Singh is King!! Indeed.

That's the buzz isn't it? And free publicity for Akshay Kumar's soon to be released film.

But all is not well due to the bribery allegation. Something definitely happened, though it was clearly an entrapment - on tape. Everything is fair in love and war, so no complaints on that front. What I liked is how well managed it was, how well timed. The MPs staged the drama, the house was adjourned, Mr.Advani was ready to speak to the press so was Mrs.Anti-Freedom Swaraj (I mean Anti-FTV). Amar Singh and Ahmed Patel were named - perfect.

Great strategy - it tainted what could have been a good win for the "weakest" prime minister of India. It also prevented the PM from giving what could have been a fantastic speech and definitely had the potential of changing tomorrow's headlines. But the vote went on. Advani, who was so noisy in front of the cameras, did not make it an issue. What happened?

Couple of things.
First, the bribery allegation seems to be sidelined, at least for the moment. CNN-IBN who has the tapes, decided not to telecast it. The top news is still about the UPA win and not the bribery. Whatever is on the tape is either inconclusive or someone's waiting for the right time. Or CNN-IBN just refused to telecast it after showing it to the speaker. Rajdeep Sardesai is anti-BJP but news is business and not some effort to enlighten the public. So why?

Second, the drama in parliament, which is likely to be telecast all over the world, was unnecessary and insulting to 1 billion people, no matter how someone spins it. A country of corrupt ministers, MPs, public servants - and 600 million stupid voters. That is what it showed. Truth it may be, but stupid. The 3 members of parliament behaved like they had no other choice. They are MPs not roadside tea stall owners unable to save their illegal shops during a BMC demolition drive? It was a disgusting display of desperation by the BJP. I hope there is something really explosive in those tapes to provide the public some "relief".

The deal goes forward now instead of 3 years later. On an interesting day,
Manmohan Singh: Big winner though a bit tainted by bribery allegations. NOW GET TO FIXING THE INFLATION.
Prakash Karat: Ouch. that must hurt. Where next Comrade? China? Bloody communist thug.
L.K Advani: How desperate can one 80+ old man get? Really. How desperate? Looked like a 80 year old man posing for a Viagra ad.
Rahul Gandhi: Blew his best chance by giving a ridiculous speech. He could have announced his arrival. Made nuclear energy his calling card like his father did with computerization and telecom. No quality to be PM.
Mayawati: God still loves India. Phew!!
BJP: Desperate. Lost. Missing Pramod Mahajan. They could have been on the right side and still won the next election.
Left parties: Biggest loser in all this. I hope this is the beginning of their irrelevance, if not their end.
Samajwadi party: No longer being projected as the saviour.
Omar Abdullah: Passionate little speech.
Edit: Somnath Chatterjee: Unbiased. Came out looking good.

Btw..did you see 1962 - The Love Story?

So what will be the headline tomorrow - SINGH IS KING or BEIJING IS KING

The Indian in the corridor

10 and a half years flew by and I feel empty like someone vacuumed my insides. Took a break for 3 day trying to take it easy but that didn't really happen. Today, I started working for a new company. I don't know what to think, don't really have a sense of what to expect and positioning is going to be a different issue altogether, internally or externally.

The dynamics are different. A much smaller company with a work culture I haven't encountered before, where English is not the main language of communication, where names will be hard to remember, say and pronounce. For the second time in my life, communication is actually going to be a weakness. The usual motivating factors don't apply and what I have is a realization that I am completely out of my comfort zone. This certainly will be the biggest personal and professional challenge that I have faced.

And I am the only Indian in the office :-)

Time for change

Have been very busy last few weeks. And it is time for change, not at TCP but for TCP, by TCP. About a few weeks ago, I decided to leave the company I worked for over 10 years, the second longest relationship of my adult life.

This company helped me establish myself as a professional, took me places I had never dreamed of, allowed me to remain passionate and as crazy as I wanted to be (I did get slapped around a bit but that's maaf) and yet grow at a fairly good pace. My bosses pushed me hard enough to get the best out of me and the last one got me to drink more beers than I could manage :-), had supportive colleagues who backed me up and juniors who slogged it out to meet almost impossible deadlines and in doing so, made me successful. I loved working with each and every one of them even when we sometimes didn't agree and every day at work was something to look forward to.

Between sleeping under the office desk, pouring ice cold water into shirts of unsuspecting colleagues and turning around hopeless situations, taking on more than I could handle most times - I spent 10 fantastic years monkeying around, learning, growing. But this is where it ends I guess, because while there will be other jobs after this, there won't be this one, not like this.

Thanks.

Comic #220: Flash Gordon - The Sly Sea Wolves

Finally, a comic.

THIS REALLY FEELS GOOD :-)))))))))))) especially during a miserable few weeks that I am going through. I don't know if this comic has been posted on other sites but I hope you have fun reading it.

I had forgotten the whole process hehe - from scanning to uploading to posting :-)

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