that I could write a book but will restrain myself.

Their albums were legendary and I listened and learnt from each one of them, and they became the tunes and words that made me happy, or made me cry. I strove with them for their desires, and lived my life with their morals. In a world of few heroes they represented a new breed of ordinary guys, who were capable of attaining the greatest heights. Knighted they stood tall in their love of life, and we learned much from them, on how to live it ourselves. We left our homes and entered a new world and in our moments of despair they consoled us, or cudgeled us into the next step. I see them in this photo as the fools on the hill, who saw the world turn around. My world still turns around with them, when I am down, I reach out to Alexa and ask her to play…

Butterfly wings and Louisiana

Posted on August 21, 2016 by Rajiv Kapoor

Fig 1: Global map
NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies shows anomalies in current temperature data from our historical data, and if you are feeling hot under your collar, it is truly the hottest July in history. We have also just gone through the hottest months of Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun for any living human being. 2016 is shaping up to be the hottest year on record, since we started recording world temperatures. So I did a little more research and discovered that as a corollary to rise in our temperatures, many other effects take place. One of them states that for a one degree rise in atmospheric temperature, our skies are able to retain 7% more moisture.
Since atmospheric temperature does not vary much over decades, we have had steady seasonal patterns. Now I would say that all bets are off, as increase of 1 to 2 degrees would make a quantum jump, in the power of future storms, that deviate from normal rain patterns. We are about to learn the true meaning of the term “when it rains, it pours,” as witnessed in almost a half meter of rain; in Louisiana recently over a week, which is more than the annual rain of most of tropical India. Flood prone areas are likely to get more floods as a result. Mass destruction and storm surges will happen, as water can be very destructive, just like any of nature’s great forces, when unleashed on an unprecedented scale.
The effect of the polar ice melting, compounded by the lack of huge mass of snow cover means less reflection of the sun’s rays back into space, causing even more warming in a vicious cycle. The addition of huge amounts of fresh water will dilute the salty oceans leading to unintended consequences. Majority of our earth is the oceans, and when unchecked the rise in water temperatures or fall in them, will have dramatic consequences to our weather systems. The rise in oceans will cause the drowning of many low lying nations amongst other things.
The many raging forest fires will get worse as weather patterns change, and huge forest swaths become dry tinder, ready to burn at the first lightning strike. We are seeing the burning fires in California and will see these in other areas, if weather pattern become erratic due to the rise in world temperatures. Also as waterways dry up due to lower snowfall and rain, agriculture and human survival will become increasingly at stake. We need nature to grow our food and sustain us in its natural cycles, and if we disrupt them our food supplies will dwindle, and the differences between the have and have nots will become stark. The rich will need giant tankers to ferry their drinking water, much like they ferry oil today, as fresh water sources dry up, in the megacities of the future.
So next time when you are out with your loved one, be careful and do not call her or him hot, as he may be sweating from this heat already, and not be in an amorous mood. My advise is to be and act cool instead.Will we be confined to artificial domes of air conditioned metros, and the world as we know it, become a dream? Double and triple rainbows will start to appear on our rainy horizon, and the rivers and streams will become torrents of flows in some areas, and dry up in others. The flora and fauna will change, as evolution will kick in, and the plants and creatures we have today, may not be there tomorrow. Everything changes over time and we will have to change with the times.
My first recommendation is that we get rid of the politicians and leaders, who do not see the change coming, and are not ready to take action. The second recommendation is that we research and study the facts, and not dance around them hoping that they will go away naturally. Our oversized carbon diet, has caused our earth to change, and greening gasses like methane and carbon dioxide levels have risen, and we can use scientific methods to reduce them. Industrial, transportation, lifestyle changes will have to be enforced, not to harm, but to protect ourselves. Just like we moved from wood burning to coal, and then to oil, we now need to move to solar, wind, tidal, biomass, nuclear or any other new renewable sources of energy.
The entrenched interest need to be broken and new interests created. Ingenuity and newer methods of production and consumption are called for, and the sooner we start on this new road, the better off we will be. It has taken us centuries of modernization, to reach the state we are at today. We need to spend the next few centuries correcting our past mistakes, and moving towards a brighter future. I am not angry, and do not blame anybody, that we have come to this sorry pass, as we have done what we needed to survive, and prosper as a species. I am just sad at the state of things, and feel helpless that the problems is far more complex, than our current understanding of our earth and how it functions. It is with profound uneasiness that I write this, as there are no easy solutions, or glib sentences I can write to gloss things over.
We are at an impasse in human survival and the actions we take today, will define our future generations. We have an accord to reduce the rise in temperatures to less than 2 degrees, and now only our will to act is lacking. First we have to look into ourselves and understand and accept the reality, and only then can we act on it. To our earth mother I can only say, you are a hot one now, but I will find a way to help cool you down. Do not unfriend me now, as we will make all out efforts to sustain a long relationship between us yet. What I give to you, I know you return to me many times over, I sow a seed and you grow a tree, I have a child and you make it a human adult. We are one mother, and there is nothing more I can say, as you are my cocoon and I am your caterpillar. My children and grandchildren’s life is at stake, and I have become deathly serious in my old age; as I hope to laugh and play with them, for many more years!.

