Sustainable Job Development Models for a Thriving South Asia

Welcome to the post-recession era of cost optimization, expanding post-recession market opportunities and an evolving role of finance as a strategic enterprise rather than an amorphous tool of accounting and money management. With increasing levels of social, economic and political activity among burgeoning youth communities in this melee, South Asian nations led by India, are poised to take 
their place in the sun. However, economic growth is to be inclusive. By that, I mean creating more 
and effective jobs in South Asia to promote gainful employment, effective utilization of existing and latent skills and talent, and inclusive economic growth characterized by poverty alleviation, improved equitability and social, economic and distributive justice.

Among the 1.2 billion adolescents across the globe, 9 out of every 10 young people live in the developing world. With 72% of India’s population below the age of 40, the country is one of the youngest in the world. This scenario implies that the potential for job advancement in India is even higher than it was about a decade ago. India’s evolving middle class needs to be strengthened so that intellectual capital can be optimized and the pace of development, accelerated. A key challenge that India faces is its unprecedented rate of urbanization, which sprouts an income distribution curve depicted by a scenario where a larger piece of the pie is divided among a smaller number of people. Efficient employment generation in India represents a restructuring of its current job economy to involve rural development. Such a measure would augur well, as bridging the urban-rural divide would free up resources to focus on other equally essential priorities like health care, disability services and education, which are presently being neglected, owing to the proliferation of more fundamental and grass root-level problems. A healthier rural economy is synonymous to a happier India, and a robust India would give rise to a more prosperous South Asia. 

Secondly, the creation of a large number of indigenous jobs in nations like India, Bangladesh, Sri 
Lanka and Maldives, would instill self-reliance and protect South Asian economies from the 
ricocheting effects of catastrophes like the global financial meltdown in 2008. The collective loss of 
INR 2000 Crore among all Lehman-invested corporate entities in India, following the crash of 
Lehman Brothers in 2008, is a classic case in point. Indigenous job creation in the rural sector in 
India for instance, would not only attract more human capital, but also preserve its intrinsically rich agricultural economy and help developers step up services like infrastructure, health care, education and sanitation. For countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Maldives, which have been relying heavily on India for aid, it means enhanced functionality and self-sufficiency.

In the present day era of globalization, it is ironic that the names of states like West Bengal and 

cities like Madras, Bangalore and Calcutta have been localized to Pachimbanga, Chennai, Bengaluru 
and Kolkata respectively. Sure, many across the globe have become used to calling erstwhile 
Bombay Mumbai. But the nonsensical name change not only involves a voluminous pool of budgetary resources that could be used to address socioeconomic issues of greater relevance but also extends 
to India's approach to job growth, which is inward-looking. The name change policy in the name of a need for 'identification of the traditional self' is a different matter altogether. But what is germane to this context, is the argument that it is de rigueur for India to establish more harmonious inter-country relationships with China and all her South Asian neighbors. India’s track record involves conflicts with Sri Lanka, animosity-laced interactions with Pakistan, a trigger-keen policy towards migrant workers and cattle rustlers sweeping into India from Bangladesh, officious intrusions into Nepal’s internal 
affairs and sycophantic relations with Myanmar’s autocratic leaders. India’s association with China is more reverent, though Indo-China border feuds have not been dispensed with. The only peaceful relations that India appears to have are those with tiny Maldives and complacent Bhutan. Between 
2010 and 2030, India is expected to add 241 million people to its working-age population, as against 
18 million in Brazil and 10 million in China. Over the next 50 years, India could evolve as a global 
power if it casts off its inward-looking approach to job growth, and harnesses its youth power to 
develop sustainable business and political capabilities with its neighbors. Such a scenario is what an outward-looking job creation model should be about.

