When one person transforms your life

The loudspeakers blared , "Last call for passengers flying from London to

Bangkok on British Airways flight number BA756", Angus realized that he couldn't

delay anymore and waved bye to his parents and friends for the last time.

First in his family to ever travel abroad, he was making his parents very

proud. Angus saw the tears on his mother's eyes and his legs shaked, knowing fully

that there was every possibility that his mother might see him next time in

a coffin.

As the flight took off, he was lost in thoughts about the assignment. Angus

was a contract reporter for BBC as his first full time job straight out of

college at Oxford. Through out his teenage years, he dreamt of writing for

this media powerhouse, and five months since joining them, life was not good

for him. He hadn't published a single story yet and after first few months

of pampering, the editor-in-chief was losing his humor on him.

And as luck would have it, Myanmar was witnessing a major political

suppression by its military junta dictator, Than Shwe. There was a need for the world to get the

clearer picture of what's happening inside Myanmar and BBC wanted to cover

that.

Fully aware of how notoriously the military junta treated foreign journalists, no

journalists were too keen on taking up the assignments. Agnus, being

desperate for a story, accepted the assignment without giving it a thought.

After further research about the ground realities of how foreign journalists

were conveniently going missing in Myanmar, he realized what a soup he had

put himself into. His copy writing job at the local newspaper seemed more

appealing to him now but unfortunately that position was also taken. So with

no alternatives in horizon, Angus half heartedly applied for an entry

into Myanmar and much to his dismay he was granted a permit.

And now here he was on a rough aeroplane journey with gruffy air hostesses

serving cold soulless aeroplane food flying across Europe and South Asia to

goto Bangkok and from there, cross the border at Suang Phung into Myanmar.

After the 14 hour flight, Angus reached the Bangkok airport. After a sporadic

custom clearance where the custom officer kept glaring at his 15' camera

lenses, he finally managed to reach the arrival area. He looked for his

escort and saw a stout little guy waving a placard with his name on it.

Angus took a sigh of relief and marked the placard holder. "Mr. Wilkins !

Welcome to Bangkok. I am your escort - Aliak and I am responsible to help you

cross the border to Myanmar" - blurted out the escort. Doubting Aliak's ability

to drive a car straight, Angus had limited faith in reaching Yangon at all

and the possibility of this project failing lurked on the horizon. Half

expecting sandy uncemented roads with bullock carts on them, Angus begun his

one endeavor with the craziness of Indo-China. He couldn't have been more

wrong. Bangkok was a throbbing city with modern skycrapers and 8 lane

expressways. Angus was surprised to see this modern metropolis and was

pretty amused by how little the west knew about the East.

Nonetheless, without wasting a moment, Aliak started on his 6 hour ride to Suang Phung.

The drive was uneventful and Angus was at the Myanmar-Thai border at Suang Phung. The

Thai custom officer smiled at him before inspecting his papers and he was

escorted towards the Myanmar border. What he saw next gave him an indication how complicated his assignment is going to be.

The Burmese border post was heavily fortified with atleast a batallion

guarding the gates. With a fake act of confidence, Angus presented his

papers to the Burmese custom officer. Angus gave a smile and none was

returned. The officer was clearly bored and nothing could have excited him

more than end of his duty today. But looking at Angus's papers, suddenly

there was this sense of urgency and excitement in his voice. He made a call

and spoke quickly and loudly in Burmese. Soon, Angus was escorted inside and

3 officers questioned his purpose of visit. Angus explained - "Sir,  As

explained in the document, I am a wild life photographer capturing the famed

wild butterflies of Myanmar". The tallest among the 3 officers stood up and

said in broken English-" As you British say, cut this bullshit. Mr Wilkins,

we very well know why you are in Myanmar. Under the W.W.F treaty, we can't

reject your entry into our country but I promise you, if you click a single

picture outside the horizons of the butterflies or if you speak to any

locals here, you will not see your motherland again. Two of my guards will

stay with you at all times" Angus was shell shocked to see his well versed

plans in jeopardy. He was no spy but even a novice understood that how badly

his assignment was sidelined and the prospect seeing homeland seemed bleak.

Nonetheless, putting a brave face, Angus nodded in acceptance to what the

colonel had to say. "So, shall we begin? Gentlemen, we should leave

immediately. There are loads of butterflies waiting to be clicked from this

beautiful camera" With a curved smile on his face, the colonel bid farewell

and the soldiers were set to escort this golden haired man into the

interiors of the wilderness of Myanmar.

While in the jeep enroute to Kyeitall Forest area, Angus's mind was racing hard. He

wasn't sure how to get rid of these 2 unwanted escorts and at the same time,

he had to get in touch with the local sleeper contact of BBC in Yangon. He

was still lost in his thoughts, that the jeep shrieked to halt. The younger

among the two soldiers said in broken in English - 'You England? You have

chewing gum and cigarettes?" Angus not sure whether offering cigarettes and

chewing gum to a soldier was considered a bribe, took the bait and gave away

his last box of cigarettes and his only chewing gum strip. The young

soldiers grinned with their visibly stained teeth adding to Angus's

annoyance. The young soldier lit a cigarette and took a deep puff. He

offered it his companion and they greedily puffed it quickly.

Visibly content, the older of two said "I know you no photographer. I know

you reporter." The two started giggling loud and started murmuring in

Burmese. Angus wisely kept silent very well knowing that whatever he said

would most probably be used against him.

The soldier continued, "I can help. 100 dollars". Angus was alarmed for two

reasons.

One by the lack of patriotism among the soldiers as they were well aware that his reporting will have extreme reactions Internationally and could potentially harm their country's image abroad.

Secondly, how could he trust these 2 rookies. If he gives them the money, then thats potentially accepting his reporter status. They might double cross him, keeping the money and submitting him to the authorities.

However, what were his alternatives? With the soldiers in his tail, there is no way he could perform his journalism tasks. He didn’t travel 6000 miles to click pictures of butterflies. He could visualize the not so amused look on Mr. Greene's face when he would have pictures of butterflies to show as his contribution to this project.

So, realizing that he didn't have an alternative, Angus sheepishly took out $10 bills from his carefully strapped travel pouch. Before he could count them and hand them over, the  soldiers grabbed the bills and with a look of 2 children who were going to get a treat of ice cream for the first time in their lives, they begin counting and recounting the bills. Everytime Hamilton's face resurface on the bill, it reminded Angus of the painful irony that a country which strived for G.B. Pounds a couple of decades back so seamlessly adapted to the U.S.D. Angus philosophically murmured to himself that this world is always in transience, there are no final destinations.

Once the soldiers were satisfied by the counting, they grinned widely. Angus uncertain what should be his reaction, offered them cigarettes. The smaller among the two grabbed the entire pack with his grin widening to the shape of the alphabet D.The driver took a wild swirl and took the jeep off the road. He took the jeep inside the forests, skillfully avoiding trees. Angus though terrified, chuckled and thought to himself that atleast these little Yellow brats know how to drive well. The jeep halted after a few minutes drive and the 2 soldiers took out a bundle from under the driver's seat. Angus looked in fascination while the soldiers switched into civilian clothes trying to emulate Texan ranchers. They hid the jeep beneath the heavy vegetation, walked to the highway and flagged a truck. Angus chuckled again, "This is going to be one wild ride !!"

The soldiers stuck to their word and Angus was given free ride to work enroute to Yangon. He assiduously went to task, interviewing Burmese nationals in the villages, on the highways and in the towns. He visited their homes, heard their horrid tales of the military junta's brutality and clicked pictures for proof. In those 5 days of travelling through rural Myanmar, Angus realized that the few things he took for granted back at home was the highlight of a rural Burmese dweller's life. "Need to focus on the task" Angus reprimanded himself and set his mind onto interviewing his last candidate, hereby the most important one. He was going off the highway deep into disturbed dense Rakhine Yoma forests for a rendezvous with one of the commanders of the rebellion.

This was the most critical part of his assignment and also the most dangerous. The army soldiers were forbidden to enter the village and they stayed back on the highway. It was planned that rebels would escort him from the highway to their village. On the bright full moon night, Angus with jitters in his mind, waited patiently on the highway for his ride to surface.

The full moon reflecting on the pond, the vast empty grasslands, the beautiful mountain landscape and not a soul in sight gave the background a rather dramatic twist. Angus smiled in this irony, "Here I am in middle of nowhere in a country where value of life is less than the value of a glass of milk and the mockery of the situation is that there is not a soul here and not a single life to be destructed. His thoughts were broken by loud roaring of a motorbike. As the bike approached near him, the roar got stronger. As the bike stopped in front of him, Angus was astonished. "Wow !!! The bike is a vintage 1952 truimph. These rebels have style !!" The rider demanded from him in broken english, "Hop in if you are Angus Wilkins ??" Angus intimidated by this scene, obediently obeyed the command and with a deep breadth, sat on the pillion seat. The bike roared louder and the rider took a sharp turn into the forests. The bike jumped around the rough roads, turning and swinging, promising never to halt. After a never ending ,spine breaking quarter hour ride, finally the bike came to a halt. The rider pointed Angus to step down and wait. He whistled in a very typical tone and somewhere a whistle came back and there was wild frenziness around that area like when bees buzz when their hive is attacked. Jeeps glared and motorcycles roared, and there were people all around. "Aha, so this is how rebels assemble", mumbled Angus to himself innocently. A Toyota SUV appeared out of no where and the commander of the rebels disembarked from the front seat. The commander seemed out of place with his composure and intelligence acting like a halo over his head. To Angus’s pleasant surprise, the commander himself was an alumni of Oxford and had quit his lucrative medical career in London to fight for the cause of his people, the Burmese people. Angus spoke to the commander for over an hour learning more about the problems faced by locals and clicking pictures.