Independence (Refugee) Day

Posted on August 2, 2016 by Rajiv Kapoor

Beware the Ides of August I say to you, just like the soothsayer cried to Caesar, and I shudder at the bad omens that arise in my brain, at this time of the year. It bring memories of the partition of a homeland, on religious lines, in what was called the Independence for Pakistan and India. 10 million refugees migrated between secular India and Muslim Pakistan in the partition, and what is worse, a million died during the largest migration recorded in modern times. They were burnt, looted or killed at home or in the course of their forced migration. It is recorded that four and a half million Hindus and Sikhs left their homes in Pakistan and six million Muslims left their homes in India, and were forced to move, and actual displacement was still higher. Nehru and Jinnah carved out their homelands at a great cost, to the ordinary citizens of their country. What are nine members of my family, amongst such vast numbers, I often wonder. In the face of such huge carnage, rape, looting, pillage and crimes against humanity, what is this little guilt I carry, that somehow I am not equal and have been left incomplete? My life is stable and yet the trauma of separation of my people, from their ancestral homes lives on, even though I was born after the fact.

It is in our psyche learnt from the tear in a mother’s eyes at a memory, or the words of a father who never complained, yet was always incomplete somehow, no matter how successful he became. Who will complete my story, when I myself have been left incomplete as in this chasm of human suffering, I seek solace from a land, which is no longer mine? I have moved on in this world, but my DNA remembers a land of five rivers, where the wheat grew tall, and the city life was elegant, and we had a culture of enlightenment. That time has passed into history, and now the day has come to move on, but yet the heart still mourns those values that died in that partition. We are all refugees now in this world, and yet the story must not be told, as it may hurt someone’s feeling. Turn our heads and do not see, as what is another orphan in the chaos of our life, as humanity is lessened every day. I hope to see a time in the future when all of this will matter, and we will be aware of the tragedy, and rise to find our lost humanity, and finally be at peace.

Today new refugees are being created as homelands are being destroyed all over the world, and people turn their eyes from these strangers. Humanity dies a little more every day, as orphans and widows, fill refugee camps, and men raise war cries and mayhem. Sunni fights Shia and the Jews and Christians rise to protect their own, Hindus rise to Hindutva and Buddhists seek vengeance upon non-believers, and no place is safe. Mothers fear when their sons and daughters step out of the home, and fathers are silent in mourning, as their children die an untimely death. I am lost in this vengeance, as who could be right, when everyone is wrong? I meditate on sending waves of compassion out to all, but who is feeling the love? I pray for the best in humanity, and fear the worst. My vessel has been emptied of love, and there is no one who will part with even a drop of kindness, as I am only a refugee in this world. Woe be on this humanity as incomplete strangers roam the earth now, and whoever claims to be true in thought, is false in action.
‘The man dies in all who keep silent in the face of tyranny.’ -Wole Soyinka, playwright, poet, Nobel laureate (b. 13 Jul 1934)

Comparison between the number of refugees and IDPs (Internally displaced people) who are supported by the UNHCR between 2014 and 1998.^[71]
End-year	1998	2000	2002	2004	2006	2008	2010	2012	2014
Refugees	11,480,900	12,129,600	10,594,100	9,574,800	9,877,700	10,489,800	10,549,700	10,498,000	14,385,300
IDPs	5,063,900	5,998,500	4,646,600	5,426,500	12,794,300	14,442,200	14,697,900	17,670,400	32,274,600

