August Rush (Literally!)

I thought I will name this blog as August Rush - on one of my all time favourite American musical drama. If you haven’t watched, you should go for it. It is a story of an orphaned kid who happens to be a musical prodigy finds his parents - who had been after birth - through the different sounds and rhythms that he hears which at the end of it all adds to be an August’s rhapsody. While his mother is searching for him, and his father searching for her - all 3 meets at the end when he does his instrumental composition in the open field. What s story! Ok, I am not here to document any of it or such a story but my intention is much more literal for ‘August’ rush.

I wanted to document what I read in the last 30 odd days, as part of daily ritual. It has been one of a kind experience to read various subjects from the best minds and probably finest writing too. There were overlapping in couple of books, but all in all it was on subjects very different with each other and somehow interlinked as well. I will explain at the end how some of what I read is interlinked to the each other and hence, to the current world of ours. But first, a brief about every one of them.

1. Twilight of Democracy: The failure of Politics and the parting of friends by Anne Applebaum: - Anne Applebaum is a staff writer with The Atlantic, and she documents the failure of democracy post the fall of Soviet Union. The fall of Soviet Union was the win for an American led world order post WW II, but how the same fell upon seductive lure of authoritarian jingoism sometimes borne out of simplistic solutions to complex problems or just about blaming a specific group of individuals to establish a non-existing narrative or problem and thereby taking down a free and just society towards social in-cohesion. Her documentation of Poland and Hungary as one example which - to be fair - had the rooted impulse as they were satellite soviet states, but the dark barrel down is so deep that now it is affecting both sides of the Atlantic. It is an important read to study the most disturbing uprising of our era and our times to come - Rightwing Authoritarianism in the world.
2. My Vanishing Country by Bakari Sellers: What JD Vance did for Appalachian region in the upper midwest in the book Hilbilly Elegy (There is a Netflix movie by the same name on the book) documenting the struggles of the post globalisation world when jobs went out of US to Chinese factories - in part giving rise to populist sentiment and the election of Donald Trump in 2016, in My vanishing country - Bakari Sellers does for the rural south through it’s past, present and probably what the future holds. Bakari rose to become one of the youngest state legislatures in the state and now he is the voice of social injustice on media networks. I am personally fascinated by American history especially it’s struggles in racial years and how it continues to shape their body politic till today, and reading Sellers’ memoir gives an important understanding for it because he takes the subject of Systemic racism head on and confronts with much clarity as to what it means now after more than 160 years of abolition of Slavery. The meaning of democracy is to give voice to the voiceless, hearing the unheard and this book is for those minority, poor part of the country who had suffered brutally over centuries.
3. The Art of Conjuring alternate Realities by Shivam Shankar Singh and Anand Venkatanarayanan - This is a must read of our times! Hard to come across any book which is so important to read right now. We are living through epistemological crisis. The world is suffering from disinformation across the digital world and it’s after effects in our societal relationship and thereby impacting how we see each other who do not hold common view. This s a primer of our times and a stellar examination of how the powerful manages perception, create narratives, and makes the society follow the pied piper when we lose the ability to disambiguate what is meant to divide us is what is uniting us. Information warfare concepts like reflexive control, cybercriminal psychology, and how authoritarians or in India’s case elected autocrat exploit the information environment to solidify power. You are allowed to believe in your form of reality or so called alternate reality, but you are not allowed to divorce it from the truth or basics because deeper you go down the hole worse it keeps becoming. As the authors write “an alternate reality resembles the ponzi scheme, in which more and more resources are put into expanding, without it would collapse. A natural ending point for a conjurer is inevitably using the might of nation state to maintain their reality” It will be THE most important battle of the century ahead to own the cognitive forces of people’s minds, and the victor will be the one who can conjure a reality people want to believe in, real or not.If you want to understand today’s India and larger world, and how messed we are and the path forward if this sort of information environment runs deep, this book is a critical evaluation and significantly important.
4. Has China Won by Kishore Mahubani - The greatest contest of 21st century is between America and China, and that should be put out without any doubt. Written in 2019, at the height of the Trade war initiated by Donald Trump, Kishore Mahubani traces the origins of this contest and - I feel most significantly - civilizational or cultural aspect of how both the countries sees the world. I found it really interesting when the book documents how America always believed and still does believe in it’s superior form of government and how it exports it’s teaching to the far away lands while China does not want others to (forcefully) emulate it’s style but believes in it’s capacity to be the superpower and thereby ticking away to become the 2nd largest economically in just 3 decades. Mahubani’s book is an excellent study of thinking behind how both the countries are run and how they see the world through different lens. There will be transition of power - may be by 2050 but will it without bloodshed and peaceful, and who wins the great game - only time will tell.
5. India and the Asian Geopolitics by Shiv Shankar Menon - This book was a class on India’s Foreign relations since Independence till today, through the lens of all of major global events. From India’s Non-Aligned movement at the height of Cold War, to it’s battles in the sub-continent with China and Pakistan and how that has shaped our foreign policy and how has India impacted on the world stage. With the journey through independence till today, it maps the India’s present day challenges with subtle prescriptions on how to approach the grey matter issues world poses onto India. This book is not just historical in perspective but also incisive in how India should project it’s place in future. Menon ends with “We should accept no less, no simulacrum of leadership, no prejudices masquerading as ideas. Some of us have lost the ambition of think big of ourselves, of India’s role in the world. Dread and hate replace treason thought, leading to destructive social conflict in and around India. We are offered two pictures of our national destiny. One vision is born of fear and polarisation and the other of national self-confidence and ambition. The former excludes many Indians and is based on a narrow, intolerant and false sense of nationalism. The latter is a proudly patriotic, tolerant, modern, progressive, and secular vision of a confident nation that respects all its citizens. The former is inward looking and diminishes India in the world. The latter is a confident India that stands for something with universal appeal. It is time we rejected the former and rededicated ourselves unambiguously to make the latter real” Yet to read a more incisive commentary on the current state of our country.
6. The Rude Life by Vir Sanghvi - This was a wonderful book to understand the construct of modern India from the person who had the front row seats to major events of the country through the 80s till now. The book rich with anecdotes raises a lot of what ifs question to India’s recent political past. Vir’s reach to the height of political power explains how the corridors of government took various decisions and how Prime Minister’s thought from the Rajiv Gandhi era to Manmohan Singh. He explains the role of Journalists in this world, where governments are working extra time to arm twist what reaches the public and how Media - supposedly the 4th pillar of democracy is complicit in it. Vir’s writing style should be envy of many, clarity of thought, simplicity of language and hammering home the point without the use of flashy words more a skill than it is art. Vir’s view of the country and the world with the most excellent seat in the world is simply outstanding read.

