India the Superpower? Not so Fast!

Welcome to the new India!! India has posted four straight years of 8 percent growth and everyone is taking about the rising India. In a short time, India emerged as the other major power in the Asia. There is mounting support for India to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. But, is it the time to give superpower status to India. I say - not so fast.

While there is no doubt about the potential of the India and it's economy, severe structural and institutional problems will hobble it for years to come. Lets take a reality check. For all its Billionaires, Nobel Prizes and brilliant scholars and professionals, India is still a very poor country and it is the largest single-country contributor to the pool of illiterate people in the world. Also, India has to be a major player in world trade. As of today, India is just contributing less than one percent of world exports. As people are pointing out, India's growth is messy, chaotic and largely unplanned. Indian growth story is widening the gap between the rich and poor. I call it "The Great Divide". The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. The middle class is disappearing fast. India needs to find a way to bridge this gap. You find this great divide as soon as you enter India. On one side, you notice the dilapidated airports, vast slums and impoverished villages and on the other side, there are the vibrant modern cities, magnificent IT parks and so on.

There are three legs in the development triangle - free trade, education and infrastructure. India embraced free trade and it is the one of the main reasons for the development of India. But, the other two legs are still badly broken. First and foremost, India should improve its infrastructure. Even today, many poor people/villages are lacking water, electricity, proper roads and hospitals. For all its IT might, India is still a Farmers country and the agriculture sector is facing many problems. Then comes the education, which is still a problem in just the same way as it used to be. There's excellent education for the elite and some poor, but no education at all for some people at the base of the pyramid, particularly women.

On the brighter side, India is now poised to reach a higher position on the world scene than at any previous time. India's nuclear power and space program has given it an elite status. India is the world's fastest growing free market democracy. Inspite of its population and the poverty issues, India is still delivering real progress. India has a much younger population and it is into the right things, the modern, skill-intensive service sectors like IT. The overall outlook is fairly good and optimistic for India. "Our Time is Now," asserts The Times of India. It is definitely India's moment. It can grasp it and forge a new path for itself.

All in all, India has many reasons to be proud of, but there is a still a long way to go before we can call ourselves a 'Superpower'.

Seinfeld

My apologies to 'Friends', but i think Seinfeld is the best sitcom. I like 'Friends' and I really think that it's one of the finest sitcoms ever. But, somehow I really like Seinfeld. Seinfeld, "the show about nothing" is my favorite because of its inimitable take on life's most mundane moments. Seinfeld is one of the first famous sitcoms and it premiered in 1990. It is a very innnovative sitcom and it became popular with its clever plots, dialogues and crafty characters. It started the trend of capturing the humor about modern single life and its emptiness in big city. Another aspect of the show that was different from most sitcoms was that it was purely a comedy, having no serious or dramatic moments.

All the four main characters in Seinfeld are lovable. Jerry and George are great. I like Elaine and Krammer. Elaine's bad dates and work place sagas are pretty intersting. For me, Krammer, 'hipster doofus' is the star of the show. He is one over-the-top imaginative and mysterious character. His energetic sliding bursts through Jerry's apartment door and his assortment of comic pratfalls are humorous. Apart from the main stars, there are many more colorful characters like Newman.

Even though Seinfeld season is officially over, it still airs on many television stations. The show's popularity seems to have an endless reign. After a hard day at work, resting and catching an episode of Seinfled is the best thing to do.

0° F

Yeah, that's the current temperature in Boston. With windchill, it feels like -12°F. This is probably the worst winter month in more than 3 years. We had single digit temperatures for many days in February. Boston is more like Chicago with lots of wind these days. This winter
was not so bad till February. December was ok and January was balmy. There was no snow till Mid-January. Everyone including me jumped into the Global Warming bandwagon.

December and January was nice, So February should be great, right? I wish it was.

How is life at 0 °F/-17 °C ? Not so good. On days like these, the best thing to do is to work from home. In case, you have to go for work, it will be an interesting day. Your first mission is to locate your car in the snow filled parking lot. Then in the beautiful weather, you have to scrap the snow and ice from the car. If it's a major snow storm, then you will end up shoveling a lot of snow. Sometimes, you have to help your neighbors dig out their cars. Eventually, you will get into your car feeling cold and exhausted. With some difficulty you will reach the work place. The 50 yards from the a parking lot to the office door are the worst.

Well, on the other side, most of the winter days are not like today. Unless I'm on a beach with a nice drink in my hand, I hate hot weather. I love winter. Somehow I prefer cold places to really hot places. The beauty of staying in cold places is that you get to experience the four seasons. I feel that you will really appreciate and enjoy the other seasons after going through this harsh winter. Of course, nothing beats the first snow of the season. Coming from California, I really enjoy it.

"Go ahead, snow, we can take it!". That's the attitude of Bostonians. I used to think that people here will just sit at home and do nothing in winter. I was so wrong. Infact, most of my friends here wait for winter so that they can do one of the many winter activities like Skating, Skiing and Ice Fishing.

But, on days like today, I don't love winter so much.