Our inner beauty

Posted on July 9, 2016 by Rajiv Kapoor

Am astounded by the events unfolding from the disgusting mowing down of our Policemen in Dallas with Assault guns; to the killing of a black man reaching for his wallet and ID, after telling the officer about it. The wars in the Middle East get worse every day with innocents dying and civilian refugees streaming out with no country ready to take them. Great Britain has voted to become Little England as Scotland and Ireland voted against leaving the EU, and misguided people are cheering their surprised leaders, who brought them to this sorry pass. The hurried summoning of the FBI Director for cross examination for purely political gain, while refusing to even conduct a hearing for the appointment of a Supreme Court Nominee, is partisan politics to an extreme. Is the USA in this election cycle, going to become the Disunited States of America, as the rift between the two sides, is fast becoming a chasm of mistrust? Is it only me, that I see more ugliness around me, in our day to day life? Every day that goes by I feel that there is no inner peace or beauty, to guide our daily existence in this age of reason.

In my recent posts I have seen a hatred for race, religion, LGBT, immigration, become increasingly vitriol and threatening. I hear hardening stands and positions on both sides, instead of our fellow citizens, engaging in an open debate. The fear mongers and supremacists seem to be leading the weak, and bent on silencing all others, with hate and bigotry agendas. There is no room for a reasoned argument anymore it seems, as the liberal are an anathema to the conservatives. How can we meet in the middle when there is no middle ground to discuss, as every topic has become an absolute truth? There is no give and take here; and the spirit of do onto others, as you would wish them to do onto you, is fast vanishing in the rush to judgement. Everything is now Red or Blue, and White or Black, and Male or Female with no shades of grey in between.

If God loves all his children, then why this hatred of those who look, behave, love, eat, drink and pray in a different way than us? We need more transparency and open dialog, or the whole of our existence will be wasted. If we do not open ourselves to humanity and the universe, we will only shrink and die. Give me the Spiritual leader who is transparent, or the Idealist who shines with an inner light any day, as the need grows stronger in these dark and troubled times. My rallying cry for compassion, love, peace, human progress and inner light continues, so please join me if you can. There is still hope for a better world and humanity has just started on its tryst with destiny, and all of us are in this together!

“People are like stained glass windows: they sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light within.” -Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, psychiatrist and author (8 Jul 1926-2004)

Happy Independence Day!

Posted on July 2, 2016 by Rajiv Kapoor

US IRS data shows that the super-wealthy, the top 0.1 percent of households continue to pull ahead as their incomes climbed nearly 9 percent to an average of $6.75 million. For the top 1 percent of households, income surged 7.7 percent to $1.36 million. While in the great recession for the average Joe we saw income declines, now finally in the last years of Obama’s presidency, income rose 3.9 percent last year to $48,768. This only shows that inequality continues to grow and the middle class continues to be squeezed out of a more equitable share of work and pay.

The concentration of wealth in the top 1 % is growing and the rest of the 99% continue to fall behind, even in the good years of a growing economy. I agree with Bill Gates and Warren Buffett that the greatest accumulation of wealth in human history, must be put to good use. The fortunate ones must in their wisdom, share the fruits of nature’s bounty, as their horn of cornucopia runneth over. The time has come where the modern nonprofit and charitable organizations, can finally make a difference, in our human condition. Never before have we had the means to provide housing, water, food, energy, education and healthcare to the poorest of the poor. We also know enough about our earth and global warming and environment, to be able to do this through green energy and smarter cities. We have destroyed so many species in the struggle for our own survival, that it is time now to reverse the trend and build for the survival of all creatures. Let evolution take its course and let man not be the destroyer of countless fauna and flora, in our quest for world dominance. We have the means and the intelligence now, to be smarter and more evolved, in how we approach life and nature around us. Our brightest are engaged in research and development in scientific fields at a pace not known before, and we have a great future; if we just pivot our vision and outlook, towards peace and development.