Another disturbing factor is the crumbling economy in Pakistan and the unflagging propagation of 
social indoctrination among several impressionable young minds – a practice, which has sent the rest 
of the world reeling under the gory siege of innumerable terrorist, fundamentalist and/or extremist attacks followed by stringent security measures that curtail the freedom and convenience of innocent civilians. The 9/11 attacks in 2001, the London bombings in 2005 and the more recent 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, are only a few to mention in this flabbergasting repertoire. Over the last seven years, India alone has faced 41 terrorist attacks. If South Asian leaders took initiative to create meaningful job opportunities in Pakistan, the potential of numerous young people could be channeled to speed up the country’s economic growth and alleviate the incidence of poverty and terrorism. Furthermore, many young people in Pakistan could lead enriching and meaningful lives rather than meet fates similar to those of infamous 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacker Ajmal Kasab and his accomplice Abu Dera Ismail Khan, both 21 and 25 at the time of the incident in Mumbai.

With the emergence of digital media, social networks and knowledge communities, meaningful jobs across South Asia would facilitate improved global connectivity, which is important to mobilize opinion and spawn a massive youth movement in support of revolutionary social causes, which can, in time, eradicate social evils like honor killings (which are tragically common in Iran, Afghanistan, Kurdistan, Pakistan and even appallingly, parts of North India) and lead to general global improvements.

The right tone at the top would go a long way in arresting instances of corruption, bribery and 
nepotism at higher levels of corporate and political leadership, while a sustainable job development model defined by a work culture based on meritocracy, gender-discrimination-free policies and best practices in governance would curb the rise of dishonesty, bribery and frustration at the level of the common man. Job growth opportunities would play an integral role in embracing a more peaceful environment in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Myanmar and Sri Lanka while enhancing the prosperity of India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. South Asia is unique insofar as it strikes a judicious blend between tradition and modernity, capitalism and socialism. The propagation of a sustainable job culture across this part of the continent would be sure to promote intellectual, economic and technological development while keeping intact the inherent South Asian ethos of cohesiveness and compassion.

Perception as Reality?

People have different talents, gifts, capacities, backgrounds, situations, circumstances and belief sets. Even people who are ostensibly as similar as peas in a pod. Yet, the pulchritude of human nature lies in the common thread of unity that runs across these diverse characteristics that make up each of us - as we each inextricably have a common destination, no matter how different our approach or route to that destination is. Even for those of us who believe that we are invincible, instances like (more recently) the Tsunami in Japan indicate that the force of Nature is indeed excruciating, unbeatable and unparalleled.
We are each a mere speck in the larger vicissitudes of this nonpareil force. In such a scenario, it puzzles - and sometimes saddens - me to realize that our intents are more often than not, misperceived and our weaknesses, paid more attention to than our strengths. And not concernedly so but rather maliciously so. Just like an inconspicuous black spot on the surface of a huge white screen. This perception becomes reality. This reality is not merely social in its effects; it is also personal. It could have a devastating personal impact that could bind its victim to the fetters of the disembodied fragments of a poor self-concept - and away from the welcoming gardens of a reality that could have been.
Notwithstanding the credence that is associated with many a perception, it's in our power to embrace the reality that we would like to see. The sweetest form of vindication lies in finding the strength in us to nurture the gifts we have and make the world our oyster!

The Shooting Star

I spent most of this afternoon sailing out in the ocean with some awesome company. Boy was I delighted to know that I could enjoy such an experience without getting ocean-sick! We then had a riveting feast of quesadillas by the beachfront as we watched avid surfers swishing through humungous waves in the sea. A romantic walk by Mission beach, chilled wine and a scrumptious dinner followed. All with my sweetheart, no less. It was refreshing for me to not have to guzzle gallons of water in a near-dehydration state or bother about popping down to the restroom with a full bladder every freaking hour. Perhaps, such newfound invigoration is the working of the Insulin pump, which I recently moved to - an incontrovertible marvel in comparison with the archaic and tedious model of Insulin syringes. The pump is an antidote that guides me a step closer to being more normal - and farther from the route of falling sick often. At this juncture, I should honestly mention that I never imagined I would be able to afford a pump so soon - at least until I became a bestselling author or something similar, I reckon  - an eventuality that is still quite a way away. Hubby dear felt it would augur well to get upgraded to a more sophisticated system asap. So here I am en route to becoming a better me. This scenario is a classic epitome of love on the threshold of a long and enriching journey I look forward to as the viccissitudes of life roll on. This is the shooting star that glows like an incandescent lantern in the throes of a dark and inky sky.

