It only takes a minute to tell a loved one
you adore them
It only takes a minute to run towards a fear
It only takes a minute to set a big goal
It only takes a minute to drink a glass of water
It only takes a minute to read a great idea (that just might rock
your world)
It only takes a minute to write the most beautiful thank you note
you have ever sent your parents (or a teammate or a customer or a
high school teacher who blessed your life)
It only takes a minute to smile
It only takes a minute to connect to a friend or a co-worker
It only takes a minute to help a human being in need
It only takes a minute to raise your standards to world- class
It only takes a minute to go the extra mile at work and wow a
customer
It only takes a minute to reflect on what you can do today to be
better than you were yesterday
It only takes a minute to embrace change
It only takes a minute to make a new choice that will lead to your
best life.
Make the best of your minutes. Each one of them makes up your
life.
Expert Blogs
India's most prominent public figures post opinion and analysis on the issues they care about.
My Blogs
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Robin Sharma
The best-selling author, personal development and leadership expert dishes out advice, thoughts and more in his blog
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It Only Takes A Minute!
December 14, 2009, 1:5 PM
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Rakesh Sharma
From outer space to cyber space, India's first astronaut lands on the web to blog about Indian Defence issues
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PIPE DREAMS
August 06, 2009, 4:2 AMI am greatly amused by the way we have managed to convince ourselves that we are well on the way to becoming a global superpower. Of course one has been hearing this refrain from various foreign media sources and visiting Heads of State - the latest addition to the list being Hillary Clinton, as she swings through our country.
What does it take to become a super power: billions of dollars in reserve, double digit GDP growth? A strong Navy, an impressive missile defense system, backed up by a credible second strike capability? A military- industrial combine that has the potential to cater to our ever growing defense needs and also adequate spare capacity to capture the arms export market? Or, perhaps, a workable health and social security system that will scale up in the years to come, despite a doubling of population?
It takes a lot to keep from being discouraged because it takes all of the above and some more to become a world power. Thing is, world powers are recognized as such only if their 'state of being' is of a certain standard and, it is here that we falter. Take a look at how our Nation goes about its own business before we take a call on whether we have the right stuff to lead the world - after all that is what is expected of any reigning super power. The list is just suggestive of the malaise - a pointer - and by no means, is it exhaustive.
An embarrassingl
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Lesbians, Gays, and Bi's - Oh My!
August 04, 2009, 5:34 AMHey there sports fans! Sorry I've been MIA for a little while, but . . . well I guess I've just been busy . . . and a bit lazy I suppose! :) Truthfully, I've just been enjoying the summer over here across the pond too much to sit down in front of the comp! . . . Though it did rain a lot here during June and therefore reminded of the fun I'm missing back in my beloved, monsoon-y Bombay . . .
Anyway, I just thought I'd send through a quick commentary on some of the interesting bars and parties I've been to lately. Well, as the summer in NY often brings, I've had a string of friends come visit over the past month, some of whom enjoy frequenting gay and lesbian clubs and parties! Initially I was a little hesitant, but I thought I'd continue my previously adventurous behavior and go along . . . and guess what?! Gay and lesbian parties are totally rocking! Somehow, the global and American recession hasn't affected either of these communities in the slightest . . . they're STILL partying like it's 1999, and I don't think they've stopped since then! These parties are completely packed, with the gays parties full of cute guys (though I'm not sure they'll be interested in you ladies out there who are taking cues from this blog right now)! They even have boys dancing in their undies on pedestals! And worry not boys - this goes oppositely for the lesbo parties - they have female strippers dancing on pedestals there. That's right fellas - you can drink your drink and watch a stripper dance right next to your significant other, and she can't say a thing as she's the one who brought you to the lesbian party! :)
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Opening night!
July 09, 2009, 6:58 AMOK so Sunday night was my theatre debut, I was a bundle of nerves and must have driven Anuvab crazy with my inane questions!! However, our director rarely gets frazzled (except when he sees a badly choreographed curtain call!!). To calm my nerves I decided to do what any normal person would do...whilst other cast members made the most of their yoga and their illustration skills (not concurrently) backstage, I decided to count the amount of times Anuvab told us to "RELAX!!!" It was 103 approximately...give or take 51. My counting goes for a toss at such times!! Anyway the bottom line is that Kunaal was fabulous regardless of his state of dress or undress as were Ashwin, Ratna, Faezeh and Sid. All of them have done so much theatre but they were so supportive and just awesomely talented to work with...I am so happy to have had made my debut with such a great bunch of actors...actually great people!