On this day when in the Battle of Somme a million men were killed or wounded in World War 1, we must never forget, what ruin human divisions and war can bring. Let us learn to be compassionate, caring and kind, as all this talk of bigotry and decisiveness, will only bring war and ruin on all of us. Call me an idealistic liberal with no understanding of our human nature, but I still want to take that first step towards Independence of thought and action, on our Independence Day weekend. As we celebrate our Independence let us remember the words that all men are created equal and we must pursue happiness for all and not just the ones we identify with through religion, race, gender, culture or social standing. We are and will remain in this together to our dying day, as our forefathers learned in their great wisdom. It is time now for us to learn anew from them, how to live with each other, and pursue happiness together for the greater good.

What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness? -Jean Jacques Rousseau, philosopher and author (28 Jun 1712-1778)

Receding glaciers in our high mountains

Posted on June 20, 2016 by Rajiv Kapoor

According to a report from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), 35% of the glaciers in the Himalayan region will disappear in the next 20 years, even as temperatures across the Himalayas would rise by 2.5 degrees Celsius by 2050. In a warming region, the iceman’s invention may be a useful adaptive tool. “Glaciers have been receding rapidly for the last four-to-five decades,” said Chewang Norphel, 74 known popularly as the ‘Ice Man’. Eighty percent of the farmers in Leh district in northern India, he said, depend on glacier-melt to irrigate agricultural land and grow vegetables, barley and wheat. In a largely Buddhist region large stupas of Ice and the diversion of water sources into shaded valleys to seed artificial glaciers, is becoming the only source of reliable water in an increasingly arid region. Norphel has been leading these efforts with the help of the local authorities for the past decades bringing much needed relief.

The Ice Man’s methods as he detailed to world leaders at the Kyoto climate summit in 1997, may be the last saving grace, for the fading glaciers in mountain ranges across the world. From the Alps, Andes, Rockies, Caspian mountain ranges we will see devastating effects, as these are the source of major life giving rivers like the Danube, Po, Rhine and Rhone in Europe, the Colorado in the Rockies, Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra and many others in Asia. Climate change and receding glaciers continues to dry up California, European plains, the Indo Gangetic plain and other major croplands on earth and major glaciers have been on the retreat, across all the nations. Ground water levels are falling precariously, as we continue to pump out more water for irrigation and human needs from dwindling aquifers. We need the ability to use these high mountains to create the large glaciers, needed to store and release huge bodies of fresh water, and aid nature to do it, in the race against global warming.

The worries of these receding glaciers were dramatically shown by California Governor Jerry Brown this year when he stood in a barren land where glaciers had traditionally covered the land in recent memory. The Swiss and other experts have been proposing huge Dams to store the water at a great cost. China has been looking for water for its arid regions to feed its growing population. South Asia probably has the most at stake as the Monsoons have been erratic and its river flows and water reservoirs in precarious conditions with substantial hardships for its farmers. Increasing suicides from desperate farmers, are becoming a seasonal reality of life in these regions.

These methods are known to work at very low cost, and with simple engineering changes. We just have to divert existing water systems, and reduce their velocity, and divert them to shaded valleys, where the seasons and nature will do the rest. The Indian army and the government’s engineering bodies, have started work on these efforts, but much more can be done worldwide. We have to make efforts to build these natural stores of waters in the winter months, so they can be used in the spring to seed and grow crops without rains. These can also help to replenish the ground water levels before we hit disaster levels, and human existence in these areas becomes impossible. Climate change is not going away any time soon, and the sooner we take action to preserve life giving fresh water supplies, the better for us.These have lower environmental effects, than the giant Dams being proposed, and can be implemented at far lower cost of resources, with a minimal environmental footprint.

Relatively speaking

Posted on June 16, 2016 by Rajiv Kapoor

We were laughing the other day, as we read the news; as two black holes many times the size of our sun, had collided. While nothing comes out of a black hole normally, but in that collusion, they somehow lost something the size of our sun. How can you possibly lose something the size of our sun, and then try and blame it on energy and gravitational waves, which were created from your union we laughed. I can imagine my father listening to me if I came home and told him that I had just lost the family car, and try and blame it on the heat wave, in the city. His reaction would have left very possibly a much better understanding of what a real heat wave feels like, on my butt.