The calmness and serenity exhibited by the rebel leader was extremely contagious to him. Angus felt extremely insignificant comparing his own life issues with the atrocities and problems faced by these rebels . Lost in these thoughts, the ride back was uneventful and quick. The rider dropped Angus on the highway and gave him a bow of head before zooming back from he came. Angus waved back knowing that that this experience was inked into his mind and soul for ever.

He was alone on the highway and it was almost dawn. His army escorts were not be seen anywhere. Getting impatient and infused with the confidence of meeting the most dangerous man in Myanmar, Angus in his sense of invincibility, decided to complete the last leg of his journey to Yangon on his own. He waved at the first bus and it screeched to halt. The bus was tattered from every possible angle with its color distantly recognizable and its window panes shattered. "In 99% of the world, it would be illegal to run this bus on the road" exclaimed Angus. However, mesmerized by his adventures, Angus got on the bus and instantly hated his decision. If the bus was a disaster from exteriors, it was a catastrophe from inside. All the seats were taken but one, the last corner seat on the bus. Angus congratulating his luck galloped to the vacant seat. The adjoining seat was occupied by a passenger in a deep slumber with the entire body covered by a torn and heavily used blanket. Angus politely tried waking up the passenger to let him pass to the vacant seat. He initially tried to wake up the passenger's vocally, however when that didn’t help, he gently shook the passenger. That didn’t have any positive impact too. Clearly annoyed, Angus didnt have a choice - He shooked the passenger hard and then ultimately removed the blanket. Underneath the blanket was the most delicate girl’s face, Angus had ever seen. Finding herself unshielded from her blanket, the girl gave a wild shrill shriek. She non-chalantly kept muttering something in Burmese which was comprehensible to everyone on the bus except Angus. All the occupants of the bus turned their heads and were staring unblinkingly at him. Angus could easily visualize the sentiments of the audience - A 6 feet 2 inches foreigner harassing a tender little villager girl. He sensibly backed off and started apologizing profusely. However on contrary, his attempt to speak had the opposite effect on the girl and it further agitated her. Angus unsure what to do, turned back and sat on the floor next to the bus conductor. Now, everyone had their eyes on the girl and the girl aware that everyone was watching her, gradually went silent. Angus, minding his own business, didn't react to this wryly silence. Apparently, realizing her overreaction, the girl got off her seat, walked to Angus and spoke in broken English, " You sit if you want in the seat. No problem". Angus had never heard a human voice more divine than hers, never seen a face more angelic and never seen so much of innocence flowing in one person. He mesmerizely did what was told her to do. He followed her orders and obediently sat down in his seat. Once the  fiasco was over, passengers in the bus returned to their business and everything went back to normal. But nothing was normal for Angus. He was nervous, sweaty and anxious. He had already destroyed his image in front of this goddess and now was thinking of damage control. Not sure how to move forward, he planned to take the universal fall back method of using humor. Before he could utter a word, his tormentor herself tried to speak in her best English" Sorry for anger. I was scared and fear". The journalist and writer in Angus kicked himself hard to restrain himself from correcting her grammar and smiled sheepishly.

She continued, " where you going"?

"Yangon, I am a wildlife photographer shooting the Burmese Butterflies"

She animatedly exclaimed "Butterflies !!!! Wow - I love butterflies. so beautiful colors. in Myanmar, butterflies very good. You should goto Bago Yoma. Very beautiful" While she continued her non-stop animated conversation about butterflies, Angus kept staring at the gleam in her eyes dumb foundedly. Once their eyes met, she felt his stares and went silent. Angus realizing her awkwardness introduced himself. "My name is Loing Naing", she offered shyly. Angus thought to himself, " Oh my God !!! Her name is the most divine one ever. You cannot not fall for a girl with such a beautiful name". While they were shaking hands, Loing's cheeks turned blushing pink.

"A nice name alone can make a woman so desirable and so attractive, however this one is an all round attraction", mused Angus. In the brief conversation, Angus had with Loing, he felt a connection and felt he has known her forever. Someone who would lose interest in a conversation in a few minutes, Angus didn't realize they have been chatting for the last couple hours. Loing was from a fishing village in south west coast of the country and was travelling to Yangon to ask for a loan from the bank to repair her boat. Her's and 8000 other fishermen's boats were damaged in the cyclones last year. There was no aid from the Government and with no source of income without their boats, people were dying of hunger on a daily basis. Her own father was bed ridden and wasn't able to recover due to lack of medicines. Angus was speechless. Here is a girl who has such a contagious laughter and the glow in eyes is mesmerizing but at the same time, at such a young age, she has witnessed so much of sadness and pain and still is optimistic and non-complainant about life. "Wow, this country and its people have given me a loads of food for thought" acknowledged Angus.

Angus was abruptly shaken from his thoughts by a strong metallic cranking sound from the front. The bus screeched to a halt and the driver after the briefest check, informed the passengers that there is a leak on the carburetter and the bus can't go further. Angus, who would get all stressed back in London, was astonishingly calm about it. Loing started packing her bags and suddenly Angus realized that maybe this is the end to their renzendvous. Thinking about their parting, Angus did panic and wasn't sure how could he hold this moment forever.

"How are you going to Yangon", he asked her. "Oh we will have to take a tuk tuk fifteen miles to the railway station and take a train to the capital". The word "we" was  reassuring for Angus and nothing else was required to be spoken. They both boarded a tuk tuk to the station. A tuk tuk is a passenger cart powered by a motorbike and is typical to Indo-China region. The ride with the Loing in the tuk tuk gave Angus a sense of belonging which he had never felt before. "Too many new emotions and experiences being unfolded for me in too little time", Angus noted.

His adventure quotient was at its peak. Here he was in a country he was not suppose to be in, where he didn't speak the local language, where he was completely misplaced, but still felt completely comfortable trusting a stranger. Loing apparently was feeling the magnetism too- she uncharacteristically was quiet and sheepishly looked at him every few moments. They reached the station but the next train was not due for the next 8 hours. Angus bought the tickets and was wondering how to best spend the evening. He was extremely tired after the long night and wanted some rest. Loing like a divine angel realized that and suggested taking rest in the nearby motel. Angus readily agreed and they walked to the motel. The so called 'motel' was the ugliest building Anghus had ever seen and its interior were filthier but Angus found the surroundings very serene and inviting. At the reception, a grinning manager welcomed them to Hotel Comfort. "Hotel Comfort looks very comfortable", chuckled Angus.

Playing it safe, Angus asked the manager "we want 2 single rooms please".

"Ngai Ngai .. No No waste money. we take one small room and i sleep on the floor"

"Are you sure? No problems taking 2 rooms"

"Are you sure? Its no problem"

" Ngai Ngai. Too much money. One room only"

"Ok. As you want"

Angus turned to the manager, " one double room please". The manager mumbled something incomprehensible in Burmese and reluctantly gave one set of keys.

There were only 5 rooms in the motel and all were in the ground floor. Angus unlocked the room and the two went inside. Angus could sense Liong's discomfort and to comfort her. excused himsef to talk to the manager. He had been with girls before but this felt weird. " Wow - am I falling for this girl !! "Not sure what it is but its special".  Fifteen minutes later when he returned back to the room, Liong was deep asleep on the bed.

" She is an angel God created with very delicate care". Angus whispered to himself.

Angus smiled and got himself a pillow and slept on the rug.

A few hours later, he woke up and found her soundly asleep. "Sleeping beauty !! arent you?" chuckled to himself.

His eyes fixed on her, he kept admiring her twitched lips, her ever-flowing hair, her innocent, inquisitive eyes and time seemed to have stood still. He was staring intently at her and her eyes opened. He instantly took his eyes off her and went to the toilet to wash his face. Once in the toilet, Angus cursed himself for getting caught in his staring act. He was still verbally assaulting himself while Liong entered the bathroom. She looked into his eyes and nothing else had to be said. They kissed and were lost in love for each other. It was getting dark and it was time to leave. While handing the key back, there was this unescapable chemistry in their eyes which the Manager couldn't help notice. "Hope Sir and madam enjoyed their stay", He wise cracked while taking the keys back. Liong coughed and the Manager went back to his own ways.

They reached the station, boarded the train and took the seats. Burmese trains are extremely congested and over packed and both of them were glued to each other. However, there was no awkwardness this time around and they both felt very comfortable with the contact.

Angus was in cloud nine. He had been with girls before but this was the first time it felt special. "Man, she is a keeper for sure", Angus thought to himself.

The train journey was uneventful except the continuous flow of passengers. The two held hands and their eyes were glued to each other through the entire journey.

Once in Yangon, Angus understood that they had to part ways for the time being as being a Westerner, he could easily cause trouble for Liong from the local authorities. Liong seemed grateful for Angus's empathy in this matter.

