The relevance of Consumer demand driven economic development

Development in todays world has become so very synonymous to Economic development alone and consumer demand is being spoken in the same breath as overall economic development ,so much so that it has become  the most important indicators  of the potential for economic growth and the overall human development in a region. But is consumer demand based economic growth a real indicator of Human development in the true sense? Lets take a closer look.

A lot has been said about how accurate a measure GDP is in explaining human development . There have been many studies that have proven it to be quite the opposite. So then does the fact that the consumer demand is rising really mean that we are heading towards  Development in the true sense , and if not what does this really mean to us?

Human development is a direct measure of the quality of life that the people are experiencing and  the potential for improvement of the same in the future and there are numerous studies to indicate that economic development or more money on hand does not necessarily mean more satisfaction. In fact it turns out to be quite the contrary to it. Take for instance the impact that the consumer goods have on our daily life. Back in india I have grown up hearing of how the daily routine was organised in such a way that every aspect of life, right from physical health to mental health and somethings as subtle and deep as spiritual health , had been taken care of by tweaking daily activities very smartly and intelligently. Washing of clothes for instance was the most complete exercise to the hands ,the likes of which does not find a substitute in todays alternatives . I find it so very innovative and intuitive in the way they had the toilets designed for example. You would be amazed at the ingenuity of our ancestors in creating a commode(indian) that enables you exercise those parts  of the body which are hardly reachable by any other physical routine , whats more the posture helps you press energy centres in the body which instigate the immune system and also help improve blood flow.How thoughtful of them to have weaved this into something that is an unavoidable doing on any given day. 

A lot of which  might  prove to be a little discomforting to begin with when asked to practice but then how would you like the idea of being able to get that vital dose of exercise being incorporated in your daily routine saving all that time and planning  that you otherwise do to keep fit considering the lack of time that we keep complaining about. Now how is all this that I am talking about you might wonder relevant to the topic in question.

In todays society the amount of money that one holds has become synonymous to prosperity and how well you have done for yourselves in life. What you do with the money though is buy amenities that are meant to make your life comfortable(which is the consequence of associating comfort to inaction) and thereby introducing newer needs in life to maintain the same level of health and physical wellbeing , which otherwise could have been achieved by some simple adjustments to our daily routine as mentioned earlier ,and which in-turn create the vicious cycle of want/demand for these goods , the lack of money to buy which makes you work harder ,progress in your job and earn better etc. What this is doing is gratifying you monetarily ,which to some extent is satiating you for having achieved something in your job but in the bargain what you have lost out on are the instruments that are the building blocks for a heathy and happy living. Most of the huff and buff  that you go through really does not add up to improving your quality of life per say as much as just keep your needs fulfilled.I am not for a minute suggesting against working for a living, but it would be a more worthwhile living if it was more effortless and not a case of you finding yourself in a rat-race.So then its a case of you stretching beyond need and should i say more often than not complicating the cycle of life by getting in too many other mini-goals to attain the same larger goal which is essentially happiness and wellbeing. 

So then business and monetary growth or economic growth is just a measure of how successfully a nation can provide for your ‘wants’ that you have created for yourself and has got almost nothing to do with what steps are to be taken to live a fruitful and happy life.

Doesn't that mean that the amount of money and demand that you generate has got nothing to do with your prosperity and its just that you seem to be finding tougher and tougher ways of maintaining the same fundamental requirement of life that has been is and will always  be.Collective consciousness of the society defines the direction in which we head and as it stands our collective consciousness has been been highjacked by a handful of people who are defining your idea of happiness . An advanced version of an IPhone for instance , the manner in which they market it , is deep enough to touch and alter your whole perception of what a better living would be, in this case a better life is being sold as a new version of IPhone. Yes the phone does a great job at what ever it does  and i personally admire apples products , but it should be seen as a gadget which does your job efficiently and nothing more. Economic motives have successfully been able to link human wellbeing to economic growth through the means of consumer driven demand ,which have now become essentials in our day to day lives. Most economic confusions and conflicts and crisis have their roots in a setup like this.

The Grand Delusion

just when you think you've got it all rite
there is wind in the sail and the body in spright.
when the scriptures sound a reflection of you
and you are a self incarnated who's-who

A a knock at the door , the mind store ,much to your abhor
your  eyes open wide ,can't fathom things intangible but pure
loud and profound , its the knock for change
shut your eyes to it ,only to squander options wide range.