I guess we were also laughing as time\space had got warped by the gravitational waves, which arose from the massive collusion, and distorted our sense of reality. It had made the sponge in our brains go fuzzy and everything around us seemed hilarious, for a change. As the gravitational waves passed through earth and ourselves we rolled in laughter, as it couldn’t possibly get any funnier. How often could massive black holes combine billions of light years away, and distort our sense of reality? Jane leaned across and whispered that given the size of our universe, it probably happens all the time, causing us to burst into giggles all over again at the thought.

The fun was getting better as Google proclaimed that such an event had happened a few months ago, and we recalled that we had been giddy with excitement around that time also. I recalled that around that time old crusty Aunt Mable had gone and joined a comedy club, just when that gravitational wave was passing through her drawers. It was a seriously funny business, that Einstein had predicted the existence of these gravitational ripples through time\space, but it was up to us to find that they were, the prime cause of merriment and mirth on earth. I find more people bubbling up with jokes and laughter, every time such an event happens. My mother was amused at first seeing my sunny disposition, but when it rose in waves at the merging of every Black Hole, even she got weary of the phenomena.

So now we gather together alone, Jane and me, and laugh till our sides’ ache, every time this event unfolds. We have to be careful not to be caught out in public, and have designated safe areas, where we can meet and enjoy the thrills in private. When I returned home the other day, my mother told me to go wash my hands before dinner, and to be sure to wipe that silly grin off my face, while I was in the bathroom for good measure. It is becoming extremely dangerous, as Jane says she can predict these events, but then sometimes she is off by a few billion light years, and we end up laughing at the wrong time. We are still amateurs and Jane is getting too serious for my liking, and keeps threatening to go to MIT to get her PHD, in predictive laughter waves.

I just wish her well and laugh again, as how many Black holes can it take, to swallow our galaxy and end this whole charade. Jane looks at me as if I am crazy, and wonders how I can possibly be so stupid, and not know, and smiles her superior smile. It is easy she says as it all depends on Einstein’s formula and it is only relative. That reminds me of my relative, the erstwhile crusty Aunt Mable, who has become a riot on the talk shows now, and I roar in appreciation. After all it is not every day that black holes collide to send this gravitational wave, which make us woozy. Jane it always depends on our relatives, I say in agreement, and we both hoot in laughter.

Floating consciousness

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Rajiv Kapoor

Standing at the water’s edge I saw the strange calm, and wondered how in our violent universe; the winds could be so still, and the surface of our lake so wave less. It seemed so solid, and the reflection of the clouds above and the cliff face across the water so clear, as if it was a photograph. To all appearances the scenery was a reflection, of nature’s beauty and wonder and a strange joy engulfed me. I felt that I could reach out and touch it and it would be like a wall, and maybe I could even walk across it and reach the other side. My soul seemed to merge into the waters and become one with its peace, or maybe it is because I am at peace, that I have allowed the lake to become still, like my thoughtless mind. I stand at the edge with no past and no future, and just am this moment, and the lake and I are one. This reality is ours together and the only truth, and all else is just a figment of our imagination.

Do you often come to the edge, and are you so agitated with your worries and your hopes and dreams, and entangled in your thoughts, that you do not see this world’s truth. Are you lost in the shadows of your mind and see only that which you wish to shape, into your own reality, and feel threatened by all, which you cannot shape. Is your imagination so warped by your thoughts and desires, that all you see is what you want to see, and how you wish your world to be, that you forget to see what is out there, in front of you? Do not worry as I was like you too, always busy and always becoming, and never pausing, but striving for all that was mine, or would be mine. I was out to shape this universe to my will, and my life force was strong, and nobody would stop me from reaching my goal, just like you.

I throw a pebble and watch the ripples grow, and it is as if the aura of my consciousness is spreading all around me, mirroring the ever expanding ripples. I am of this universe and life is consciousness and who can put limits on consciousness? I am not bound by my sense organs or my mind, as my consciousness is so ancient, that it reaches beyond time itself. Space time does not confine consciousness, as it flows and ebbs in eons of time, and galaxies of space. Thought itself is useless, as it is not the mind that defines me, but my life force, and that is more than this life itself. How can you trap this consciousness in a body, and expect the senses or the mind to even try tocomprehend, its existence. The only thing inside us is what we cannot hear or feel, we can feel an ant walk on our skin but not the blood flowing in our veins.

