Demonetization

   Demonetization – the term that shook the nation by surprise and which occupied headlines in every type of media. Not just that it also dominated most of the space in public gatherings. I was fortunate to be in India when such an announcement was made. Let me brief you on my experience during this earth-shattering announcement from PM Narendra modi ji. I was in my native attending sister’s marriage and whoever recognized I was from USA asked me whether I am missing my vote in the high-octane US elections without realizing I am not eligible to vote and I am no way closer to the eligibility. Everyone was curious who will win as if I am well versed in astrology. But this being on one side around 8.30pm on November 08^th, Tuesday the announcement came saying that 500 rupees and 1000 rupees notes will be mere paper after dec 31^st of 2016. Gossips, banter, shock all started to come from all corners since this is not a forwarded message. Videographer pulled me and showed his phone and it had how 500 and 1000 rupees notes used to fill ground nuts. The creative minds who does forwarded messages should seriously consider getting into cine field since their creativity is good enough to make some good movies. Anyway banks were announced holiday on Wednesday (November 9^th) for it to get ready for the busy days ahead. If there was a survey on human interaction, then I bet November 9^th 2016 would have topped the list in this digital era since every single human being wanted to interact with as much people as possible to get their insights. After the shocking news on Trump’s victory in the morning the only thing that could have made me happier was ‘Food’ and thoroughly enjoyed athangudi perumal’s breakfast.

  Let me point out what are the misses from this move

(a)    When Prime minister of the nation makes an announcement through national media of such a move then what is the credibility of Indian rupees? No law, no reform and a mere announcement gives a bad brand image to Indian currency

(b)    Consumer spending could be less since people want to safeguard the notes for emergency; I visited a medical store in Thirapathur on November 9^th evening to buy a medicine and shopkeeper either doesn’t have change or doesn’t want to give change. 100 rupees notes were suddenly treated like mango lassie in Sahara dessert

(c)     Value of money suddenly increases and with it comes the value of debt which also increases. It makes it more difficult for the debtors to repay their debt

(d)    It also resulted in mad rush to buy other investments like Gold since people had to convert the cash into something tangible; Due to demand the prices increased much beyond than its original price

(e)    Unaccounted cash can be converted into expensive gifts which again makes the gifts go skyrocket in price due to demand than its original value

(f)      I saw a post in FB where Chetan Bhagat said he had to buy all the balloons from a balloon seller who was having tough time selling any due to the cash shortage; India is about these people do who make small money to make their ends meet. The people below poverty line is affected the most since they thrive only by cash

 I personally liked the move and see this as a bold step towards the right direction

(a)    Black money is a very common scenario in a country like India and the move will no doubt help to eradicate black money (not from all but at least from many)

(b)    Counter tax evasion – generate more tax revenue for government since underpayment of taxes will be prevented

(c)     In a land of forgery counterfeiting currency has become very common and the move will help to prevent counterfeiting of currencies

(d)    Terrorist attach groups will not have fake cash to attack our country

(e)    Corruption may reduce significantly due to lack of currency notes

(f)      Local groups who cause petty fights might be discouraged to get into violent acts since there is no cash to award them.

  We can argue both ways but if we want to transform a country and get into a clean state then we have to address things at a grass root level. People believe notice must be given and we all know if a notice given on this regard how many protests we would have seen in the country. The message reached across the length and breadth of the country and this was evident for me since I got a receipt for my purchase of snacks from a small shop run by achi in Venthampatty. The transition is going to be a tough one especially since illiteracy rate for india is still very high. But once people get a hang around then day to day operation will be smooth; Believe me some road side shops generate lots of revenue too – I know a parotta shop in Trichy who has been in business for 30 + years now and I always relish his egg parotta since childwood. This man per my dad owns lots of houses and business is driven purely out of cash. Likewise there are many whose business may appear low profile but may be far lucrative since no tax is paid. Use of credit cards, machines, online accounting, customer service, banking service, application forms all are going to take some time for the common man to sink in but once transition is done we could see a bright, clean and powerful nation …right now it’s in the making. 

Don't forget the Roots !!

    I wanted to pen this blog after observing many different conversations from many different people from all walks of life. It is something which saddens me that people very easily forget their roots. Optimism is important but it should not be at the cost of something. I just wanted to point out how people forget that they came from India after sitting in wealthiest country in the world counting dollar notes.