All of the above are different in it’s own right but when I tried to find a link any two books, combination of 1-3 and 4-5 came closest. For the purposes of the blog I will only highlight 1-3. Matter of 4-5 for some other day.

The world of information is so democratic that it has left the body politic of the countries bordering the near end of democracy. Supreme Court judge Mr. Chandrachud as recently as yesterday highlighted the importance of the role citizens play in the functioning of democracy. Democracy does not only mean right to vote, but more than that it means the right to be heard. There are basic sets of facts and truth which cannot be contested or twisted to suit the narrative of the state. State will try to arm twist in a kind of ours ‘elected autocracy’ but if we do not speak the truth, we are sure to be doomed because as Mr. Chandrachud said “Democracy and truth go hand in hand. Democracy needs truth to survive” 

The legend of Tennis

I have been following tennis for the past 16 odd years. I learn from players and learn from the sport. And have been following this GS race very closely with it’s ebb and flows. Of course me backing Rafa all the way and will continue to do so till he hangs up his boots. But to live in this era of tennis immortality, all tennis fans should consider themselves lucky. There will not be another like this. 60 majors (20 each) between the Federer, Nadal and Nole starting 2003.  (Read that again). Novak won his 20th title - his 6th Wimbledon today. And put himself in the same category as his arch rivals, catching them for the first time.