Human history like the story of evolution is violent and the survival of the fittest, not of the strongest, but those most adaptable to change. These killings, genocides, wars, rapes, murders and crimes have been there from our beginning, and will continue till our end. We cannot deny our animal nature, nor our existence as social tribal beings, who belong to clans and have belief systems, which have developed over centuries. Our religions, customs, music, culture, language, food define us, and we are uncomfortable outside our immediate fellow creatures. We fight wars to preserve our way of life, and minor belief differences can expand, to pitch Protestants against Catholics, Muslims against Jews, Hindus against Buddhists and so on. The barbarity we dish out to fellow humans, is unrivalled in the animal kingdom, where we kill for pleasure or revenge, and not for food.

So I stand on the edge marveling at this peace of life, that I have brought around myself. Having been reborn it is now my time to attain the highest enlightenment as per our beliefs. We do not shy away from identifying with this universe or Brahman and we do not fear the unknown as death has no meaning to the consciousness. Consciousness is and it will be, so I still the lake again, and bid it to reflect the universe, just like me. There is no duality here and what others see as a solid body, I see as the cosmic dust, which has come together from all around the universe, and will go back into it when I am done with this body. I am a mere wave at the quantum level and all this permanence is just an illusion. I float across the lake, and it welcomes me in its warm embrace, and we are one. I am thoughtless, yet I am life itself.

Union less wonders

Posted on June 11, 2016 by Rajiv Kapoor

Perhaps none of the wealth generators in India’s growth story, are more important that the multitude of its IT companies, and the millions that they have enriched. Of all the success stories from Silicon Valley in the West to the Financial Industry in NYC, none stand out more with the great services, which these companies provide on a daily basis. In the highly competitive, dynamic, cutting edge, technically challenging work of running and delivering complex information technology solutions for its clients, these companies have stood out in their professionalism. They have grappled with some of the most challenging projects and delivered year after year and decade after decade, building on a flat world of communications and transparency.

Filling just the skill gap from retiring baby boomers, and the whole mainframe and Y2K deliverables, are now history, as these companies move into the new world of digitization, cloud computing, big data analytics and many other emerging new technologies. The reliance on their services is increasing and for the near term there are few alternatives even while the world and environment that they work in, is rapidly evolving and changing. It is a constant struggle to reskill their workforce, as new new things appear on the horizon like the Internet of things. If every device is going to be programmable, than there will also be the need for new software and analytics, to make it run smoother. The needs keep growing and the question is can these companies have the vision to move into this brave new world, or will they become dinosaurs like the mainframes and midrange and client server applications, which ruled the roost, and now are slipping into museums and history books.

A cloud literally and physically hangs over the future of these giants, and the future is hard to predict on who will evolve and survive, and who will fall by the wayside in this cruel new world. There are so many challenges and rewards available for the winners, that for them to imagine failure is impossible. Each one has to reinvent itself in a world of cheaper and ever more efficient service needs. The days of billion dollar multiyear deals are so yesterday, and we now live on quarterly and annual contracts which continue to squeeze more and more inefficiencies out of the systems. The competition for these new contracts is worldwide and more and more transparent, as multinationals and the biggest Banks, Insurance, Healthcare, Retail, Hospitality, Logistics companies have become much smarter, in how they plan and pay for resources. The business value of information technology lies in the automation of business processes, provision of information for decision making, connecting businesses with their customers, and the provision of productivity tools to increase efficiency.

There are no 9-5 routine jobs left, or if they are, they are rapidly shrinking. Corporations are downsizing and knowledge of their systems is leaving with them, as they retire or move out of the door. The outsourcing companies that are struggling to fill the void, are themselves challenged as key technical resources are in high demand, and continuously on the move. There is more data being created and stored and analyzed today, than at any time in human history, and it is growing exponentially. Machine learning, artificial intelligence and newer ways to replace humans is the new trend as anything that can be done systematically, reduces human error. Robots work 24\7 without breaks and flawlessly ensuring quality and predictability.India’s leading IT companies are quite on the proposal by Tamil Nadu Labur and Employment Department Principal Secretary Kumar Jayant stating that the New Democratic Labor Front – IT Employees Wing (NDLF), that workforce is free to form unions, as reported by a leading daily on Thursday. The sad part is that these bureaucrats neither understand the industry or its needs. Instead of enjoying the growth and the employment being generated, they want to impose laws enacted in 1947 in a different generation and world. This industry grew because it went out and hired and trained its labor force, with no help from the government and even built its own infrastructure and human resource management systems, with no outside help from the state. Now that they are successful the politicians and bureaucrats want their pound of flesh. It will be the biggest mistake that can ever be made, as these are not public sector banks or the railways business, where routine processing by humans is key.