They both knew that they needed temporary space to understand where this was going but again parting is always difficult and today was no different.

"Let me finish my work here and we will meet at the same time, same place in 2 days", Loing said with a heavy heart.  

"I am not sure if I can survive 2 days without you", Angus stated matter of factly in a gloomy voice.

"I am sure you ll survive", Loing teased him.

"Hang on. Let me atleast have a picture of yours for my memory", chided Angus.

He clicked several pictures of hers before she shyly turned and waved and kept walking towards the bus stand. Angus eyes didn't leave her till she became a dot in the horizon. "Wow, never knew this could be so hard", Angus told himself not knowing that they are not going to meet again for the next 25 years.

Angus's thoughts returned to the present. He was at the Heathrow and the airport Public Addressal System announced the departure of his British airways flight from London to Bangkok. Angus thought to himself, "Its been 25 years but the airport announcements sound the same. Wish life could be as perpetual as that". After 25 very long years, he was going back to Yangon and the trip reminded him of his wild adventure through the forests of Thailand and Myanmar . Myanmar had vastly improved its international relations and it was easier to smuggle in from India compared to Thailand.

Angus's thoughts returned 25 years back when he had parted from Liong at the Yangon Railway Station. After Liong had left, he flagged a taxi to the city. He checked into his hotel, freshened up and walked around the city. He dare not reveal his identity of being a journalist in the capital and was content being a tourist eagerly waiting for the 2 days to pass before he could reunite with Liong. If the villages were poor, Yangon exemplified poverty in its most intense forms. People slept on the roads, everyone looked malnourished and most used rags as their outerwear. Angus thoughts went back to Liong and her cheerfulness. Angus failed to comprehend,"How could someone be so cheerful and full of life in these grief stricken conditions?". His admiration and fondness for her kept rising astronomically. "I am one lucky bloke". He wandered around the streets of Yangon looking to buy something exquisite for Liong and finally chose a beautiful pink shawl.

Time is such an irrational entity. When you want it to quickly expire, it takes its own sweet time. Somehow, Angus managed to pass the 2 days and he reached the Railway station an hour in advance. He was dressed in his best with flowers in one hand and the shawl in the other. He waited and kept waiting. He was confident that Liong knew there was something special between them and blindly trusted her. It was midnight before he realized that Liong is not coming and he with a heavy heart, took a taxi back to his hotel. Fully aware of the danger, he still went to the local police station. The Police as expected was of no help. Paranoid, anxious and helpless, he went back to the hotel. The receptionist who could easily read Angus's emotional state enquired if things were smooth. The receptionist was a stout balding man in his late forties. His batch announced him as "Yun". Angus realizing that without local support it would be impossible to find her, explained the situation to the receptiuonist. Yun promised his best efforts in finding Liong and would report back the next day. After a sleepless night, Angus went to lobby to check for any developments. The receptionist from last night was not be seen, however there was a note for him. "Meet me at cafe Dibars at 11 am", the note said. There was something ghastly about the note which made Angus uneasy. Cafe Dibars was in Thingangyun, an area which even the locals avoided leave alone foreigners. Nonetheless risking it, Angus reached the cafe at 11 am. He impatiently waited for Yun who came in fifteen minutes later. Yun entered breathlessly and started rapidly blurting out his findings.

"Very dangerous. Big trouble. Your girl in danger. She shouting outside Parliment. Police taking her and locking in Insein Prison. No escape. Very dangerous".

Apparently, Liong had gone to the authorities pleading for aid for her village. No one cared and this apathy forced her into protesting outside the Parliment. The Military Junta would have none of it and the Police arrested Liong locking her in the notorious Insein Prison where half the prisoners have been known to have disappeared over the period of their sentence. Angus couldn't believe what he heard and was aggravated immensely. Without thinking of the consequences, he left the cafe and took a cab to the Parliment. The in-control self of Angus was asking him to calm down but emotions were flowing too deep to pay heed to any rationality. Breathing furiously and sweating profusely, he entered the Parliment Visitors Area. "I am here to see the interior minister", shouted Angus to the guard. The guard not speaking English,went to call his supervisor. Seeing the gate unguarded, Angus sneaked into the Parliment. He had gone in a few steps when another guard spotted him and warned him to stop. Angus didn't pay heed and increased his pace. The security guard whistled a warning and several guards entered the lobby. Angus was outnumbered and didn't stand a chance. The guards grabbed him and his attempt to cut loose was subdued by a powerful blow on the head by one of the guards. The blow wounded his forehead and Angus lost consciousness. When Angus woke up, he was in a comfortable bed in a very British styled room. "This doesn't look like Yangon", exclaimed Angus rubbing his forehead to alleviate the throbbing pain.

"Well, technically you are not but physically you are. Welcome to the British Embassy. I am Sir Nicholas Fenn, Great Britain's Ambassador to Myanmar."

"What am I doing here? What happened to Liong?"

"I heard about Liong when we went to collect your belongings from the Hotel. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do about that. She, as people here say,  has gone to the grind. I mean she enraged the Junta and is not coming out of Insein anytime soon"

"But you need to help me. We will raise this issue with the UNO, the UNESCO"

Sir Fenn cut Angus off, " Look Mr. Wilkins, we have already taken a lot of flak to ensure nothing happens to you. You have caused a stir between the already hostile relations between the two countries not to forget the asperity BBC faced because of you. We have cut a deal with the authorities here. They will not press charges but you have to leave immediately and are banned from entering Myanmar forever."

"Is this a joke? I am not leaving before finding Liong."

"Mr. Wilkins, thats not an option for you. You board a chartered flight to Kolkata in India, expenses courtesy of the British treasury. From there, your tickets are booked to London. To ensure that these travel arrangements are fulfilled, we have Mr. Edgar from the embassy accompanying you."

Angus tried his level best to convince the Ambassador to let him stay but he was forced to leave Yangon and Loing.

Another announcement shook Angus. His thoughts switched back from the past, he realized that if he doesn't hurry, he is going to miss his flight. "These dreaded airports and these cold hearted airlines", he swore to himself. Once on the plane, seated and secured, Angus remembered his flight back from Yangon to London 25 years ago.

In the air above the Yangon city, Angus had taken an oath to come back for Liong.

Back in London, all his attempts to get Liong out of the prison failed. He tried again to ilegally enter Myanmar but Thai authorities anticipating his intentions, stopped him at Bangkok.

However, he got frequent updates about Liong captivity in the prison from Sir Fenn as well as Yun and he sent money to her family through them. He exchanged messages with her whenever he could and promised her that he would for come for her.

Angus returned to London heart broken and ardorless. He lost his passion for life but a new passion fueled inside him. Knowing that BBC was too conservative for him, he quit to rage a war against military dictators globally. For the next 25 years Angus researched and published revealing articles about the barbarism of Kambanda in Rwanda, Saddam Hussein in Kurdistan, Tito in Yugoslavia and Savimbi in Angola. His articles fueled international pressure of these dictators and helped millions in those regions live a better life. He won the Pulitzer Prize for his contribution to journalism and while celebrating this success in a party, he got a call from Yun. Yun in his unusual calmness informed him that Liong was no more and had wished Angus to be there for her funeral. Angus quickly excused himself from the party. He knew he had to be there in Yangon at any cost. He dialed his travel consultant and got his travel arrangements done via India.

While still lost in his thoughts, Angus didn't realize that the flight reached New Delhi.  Knowing that he couldn't legally enter Myanmar, he had arranged to smuggle in through India and would take a flight from Delhi to the border city of Kohima. His entry into Myanmar was much less eventful compared to his entry 25 years back. Angus was received by Yun and he requested immediately to be taken to Liong's village where the services were planned. Yun drove Angus to Liong's village for the funeral. Once next to her body, Angus lost all his composure and broke down crying like a child. Angus was inconsolable and had to be carried away into the jeep. He didn't speak a word on the way back to Yangon and Yun was uncharacteristically silent as well. Angus reached Yangon and requested to be taken to the railway station where he spent his life's happiest moments. The motel had not changed a bit and he requested the keys to the same room where Liong and he had fabricated their love. On his drive back, Angus noticed that the city seemed to have been left behind in this era of modern advancement. The quality of life of the people had remained stagnant and poverty was abundant. This unfair treatment of the Burmese people by military junta infuriated Angus further and he pledged to bring a change. He knew he had the resolve and more importantly the support of the most important person in his life, that of Liong.  

The man who changed the world

Have you heard about Mohamed Bouazizi?
Most of us haven't.
After all he was no one. Not a politician, not a sportstar nor a filmstar.
He was a simple fruit vendor on the Tunisian streets who unwittingly changed the world.
His actions bought about a revolution in a region where self confidence among people was rare and tyranny of the rulers was high.

Ironically, turning points in history have often been small relatively trivial events.
Either it be death of Hao Bang or the Archduke Ferdinand assassination – These were small events but they resulted in Tiananmen Square Massacre and the World War 1.

Bouazizi sacrificed his life but its a paradox that his death was more significant than his ordinary life.
What Bouazizi achieved can be assessed be the aftermath of his death.
Bouazizi’s suicide was the much needed spark which ignited the Tunisian revolt against its President Abidine resulting in his stepping down after 23 years in power.

