Kem chho…kemon aachen?

Let’s accept the fact – India is the world’s largest democracy and any change affecting Indians is equal to affecting one-fifth of the world’s population. As globalization has been the mantra for the past years, localization is the current buzz word. It’s not appalling at all when we hear news of farsighted companies changing their GTM (go-to-market) strategies to dive in and cater the needs of one out of every five people of our planet.

India is already becoming powerful in all sectors- be it the launch of Mangalyaan (Mars Orbiter Mission) or developing a nuclear missile (Agni VI) that can attack on US. Now India is also showing aggressive steps towards Pakistan for violating ceasefire across Line of Control and China’s territorial claim on Arunachal Pradesh. “No power on earth can take away even an inch from India”, said Narendra Modi addressing a rally.

Speaking of Modi, he was greeted by US president Barack Obama in Gujarati, “Kem chho?” (how are you?) at the White House. Prime Minister Narendra Modi indeed got a ‘rock’star’ treatment during his visit to the United States by 20,000 Indian-American people which reflects the deep cultural ties between the countries. Undoubtedly, the most powerful country – United States and the emerging world power – India, are strengthening the bilateral relationship.

India has just moved up to be the world’s third largest economy and Modi is a darling of big businesses. With more global CEOs see future production capacity moving and positive FDI reforms indeed are the indicators of India’s future growth. Not to forget the list of billionaires in Forbes list of top richest people.

While India’s political, economic and nuclear power is creating news, her rich traditional and cultural background has always been able to generate followers all around the world. The Indians residing in foreign countries celebrate the Indian festivals in all its grandeur as it’s celebrated in the land of festivals itself. The festive razzmatazz trickles down to different cultures and hence being celebrated globally. The land of many religions, innumerable languages, races, cuisines and life styles is actually a complex and diversified country. The tourists flock to India in search of spirituality, to see magnificent architecture, to broaden perspective by dealing with the cultural shock and other myriad reasons. The impact of this terrific land can be seen when Hollywood celebrities show enthusiasm in Indian fashion such as Indian saris, jewelries, mehendi, yoga (ancient physical, mental and spiritual practices or discipline to transform body and mind) and delicious Indian curries. Indian food in the UK was described as a great British industry by David Cameron while Indian cuisine got popularity in Masterchef (television competitive cooking show) as well. And not to mention the accolades received throughput the globe for Bollywood movies and Indian music.

The world is embracing Indianness encompassing the diversity; in near future we shall see companies catering to even smaller regional segments within the county unlocking opportunities that otherwise would go unnoticed. When markets mature and growth slows, to reignite and accelerate growth targeting developing nations would be a very wise approach – especially when there is a richly diverse market.

Do not get shocked when you are greeted in your regional language or served your regional food or listen to regional music when your travel abroad (while you would have expected just an Indian touch)!

P.S. This blog post is for the Indiblogger contest More Indian than you think in association with  Lufthansa. 

Har Har Mahadev – book review of the Shiva trilogy by Amish Tripathi

Though mythology is an important feature of every culture, its value from our generation is seen to be fading out mostly because of the conflict between the existence of the myths passed on to the generation and the rational thoughts. Added to the already existing confusion is the complexity of the mythology to some extent.

Amish Tripathi’s Shiva trilogy amalgamates mythology, history and fiction to make the whole story very believable and easy to be followed by all. The series makes you belief that the actions/deeds (karma) are the deciding factors in transforming a human to supreme unlike the fantasy stories (from Hindu mythology) that we heard while growing up from our parents/grandparents. The characterization of Shiva is very appealing and so is the climax and revelation of Neelkanth. The detailed description of other characters, places and situations actually helps the readers to proceed smoothly with the plot. The immortals of Meluha is a certain page-turner with an interesting take on Shiva. Integrating all the known details about the Indus Valley Civilization and giving own explanations for various concepts made the first book of the trilogy a brilliant piece of work.

It isn’t often one comes across a book by an Indian author, with a sequel. The Secret of the Nagas – second book of the trilogy is filled with secret, suspense and shock. While the protagonist Shiva- a tribal leader slowly rises to prominence as a powerful leader, the story managed to continue the mesmerized saga by weaving Shiva - Pasupathi, Parvathi - the Mother Goddess, Ram - the supreme Lord of the times, Ganesh - the elephant headed God , Parasurama and Kali - the black form of Parvati, the Naga Queen. The author managed to bring together timelines for a perfect mix and elaborate tale that takes a different kind of imagination.

The third and last book of the series – The Oath of the Vayuputras takes us on a beautiful visual journey with the powerful writing and narration style clubbed with amazing conceptualization. The classic good vs. evil tale includes emotion, drama, action and war. There are a lot of twists and turns each linked to each other in some way or another – but the author brings a closure to all the characters of the trilogy. The action-packed massive book provides a satisfying experience as the story progresses and ends.

The perfect fabrication of the very well conceptualized story with the history (Indus Valley Civilization), geography (North Indian plains above the Vindhays) and mythology of India is still a fantasy! The author often uses the story to put forth his opinion on many issues - like karma, ethics, consequentialism, existentialism and the balance of good and evil. Though it is clearly intended to make the readers think, sometimes it just feels irksome. It is understood that the author is trying to give the story a modern touch to connect with the general audience but usage of certain words/phrases is quite jarring given the era the trilogy is set in.  The language used throughout the trilogy is very simple – may be for beginners, for whom Amitav Ghosh’s brilliance may be too much to comprehend. Overall, I liked the concept of the trilogy, satisfied with the explanations through the research done by the author and would recommend to Indian readers who can co-relate the mythological stories with the facts described in the series.