The lady and the unicorn

I don't, despite my liking to read the posts shared by friends on Facebook, re-post stuff. An unjustified intellectual arrogance of preferring originals, you may say. And you are right, for like all haughty positions, this one must fall. So, as a first, I'd repost an incredibly insightful account of what goes on in minds of kids when exposed to matters of historical significance

"We visited Disraeli's manor today. S said why are we doing it when he is dead. She then asked me how did he find the time to write books if he was the PM (x2) and Finance minister (x3). There was a photo of Margaret Thatcher. S asked me if that was not the actress. We also looked at the handwritten first page of Sybil. T said he couldn't make out the handwriting. So I grabbed the published book and looked at the first page and then we deciphered Disraeli's handwriting. S and I then confirmed he did find the time to write books. Nachu was to be found at that time. When we told her about it she said we shouldn't bothered as she may have already read Sybil!"

My friend, L, is one of the smartest persons I know and would have had non trivial conversations with Disraeli. and his kids are very much of his same bent: always questioning and maybe they will one day chart new pathways forward for our countries.

Photo credits: IBtimes, andBerlin

In the unlikeliest of places...

... one meets another human being that reminds us of what humanity is. Whether it's Pepe in Sicily November last year, Sami in Riyadh in February this year or just earlier today Ranjan in Mumbai, these common folk, taxi drivers to be precise, bear the pressures of life with uncommon grace. Maybe it's a tool of their trade but there was a gentleness about them, a word Pepe used to describe us when he was driving us around and which also aptly describes him! and Sami and Ranjan. 

From Pepe, I learned his insightful read of the individual. With Sami, his culture of Pashtunwali. And today after 6 hours with Ranjan from Tamilnadu with 90 year old dad, mum recently passed, wife and two grown kids, I learnt that even the poor can have dignity. I treated him to dinner at an awarded Italian cafe. It was interesting to see all the middle class Indians eyeing us with suspicion, even the waiters. I didn't care nor did he as he partook of his first even Italian meal, a spaghetti duck carbonara no less.

I trust he is happy today

Coming home

For more than 15 years now, I fly out to work on Monday morning (sometimes Sunday evening), only to return by the end of the week... Usually Friday or when schedule permits! Thursday like today.

The pains of being a weekend father is undoubtedly real, but one learns to cope, even enhance the unintended consequences like being able to engage with the children more strategically (pretending not to know of their daily misdeeds). But it's the wife that suffers most... And over time having got accustomed to it, is quite happy she is the queen AND king of all she surveys at home :)

Thankfully, being away is not like in the past. One is still very much connected: the daughter's Instagram, the son's Facebook and of course daily calls with the wife and when the mood catches her, I get one of those really warm fuzzy emails about the home. These notes reminds me of our many hundreds of letters penned while maintaining our 5-year long distance relationship when we were dating while I was posted to Thailand and Vietnam. 

So, even though we both like to hark back to nostalgic times, the modern age isn't all that bad. The kids may not be as happening now, but at least they are Apping, to paraphrase the good wife.

Still, when the plane approaches Singapore, my heart skips a beat for I am but a few minutes away from my hearth and home.

In the footsteps of Bacchus

The Romans celebrated Bacchus, who led a debauched life seeking pleasure. 

I must confess I sometimes follow shamelessly in his footsteps. And often literally so for I enjoy a good session of Foot Reflexology, for instance (having just had one in the Thai lounge here in Bangkok international airport). It's partly for health reasons... For the science of physically manipulating the foot to  rid it of toxins that have accumulated at the sole makes intuitive sense!

So, Bacchus I am not for he had abandoned the pursuit of health. To further my case, I also submit to you that I do care about keeping the heart pumping and the muscles working. I still try to get some exercise once, even twice a week. 

Still, I am mortal alas, and clearly no saint. I do like a good drink or two. I didn't start out that way. Asa young adult, I hated beer and especially stout for I found them bitter in taste. After starting work, first in Singapore Airlines, then in Andersen Consulting, I fell under the persuasion of my colleagues there (to whom I remain grateful :) who introduced me to wine. Wine taste so uniquely different one bottle from another that it's taste can be associated with the time and place it was first consumed and when tasted again, memories of that moment can be relived! Then in BCG, I was introduced to fine spirits (single malt to be precise) and delicate fine foods. So, Bacchus I am.