The triumph of the Tunisian protests inspired agitation and revolts in several other Arabic and Middle East countries where quite a few men emulated Bouazizi's suicide act. They audaciously attempted to bring an end to the oppression from corrupt dictatorial powerful governments which had seemed impossible a few months back. Those men and Bouazizi are hailed as "gallant martyrs of the new Middle Eastern revolution” who changed the world forever. Bouazizi’s revolution spread to several countries such as Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Libya, and Yemen where rulers made commitments to improve the lives of its citizens providing better employment and medical facilities. The most momentous of these revolutions happened in Egypt where Hosni Mubarak resigned, ending his 30-year reign as the president of Egypt.

Bouazizi was a common man but he proved to the world what a common man can achieve.
He raised his voice against tyranny and prejudice and during that process lost his life but he will be remembered as someone who didn't back down to the suppression of a rogue government and in process, inked his name in the history books for ever and yes of course, CHANGED THE WORLD.

A tryst with a City

Nick hated Hong Kong the moment he set his foot in the arrival area of the Hong Kong International Airport. "There are people everywhere !!" he cried out loud. Coming from Perth, Australia where miles and miles would pass before you find another soul on the streets, the sheer volume of people and buzz was alien to Nick and it intimidated him. "This will work. This has to work" Nick reassured himself again and again. He had extensively researched “living in Hong Kong” but being in the city and in middle of all the commotion was very different and overwhelming.

Nick worked for an Australian architectural company as a landscape designer. With new projects mostly originating in Far East, the company needed stronger presence in the region. Someone had to move. Nick was the best and hence, the obvious choice and so there he was standing clueless in middle of a human jungle which people called Hong Kong. He purchased a ticket and boarded the Airport Express train to the city. Securing a seat, he gave a wide grin to the Chinese middle aged woman sitting opposite to him. She glared at him and then turned her face thwarting any further conversation opportunities. Nick was taken aback and swore to himself that he will mind his business from now on. The HK airport train takes a very scenic route passing the ocean and plenty of virgin green mountains. For a regular person, the ride would be filled with joy and awe but Nick, coming from the beach city of Perth, wasn’t much impressed. The train furiously raced on its tracks and reached the central district. He stepped outside and was trying to take the elevator up and someone broke into the line meanwhile stepped on Nick's toes. A sudden excruciating pain transmitted through Nick's system. By the time, he could give his piece of mind to the messenger of pain, he had long disappeared amidst the thousands of people." %#%$ !! Not a good first day at a new city" exclaimed Nick. Now, he entered the never ending queue for cabs. After waiting twenty minutes in the unforgiving June heat and humidity, Nick made it to his cab and now it was time to explain the cab driver where he wanted to go. Elgin Street shouted Nick ghastly. “Come on mate!! you need to know your city well”, pleaded Nick. The normally “a 10 minute cab ride” turned into a 45 minute one with the cabbie having no clue where to go. At one instance, Nick wondered if he should take the cab back to the airport and fly back home!! Nonetheless, the cabbie made it to his apartment.  There was no lift and Nick had to carry his stuff 3 floors up. His first response after seeing his apartment was of pure disgust. "Come on man- I can't stay here!! The rent to this junkyard is 8 times my house in Perth and is 10 times smaller!!!" he exclaimed. His property management company executive accompanying him gave him a smile and commented that he got a great deal on this one. Nick already drained for the day, gave up on things getting any better. “Yeah, I guess so“, sarcasm flowing through his words. By now, the city had got on his nerves and he was skeptical of his decision to move.

He unpacked his basic necessities, took a shower and settled down on the couch in apartment. Being a complete stranger in town, he wasn't sure how to spend his first Saturday evening. Being too tired by the days’ events, he was reluctant to step out but he had to grab dinner. He googled it up and an online travel website suggested to go to peak to see the laser show over the skyline and grab a good gourmet dinner at the same time. Not finding anything better to do, he printed the map and was on his first expedition in the city. He flagged a cab for an uneventful ride to the peak tram station and then there were hundreds of people queuing for the tram. Nick thought "Gosh !! Queue here too - this city should be renamed QueueLong rather than Hong Kong! ". The online travelogue absolutely recommended taking the Peak Tram to the Peak, so without questioning their judgment, he joined this never ending and extremely slow moving human chain. It was another painful one hour before Nick could board the tram and by then he had completely lost it. He was sweaty, jet lagged, hungry, tired and annoyed. Moreover, the eager and loud Mainlanders were not helping the cause. His emotions were at conflict where at personal side he was bitter and isolated while at his professional side, he wanted to see the famed HK skyline. He was bitter at his company for sending him to this remote place. He had left behind everything- his family, his girlfriend, his comfortable lifestyle to come to a place he couldn’t relate to, a place which had isolated him from things he liked. He wanted to go back to relative comfort of his apartment but the architect in him persevered and ruefully, he walked towards the peak gallery with no expectations at all.

          

Once he was on the peak gallery with a view of the entire Hong Kong skyline, time stood still. He was flabbergasted by this man-made wonder which was in perfect harmony with the breathtaking natural scenery around it. Nick was on a high – a high which he had never experienced before.  In a flash, neither was he tired, nor was he annoyed or hungry and the continuous chit chat of the tourists now sounded like symphony to him. He was allowing the grandeur of the view to absorb into his system and the process was taking its own sweet time. After a dazzling one hour, Nick stepped down the staircase to have dinner in a city which he felt he could call home.

The stigma of perseverance

Last week I was interviewing for a job. A standard interview question
is - give me 3 of your strengths.
I went on listing them out -and one of them was perseverance. At that
moment, I thought to myself - Can perseverance be a negative trait at times?

Perseverance is essentially one's ability to stay put regardless of the situation and consequences.

It basically defines your character i.e. - how strong is your resolve and how firm is your commitment?

Most say that its an unbelievable quality. It’s a stepping stone to success and be proud of it.

I say anything in extreme always has a negative consequence.
It’s good to be committed to what you believe in. It’s also good to have a
strong focus in life but one should know when to give up and let go?
Of course, if you are passionate abt something, it’s very difficult to
give up, but at times that's the best way out to be happy and content.

I always believe that one should follow the 80:20 role. One should
have a limited confidence in something. One should take the leap of
faith but with a pinch of reservation. This reservation or doubt will ensure
that if you fail at what you try to do, then your disappointment
levels are manageable and you can get over that failure quicker and move on.
We as a society don't sufficiently train ourselves to be good losers.
We assume that our survival instincts will help us get through any
emotional distraught but we couldn't be more wrong.

My thought might deviate from the general norms of society and living
but I believe that sometimes wanting something too bad is just as bad
as wanting nothing.
So occasionally just let yourself loose and ready to move on easily.

china - what needs to be done

China is unique compared to other developing/emerging economies in the world. While other such countries are always cash strived and undertaking any major infrastructural/ industrial project requires major mobilization of resources, China remarkably commissions and executes major infrastructural projects with ease and panache. However, practicality of those projects itself are irrelevant.
For instance, the Shanghai MAGLEV. Building the Shanghai MAGLEV cost the exchequer USD 1.2 Billion. It doesn’t seem such a large investment considering the fact that China invests 2.6% of its GDP (USD 125 Billion annually) on infrastructure. However, MAGLEV capacity utilization is 20% and at its current revenues, the project is not even going to recover its financing costs. Another example is the High Speed Rail network connecting the entire country. The ambitious project that is expected to cost USD 300 Billion is one of the largest infrastructural projects ever taken globally. By 2012, China plans to build over 8000 miles of high speed rail lines which surpasses that of the entire world combined.
The important question to ask here is – are these huge infrastructural projects economically viable? The short and sweet answer to that is – “It doesn’t matter”. Why because – mostly Chinese Banks finances these projects and the Government owns most of the Chinese Banks. When the Government wants to build, they ask the banks to finance. When the banks don’t have liquidity, the Government prints more money and liquidates these banks. So the entire notion of practicality and economic viability of these projects don’t form a criterion during decision making.
This raises question on the robustness and feedback mechanism of the financial system in China. An optimal financial system should draw savings and channelize them to effective investments efficiently. Although, China efficiently attracts savings into its banks and investments funds, its capital allocation process which includes decision making and funneling those funds are lacking efficiency and independence.
The same applies to capitalizing Chinese companies. Chinese State owned enterprises are known for their inefficiency and low profitability. While private enterprises contribute 50% to the country’s GDP, they have access to only 27% of loans from the financial system. The remaining loans fund SOEs and infrastructural projects. Thus, private enterprises in China have limited scope for expansion. Not surprisingly, 25 largest companies in Mainland are all public sector. This explains the vast non-performing loans in China’s banking system. A more efficient capital allocation process will also create higher returns on savings. Currently, Chinese financial assets earn only 0.5% after inflation. A more efficient financial system which gives 1.8% inflation corrected return, similar to that of Korea, will infuse USD 25 Billion into Chinese households and will increase domestic consumption.
An important succeeding question is - how can a financial reform be brought into the Chinese financial and banking system? This is a very tricky question to answer – particularly since there is so much scope of improvement in the Chinese Financial System. However, a few primary suggestions are:-
• Making key decision holders in the banking system accountable for their capital allocation. This will enable banking system to be independent of the political forces in the market.
• Easing rules to enable SMEs and private companies raise capital from the equity markets.
• Strengthening and coordinating the Chinese Corporate Bond markets. Banks should ideally finance SMEs and individuals while Corporates and Infrastructure projects fund themselves by issuing bonds.

