The bags are here! The bags are here!

I finally have some bags to distribute. The big canvas bag (white) is $3 and the small cloth ones are $1.

Bulk orders get a discount :)

If you don't know what I'm talking about, read this.

A little corny and a little true... How To Be Happy In a Recession

By Deepak Chopra

"When a box turtle is crossing the road and it hears a car coming, it reacts by drawing in its head and feet, contracting for protection. Evolution has kept turtles alive for hundreds of millions of years that way. What works as a natural defense isn't much use, though, when a Yukon or Explorer is barreling toward you. There are times when contracting inward is the very worst thing you can do.

That's true now in the recession that economists see barreling toward us -- the road noise has gotten alarmingly loud already. But as the economy contracts, we must resist our natural reflex to contract with it. Instead, we need to do the opposite. Expansion is the best way to survive any crisis.

The lesson should have sunk in after 9/11, when the whole country learned what it means to contract with fear, anxiety, suspicion, and distrust. We felt threatened by a vast, unseen enemy, which was magnified as large as fear itself.Fear deprives people of choice. Fear shrinks the world into isolated, defensive enclaves. Fear spirals out of control. Fear makes everyday life seem clouded over with danger.

A lot of people are approaching the economy that way, and not enough leaders are warning them that it's the worst possible reaction.

To be happy in a recession means, first and foremost, resisting all the threats that fear possesses. Don't obsess anxiously over what you could lose. Don't reduce your world to a bank account or a 401k. Isn't there an upside to losing some "consumer buying power"? To be honest, we went too far with consumerist mania. By any measure this is an inordinately rich country, and instead of mourning sagging profit margins, can't we use the current slowdown to ask what makes for true personal happiness?

Relationship. Gratitude. Appreciation. Compassion. Mutual regard. Strong social connections. Love you can trust.I don't know why it takes a crisis to bring out those fundamental human qualities. But it often does. We all realize that the next video game, the next new car, the next flat-screen TV means nothing compared to the rewards of relating to other people. Yet we live as if the opposite is true. The pursuit of happiness is blocked just as much by indulgent over-consumption as by an economic downturn. More, in fact, an impoverished country like Nigeria recently scored number one in a survey of the happiest countries on earth, while the U.S. has never broken the top ten in any such survey.

Some may protest that expanding and becoming more human is all well and good if you have a job but totally unrealistic if your livelihood is threatened. I don't think so. Whatever happens, the worst-off will be the ones who need more compassion, kindness, and relating to. They will need real coping skills, not a show of group pity.

There's a lot more to say about how to be happy in a recession, but the main thing is to remind yourself that it's possible. Refuse to contract just because the economy does. You have the tools to be happy in the worst of times. They're just hidden under the box your new iPhone came in.

Physical strength is measured by what we can carry; spiritual by what we can bear."

Links I liked

You want to boost the economy? Smoke more cigarettes

Everyone's got a story - you can listen to some of mine here

Ellen's commencement speech - When you grow up, you are all going to be gay

Why the glass is more like a water tank that is half full and leaking

Switzerland

I've been derelict in my blogging duties since I've been traveling. Here are some telling photos from Switzerland. Its been a fantastic week!

V on AD

In response to my question on Atanu Dey's scathing post, V posts a scathing comment. I encourage you to check it out.

Incredible !ndia

The latest Incredible India commercial is wonderful (yes, I'm a sucker for these things). It superbly highlights our diversity, though I'm sure it romanticizes some of the locations.



Last year, the Ministry of Tourism appointed Aamir Khan as the brand ambassador for the Atithi Devo Bhavah campaign. Its a public awareness campaign which intends, "through advertising campaigns in the print and electronic media to increase social awareness and preservation of the rich Indian heritage and to sensitise the people regarding their attitude and conduct, specially towards women tourists who are our guests."

I found the focus on "women tourists" funny, though I commend the idea. You can see the commercial here.