In between Worlds

I am inundated with a maelstrom of conflicting emotions today. For starters, I am at a loss for what to write about especially in view of the fact that there is just so much to write about, be it the Egyptian revolt against Mubarak or the ongoing India-Bangladesh cricket World Cup! Perhaps, I will focus less on the newsy stuff. I am feeling rather nostalgic today. I do think that memories - and good ones - are sometimes those that provide us the strength to undertake our journey through the future. Today, my note is going to center on nostalgic thoughts and memories. But before I venture into my discourse, I should pose you a question: Has there been a time when you have felt like you were sandwiched between two worlds and rather unrelentingly so? Have you felt like those two worlds were strangely similar at some levels yet starkly contrasting to each other at other levels? I did.

Until my move to the sunlit world of California, London and Mumbai were two of my most favorite cities the world over. London still is. The world of London is a variegated blur, which swims through the recesses of my inward eye at a dizzying speed. What empowers - or sometimes exacerbates that sensation - is the book I am currently writing - a psychological and investigative media thriller set in London. Its effects on my nostalgia for London arises from the compulsion of London-centric research associated with its central theme and most of its scenes. Furthermore, attending the Mary Poppins musical in New York recently brought back fond memories of my days in England, while watching the Gnomeo and Juliet flick today harked me back to those days as a teenager when the influence of Shakespeare's works on my lyrical aspirations and fantasies was powerful, be it Lady Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet or The Tempest, one of his finest allegories in my view.

In contrast, the world of Mumbai has been a space of existential temporality - a defined and ruggedly bordered space, which notwithstanding the luxuries, comforts and homepsun warmth that lay at my disposal as a senior executive in a prolific MNC, left me homesick for the egalitarianism and cosmopolitanism that infused much intellectual, social and cultural enrichment in the world of that past - London.

California is a third place to add to that repertoire, though my tryst with her has been recent. Her cheerful sunshine, outdoorsy spirit and coastal splendor - and not to mention, the seductive Californian wines - do not fail to charm you.

I am no longer in a space of existential temporality. In time, California will grow on me too, etching in me an affinity that would simmer with an intensity similar to that for London

Musings on Misconceptions and Irrationalities

The content frameworks of most online media - or new media, as media science scholars may prefer to call it - are pathetically replete with articles that seem informative when they are in fact grossly inaccurate and misleading. One such article is the one that was posted here. This article categorizes Diabetes as a lifestyle disorder and a rich man's disease. Furthermore, the key claim that is put forward in this blurb is that of Diabetes emanating from faulty diets, pregnancy, injury, surgery, excessive intake of junk food and other factors that influence one's lifestyle. While some of that may be true in some cases, this article, first of all, fails to draw a sharp line of distinction between the varied types of Diabetes that besiege many of us today. The main forms of Diabetes include:
Juvenile Diabetes (Commonly known as Type 1 Diabetes): Diabetics who have this condition are dependent on external injections of Insulin for their survival, since the beta cells in their pancreas, which are responsible for secreting Insulin to regulate body metabolism and blood glucose levels, are nearly or completely destroyed, resulting in the absence or deficiency of Insulin in their bodies. This condition is caused by an adverse auto-immune process which occurs when the body attacks and destroys its own cells in the pancreas.
Type 2 Diabetes: Type-2 Diabetics face a notably different situation. The Insulin produced by their beta cells does not act effectively to regulate their blood glucose levels. This condition, which is known as Insulin resistance, is mostly genetic. However, the factors that most commonly precipitate its occurrence include increasing age, obesity, physical inactivity and improper diet.
Type 3 Diabetes (Commonly known as Gestational Diabetes): This form of Diabetes occurs during pregnancy when hormonal changes reduce the body's capability to respond effectively to Insulin. This condition may be transitory and curable though it can also lead to Diabetes as a permanent condition. 