Inclusive Growth - where do we stand

Recently, suicide of Chinese labor hit headlines across the world. It was a painful realization for the world that glory is not in growing your GDP by 10% or becoming the second largest economy in the world. It’s about ensuring that every human being in your country can live like a human being having access to the basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter.

What I am writing about is common sense but again common sense is not that common.
Today's buzz word is inclusive growth. Every political leader or economic strategist uses this term in their speeches and analysis.

What is Inclusive growth?

Inclusive growth as a notion means – creating economic growth in a region or a country where the entire population contributes and benefits from this economic development.
Sounds quite obvious but the harsh reality is that 300 M people in India are still living below poverty line, 116,858 workers in China annually die in work related accidents due to negligence,  infant mortality rate in Brazil is 23 out of 1000 children born, only 7% of 142M Russians have access to business loans.

I am focusing on emerging economies or specifically the BRIC nations. These countries have astonishingly high GINI indexes. While 5 Indians are on Forbes 100 richest list, there are also 300 m poorest people in the world. They are debt ridden, unhealthy and illiterate. We talk about the brilliant economic performance of India in the last 2 decades and conveniently ignore this harsh reality. Noone is alien to China’s labor situation where 30M migrant workers are virtually living in hell on the east coast. Lately, Chinese labor suicides in the Pearl River Delta hit the headlines.

Why is inclusive growth so important? Because it will define how sustainable is this celebrated economic growth is in emerging economies. A society where 5% people are buying Louis Vuitton bags while 20% of population is struggling to acquire a meal a day is sure shot formula for a social disharmonious society. For ex; my chauffer in India makes US $100 a month. He drives us to a fancy restaurant where we spend
a similar amount in one evening. Somewhere in his mind, this thought definitely arises that what he works so hard to earn in a month, is spent by us in a few hours and life is unfair. The warlords in
Brazil, the Maoists in India, Russian rebels are the fruit of this economic disparity. For sustainable economic growth, it’s critical to form a society where everyone meets their basic needs and the struggle for survival is history.
The important question is - how is that possible? I am no expert but the foremost need is to provide quality education to the masses so that everyone can compete on the same leveled field. Again this is a
no brainer but sometimes reinforcing a fact makes it more credible.

Another way is urbanization. This is a controversial and a debatable proposition. After all, the miserable living conditions of migrant workers in urban China strongly advocate against it. But still China intends to urbanize 400M people in next 15 yrs. This will create 3.5 M jobs bringing some prosperity to the worker class of the country.

Providing access to banking to the poor. Almost half the world is unbanked. Yes, that’s staggering 3.5 billion people. Many of them can drastically improve their living standards if they have access to basic loans and saving accounts. Governments have realized this but a more expansive thrust should be applied on providing banking to the poor.

We read about the phenomenal growth potential of the BRIC economies in the last 3 decades. My colleagues and friends from West are inquisitive and excited by this next leap forward for 3 billion people. However, to sustain this growth and bring massive upliftment for the society, focus needs to on providing livelihood opportunities for the common masses. This proverb though an old one is very relevant to end this post.  “Give someone a fish and you feed him for a day; Teach someone to fish and you feed him for a lifetime” -  

2 mates and a bottle

"Let's get drunk!! " Were the first words out of Drew as he met Stuart.
"These are the greatest three words I have heard the entire day. Take out the goods" exclaimed Stu.
Drew eyes brightened up.

The duo crossed the creaky pathway to sneak into the barn. Drew cautiously uncovered the rusty looking bottle of country vodka out of hidden spot.
Stu though used to drinking more finer liquor, didn't complain. After a mundane and superficial evening with his father's aristocratic and self righteous friends, any kind of alcohol would content him. The two friends formed the most unlikely pair. Stu, the only son of the local parish with his polished demeanor, was so different from Drew, the son of the village locksmith, and his countryside simplicity. While Stu could read and write 5 languages, Drew could faintly read basic Russian. But sometimes intense variance forms the foundation for an everlasting relationship. The duo's alienity to each others' world formed the crux to their friendship. Maybe it was the dynamicism of the era which defined this unique friendship. 1916 Russia was a difficult place to comprehend. A bitter and violent conflict between two different worlds was on full throttle. The Tsar’s influence was weakening alarmingly and Marxism was gaining flair. However, the 2 were oblivious to the external world. All they saw today was the bottle of vodka and an evening where they could shed all their inhibitions and be themselves.

" What’s taking you so long to open the bottle. Hurry up. Will you?" blasted Stu."Patience -my good man!! Trust me, the wait will be worth it" and Drew unscrewed the cap masterfully.
The glasses were out and the liquor was poured. Cheers were shouted out loud. "Long live Gustav Mahler". “To new Russia!” and the drinks were gulped. The glasses looked pleading to be reconnected with the divine fluid. And their wishes were answered.
Drew adroitly refilled the glasses and the alcohol met its assigned destiny. When the two drank, they didn't talk. Enjoying the feeling of intoxication, both were lost in their own ocean of thoughts. They thought about the meaning of life, religion and music. But unlike their thoughts, the bottle had a finite boundary, and after 2 more drinks, it reached its limit. Now, with the bottle depleted, it was time for conversation. This was their ritual- the first half was dominated by alcohol; the second half by their conversations.
Tonight, Stu was unusually philosophical. “Drew, life can be delusive. Just when you start believing that everything is in control, life plays a ruthless trick on you. At times, I lose faith in the spirit of life”
“Well said Stu. Life is unreliable. Tell you what, this empty bottle, which is smirking at us, is more trustworthy than life. After every drink we make, it audibly shouts out loud that I am abandoning you. And when we see the empty bottle without the Vodka, it is undoubtedly hurtful but we knew its coming. This reduces the pain”.
Stu nodded in approval. Drew carried on. “One more thing Stu. You were lucky to have got out of that Stephanie Business. That girl was no good for you.
Stu was unmoved and silent. Drew smirked “It’s good that you are beyond her now. She would have made life a living hell for you. It is better that she gets married to some other chap. Maybe to that fraud banker’s son, Edward and make his life miserable.”
All of a sudden, Stu felt this pang of despair. He only saw thick dark clouds of hopelessness hovering over him. The thought of losing her forever had never occurred to him and now this reality of the situation struck him.
“Now Stu, you need to be strong. Maybe, Stephanie will want to come back to you but Stu, you need to be strong. You will not take her back. I will not let you take her back”. Stu smiled. The possibility of she coming back and they being together made him feel better.
“Watch your smile Stu. I know what you are thinking. You are not going back to her and I will ensure that”. Stu nodded but he knew that all is not over. He felt happier. Maybe if he pleads hard enough, she might take him back.
Drew was too drunk to understand his compatriot’s ambivalence. “You are a true man Stu. She is not good enough for you. She kept you in a leash and she will make you give up everything you love. And what about her snobbish father who treats you like dirt. You need to forget her and it will be better for her to forget you as well”. Drew’s words pierced Stu’s heart like needles and the pain was unbearable for him. All the Vodka inside him was not helping either.
“I would rather not talk about it” Stu offered.
“Yes. We will not talk about it again. We ought to get drunk. We should go to the town and get more Vodka. Come on Stu. Get us two of your father’s finest horses and we will ride to the town like the Cossack’s cavalry”.
The idea of riding horses to the town and more Vodka brightened Stu up. He immediately unhooked two horses from the stables and gave the leash of one to Drew.
It was a full moon night and the beautiful Narva river sparkled like a new bride. The two friends rode the horses in such grandeur as if they owed the town. Stu felt much lighter. The pain seemed to be alleviating and memory of Stephanie was fading away. A lightning struck; Stu was jolted from his thoughts and once he regained them, he couldn’t recall her face. It felt much better.
The rain started pouring and teenage girls were scampering for shelter. Stu bowed to one of the pretty ones and rode away while Drew gave a knowing smile.

Its been a YEAR !!

Well, it’s been a year. Last year on June 26^th, we packed our bags to go on one of our most significant and cherishable journeys in life– the journey of a MBA. At this moment last year, I would have met my MBA colleagues for the first time in Beijing.

People say MBA is a life changing experience. I couldn’t agree more but its life changing for several reasons. OK, it infuses formal knowledge about core business domains, widens your perspective, grooms you as a person; but there is much more to it than that. Basically, It gives you access to the most wonderful people in the world; people whom you are going to call friends; people who would leave an everlasting mark in your life; people with whom you will share a bond which will be unbreakable for a lifetime.

Well, I did groom as a person, did widen my perspective and gain formal understanding of core business domains. But my key takeaway from this MBA program has been these everlasting friends I have earned.

It all started once I got the holy acceptance email from University of Hong Kong. The entire admission process is very taxing and the email was very gratifying.

So I reached Beijing and the first set of people I met were Nikhil Wadhwa, Hitesh Dhawan, Karan Kwatra, Mohit Ishar and Akanksha Arun. Immediately we guys gelled and became a Gang. 

I guess the theme of this post is getting clearer now. The post is not about MBA and things to do/not do during one. Its dedicated to the friends I made in this program and want to express my gratitude to them for ensuring that we all had a great year.