Its tricky, sometime cheaky , certainly very tweaky
clutch it for sure !!!!, embrace it, coz i know at times you get very picky
Of you go on a spiral , the grandiose form of  which can make you go viral :)
spiral inside spiral ,its a maze, thoughts over thoughts , one that can drive u a'craze.

until you lose your scene of dexterity,make the wild chase
coz at the very end of it your assured of  knowledge ,one of shear grace.
perseverance, grit, patience , they all count in this very divine race.

the view from the helm overwhelms
as th great grand delusion finally presents
a slip here , a blip there is all it takes to loose balance
to get you stumbling back into the maya of ignorance

So stay tight , think right you've made it this far
now take on the mantle to get other 'us-par'(hindi)

Resetting Entropy

The world through the eyes of an alien  --

The scene
Finds a routine behaviour exhibited by a moving entity guided by a rather complicated
sensory system etched on a oval clump of mass (desc of a man and his sense organs) scurrying through a maze(traffic) before it could reach a destination(Offfffice hrrrr) , where one could so easily sense the unease and the lack of love. After an exhaustive session of which ,it was time for it(he) to head back to the place that was an adobe of bliss(home), where he entertained fellow beings with a soothing tune that he could produce out of a box of wood(the guitar) and it felt so good.

So then why does he subject himself to this ordeal, all that far away when there is happiness at his doorsteps? Why take the pain of slogging at the work place when all that made him happy was playing a guitar, playing which he could earn him a livelihood?

I know !!!! sometimes a third eye helps.
As straight forward a thought that this is, it should scare the living day light out of our convictions about where we stand.

Try facing this scrutiny .......
Ever thought why a country of 1 billion is subject to a single curriculum for 20-30 years before it losses relevance. Is'nt the syllabus only the result of a thought process of a select few(however intellectual they may have been) and to therefore confine and preach knowledge and frame laws that are based on perception, only as good as our limited understanding of life, is to have a very myopic vision.

Wooweee ...!!!! I just unpleasantly surprised myself with that statement.

Why make people squeeze through our knowledge books when they can stand tall and explain the meaning of life for themselves. Our ancestors said so and so would have Mr Adam and Ms/Mrs Eve. The platform that we create for the generations to come is just one of the many possibilities that life has to offer.

That the probabilities of we getting it rite is only as much as finding a needle in a hay stack. We are letting them build on top of a questionable foundation. The wheel undoubtedly was the most celebrated inventions of all time , but was that it, One person shaped the thinking of the entire human race for centuries to come and we still seem to be stuck there. What makes us so sure of there not being an alternative which is as brilliant or better than this. Our DNA's and genes we claim are evolving by the passing second , why then are we ‘Rolling-on’ and not may be fusing into the thin air and fusing out of it, when there is record of our ancestors having done just that. Why do you find yourself helpless struggling in traffic jams when that is something that you have pushed yourself into. These are not hard and fast laws of nature, these are the result of the human construct into which we have lost ourselves. 

Now that’s recipe for getting beaten up real fast :P. Here’s more though ....

How can somebody be only an Engineer, only a Doctor, only an architect all his life and be miserable at it. The complete self that you are ,everything that is out there is in you and your ignorance makes you fear those very things. All it takes is a fresh stroke of thought and you are transformed into a whole new universe of your own where you are free to paint your imagination and design a whole grand new world.

Here’s the thing. Taking you back to the corner of by brain that I like visiting the most, the part that I lovingly call the G spot. G standing for geeee... an expression of enthusiasm(before your mind takes you to uncalled for territories). The human body they say is full of knowledge on its own. In its purest form , even before you are though all that you are thought in school. Yes you heard it rite and I am not freaking you out on this. The new born kid is the most perfect state of being for research to happen , because he is devoid of all the learning’s that we have to offer later on, which makes him take the beaten path and as truly learning ready the brain is ,It learns what is being told religiously, as a result exploring the same routes that have been taken by other and as a result restricting his/her possibilities. You are pushed to be under the mercy of a restricted set of neurons in the same familiar corner of your brain and we let this happen to kids over generations and generations, to the extent what started out a facts and possibilities are now laws and rules of nature.  As much that should scare us, the complexity of this amazes me. Its almost like watching the movie Inception being played at twice the speed.

So what am I upto , you might think.

Basically , If you were to imagine a inverted cone and your life was a travel from one end to the other, you start with a wide possibility and as time goes by you shrink your boundaries and very soon you reach to the tip of the cone where there is no scope to move around and manoeuvre. The converse to which is entropy of the universe where the most primary state of being is lost as time passes though space and ends up being clumps of masses that form what is our existing perception of the solar system and galaxy, this again is just one possibility. The Earth , Jupiter Sun were just a result of an accident called the big bang.

The point being that life is not as simply as it is !!!!!!!! :P

If you think you are in misery at any point in time in your life(to which a lot of people would say yes). Consider rerunning the movie of the universe from the tip of the cone ( a few minutes of investment  in this is sadly a must). You will realize how stupid you were and never ever fall into the trap again.

You would want to Reset the un-order and work from the scratch every instance.

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GDP, India and the 8% frenzy

Growth  being the most fundamental aspect of us Organic beings, comes very naturally to us all. In fact the
very existence of the entire creation is underpinned on exponential expansion.To straight-jacket a phenomenon as omnipresent and universal as that to a term ,which is now increasingly discussed on
board-meetings and policy making bodies to something that is almost given pre-natal care by the journalist's
in reporting every minor fluctuation seen ,to it being a topic to snack/gossip-over ,call it over-simplification
or the indian way of being inclusive , GDP has risen from being a disinterested term lying in the corner of
an economic text-book to a super-star of sorts.Come elections and we have would have a whole host of people political/non-political/apolitical leveraging all that they can for political gains.