   In 1980’s and 1990’s the number of Indians migrated to USA was less compared to these days where we see good number of Indians in all parts of the country. As the number increases automatically number of Indian temples, Indian stores are on the rise. With that we also try to bridge the culture as much as possible to pass the rich tradition to the next generation. Example – things like mango leaves, jasmine flower or plantain leaf may be impossible or very expensive stuff in those days which is all very accessible these days. People are basically born, brought up and had all their schooling and college back in India and they have come during their earlier twenties and kind of settled down here in USA. Now with their next generation people try to promote culture and tradition which is praiseworthy. But the problem starts when they say “Ippo ellam India la kuda pilaingalaam epadi ellam paadaadhu” (Meaning: Nowadays in India we don’t get to see kids sing like this); According to me this is completely unwanted. They can be happy that kids are doing a good job here but why unnecessarily they drag India into picture even if what they say is true. Have they seen all kids not sing in India? Mother India nurtures an individual, teaches basic principles, provides education and once people inherit everything they migrate to a foreign nation and harvests everything in an alien land and starts to bad mouth their own country though their passport would say something different.

    Some religious events are so authentic back home and people do not customize per their preference. Things have been changing in India but India cannot become USA and USA cannot become India. Saying we are good is just enough versus saying others are bad. What people must acknowledge is they cannot get best of both the worlds – let us be happy of what we do here as well as learn to respect our nest - ‘India’ 

J Jayalalitha

J Jayalalitha – a powerful name not just in Tamil nadu but throughout the nation. Her demise no doubt created a huge vacuum in Tamil nadu politics. I remember when I was in my childwood appa used to pay a price just to have the letter ‘J’ in the car number plate. Like title value the letter ‘J’ demanded letter value and whenever people hear anyone with ‘Maha’ nakshathiram first thing people quote is it is the nakshathiram of Jayalalitha. Her audacity, perseverance and Intelligence are her trademarks and her oratory skills (Tamil/English) is simply outstanding. Whenever she addresses national media with eloquent English I always felt proud.

    These days’ people grumble for petty things like – gas has gone high by 10 cents, iphone glass broken, visa fees increased etc., but here is a woman where ‘struggle’ was part and parcel of her life. With her dad passing away early in her life she was brought up by her mom, a single parent, she also spent lot of time away from mom since she moved to Bangalore for some time, her brother passed away and she was forced to enter cine industry which she was not interested in first place. When it comes to career, it is very difficult to pursue a career which you don’t relish. Then from one glamorous field to another she had to foray into politics which again was not her natural choice. She could not attest her relationship legally with a leader and hence had to live with a name tag which no woman likes to have. Then after the demise of the leader she had to undergo some nasty experience during funeral, an absolute disgusting experience in Tamil nadu assembly in 1989 where she promised she would enter the place only as a chief minister. In 1991 she became the chief minister of the state and from then on it was a roller coaster ride. She faced many ups and downs and all her hardships packaged her into a person of who she is as a person. Though people talk of gender equality it is not easy for woman to prove her mettle in the male dominated society.

    Just imagine whether we can have woman freely go to ration shop or a middle class cinema theater in India, often there is mad rush and men make use of the situation and nasty incidents are either reported or go unnoticed due to privacy issues. A lady and a fair skinned person coming from cinema industry to fight the system with so much grit shows her caliber. Every national leader attended the funeral or at least expressed their condolence message to the iron lady of India.

   Jayalalitha has been a huge inspiration for woman; To run a leading party of the state and win elections for the party with so much conviction talks a lot about her talent. I liked many of her initiatives and there was a saying that when she rules the money rotation is more in the state. She was steadfast on her thoughts and she will not bend down rules or policies to attract alliances during election. One thing she does often within her ministers is to fire people if she feels they are not fit for the position. She reaches out to Central for funds but never have them dominate when she and her party are ruling the state. I am pointing out this because in politics when money comes in people tend to relax everything including self-esteem. Her nomination list, her allocation of portfolios, allocation of seats to alliances all are admired by political circle. I loved the way she addressed the issue during Visvaroopam release when actor Kamal haasan was going over the roof by quoting how he had to sell the house for the making of the movie. She said if Kamalhaasan is over 60 and had to sell the house for a movie then she or her government cannot be accounted for since she is more responsible for providing law and order to the state and not just one movie and one person.

   Her final days was not pleasant at all. Spending 75 days in a hospital campus without seeing the outside world is no good. She couldn’t meet her beloved people of Tamil nadu in her last phase of life. But who would have imagined that when you get admitted to a hospital you will be there forever, and eventually end your life? She had so much command over her ministers but in the end, she had to be put on life support. Life at times sounds harsh but reality is always a bitter sweet. She got full state honors and Chennai came to a standstill to pay respects to a politician who stood apart from her counterparts. I will personally miss her speech like "J Jayalalitha enum naan", "Seiveergala".  I am not sure how long should we wait to witness another lady politician like J Jayalalitha but we all should be happy that we were part of her era. Rest in peace mam …