So let’s start with Nikhil.

Nikhil is one of my closest friends. An ideal romantic. Everything about him – his music, his style, his thought process has a bit of romance oozing out of it. A philosopher by heart – we have had so many candid conversations about life. I will remember all those convos for a long long time. 

One of the most dedicated among us – his hard work and commitment is worth a mention.

A moment which I will never forget about him is the his dramatics at the International Restaurant in Beijing where he very eloquently explained to the non English speaking waiter what food he wanted :-)

We call him the cribber for the obvious reasons– I guess there hasn’t been a single meal where he hasn’t had issues with the food. But to be honest – the day he doesn’t complain about the food, there is something missing in that dining experience. People say 'keep rocking' but buddy I will ask you to – keep cribbing :D

Next is Hitesh. Mr. Dhawan creates an impression of a person who wants things to happen according to what he wants. His mantra seems to be – my way or the highway ;)

I got close to Hitesh in the last few months and am glad I did. He is my partner in crime to hunt for cool food joints in town. Dude – frescos was a good one : )

No one deserves ownership to the word passion more than Hitesh. His passion and zeal for finance is unbelievable. So unbelievable it is that it gets annoying at times. There are times when we are enjoying some good music or a good restaurant atmosphere and Hiteshji will start the most uninteresting topic in the world. The one about derivatives or hedge funds!!!!!!! OK – I might be exaggerating a bit but I am pretty close to reality.

An avid poker fan – the Beijing Poker days will not be forgotten for a while. His favorite quote – “ feel aa rahi hai “ ;)

The MBA has also been a very important landmark for Hitesh. He is getting engaged on 8^th July.

It has to be Karan next… The heart throb of the entire MBA program.

One thing is guaranteed about him – regardless of the circumstances a smile on his face. If there is a party planned, Karan is always a part of it. That’s a trait we share besides our liking for the same genre of romantic Hindi music. 

The kumb’karan’ of our group has not seen many mornings during his MBA but with his Microsoft internship starting in a month – I am sure the 7 am sun is not going to be a pleasant experience for him :p

Akanksha (Akki) is the BUDDY of our group. I can’t imagine a more perfect ‘friend who is a girl’. She cooks for all of us, makes the best coffee in town and doesn’t have any of the nakhras ( tantrums ) generally associated with the female gender ( I am not being a chauvinist – just making a point :P )  

First one among us to get married, I hope she has a great married life !!

What I like the most about her is that she doesn’t have any issues in life. Her simplicity is her greatest forte. Very hardworking and devoted towards her work. I am sure with her impeccable execution ability, she will go places.

When we first met, we didn’t hit off well. Guess she formed a bad opinion about me ( Can’t blame her. Capricorns are the most misunderstood people in the world)… I hope now I am in her better books.

All said and done, I am glad that we met Akki. She is our best BUDDY !!! Akki coffee chahiye : )

 Mohit – He is one person about whom whatever I say is going to be a little less.

The superstar of the class – An IITian to the core, brilliance is his middle name. I don’t think many will forget DRA course where he single handedly saved his team from a definite doom.

If this MBA has impacted someone more than me, it’s this guy. Just see the pictures below and you ll understand what I am trying to say. 

Mohit has the ability to get people to absolutely adore him. He is one guy regardless of the situation/time, will be there for you.

Though we have drifted apart with time, I will never forget those amazing ‘walk the talks’ we use to have. And how can I ever forget the 3 hour midnight walk in Beijing when there were no cabs or English speakers on the road.

People say the best should be saved for the end. And this best is my best buddy Asanka Samaranayake. Initially, I didn’t know him well enough but with time I realized what an amazing guy he is. 

He has been there for all ups and downs of my life in majority of last year and my MBA experience would have been total shit without Sanki’s support.

One of the most genuine people I have ever met in life. I have always believed in this mantra that “What’s in your mind should be in your face”. This dude is a living example of that.

A guy whose sense of humor can be lethal – one might just kill oneself listening to his crappiest of all jokes : ).  I am surprised how did I survive it ..

A true Capricorn – ambitious but persistent to his values. There is no doubt in my mind that he will excel at whatever he does. Dude – when you become a big man, remember your lowly friends.If I make it big in life, I ll buy you a wardrobe ( pun intended )

A total failure at love – I am sure you have hit jackpot this time around man ..

 A MBA can be a very challenging experience. Being among so many brilliant people can be more intimidating than you would ever imagine. For me, it could have been a long and never ending one year. But with these guys around, the year just flew off in a jiffy. Someone once said that generally it is the person closest to us who must travel the furthest distance to be our friend. Very apt.

Today, completing one year in this program, my fondest memories have all been associated with these tremendous set of people and am grateful for their support all this while. Just remember that relationships is all that matters in life, everything else is a vague notion.

If you are reading this and are doing/planning to do an MBA, I just want to share one bit of gyaan (advice ) with you. Consider your MBA to be a vacation – treat it like one because once you get out, there is this unforgiving corporate world waiting for you.

The price to pay for automation

These days how many of us need human interaction to buy goods or services? When was the last time you bought a flight ticket or made a hotel booking through a human travel agent. We very conveniently log onto the web and book our tickets in a jiffy. Are you aware that this paradigm shift has cost 77% of all travel agent jobs globally? If you also visualize automation a major reason for world unemployment issues, then read on.

The modern world has witnessed some tremendous technological leaps in the past few decades. Undoubtedly, these technological advances have made world a better place; it has increased living standards, raised life expectancy and made us more coherent ( atleast theoretically ).  Technology has played a pivotal role in making things more efficient and businesses more streamlined. Eventually, Businesses have got so efficient that human labor is gradually becoming redundant in them.

Technological advances have made life easy. However they have also created an astronomical social, political & economic issue – that of automation and its by-product ie. Unemployment.

The world population grew by 12% from 5.9 Billion to 6.76 Billion between 1999  and 2008. In the same time frame, global economy added 820 million people in the mainstream workforce. This workforce growth meant that the world economically had to grow sufficiently to absorb this new emergent workforce. Global economy doubled from USD 31 Trillion to 61.3 Trillion between 1999 and 2008 but at the same time global labor force only increased by 11% from 2.82 Billion to 3.17 billion. This data indicates that for every 1% increase in workforce, there is roughly 10% increase in GDP. This is only possible if human workforce productivity rises drastically. Economics 101 – one prime basis for rise in productivity is technological advances. So technology helps people do more work in less time and the work is getting more complex to do than ever. This rising trend seems to indicate that the need for semi skilled and low skill labor is dropping. No wonder our global unemployment rate is 8.7% (that’s close to 250 million unemployed people). Thus, technology advancement has made humans redundant in many industries and processes.
                Many people argue- what’s wrong with that? You are reducing costs and generating employment for those who build these technologies and processes. Their justification is true but is this truly what the complete picture is.

As per World Bank data, there are close to 1.9 billion semi or low-skilled in the world today. With emergence of robotics and superior machinery, for the same labor, the manufacturing industry produces 8 times more products than what it produced in 1995. This trend of automation of the manufacturing sector is going to get more prominent with time and gradually human interactions in some industries will drop to almost zero. The impact will be staggering. I assume 20-25% of all low and semi-skilled work force will become redundant. They will have a choice to climb up the value chain by learning new skills and enhancing their viability. But how many developing countries workers can afford to learn these new skills when they just can barely meet their daily ends and survive this expensive world.

I discussed this idea with a few economists and they found it absurd that I think like this. After all I am a MBA and I should take a rational view point (rather than an emotional one) and only see numbers and P'&'L statements. To get the rational perspective to this discussion,  Read on ….

These days on the name of efficiency, companies are cutting their employee rolls. What they don’t realize is that – if they all start automating and laying off their employees, who will have the money to buy their goods.
This is the essence behind Henry Ford and Ford Motors early success. When Henry started Ford Motors, he paid his employees double the standard industry rate at those times. He was no fool and clearly knew what he was doing. By creating this surplus cash in his employee hands, he made those employees his first set of customers. According to Ford Motors sales records, in its first 8 years of operation, Ford sold 40% of his cars to his employees and contractors.

So Ford enabled and empowered his employees and converted them into customers. And what are the fortune 500 companies in the US doing today? They are laying off 400K employees. These employees form these companies' core customers and when you lay them off, you are ultimately reducing the buying power of your clients and hence depleting your revenues.

No doubt that technology plays a key part in uplifting basic human lifestyle but the price you pay for this luxury is an appalling story of greed and self-centered perspective. If a key decision holder of a company is reading this – pls stop visualizing your business to be just a stream of numbers. As Charles Handy very eloquently said – “You need to ask yourself a fundamental question – is the purpose of your business only profits? Or is there a grander picture in horizon?

Google's growth Secret

When talking about growth, one particular company definitely comes into our mind. This company changed the way we access information and is currently leading the web space. I am talking about Google Inc.
2 Stanford University graduates – Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1997, started Google in a garage. Google’s phenomenal growth in the last 13 years is one impressive story. In 2009, Google posted revenues of USD23 Billion with office locations in 43 countries and 20000 employees across the Globe. Google processed 760 Billion searches in 2009 and owes over 150 domains. Its performance has clearly made it the web industry leader with competitors nowhere close. Many wonder how did Google grow so rapidly and why industry biggies such as Yahoo, Microsoft and others couldn’t catch up with it.

