I walk with you this day!


My brothers in trade,
Today you stay away,
You do not sell your wares,
And hope an uncaring state,
Will worry you make no sale !

My brothers in trade,
You are hurt & in pain,
The uncaring state,
Inflicts more pain,
One more time, again;
Their ultimate aim,
To make the oligarchs gain!

You cry out in anguish,
As minions shut you down,
You implore them, spare me!
I have goods that perish,
My life’s hard work here
But they hear you not;
The sealers warm the lac,
And put the red stamp on !

As you walk the streets,
The mogul of India glows on TV,
Talking glib on growth, fisc and gdp;
For the listeners in Davos,
And  jets in there to say;
‘Invest in India’
But what he does not say,
The state is deaf in here!

Walk bold this day,
Wake the sleeping Goliath,
Let the  Davos world see;
India,
A country made by you and I,
And a state that cares not its people!

I walk with you this day!

Stay hungry, stay foolish !!

Stay hungry, stay foolish !!

If I were asked, what is the singular most fundamental change that took place the 21st Century, my answer would be communication!!

Whilst on an average human knowledge is doubling every 13 months, each day the time is reducing, and for example; 'the internet of things' will lead to a doubling of knowledge ever 12 hours! 

Living in such an era of hyper connectivity, and super appetite for knowledge & information, can we remain uninformed? The obvious answer is no, and the more we communicate with each other, the better for both; the information giver, and the information recipient.

The term IEC; Information, Education, Communication is a term often used for dissemination of educative information by various mediums of communication. Such mechanisms are successfully used by corporate bodies, social organisations, government instrumentality's to reach large audience bases. Social media is an abbreviated form of such information dissemination, however, its left to the recipient to filter the good from the bad.

A most recent example of poor communication was the sordid 'Indigo' (Airlines) episode. The communication teams within Indigo failed to rise to the occasion and contain damage; competition made hay, and tore the airlines to bits. Indigo took a big hit; share prices dipped, the company lost substantial goodwill built over years of excellent aviation, and became the but of ridicule.

Below reproduced is a letter from a leading Kolkata Club; which rightly recognizes the power of communication and its members hunger for information; the President in a very courteous and differential manner, communicates with its members using extremely polite language; "we are conscious of the responsibility and trust you have reposed in us....."  and goes on to give information which is reproduced below. Rightly, Kolkata is considered the last bastion of genteel and decorous behavior; from where we could lift many a leaf! 

'So friends, lets not hesitate in communicating between ourselves; remember, more information is better than no information!! Here I  remember Steve Job's classic Stanford University speech "stay hungry, stay foolish"!! 

And the hunger Steve alludes to is not the food we eat !!

Sincerely,

Rajeev Suri

I am your Samarak,

I am your Samarak

I am your Samarak,

You built me, now I shall stand,

Through rain and hail and storm, through thunder and lightning,

Through heat and cold, sun and ice,

For ever and ever, I shall not die,

I am your Samarak.

I shall stand guard, I am your symbol,

Of victory over evil,

Of triumph over oppression and injustices,

Tyranny and hatred,

Of unknown enemies,

I am your Samarak.

Come to me Oh friend,

When you are weary and despondent,

I shall give you courage and fortitude and strength,

To fight and win,

For I am your soldier that never dies,

I am your Samarak,

I am your Samarak.

(The Lt. Puneet Datt Samarak was consecrated on 20^th July 2017, in Defence Colony, N Delhi through a community initiative. The writer views this as a symbol of hope to fight the other enemies of the state, other than those at the borders of our nation.)

rajeevsuri.cbms@gmail.com

Home Coming after 20 Years

Umbrella

Umbrella

As the thunder claps

And the clouds get darker,

I wonder,

Is it necessary to carry my umbrella?

I trouble myself with this decision,

A trifle longer that I should,

And then I think of birds and beasts,

huddled together, under trees,

in Kruger and Serengiti,

silent and resolute, feeling very safe,

in face of nature’s onslaught,

Then why do I worry, about my umbrella?

As I hop and skip my way through the meadows

And enjoy the beautiful grey skies,

The rain, predictably comes down,

But I have no umbrella,

So I share,

The comfort of a tree, with bird and beast,

Silently understanding each other’s need,

Listening to raindrops drum their beat!

The sun shines, the trees glisten washed and fresh,

the birds ruffle their feathers, and break into song,

And I am on my way,

Why did I ever want an umbrella,

When nature provides one at every nook and cranny?

rajeevsuri.cbms@gmail.com

"To fight the darkness do not draw your sword, light a candle"   

Rain man

Rain man

On this glorious morning of June,

A gentle breeze wafts my cheeks,

in the skies above, the clouds are silver and grey,

move with urgency, almost to say,

we have miles to go and promises to keep,

to this parched land, man and bird and beast,

that look at us, imploringly, as if to say;

Oh clouds, when do you rain on us?

I lift my sickle and hoe,

And load my cart with plants,

For I must follow the clouds, that tell me,

You have not accomplished your mission,

You have not planted;

Then why do you expect me to rain?

As I head to my fields,

The melodious Koel calls out; Hurry,

We want rain; why do you delay?

And I have to accomplish; what nature expects of me,

what I have not done; in the years of my life;

I hurry with my sickle and hoe, and head for the fields yonder,

The clouds above, grudgingly, approve and smile.