New Jersey

My friends from New York love to make fun of New Jersey, until they get here. Even though it is known as the armpit of America and it has areas that you can smell before you can see, it is actually quite beautiful. With 50 State Parks, it has fantastic hiking trails and campsites.

Couple of pictures from my first two hiking weekends this summer. Check out this website for some great trails - Hiking in NJ

When I first moved here, when people asked me where I lived, I would always say New York - I don't know whether it was consciously or not. But recently, I've been saying New Jersey, again not intentionally. I wonder if thats a sign of some sort.

Another piece on Congress

In this piece, Atanu Dey presents a scathing critique of the Congress -

For every election cycle that the Congress gets to govern India, India suffers a generation’s setback. The dozen or so elections since India’s political independence that the Congress has won the right to rule India, India’s development has been delayed by around 200 years. In that period, hundreds of millions of Indians have lived lives of utter destitution. Today one of out every two children below five is malnourished — the implications of which are so staggering in terms of retarded mental and physical development that it makes one weep bitter tears for the utter and needless waste of human potential.

Contrast where India is now relative to where it could have been — a developed nation — and it is easy to argue that the Congress must be responsible for hundreds of millions of premature deaths and billions of human years of misery. The cycle of poverty and misery gets one more boost today, another generation worth of opportunity lost, another couple of hundred million lives forced into horrible misery whose only redeeming feature would be that thankfully they will be short.

Quite honestly, I don't really understand his point - and I welcome an explanation. Is his point that the BJP or another party would have done better? I doubt it. What do you think?

What I do

In case you are wondering about the type of research I do, here is an article that I co-authored - Randomized experiments in microfinance

And here is an Economist review of a new book co-authored by my boss - Smooth operators

Elections no. 1

As the 15th Lok Sabha elections draw to a close, I thought it would be fun to reflect on India's first elections held in 1952 (info from Ramachandra Guha's India After Gandhi) .

Here are some interesting facts -

- India chose universal suffrage from the get-go. This meant that the electorate consisted of 176 million, 85% of which were illiterate. All party slogans and mission were depicted by symbols - a pair of bullocks, a hut, an elephant. Each ballot box had a symbol on it so that people could drop their ballot in the box of their party of choice.

- 4,500 seats were contested. 224,000 polling booths were equipped with 2 million ballot boxes. 16,500 clerks created the electoral rolls and the elections were supervised by 56,000 officers who were aided by 280,000 helpers and 224,000 policemen. I would love to see what the numbers are for this year's election - perhaps then people will understand why the IPL was not held at the same time as the elections.

- 2.8 million women (mostly in the north) were struck off the poll list because they registered themselved as "Raju's mother" or "Keshab's wife".

- 60 per cent of registered voters voted. The highest turnout, 80.5 per cent, was in Kottayam in Kerala. In Bombay, 900,000 residents voted - 70 per cent of the electorate.

- there were only 1,250 reported offences including 100 incidents of canvassing within hundred yards of the polling stations, some committed unknowingly by painted cows.

The American Ambassador feared that the elections would be "the biggest farce ever staged in the name of democracy anywhere in the world." But a tour around India during the elections changed his mind - he saw multiple parties contesting freely and illiterate folks making informed decisions. He wrote "In Asia, as in America, I know no grander vision than this, government by the consent of the governed."

Need I say more? I know the usual complaints - the growing power of regional parties and people voting on basis of their religious and social allegiances and not on issues. I understand the concerns and share some of them. But at the core, I am proud of our system of governance and the process of selection of our leaders.

Say no to plastic!

Here is a plug for a fantastic operation that my mom is running.

Over the past six months, she has taken it upon herself to reduce the number of plastic bags being used in Bombay. I am exaggerating a bit, but the intention is there.

She started by buying raw cloth and giving it to her driver's daughter who was learning to stitch. She would buy the finished bag from the girl for Rs. 10 and then distribute them for free. A useful combination of creating employment and saving the environment.

She has taken a few steps forward (with some help from my dad and brother). She now makes more styles of bags and gets them from multiple sources - most are still made by women who work from 10p-12a to earn Rs. 30.