Generations have changed but when it comes to big stages winners are pretty consistent. To just put this in context till 2011 (Roger was 16, Rafa was 10 and Nole at 3) and 10 years on it is (20-20-20). 

Not sure how to describe this dominance of 3 players in parallel pushing each other, has any individual sport ever seen at this level? Michael Phelps did in Swimming but again no competitor -pure talent, Lance Armstrong in Cycling - but marred by drugs later so kind of legacy erased, Schumacher in his prime - but that too 6-7 years max, who else? (do comment if you remember any - individual sport) 

There will not be another era of men’s tennis or dare i say any individual sport for as long as 20 odd years. I mean the aura of invincibility Big 3 that exists especially in Grand slams which is THE highest pinnacle of sport and just refusing to pass the baton is simply incredible. The mental fortress that they are able to create in such highest competitive levels (coming from set down, coming back from 2 sets down) is not about skill and talent (which is there ofcourse) but about refusing to think or believe that losing is an option. Or it cannot be won at any point in the match.

Tennis is a sport which finishes only after you win the last point, so momentum during the match makes a difference. Big points matter, you don’t win games when you create a break point chance you win when you win that created chance. Novak has mastered how to win big points, he has taken the phrase “stay in the present” to a whole new level. Just the ability to not think of what happens after is a supreme example of how to approach anything. Compartmentalisation is an asset in any field and just block the shit out to focus on the next task - the hardest thing to do. Novak is the epitome of this sheer genius.

Absolute credit to Novak, who has so long lived in Fedal’s shadows and has been able to create his own niche in a very distinct way. He may not have a big game, not a whole lot of huge serve like Federer, not a huge forehand like Nadal, but just pure accurate game enough to draw mistakes and mentally wear the opponent down. It is an incredible skill at work day in day out and just utter refusal to give up. Wolf mentality of the mountains he describes it as.

He may not be as loved as Fedal but that in no way diminishes his on court mammoth achievements. Yes, Olympic Gold eludes him but he will be gunning for it in couple of weeks’ time. And then Golden calendar slam too in NYC and make it 21 slams this autumn.

GOAT debate will continue till these 3 play on, but for all practical results wise objective metric it is the Novak’s era of tennis where he will end with most slams than others, and with the way he is going it might be a huge gap of 6-7 slams at the end of it all. 

What we are witnessing is truly historic and i for one is privileged to be alive to see this era and have stories to tell the future generations. 

If knowledge is power, knowing what we don't know is Wisdom

“A great book should leave with many experiences and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading” remarked American novelist W Styron. On this World Book day, i want to share the above thoughts on one such book i recently read and something that echoes the above quote. 

Think Again by Adam Grant (Organizational Psychologist)- recommended to me by one of Regional senior in my bank - is an exceptional book.It is an extremely important read for our times. Stay with me will come to it.

As the name suggests - and in the course of reading - the power in our human ability to step back and think again is where real intelligence lies. Intelligence is usually seen as the ability to think and learn, but in a rapidly changing world it might matter more that we can rethink and unlearn. This is a book which lets you think about what an individual can unlock if there is an ability to step back and clear the biases in the head, remove the wrong knowledge affecting our decisions and actions. As we think and talk, we often slip into the mindsets of three different professions - Preacher, Prosecutors, and Politicians. These are all different and distinct tools. Adam Grant explains “we go into preacher mode when our sacred beliefs are in jeopardy: we deliver sermons to protect and promote our ideals. We enter prosecutor mode when we recognise flaws in other people’s reasoning: we marshal arguments to prove them wrong and win our case. We shift into politician mode when we’re seeking to win over an audience: we campaign and lobby for the approval of our constituents. The risk is that we become so wrapped up in preaching that we’re right, prosecuting others who are wrong, and politicking for support that we don’t bother to rethink our own views” 