I can hear the giant vacuum that will suck the jobs from any State that tries to enforce this and even from countries, as this is a truly global world. These resources are increasingly more mobile, and need no office to work from. Without location constraints they are free to work anywhere, where a stable environment provided with power and connectivity. Free enterprise and ability to train and dynamically work, are the hallmarks of these companies as otherwise China’s State giants would have taken over a long time ago, just as they have done in manufacturing. India needs less labor laws, to meet tomorrow’s needs, and not enforcement of antiquated ones, from a non-industrial or non-service industry past. Hopefully saner heads will prevail and all such talk will be quickly put to rest and the union less wonders allowed to grow and succeed, in a modern world. It is a competitive world that can turn on a dime as they say, and survival is tough enough without any outside muddling. These deliveries are time critical and skilled where only the best and brightest succeed, and not a world of work stoppages or rigid laws, that bind and stagnate.

Clear the dams in our rivers and minds

Posted on June 6, 2016 by Rajiv Kapoor

For over a 100 years in the State of Washington, we kept two huge Dams standing on the Elwha River, and it trapped the free flow of the river; and a lot of precious trout and salmon, which may have used the waters to cohabitate, slowly came on the Federal Endangered Species list. In a strange reversal of mother nature, scientist are studying, what the demolition of large tall dams built for controlling the river, and providing ample hydroelectric power; which allowed major corporations, to come up in the State. Now the dams have been dismantled and the sediments built over a century, have been allowed to flow downriver, along with dead wood, and other natural material flows. This has reversed a dying river into a living river, as both flora and fauna, are coming back to life, from these newly released nutrients, it appears. For the thousands of acres of fresh water, and salt water mixtures, which have evolved a complex ecosystem, in the near shore flows down the plain, from the suddenly free Elwha river, flowing into the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
For the first time we are seeing huge engineering constructions being dismantled to take care of our fellow living creatures. Nature has developed over billions of years and humans are in their very early years of evolution. We have a lot to learn on how to live in harmony with mother earth and to ensure we allow others to live and prosper. The waters of the Elwha River flow crystal clear and pristine once again and so many varieties of fish, crabs, vegetation, birds are growing their next generations in the fresh waters. From the high mountains of Snowfinger, the river flows into the ocean, and the whole ecosystem that the estuaries and the delta created, is alive again. A miracle of rebirth is happening right before our eyes, as nature leads the way.
This is a lesson that we must share, as when man takes one step to be more in harmony with nature, it is nature that wraps us in its embrace again; and lets us live peacefully, and prosperously. Having abundance for humans does not mean destroying other lifestyles around us, but instead we must nurture and grow them. Our growth depends on the growth of those around us, as we are all parts of the same existence. Inclusion of others is nothing new, as it goes on, with, or without our acknowledgement. We just have to remain aware, and the greatest natural rule is, that if it does not feel right in our consciousness, then it probably is not. I am not against dams and new technology and it must be harnessed, where needed. It is only that in our ambition, we do not overleap ourselves, and lay everything around us to ruin. We must balance a green path carefully for renewal energy and do what is right for our fellow creatures. Global warming and host of other measures are proving catastrophic and we must do everything in our power to move beyond them and closer to nature.
The sun, the wind, the oceans, the rivers are all there for us to harness their energy, for our own needs. This free renewable energy, is available in greater abundance than our humanity’s needs. The winds will not cease to blow, or the currents to flow, we only have to learn how to harness their strength, we live amidst a bountiful nature, and the sun will rise and set each day, and the tides will rise and fall, and she gives these all to us, to live and prosper. Nature while vengeful in evolution, can also be very magnanimous in her giving, to those who survive in life. We are born of her largess, and as such can always avail of a mother’s gift and use it for our pleasure. I only say treat this gift with respect, and let us live in harmony, and enjoy the wonder, which is our life. We must get together in harmony, and explore the meaning of our beautiful existence, and the pure joy of life itself!

@rajivtheauthor

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