Winning/Losing together

I spent the day with my daughter as she and her schoolmates took part in the annual national softball tournament. The pitcher was a junior but she was more than equal to her seniors. The captain tried her best. My darling played well :) and more importantly, the team played as one. Like them, I cheered, I applauded; I was happy when a run was scored and disappointed when anyone got struck out. 

In the larger scheme of things, this is just a game. Recreational stuff. But at another level, it's about learning how to win and how to lose, at an individual and team level. Surely lessons like this will never lose their significance.

In a family, in a team, there is no such thing as one winning or the other losing. We either all win or we all lose. It's that simple. 

At the personal level, I watch my daughter and her friends learning this. I was so engrossed, I had not realized that the scorching 35-degree heat is burning my seldom-out-of-the-office skin! But it mattered not for there is a balm to salve the burnt skin and I would not trade this bright blue sky of a day with my daughter and her teammates for any other

A modern Garden of Eden

A few years back, there was this initiative which for a person of my leanings (into roots and the meaning of things) really appealed to me: the human genome project. They trace the first humans, by means of DNA sourcing, to Africa. And if you are me like me, also of a biblical bent, then Adam, the first man, is an African. And his first home, the Garden of Eden, is in Africa. 

My wife and I had our honeymoon in Capetown, South Africa, then we came back here for our 10th anniversary and  we promised ourselves we would be back every decade hence. 

It's one of our fave places in the world. There is the sea, two oceans to be precise at Cape Point. There is the mountain, one of the seven wonders of nature in the world. There is the clement weather. The food, and the wine of course. All baked into a wondrous place. 

I flew in here for a meeting. The last time I was here was more than 5 years ago for a project. The place still feels special, for all occasions. 

So, we shall be back again, as a family. It's our very own Eden.

Sustainable advantage?

Till today, I have found the tennis scoring system intriguing. First, the numbers are not in sequence nor follow any discernible arithmetic progression. Then there is this business of "advantage", where you can only win a "deuce" point after you have earned the "advantage" to do so. I don't understand it but I must say it certainly prolongs the game and adds real excitement. Then again, is it that to comprehend? Aren't victories won after one had secured an advantage over a rival?

I flew in last Friday night from Bangkok into Singapore. Bangkok is in a political mess. The street protests seem to be petering out (there was hardly any protesters left). There are now just barricades that the authorities have not/dare not remove for fear of inflaming the situation. As a result, the roads are still blocked and causing much unnecessary inconvenience. 

Still, Bangkok will continue to grow economically. The last time there was such an impasse, the economy managed to notch 5% growth. Why? There is such a thing as sustainable advantage ... And once attained it is really not easy at all to lose it. Bangkok's private sector, astutely controlled by a handful of elite families continue to produce goods and services that people want. And despite the logistical difficulties, these goods and services are still finding its way to customers and hence the economy. [Besides, it has been postulated that the protests are sponsored by these tycoons anyway and so they are merely paying for it themselves, directly or indirectly]. 

The Thai economy, or any econmy for that matter, will really suffer when the capacity to produce is fundamentally affected... And that won't happen anytime soon, though the way country's education system is run (it's been reported that the teachers there can't even pass their own national exams), I imagine the next generation will not be as productive as this.

If the don't fix it, Thailand's advantage won't be sustained and once lost, it's just as hard to rebuild. Just ask the current President of Myanmar, U Thein Sein. I can imagine freeing Aung San Suu Kyi took real political will but that will pale in comparison to the challenges ahead in rebuilding the economy. He will need a lot more fortitude. I was in Myanmar last year (Nyapidaw for a WEF event and then Yangon to fly out from) and even in these major cities there were no street lamps. This essential public good will need to be put in place, and it won't be cheap. Myanmar needs to find the money to do so and until it does it just won't be as efficient as it's neighbours. It's richer neighbour, Singapore, for instance is most brightly illuminated as seen from my flight a site as landing.

Yet behind the bright lights, Singaporeans are facing some blues as the nation tries to adjust to high costs afforded by its high living standards. But for the moment, it's advantage as the most efficient, best managed capital in Southeast Asia gives it an advantage that should see it still in pole position for years to come. 

The question though is how long before this advantage starts to erode. I fear that the seeds have already been planted. As Singapore, for political reasons, put Singaporeans first, it has started going down the path of mollycoddling the society and any mollycoddled people, be it a race or an entire country, will start to lose their drive, and ultimately their capacity. Just ask Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. 

So, there you have it: two ways to sustain national advantage... Give your citizens the best education your money can buy and help them to help themselves. Easier said than done. 'Nuff said!