How Google differentiated itself from its rivals was by adapting a combination of Razor Blade Strategy and acquisition strategy. Its acquisition strategy was to acquire companies in related industry verticals. In the last decade, it has acquired several technology companies of different sizes. Youtube, DoubleClick, Picasa are a few examples. These acquisitions brought in inorganic growth in the form of new technologies and user base.

At the same time, Google used the razor blade strategy to optimal use. Now, what is razor blade strategy? It’s the same strategy used by Gillette & mobile operators to subsidize the initial instrument (razors, cellular phones) expenses for the users and then make money from the blades or the mobile subscription charges. This strategy was also successfully implemented by Kodak and computer printer manufacturers also where they subsidized cameras and printers to capitalize on sales of photo films and printer cartridges.
What is Google’s razor in this case? It is Internet and Google’s list of free-to-use technologically innovative products. By offering free products and thus, providing an useful and productive Internet environment, it has dramatically multiplied Internet users and hence its client base. Internet has grown by a CAGR of 38.6% in the last 14 years, while Google’s revenues have grown by a CAGR of 120.1% in the last 9 years. Google is setting the tempo for the next wave of growth by following its customer needs. At present, Google is putting a major thrust on mobile web with its Android based mobile operating systems and mobile enabled search engines. I spoke to a senior Google employee who shared the underlying corporate philosophy of the company. She said “Google is an idea and customer driven company more than anything else. We never focus on profits but rather dedicate ourselves in bringing an unique and beneficial customer experience. Sales and profits will automatically follow”. The company actively seeks customer feedback to improve its product experience. The company understands its customers and listens to them. Such high levels of customer focus for free services is unimaginable. No wonder the company enjoys terrific levels of loyalty and is ranked 7th most valuable brand by Interbrand in 2009.
At any time, Google Labs (company’s new product development showcase) will have atleast ten products in its pipeline. Google employees are encouraged to make mistakes and try new ideas. Employee performance is evaluated by their innovations. Only 2-3 of Google’s 120 products are profitable. It’s unimaginable for a public company to operate in this manner. Google is an example of how a company grows by building a unique culture of customer experience and technical expertise.

The stereotyping trap

I have been in London for the last few weeks. Last Sunday I went for a haircut at this Arabic colony in central London.  Without giving much thought, I entered one of the salons which turned out to be owned by an Algerian. Now, Algeria was a French colony and the only languages he spoke were Arabic and French. Well the only French word I know is Moulin Rouge : ) Needless to say, I got a very unprofessional service which also included a terrible haircut. Now with my good hairstyle aspiration gone haywire, I put the entire blame on that Algerian saloon owner and very conveniently labeled the entire Algerian community as a bunch of incompetent clowns. 

What happened is that I fell in the stereotyping Trap where one individual/product’s behavior made me categorize the entire group.

A stereotype is a commonly held public belief about specific social groups, or certain types of individuals. Stereotyping is assigning a certain stereotype to a group of people or an individual.

Stereotyping also works the other way where one person is generalized to be a part of certain group of people with particular personality traits.

Humans as a species extract comfort in familiarity. That’s the whole basis of brand value. What major billion dollar brands sell is this notion of familiarity associated with them. Relating this logic, when we can’t figure out what the other person or the groups of people are all about, we mask this lack of knowledge by sampling out a few of their external behavior characteristics to stereotype them to a group.

I have been frequently stereotyped and personally hate it, but there is no escape from it. What I would suggest to you is don’t get affected by all these opinions created about you by people. Live a life where you do things which bring you happiness and contention rather than things which might make you popular but they deviate away from what you are in spirit and identity.

Also, try to escape from this stereotyping trap. Don’t judge people superficially. Give them the benefit of doubt for sometime before forming an opinion about them. And though you can form an opinion about them, always always act neutral to those opinions. Because you never know, the cute blonde you just categorized as arrogant and egoistic and promised not to talk again, may had turned into your future life partner.

Khymer Rouge - the unspeakable

My blogs are generally optimistic in tone and are developed around the central idea of staying and being happy. However, today I am going a bit off-track.

Last month I was backpacking across Cambodia. Now, Cambodia is famous for its mystic and magical Angkor Vat temple campus. Most people visit Cambodia to see Angkor.

Being no different, I originally planned Cambodia to see Angkor. However, while researching about the country, I came to know about Khymer Rouge and its 4 year rule of barbarism and human atrocities. History always fascinated me and unwittingly, I was hooked to the Khymer story which bought me to Phnom Penh.

There are 2 primary cities in Cambodia – Siem Reap which is close to the magnificent Angkor temples and Phnom Penh – the capital of Cambodia. This blog is more about Phnom Penh and specifically 2 spots there – The Genocidal Museum and the Killing Fields (the names have already given you a hint of what is to follow)

The human race is more diverse in its actions than any other race which ever existed. On one hand, we have angels likes Mother Teresa and Florence Nightingale who served mankind till death while on the other hand the same human species has given rise to demons like Pol Pot and Leng Sary of the Khymer Rouge.

Now, what is Khymer Rouge? It was the communist political party which ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. They were backed by the US which grabbed power from Lon Nol - Cambodia’s previous Government. With the anti-American Ho Chi Min in control of Vietnam, the US needed an ally in Indo-China region and Khymer Rouge fitted US’s strategic bill perfectly. What followed was the most horrid and agonizing 4 years of human atrocities world had seen since the holocaust in Europe during World War 2. After coming to power, Pol Pot, the head of Khymer Rouge enforced his economic and social policies on Cambodia. His policy to convert Cambodia from an industrial and knowledge economy into an agrarian economy crippled the country for the next 30 years and which’s impact is still felt. Pot envisaged Cambodia to be a peasant society where rice would the primary economy driver. To ensure no opposition from the academia and industrialists, he went on an offensive where he completely dismantled the education and industrial sector of Cambodia. How he did it, is a nerve wrecking and shocking story which I will try to share as I witnessed it in Phnom Penh.

During its rule, Khymer Rouge went on a large scale cultural cleansing act where they directly and indirectly killed over 2.2 million people. You might say- big deal!! China lost over 40 million people in the famine following the “Great Leap forward” while the great influenza of 1919 took close to 30 M lives across Europe. However, one must note that – during the 1970s Cambodia’s population was mere 8 M and 2.2 million dead meant a country losing over quarter its population.

So, I went to these 2 sites in Phnom Penh. I started with the Genocidal Museum which was a higher secondary school converted to a high security prison/interrogation center by Khymer. Over 20000 men, women and children were detained and killed here by Khymer during its 4 years of rule. The Governments following Khymer have done a fantastic job of preserving the place intact for people to get a feeling of the mass scale human manslaughter which happened over there. When I entered the place, I got this eerie sense of bloodiness which words can’t explain fully. I felt this sense of discomfort and doom which one feels in a cemetery. I could smell death and blood all around me. The tour of the facility was an hour of mental torture and anguish for me which brings tantalizing memories even today. I saw torture rooms with torture equipment, torn clothes of the dead prisoners, prison cells and gallows. Every room had a story to tell and they all were shouting those stories out loud. The Khymer were meticulous in recording prisoner data and the museum had rooms where photographs of all the detainees were illustrated. There were thousands of front portraits of men, women and young children glaring at me. I couldn’t believe that these 12 year olds were tortured and ultimately killed here at the same spot I was standing. I was suppose to spend 2 hours at the genocidal museum but after an hour, I couldn’t take it anymore. Speechless and in agonizing pain, I left the place. My tuktuk driver exactly knew what I was undergoing and without mentioning a word took me to the next spot which were the killing fields.

Now, if I thought Genocidal museum was bad enough, ‘killing fields’ took this experience of witnessing human brutality to the next level. The killing fields which were around 45 minutes away from the city were the mass burial site where Khymer killed and buried over 80000 people. 

You could see skeletons, skulls and blood stained clothing everywhere. There was death all around me and the silence in the place was deafening. In order to save ammunition, Khymer soldiers carried on executions using hammers, axe handles, spades or sharpened bamboo sticks. Some victims had to dig their own graves.  The soldiers who carried out the executions were mostly young men or women from peasant families.

While walking over the mass graves, I was thinking about Neil Armstrong’s walk on the moon. Armstrong said every step he took on Moon was a giant leap forward for the mankind. Every step I took in the killing fields made me realize how many giant leaps backward we went during this brutal era of Khymer. Killing fields bear witness to such large scale killings which teaches us a lesson that if power goes into the wrong hands, it can bring upon destruction and havoc which can wipe out generations to come. After staying at killing fields for 20 minutes, I couldn’t take it anymore. With a heavy heart and a deep sigh, I bade farewell to Phnom Penh and Cambodia that evening.

I want to leave one message behind for all. I want all of us to bow to our Gods in gratitude for ensuring that we were not born in Cambodia at that time. While we are reading this blog at the comfort of our homes, just remember the pain those good innocent men, women and children went through. Also request you to contemplate whether are we giving back enough to the society? Isn’t it our moral obligation to do so? Obligation is a pretty comforting word here, I would rather call it our duty.