Now, i won’t get into details into the examples of all three that we see around us - i would leave upto reader’s wisdom - to understand those. The world is filled with people who - as i write - want to prove that they are right and others wrong. It is this sort of binary in thoughts which leads to fractured society and does not leave space for healthy debate because race is about who wins. We do not live in a world of simple solutions, we are a complex human beings and will always have complex solutions to our problems, so anyone giving simplistic answers is underprepared. Hence, everything cannot be Black and White, it is grey.

One of my favourite stories in the book is about Daryl - a black musician in America - who changed the thoughts of White supremacists including those in KKK (Foremost of White supremacists group). He did it by acknowledging the power of conversation, when he was driving a officer of KKK, this officer mentioned ingrained stereotypes about Black People - they had smaller brains, which made them unintelligent and a genetic predisposition toward violence. He challenged him to name people Black serial killers but he couldn’t. Daryl explains while we engage people with prejudice, we give up on opening their minds he says “we are living in space-age times, yet so many of thinking with stone age minds. Our ideology needs to catch up with to our technology.” (a bit more on it some other day). 

Think Again urges us to always think like a scientist because it is not just a “profession but a frame of mind”. Scientist is always in search of truth - a constant experiments to test hypotheses and discover knowledge. Question is, is it applicable to every profession? Yes. We are all allowed to do mistakes on our judgements, but not repeat it without incorporating it's learnings. We should re-adjust our thoughts, our assumptions, our conversations, and our minds open. That is a path of substantial and concrete learning. 

It is an extremely - i would term most - important skill to be aware of our Confirmation Bias (seeing what we expect to see) and desirability Bias (seeing what we want to see), you unlock your greatest potential when everything you see is not judged with pre-conceived notions. For example - in this disinformation world, once you say “i don’t what the truth is, so i don’t believe x or y source” that’s endgame because then “we find reasons to preach our faith more deeply, prosecute our case more passionately, and ride the tidal wave of our political party." 

Book is full of anecdotes where re-thinking helps teams, individuals, leaders, understand and deliver better. Reading has always influenced me in some way shape or form, and i have always stressed the importance of it so in this fast changing world to be of some meat, you need to keep learning and unlearning. This lessons in this book is more important than ever, that it is required reading for any one who want to build a culture of learning and exploration.

Finally, the quote again from the book "Our identities are open systems and so are our lives. We don't have to stay tethered to old images of where we want to go or who we want to be. The simplest way to start rethinking our options is to question what we do daily. It takes humility to reconsider our past commitments, doubt to question our present decisions, and curiosity to reimagine our future plans. What we discover along the way can free us from the shackles of our familiar surroundings and our former selves. Rethinking liberates us to do more than update our knowledge and opinions - it's a tool for leading a more fulfilling life"

One (day) for the ages....19th January, 2021.

Barack Obama spoke of 'Audacity of Hope' during his 2008 Presidential campaign given the audaciousness of a black man running for the highest office in the land under the slogan sub-text of Hope, and what Indian team achieved today is in sporting context simply Audacity of Hope...

I was 12 years in old, in 2001, learning the ebb and flow of test cricket when India beat Australia at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, when only 3rd time in the history of the sports match was won by team who followed on. It was the change of a millennium. It was Indian cricket’s fate turning moment after the infamous match fixing scandal by the turn of the century, which gave captaincy to Sourav Ganguly. We saw the birth of Harbhajan Singh onto Test cricket then, and two famous South Indians named Rahul and VVS made a s mark. That was where Indian cricket’s renaissance started when India won that series. 