Much else can be said in brief space. First of all, Juvenile or Type 1 Diabetes is not a lifestyle disorder like Type 2 Diabetes though many may claim that it is. Secondly, it is not as genetically influenced as Type 2 Diabetes. Thirdly, it does not arise from eating junk or high-glycemic foods all the time. Fourthly, it is most certainly NOT a rich man's disease. A contention that it is, is not only discriminatory in terms of economic class but is also ethnocentric and doctrinal in its fundamental character. These are the four claims that the foregoing article establishes and I wouldn't think twice before disputing them.

I have been a Juvenile Diabetic for 15 years. I am 24 today. Before you think otherwise, I was never overweight. Though shy, quiet and sensitive, I was energetic, healthy and physically strong before the onset of Diabetes. I was also quite thin as a child and hardly ate much, though I did have a fondness for candy, bonbons and chocolate like many kids do. Moreover, not a single progenitor or existing family member of mine had any form of Diabetes ever. One can then safely say that the notion of lifestyle and genetic factors as attributable stimuli in my case, is ruled out. My heightened physical and emotional sensitivity was rather unusual though. I remember that I had some issues at school, following my family's relocation to India from abroad. And this wasn't just culture shock resulting from the unforeseen move to India. After some counseling that I attended, an IQ test was recommended for me.

Fearing that something was wrong with me (or worse, that I was a retard), I reluctantly agreed to undertake a formal test. It turned out that my IQ was 136 and I was advised to enroll in a special education program, which I didn't do not only because of certain situations that required urgent focus back then but also due to the fact that special schools and programs for the gifted hardly existed in India during those years. They are still relatively scarce in India today and the school environment that I spent many of my years in, was rather conventional, orthodox and dogmatic - a factor that caused me much stress. I don't mean to digress here but the reason for its mention at this juncture, is not borne out of any megalomania on my part - rather, it is a contention that I must have been very precocious as a child. This precociousness took over when a stressful life event assailed me when I was eight years old. Yes, eight-year-olds can face stressful life events too. You see, stressful and traumatic life events do not necessarily impose themselves on you only when you are over 40! I will not venture into a detailed account of this event here other than that my Mum was consumed by an illness that nearly took her life and we received not an ounce of family support without having to beg for some mercy from our end - a move that won us some grudging tolerance, though not without criticisms leveled at me and my baby sister, and claims from my maternal grandmother that I was the one who had brought this illness on my Mum, with all my troubling and petulance. Besides the ensuing thoughts of suicide that engulfed me many a time, I nearly attempted one while staying in the grandmother's place when my Mum was in hospital fighting for her life. What's more, the grandmother dissuaded Mum's elder sister from flying down to India (from the Middle East where she was then based) to see my Mum, explaining that it would be too expensive for her to buy an air ticket! It could have been the last time my aunt would have seen her blood-related sister, if she did come down to visit but she heeded my grandmother's advice and didn't. Now you get the picture.

My Mum did survive against all odds. However, it cannot be mere non-stress-induced coincidence that I was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes a year later, after nearly seeping into a ketoacidotic coma.

Notwithstanding an ivy-league degree and a status as an evolving journalist-writer, communicator and author today, I should remind you that I am quintessentially from the developing world. Amidst my social campaigning endeavors, I have addressed gatherings of Type-1 Diabetics as a part of a series of inspirational awareness sessions and group therapies for other recently diagnosed Diabetic children and youth in India. Over 90% of Diabetics I have met in these camps are more often than not from poorer families that cannot even afford proper treatment. I myself hailed from a very modest family. Having seen such scenarios, my blood boils when I read or hear that Diabetes is categorized as a rich man's disease. Such shameful archetypes cannot be generalized.