She sells the bags to shopkeepers, relatives and friends and also distributes them for free to vegetable vendors, drivers, cooks and their relatives, neighbors etc. The point is to keep the bags in circulation - so you want to get them to folks who will use them on a regular basis.

I'm going to help her sell some in the US. If you are interested, please let me know. The choice is between two types of bags. The first is a heavy duty, Trader Joe size, canvas-like bag, which is perfect for groceries ($2). The second is a series of multi-purpose, colorful cloth bags of varying sizes ($1).

All proceeds go into making more bags.

Congress and India

Continuing with the election theme - The FT recently published a hard-hitting opinion on why Congress deserves to lose the elections.

"There have been practically no market reforms since 2004, save for the opening of domestic civil aviation. Nothing has moved on privatisation, the reduction of government equity in banks and insurance companies, pensions, competition regulation or the administration of subsidies. Industrial tariffs have come down, but otherwise external protection has not been reduced. India remains the most protectionist large emerging market."

I don't buy this. At a time when most countries are lamenting the lack of regulation in their banking sectors, the lack of banking deregulation in India is not a good reason to vote against Congress.

I'm curious to know what others think.

Indian Elections - past and future

Ramachandra Guha presents an interesting historical account of how the Indian political system got fractured - for good and bad. I agree with a lot he says -

On the whole, these developments [diversity of political parties] are to be welcomed, as an incorporation of previously excluded or marginalised groups into the democratic process. At the same time, when aggregated up to the national level, this decentralised deepening has produced less-than-rational outcomes. For there are some issues that require a wise and far-seeing central government to handle them. The five crucial sectors here are health, education, environment, the economy, and foreign affairs...

... If one reads the newspapers of the past weeks and months, one finds that these policies are hardly discussed. Print and cyberspace alike are obsessed with which party is negotiating what kind of alliance, and with whom. Or they are speculating on the question of Kaun Banega Pradhan Mantri. And yet, feasible and effective policies in the sectors I have identified are vital to the long-term interests of India and Indians. However, in an era of multi-party coalition governments, one can be certain that we will not get them. Political negotiations will be resolutely focused on the short-term, with smaller parties asking for the most remunerative ministries in exchange for support to the ruling government. The prime minister's own working day will chiefly be taken up with massaging the egos of his fellow ministers, or of his own party members who have not yet found a place in the Union cabinet.

The West Wing

Every six months I watch some West Wing - I find it therapeutic.  It is, by far, my most favorite show!  So when someone recently called it sappy, I was surprised.  I couldn't understand how you could possibly find it sappy?  After all, it is a show on political issues featuring the inner workings of Washington.  It is funny and intelligent with great characters, powerful acting, clever dialogue and dramatic plots. 

Determined to prove this "unsappiness" I spent the better half of this Sunday afternoon watching episodes from the first season.  I wanted to validate (to myself, if nobody else) that the show was about facts, figures, issues, and debates.

However, watching the show from this slightly altered lens I can see how you can find it to be sappy; especially if you don't agree with all the viewpoints.  The writers are liberal and idealistic, and while the dialogue is incredibly clever, it is melodramatic at times.  Still, it is a personal favorite.

I always wished that someone created an Indian version of the show.  But then I was reminded that it would be very difficult to make such a version because the show would be dogged by controversy, protests and threats.  Still, I feel that a well-made, entertaining version on the Indian political system could be effective in raising awareness and increase public debate on important social and political issues.  Television is a powerful medium.  I don't mind if it is romanticized as long as it gets people to think, talk and, hopefully, act.  Maybe, I'm being sappy myself.

Links I liked

1) Food is in the news - interesting piece on the organic/slow-cooking/buying movement

2) India's finest slip fielder - and he is cute

3) The Honeymoon - what the new government should do in the first 100 days

4) Anoushka Shankar at Carnegie - I enjoyed it a lot (mind you, I don't know anything about classical music)

And if you haven't already checked out Google Reader, you should. I find it immensely useful.