Cut to 2018, India won the series in Australia, and i wrote this. It was an emotional moment with 1st series win after decades of losses down under, utter capitulation in some matches, as a hard core cricket fan waking up in winters and seeing the team’s loss every single time apart from one odd test match wins (2003 Adelaide, 2008 Perth) it was never a gotcha moment until then. 

Now onto 2021, the world ravaged by Covid in 2020. Sporting competition stopped along with everything all across. And when it did start in late summer last year, it was a ray of hope because sports does that it provides a ray of hope. Covid upended everything almost, but there is something that only sports can do. Bring a smile, bring a happy tear and may be make an attempt to pull us out of collective anxiety we were in during the last 12 months or so. That is exactly what has happened today, 19th January, 2021. 

India won the series against Australia in Australia. It proved that 2018 was not a fluke or an aberration. We won despite the odds. Winning the test series is one thing, but winning in the circumstances in which they did is completely different. After being washed out in Adelaide in thr 1st test with a score of 36 all out, backs firmly against the wall and team in a rubble and with that to turn around and win it 2-1 is no mean feat. Further complicating the matters was the team losing 7, yes 7 of it’s starting XI line up including Kohli and Bumrah (The most important find of Indian cricket in 20 years or may be more). So going into the last test match with 3rd string bowling line-up, at what is fortress for the home side (they had not lost a test match in 32 years in Brisbane) is incomprehensible. I mean, to put in the context, the hero of the match, Rishabh Pant was not even born when Australia last lost at The Gabba. Pace battery had a total experience of 4 test matches against 100 test matches for only one bowler on the other side (Nathan Lyon). Remember, Rocky Balboa? "....it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!" India reached from lowest point in their test history to - in many ways - highest point in a matter of 30 days. From the decimation at Adelaide to ultimate triumph in Brisbane, history is not better scripted than this. 

I have grown up all my life watching Indian cricket, i still have a Cosco ball right beside my laptop (no joking) and a hit to the wall to catch it might just give some answer to complex issue i am thinking about, so seeing what happened today is not just a day or event, it is an emotion. I had wet eyes and a lump in my throat as I type this. I have friends who i spoke to on this match, feeling like “man, i am done” we have, probably seen everything. We can now tell stories of this series - of which reams and books and movies might be - to our children and grandchildren like our parents’ generation tells us about 70s or 80s. 

Look, there will be better days in sporting fields than this. There might better and bigger wins than this. But as of now it is what it is, the biggest and most consequential test series win by an Indian team in foreign soil. Come what may, it will be hard to top this. 

And last couple of things, this win is a tribute to Rahul Dravid in ways more than one. I started with famous 2001 win where Dravid stood like who he was - The Wall, but this one had his shades as well. Gill, Pant, Thakur, Siraj, Saini, Washington sundar all from Rahul Dravid school of India A cricket and Under 19s. There isn't a better role model for a cricketing generation. If they can emulate his attitude - calmness under extreme pressure - which we saw a glimpse of, Indian cricket will be in safe hands in years to come and we as fans will have more days like this. Harsha Bhogle once said “more than talent you need character and attitude” there isn’t any thing in that line which this match cannot prove. And i know how big an admirer Harsha is of Rahul Dravid.

And finally, we all needed this. We all needed this kind of a day. For all our insecurities, fear, anxiety, pent up emotions of the horridly troubling times in this world, sports - as i have always believed - is a great unifier and single most important way to learn any life lesson. Come what may, you can win through, just need to scrap it out. Rohit Brijnath tweeted “nothing in sport like a good, hard scrap”. 

Well done Team India, this one was for ages!! Sometimes we don’t know what we have seen or accomplished, only with historical prism do we understand the weight of achievements. And with the benefit of hindsight we contextualise its effects. And between Eden Gardens 2001 and Brisbane 2021 90s kid in me and in my cohort all grew up. Yes it is the ultimate truism that losses teach the best lessons, but it is Wins - these kinds of wins - that defines the purpose for a generation and this is that moment for many in the team and in far off places in India where a start would be born watching this.