As for 1-888-DIAL-INDIA, I still remember Anuvab sending me the script. I was at my second home (the airport lounge) waiting to catch yet another flight and I burst out laughing. Needless to say everyone thought I was nuts. I am nuts, that's why I decided to take on these five completely unrelated characters of a corporate financier, nun, suicidal 13 year old and more. The rehearsals have been exhausting at times, hilarious at others but above all memorable. I have learnt more about comic timing here than on my film sets! The point is this is not a "leave your brain behind, timepass kind of play"; it's a brilliant, witty, fun, clever, thought-provoking comedy...and boy am I glad to be part of it!!
A wise man once said 'Life is better with a little drama in it...". Well with Raell at the helm, the funniest man I have met, Anuvab, holding the reains (or trying to), Rahul da Cunha our mentor telling us how much pressure we are under on opening night, and
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Anuvab Pal
Co-writer of the global comedy hits Loins of Punjab Presents and The President Is Coming blogs about food, what feeds the nation and about the general elections.
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1-888-Dial-India
July 01, 2009, 4:48 AMI began the journey for 1-888-Dial-India a long time ago when I was struck by 3 things. 1) That I've always wanted to write a play set in an office and 2) I have always wanted to write a play about outsourcing and 3) I've always wanted to write a play featuring my friend Kunaal Roy Kapur, the director of President Is Coming.
This is not because he is talented (he is not). It is because he cut so many of my lines in President, it only seemed fitting to write a whole bunch for him and request him to say it.
Outsourcing is interesting because it combines all the things I love about the world. Half-baked knowledge of different cultures, aspirational western business milieu, fake pomp and gibberish that passes for corporate speak. In short, a remixing of the English language for uniform globalization. Like the Anne Taylor of language. And to top it all off, it fuels my other favorite subject, New India
A generation of India is now deriving a new way of life with business and occupations that didn't exist 10 years ago. It's fueling a slow social and economic revolution, less velvet, more neon. These people, 700 million of them, will carve a way of life far more distinct than the British or the Mughals or the Rajputs or the Dravidians before them and we will seep into it because it won't involve bloodshed but buying. More and more consumer stuff. This India is what will remain and it especially intrigues me because it is going to the core of 4000
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You're Hired!
June 23, 2009, 1:25 PMI have just finished and released my first book, You're Hired! How to Get That Job and Keep It Too. I'm incredibly excited about this book, as I think it is a perfect solution for so many of you who are working hard to find a good job in today's competitive environment.
You're probably thinking, how is this book different? There are already hundreds of English language and interview prep books available in the shops. That's true, but I believe that none of the books in the market right now are easy to use, and more importantly, tailored for the Indian job market.When I was running an English language and soft-skills training company in India, I was constantly searching for an effective communication book to suggest to my students. Unfortunately, I couldn't even find one! The English grammar books written in the USA and the UK were just too complicated and technical, and not customized for Indians. On the other hand I found that most books written in India were not effective or written in an easy-to-use way. So, I decided to write one myself - a book that would address the communication issues most young people in India face.
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Professor Jagdish Bhagwati's first take on the new Indian Government
June 05, 2009, 3:36 AMI was asked to respond to questions about the Prime Minister and India's policies after the elections, by a well-known foreign journalist writing a story on this subject. Below are the complete questions and my answers which the journalist will quote from.
Q1.What, in your understanding, is Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's understanding of so-called "inclusive growth?"
Ans: He has always understood that the economic reforms which he started implementing wholeheartedly when he was Finance Minister would be the most important single change that would accelerate growth and finally reduce poverty, as indeed they have. This is "inclusive growth" indeed. This growth has directly pulled people out of poverty; it has also generated revenues without which little can be spent on bringing benefits such as health and education to the poor and the marginalized. The Prime Minister has always been explicit on these matters, criticising the critics of the reforms that fail to understanfd that, without growth and the accompanying growth of revenues, the "inclusive growth" that we planned for since the 1950s cannot be delivered.
Q2. Throughout his first term, Manmohan Singh was often criticized as weak, accused of being a puppet of Sonia Gandhi, and denigrated for caving in to the demands of the Left. Another Newsweek writer even blas
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My Blogs
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The sweet acrid nostalgic smell of Delhi winter
November 24, 2009, 5:5 AMWalking the streets of Delhi just as dusk has set in. The slight smell from the fog mixed with the smell of traffic fumes on Janpath. Memories. Of my mother, always in her colorful saris, red shawl, her carefully bobbed hair just down to her neck. And laughing, always laughing as if she feared if she did not, somehow the demons of unfulfilled child hood dreams would get to her. As they ultimately did.