What was appalling to me was that no country raised any voice against what was happening in Cambodia in those 4 years. This reminds me of a quote by Nelson De mille – “If everyone howled at every injustice, every act of barbarism, every act of unkindness, then we would be taking the first step towards a real humanity.”

test tickles

There is a factory in Northern Minnesota which makes the Tickle Me Elmo toys. The toy laughs when you tickle it under the arms.

Well, Lena is hired at The Tickle Me Elmo factory and she reports for her first day promptly at 8:00 am .

The next day at 8:45 am there is a knock at the Personnel Manager's door. The Foreman throws open the door and begins to rant about the new employee.
He complains that she is incredibly slow and the whole line is backing up, putting the entire production line behind schedule.

The Personnel Manager decides he should see this for himself, so the 2 men march down to the factory floor. When they get there the line is so backed up that there are Tickle Me Elmo's all over the factory floor and they're really beginning to pile up.

At the end of the line stands Lena surrounded by mountains of Tickle Me Elmo's. She has a roll of plush Red fabric and a huge bag of small marbles.

The 2 men watch in amazement as she cuts a little piece of fabric, wraps it around two marbles and begins to carefully sew the little package between Elmo's legs.

The Personnel Manager bursts into laughter. After several minutes of hysterics he pulls himself together and approaches Lena .

'I'm sorry,' he says to her, barely able to keep a straight face, 'but I think you misunderstood the instructions I gave you yesterday...'

'Your job is to give Elmo two test tickles.

Amit on South China Morning Post

I was recently interview by South China Morning Post (SCMP) for their weekly MBA extension.
Uploaded the copy below -

I read this somewhere!! Very powerful! My version of it


If I could offer you only one tip for the future –



LOVE YOURSELF !!
Enjoy the power and the beauty of your youth, but no matter how many times people will tell you to do that, you will not!!
And you will not understand the power and the beauty of your youth till they get faded.
But when you see your pictures 20 years later, you will realize how fabulous you looked and the unlimited possibilities you held.

You are not as tall or as short as you think you are!! Nor are you as fat or thin as you think.
You are fairer then you think you ever need to be, and you are as tanned as you can get

Don’t worry about the future, or rather worry about it but realizing that worrying is as effective as solving an algebra equation by chewing gum

Real troubles of your life are the ones which have never even crossed your mind

Do one thing in your life everyday which scares you. After a while, there will be nothing which you will fear. You will simply become fearless!!

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts and don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours. Because when hearts break tears shed and Because a tear is 1% water and 99% feelings

Don’t waste ur time on jealousy! Sometime you are ahead, sometime u r behind. the race is long and it will end only with you!!

Remember compliments you receive and forget the insults.
Keep all the love letters you received, throw away all your bank statements

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do in life!! The most interesting people in the world were the ones, who didn’t know what to do when they were 22. Or as a matter of fact, the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 40 !

Be Kind to your needs – you will miss them when they are gone!!

Maybe you will marry, maybe you won’t. Maybe you will have children, maybe you wont!! Maybe you will divorce at 40 or maybe you will do Salsa at your 75th weddding anniversary Whatever u do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself too much

Your choices are your half chances!

Never read beauty magazines! They will only make u feel ugly!

Enjoy your body !!! Love it now , enjoy it the way u want !! bcoz u don’t know for how long u can run a mile or backpack Cambodia or climb Mt. Kilmanjaro
Don’t be afraid of what other people think of ur body!! it’s the greatest asset u ll ever have!!!

DANCE !! even if u don’t have anywhere to do it Or a reason to do it. You never need one !

Get to know your parents !!! you never know when they will be gone for good !

Be nice to your siblings – eventually they might be your link to your past and are most likely the people who might stick with you in your future.

Remember friends come and go, but only a few special ones stay forever

TRAVEL !! Work hard to fill gaps in geography and being! Widen your perspectives and travel is the only way to do it.

Live in New York City once but leave before it makes you hard. Live in California once, but leave it before it makes you soft.

Accept the truths of life : Prices will always rise. Politicians will always cheat and you will get old. And the older you get, you will think about the days when you were young, when the prices were better, the politicians were honest and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders. !!

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Your fund or your spouse – they can ever run out but your elders will always be there to support you if not in physical world, in an emotional world.

Experiment in your life!! don’t crib at 40 for things u could have done at 20

Read directions !! even if you don’t follow

Be careful about whose advice you take, but be patient with all those who offer it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from your life!!

but again I say love your life, love yourself . If you can't love yourself , who will!!

John Lennon Quotes

There are times when you are looking for direction. At those times, you seek an influence. I have always been inspired by John Lennon. His music, his thoughts, his values and his beliefs.

Some of his favorite quotes - ( a tribute to Lennon )

1. A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.

2. All we are saying is give peace a chance.

3. As usual, there is a great woman behind every idiot.

4. Everybody loves you when you're six foot in the ground. ( this is one of my favs )

5. God is a concept by which we measure our pain. ( another one )

6. I believe in God, but not as one thing, not as an old man in the sky. I believe that what people call God is something in all of us. I believe that what Jesus and Mohammed and Buddha and all the rest said was right. It's just that the translations have gone wrong.

7. I don't believe in killing whatever the reason!

8. If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there'd be peace.  ( this one is also awesome )

9. Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.  - ( this is my all time favorite )

10. Part of me suspects that I'm a loser, and the other part of me thinks I'm God Almighty.

11. Possession isn't nine-tenths of the law. It's nine-tenths of the problem.

12. Reality leaves a lot to the imagination.

13. You don't need anybody to tell you who you are or what you are. You are what you are!

14. We've got this gift of love, but love is like a precious plant. You can't just accept it and leave it in the cupboard or just think it's going to get on by itself. You've got to keep watering it. You've got to really look after it and nurture it.

15. You either get tired fighting for peace, or you die. ( and he died fighting for peace )

Everytime, I am down, I read these quotes out aloud. and I tell myself how lucky I am. We need to love life more, much more than what we all do.

The irony of a common name

After reading my recent posts, people have been calling me with a lot of names.

Wannabe, philosophical, gyaan guru are a few!

Some also said that you are such a funny guy ( yup I like to believe that :) ), why do you always write about deep, serious topics!!

So, I told myself – fair enough – I can write funny and after 15 days of clueless thinking, I gave up. But, you know I believe in destiny. Tonight I got an email which was meant for some other Amit Agarwal and it was the Eureka moment!!  I knew what I was going to write about.

So let’s discuss the irony of having a popular name.

Well, Amit is a very popular name back in India and Agarwal is an equally popular surname. So the combination of both can be highly lethal and devastating.

One big issue with having a common name is no availability of usernames of your choice on the web. Thousands bucks if someone can find me a username of my choice on any popular website. And believe me, I have tried all the possible permutations and combinations. So, what are commoners ( common namers ) like me left with – an username or an email which consists of my name and some obscure or weird numbers.

I am a big fan of Google – it helps you find facts and people so easily. I personally use it to look for people all the time (it’s not stalking). However, do you want to google me. Try it – a search on Amit Agarwal gives you over 240K results. So people who are looking for me ( dhoondhte reh jayoge )

The funniest and the most annoying aspect of having a common name is that in a 100 meter radius, you will definitely find a few who share the same name. So if you hear someone yelling out your name, there is no assurance that that name call is for you.

Also, I personally don’t like the idea of someone calling you by your surname. But as things would be, my surname has always been tagged to my name for identification purposes in class, at work and everywhere else. So, I have been unwontedly called Amit Agarwal all my life.

Having a common name also hits you big on your identity (so called pehchaan). With a common name, creating a niche for yourself becomes more challenging.

As a human trait, we will always find the grass greener on the other side (but, since I have achieved Nirvana, I am above all this :p). I only look at the benefits of a common name and they are numerous.

To talk about the first benefit, let’s go back to the story of the email I got today about the other Amit Agarwal. Couple of months back I went to a seminar on financial derivatives and risk analysis event (details intended). At the registration desk, when I gave my name, I was ushered into a private more luxurious suite. I was offered VIP treatment there with the perks. Now, I am a meager MBA student who deserves but never gets this kind of exclusive treatment. So without asking any questions, I enjoyed my moment of glory and fame.

After a few minutes, I was asked whether I was ready with my presentation. Trying to not act surprised or petrified, (which I obviously was) I asked the organizer what presentation are we talking about? With a bemused look, he said the 30 minutes talk you are going to give us about “Structured Products and their long term risk implications”. With the straightest face I could manage, I admitted that I didn’t have freaking clue what he was talking about. Apparently, there was a different Amit Agarwal ( yes another A.A. in HK ) who was suppose to give a presentation on that Greek or Latin topic . Well, it didn’t matter- The blueberry cheese cake they served in the VIP room was delicious.

Morale of the story, there can be perks of having a common name.

Another significant benefit of having a common name is that you can easily camouflage yourself when you don’t want to be revealed. I lost counts of the number of times I have shifted responsibilities by blaming it on some other Amit particularly if it’s about being delegated a task or an unwanted work.    

Furthermore, having a common name has the benefit that I never need to correct the pronunciation of my name. While my other Indian friends who get tired correcting the way their names are pronounced, I never have to go through that exercise.

Nonetheless, irony of having a common name will always exist. It’s upon you how you want to perceive this scenario.