Another issue is the idiocy of some people who think that eating a small meal every 2-3 hours (something that is recommended for everyone but absolutely necessary for Diabetics) makes us fat, lazy or both. Though I didn't (thankfully!) suffer from any of the depression that a recently diagnosed Diabetic undergoes, I did get teased a lot in school not only for being intellectually different but also for eating every couple hours! In fact eating more this way helps you get thinner by helping you burn more fat. If it wasn't so, the svelte models and actors that many of us lionize today, wouldn't be doing it too! I was amused at how ironic life could be, when I later received a few modeling offers across London, Mumbai and such, myself (I certainly do not have the stereotypical model's figure, but I do think that it's how a person holds herself that makes her better placed to endorse a brand - more on that later though). Conversely, many of you (especially Indians) might see what I mean when you think about that unpopular relative who not only made a lot of noise but who also ballooned up because he/she ate nothing all day but junk or just two heavy meals sun-up and sun-down to such an extent that he/she could not distinguish between torso and tummy. Don't be fooled if people like that can still reach forward and touch their toes without bending their knee joints. If you are well-acquainted with the dynamics of human symmetry, you would understand that it's probably because their legs are shorter and their torsos longer and bigger! Doesn't that make sense? The point here is that ignorant people may ridicule or make fun of us for for consistently munching on some chow every few hours or not being able to touch our toes while stretching after exercise but that's just what they are - ignorant and as pea-sized as their brains are!

In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that Type 1 Diabetes is definitely not a fallout of diet or lifestyle-related issues. Online media channels should avoid incapacitating their content by posting such misleading bullshit to unsuspecting masses.

The Echo

It resonates in my ear

Foraying deep unto me

At the ridge whence I’m stood

An echo that bounces off

Into London’s singing summer skies

A whisper of my name from somewhere below

Ricocheting against the balmy breeze

Lapping up against my tresses

A call that transports me back

To the vestiges of innocence

I revisit my abandoned childhood

As I peer down to see you

Gazing skyward from a dune below

With an outstretched arm

A smile of anticipated excitement

Lights up your visage

Not unlike the golden sunshine

Fanning beyond my shoulders

Yet, a sliver of faint trepidation

Clouds over your eyes

Not unlike the grey sea-horse

From the murky waters beyond

Your countenance haunts me

Froths over the core of my being

Embracing me in a magical cadence

I know then what I must do

Stretching myself to the Lees,

I lean forward to seek your hand

To pull you up to the ridge whence I’m stood

Lo and behold, you join me then

To gaze at the breathtaking view

That unfolds before our vision

Huddled together in an indefinable space

That belongs to you and me

Nought else but you and me

Holding On

The Vivid dawn-tinted smear

Of a lone rose in an Orchard

Vitally caresses my fingertips

In all its unsullied splendor

‘Midst Frost, Sleet and Hail

As I enwrap its gossamer petals

In streams of sheer satin sheathing

My Pulse racing in a Bid

To hold on to a piece of pureness

A sliver of Moist innocence

That wilts in the Strident nocturnal glare

Of the raging Storm overhead

T’is a Microcosm of Life; a Life

Abounding with Cathartic Bids

To hold on to a piece of unstained Innocence

‘Else corroded by Skewed realities

Driver of Destiny

The Black Bonnet shimmers wickedly,

The new Wheels barely skim the Ground

As the Porsche floats proudly

On Bro’s Gravelly driveway

The plush Vinyl seating beckons to me,

The forbidden Steering Wheel glistens invitingly

Abandoning my Voices,

I race over and slide in stealthily

The Engine purrs Seductively,

As I head out to embrace the world

“I’m the Driver of My Destiny!” I holler

As I speed madly down a highway,

While Blasting Metal music springs

From the Dolby stereo within

The flashing Headlights of an oncoming truck

Assault me in the dead stillness of Night

I slam my foot on the brakes but to no avail!

Alas, the breaks, I learn, are dysfunctional!

I swerve the Porsche toward a curb

Yet, I am engulfed in a deadly collision,

In an avalanche of blood, smoke and metal

‘Midst the throes of a shuddering Heart

An inner Voice screeches from below

The blackness of an ebbing life

‘You were the Driver of your Destiny’1

Fallen Angels

Caked in Mystic Hues

Of Pink and Purple

In a world of Reds and Blues,

We Flout the Hallowed Melodies

Of our Pinks and Purples

To Sashay to the Garrulous Tunes

Of the Reds and the Blues,

Fallen Angels, Are We?

Meandering Far and Wide

Through a life world of Mortal Transience

In a discernment of What was, What is,

What ought to be, What will be;

Yet, Unraveling the essence of it all

Not in the Space between Sky and Earth

But in the Paradise of the Stars overhead

Fallen Angels, Were We?