But God, I loved that laughter - and the streets and smells of Delhi were filled with her laughter this evening. And my father, quite and often brooding, a compassionate smile on his face as he watched his life partner laugh, hiding his pleasure at it, but feeling it's warmth just as me and my sisters did.
And when my mother passed away he missed it so much that he gradually too let go. The laughter that filled our lives had gone - but we the kids were off on our own adventures - our own dreams, heartbreaks, ambitions - the family house empty of laughter and hope - still lies there languishing - waiting for someone to fill it with the bubbling excitement - so it's walls can lose the forlorn dampness that is spreading everywhere.
And this evening as I walk through Janpath to my hotel - the restored and magnificent Imperial Hotel - the sweet acrid nostalgic smell of Delhi winter - brought tears to my eyes - as passerby's saw me and stopped "wasn't that Shekhar Kapur who also cried on TV" ?
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My Tweets
August 25, 2009, 9:4 AMGood discussion with my predecessor, now Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, on Indn relns w Africa & Latin
excellent dinner w Nandan Nilekani, the other new import into natnl govt. He will make a huge transformative impact on the lives of Indns
The 19 scheduled mtgs became 21. Breakfasted w Haneef Haroon, editor of Pakistan's Dawn newsppr. Caught up w old Geneva friends Harsh&Veena
And launched a novel: Jaishree Misra's "Secrets&Lies" - a title which made many assume it must be a book about politics or diplomacy!
Over 1000 students at AMU for my lecture on why foreign policy matters. Good, tough qsns as well. Glad to engage Aligarh (& Kochi last wk)
1500 to be exact, and they listened in utter silence, which I am told isn't always the case in a campus that has often turned rowdy
Haven't read Jaswant's Jinnah book yet, but as a writer I don't think anyone shld be expelled from a party for writing a book
But then some parties have a higher tolerance for heresies. Congress is a big tent, with greater room for different points of view
AMU has a lovely campus - lush green, white bldgs. Famous alumni incl Badshah Khan, Zafar Iqbal, VP Hamid Ansari & Naseeruddin Shah
Both AMU &St Stephen's produced an Indn President (ZakirHusain & Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed respectively) + a Pak Presdt (Ayub Khan &Ziaul Haq)!
tdy1st World Humanitarian Day. Anniv of 2003 Baghdad bomb blast that killed my friend UN rep Sergio Vieira de Mello and 21 others. Remember!
Just landed in Tvm on short Kerala visit. Leader Karunakaran in adjoining seat. Amazingly self-sufficient 92 year old, returning fm CWC mtg
Goo
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Amitav Ghosh
Leaf through the Sea of Poppies' author's blog where you get to read between the lines of his work, life and more.
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Power Equations in Asia
June 14, 2009, 12:38 PMExcellent article on the changing power equations in Asia:
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Jyoti Malhotra
Freelance journalist based in New Delhi writes on Indian politics and foreign policy.
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India-Pak concerns in Kabul
July 12, 2009, 5:11 PMAs I chatted up the hotel's computer wizard in my Kabul hotel last week (he was a young 20-ish-year-old kid in glasses and a soft smile, who had spent most of his life in refugee camps in Peshawar city in northern Pakistan, while the Taliban ran the country back home), I asked him how things were these days in Afghanistan.We spoke in Urdu, the language that is common to India and Pakistan, and because I wore the shalwar-kameez, a dress that is also common to both countries, Hasan, the young gentleman in question, seemed a little confused at first. (He spoke beautiful Urdu too). Then when he couldnt contain his surprise, he came right out with it, "Oh, youre an Indian!"
Yes, I said, then asked, but how did you learn to speak such beautiful Urdu?
From the Hindi movies which I love, Hasan answered ! I thought, not for the first time, that Bollywood had done more to promote India abroad than the Ministry of External Affairs (Shashi Tharoor, fellow blooger, and now minister in the Foreign Office, please note).
Then I asked him what he thought of India, and of Pakistan...Hasan chose his words carefully. He didnt want to offend me, of course (I was a guest in his hotel) and Pakistan was like a second home. Both countries want a foot inside Afghanistan, he said, smiling somewhat anxiously.
Hasan's dead right analysis has now been confirmed by Pakistan's military spokesman, Maj Gen Athar Abbas, who in an interview with CNN on July 11, talked about Pakistan's concerns about India's growing presence in Afghanistan.
"What we see as a concern is an over-involvement of Indians in Afghanistan…particularly if one is watching the security calculus in that….If you see an over-ingress of the Indians into these areas, like their government, their ministries, their army. The fea
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C Uday Bhaskar
The strategic analyst talks about India's security issues, and what the country can do to protect its borders and coast line
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Media Turbulence Over Chinese Incursions
September 22, 2009, 5:58 AMThere has been considerable turbulence in some sections of the Indian media during the last fortnight over purported incursions by China into Indian territory.
One major daily had reported that shots were actually fired by Chinese troops against Indian paramilitary forces.
The 1962 war with China was emotively recalled and the nature of the Sino-Indian bi-lateral relationship differently interpreted by the dragon-slayers and panda-huggers respectively in the Indian media.
And as has been happening over the last few years, the Indian audio-visual medium no longer just reflects public opinion. It actively forms it - more so on security and strategic issues that
affect national security - and hence the amber lights have been blinking apropos China as the aggressive dragon.
The tenor of the Indian media debate became so intense that the governments in both Delhi and Beijing were forced to take note and issue clarifications and denials.
Notwithstanding the page one hype, it turned out that no shots were fired by Chinese troops and the Indian Foreign Ministry issued an unambiguous denial and clarified that no such event had occurred at
all.
Subsequently, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asserted that there was no major change in the border situation and to assuage domestic concerns, he added: "There is nothing to be alarmed about."
This assuaging of Indian anxiety about Chinese incursions and intent has since been reiterated by the National Security Adviser MK Narayanan and the Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao who have clarified that there has been no 'significant' increase of incursions by China across all the sectors that are disputed.
Notwithstanding the trauma of 1962 that remains embedded in the collective Indian psyche, the Sino-Indian relationship in 2009 is stable,
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Nuclear Warhead?
June 23, 2009, 5:55 AMSo Shohbaa De has called me a nuclear warhead. We met at a literary conference in Singapore a few weeks ago and I was rather shocked to see last week she'd written an entire column about me. It's written in the classic Shobhaa De style -- over-the-top and hyperbolic--so don't believe everything you read but it is rather amusing. Here it is: THE SEXES Shobhaa De Boooof! It hit me in the gut minutes into our virgin conversation. Anita Jain, the author of Marrying Anita is like a nuclear warhead-lethal! I met the delicious former journo at the first Indian Se's, Indian Writers' Festival in Singapore on June 6. It is one thing 'Knowing Anita'. But 'Marrying Anita?' You need guts! How many men in our hypocritical society have it? I completely and totally adored the latest enfant terrible on the rapidly growing literary circuit in India. Quite simply, Anita Jain is a character. Not quite Kamala Das, not Erica Jong and certainly not Bridget Jones. She is Anita-her own person. And she has written a spunky book that could also have been titled 'Being Anita', and it would still read the same. But Marrying Anita is a more commercial title, as I am sure Bloomsbury, her American publishers, realised when they decided to publish her memoir in 2008. Well, the book has not sent cash registers ringing in the US but in India, Anita has been noticed and is being courted by desi publishers, impressed by local sales. Carelessly tagged 'Sex and the City, Delhi-style', the book is much more than just a raunchy account of the 36-year-old's sexual romps in her motherland. Her quest for love in new India is more hilarious than erotic and begins on a rather comical note. The narrative is a loosely linked catalogue of her sexcapades-near misses and a couple of booz
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LeT/TALIBAN Vs INDIAN ARMY
April 13, 2009, 7:9 AMIS THE INDIAN ARMY CAPABLE OF FIGHTING TALIBAN?
Operation in Mendhar
1. During early January 2009 the operation in Mendhar (J&K) against ten terrorists went on for more than seven days. A Rashtriya Rifles Battalion an infantry unit of Indian army besides para military were employed. Despite the army's claims of four terrorists killed, when the operation was called off after eight days, there were no bodies found and all the terrorists escaped. It is said that the terrorist master minds of certain bombings in the country were also involved in t his fighting. By the time the special forces arrived the operation had already been called off as the terrorists could make a get away without suffering a single casualty. It is not known to the author if any infantry unit was used. The proportion of troops employed was roughly one terrorist to 80 Indian Army Troops.
2. Ground and its Layout. The ground did not have very dense jungle but there were rocky hills where good cover was available. The altitude was not much so as to put troops out of breadth. Live coverage of the operations by the news channels showed troops lying behind boulders taking cover and especially one LMG gunner mounting his LMG on a big rock, very prominently visible against the sky line (contrary to basic field craft teachings that no movem
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