Growth of an economy is a Big deal. A country being in a constant growth trajectory is in itself considered to be an accomplishments , what that means is that there is enough talent/resources in the country to inspire the fellow citizens to look forward for a more prosperous future ,It is a pat on our backs every time we see a positive figure in that GDP growth section . If we were to draw  parellel's with the human growth process over a lifetime ,even an eternal optimist would have to settle for a periods of lull before he bounces back and you also have the inevitable silence of death.

So then what is the whole hoopla about the GDP growth slowing down. It has merely gone down , it is not down and out. What people do not seem to realize in all this hype is that we are still 'GROWING' yes but growing at slower pace.But does it really matter? Its a very skewed notion of thought to have growth bottled into the confines of the monitory space. Then the question that begs to be asked is why this frenzy about it. I cannot help but go back to one of the most candid and well articulated list of reasons by Ramachandra Guha of as to why India Should not , Need not and Will not become a supper power. I am more interested in why India need not become a super power

What is superpower'dome anyways.Is having a huge foreign reserve a qualifier, or is having the mightiest army in the world one.The focus seems to have shifted from innovation/contribution/ideas that drive opportunities which in turn create avenues of economic growth to fixing the the number that is a result of it. The breaking news these days make fun reading to say the least.The GDP fell below the 8% , there are indications it would never reach back to the 8% levels that we are so used to ....and the mourning builds with ticking time as experts , planning minds pitch in with their analysis and proposals.The RBI then intervenes to reduce the lending rates and BOOOM the next month the prospects brighten up and we are back on the converted 8% track. And the whole 'feel good factor' about the GDP is intact, The world will view us in good light.

The human mind ,as brilliant as it is ,comes with a user manual that is to be understood. It is devoid of intelligence ,ready to embrace  whatever you give it and totally surrender to it as being correct.This is a sort of device which you feed intelligence to and its your prerogative to ensure that you do your part rite.So then if you feed it with the intelligence that the target is 8% , it will very diligently work towards it and get it done for you. But you have not kept it abreast of the root cause of the issue which would range from supply-demand fluctuations, to inflation concerns,to regulatory irregularities.Holistic is what the data feed is expected to be if you are to expect a complete tried and tested result.

We have set our selves a target subconsciously which is impeding our own growth. What do we think are potential is or rather How limited do we think we have made our scope to be. The frenzy about this number is draining us of time that would be well utilized in resolving issues that are at the very root of it. It is sad that we as a society are have developed a herd mentality and do not have time for deep rooted analysis on why we do things the way we do it.

Here's a sample of why. The industrial revolution as we know it is one of the most significant happenings in the recent past which has arguably transformed the way we live our lives. But we all know that there are a lot of fallies to it, something that is inevitable in anything that is man-made. I find it hard to believe that in this industrial set-up there are thousands of people working under a single person. especially when the set-up is not a result of a innovative, path breaking idea.There is nothing to suggest the subordinate is in any way inferior intellectually or from a capability stand point.Yet he resigns to the fact that I have to live a life like this ,being a subordinate to others simply because this is how it has always been for generations in my family.
Its a mental-block that you develop for your selves and you end up living and dying with it.How does this hold relevance to the discussion that we are having about the GDP phenomenon. The government of the day which again is the sum-total of individual intelligence is so confined to ways and means of resolving an economic scenario that we loose out hitting the root cause of the issue.The government comes out with the statement that , there is demand out there for labor, but there are not enough people to work.The focus then
 moves to the discussion of 'is population explosion an issue after all' , because this has an positive effect to the growth of the economy.But what the population increase will bring along with it is its own problem of how do you feed them , do you have enough roads for them to ride on and more than anything , do we have enough resources for them to survive on. So this as might seem to the govt as a temporary solution , but the lack of a complete consideration of which will leave the a big hole in the Governments pocket.
Think this , why would the government not think of may be having sessions that can educate the people to make better use of their capabilities.Why not identify their forte and improve their skills, for all you know you would have found a Steve jobs who can create a company as huge if not more as Apple , which will not just solve your problem but revision your growth estimates to may be 20%.


We as humans have the unique trait of pushing the bar higher every time.A deep dive within our selves will reveal a lot more opportunities pursuing which may end up giving you a whole new different higher purpose ,voiding your current understanding. The constant introspection and questioning is what will lead you to a better quality of life and a more purposeful living.

The Spirited Journey to Health

it all starts at the tail of the spine
the tiny little thing there feels blessed and enshrined

the gush of energy takes it by surprise
as the fellow organs are in reprise

but not for too long does gloom rule the roost
as the prana cuts through it providing a much needed boost

triumphant and vibrant it makes it way up the ladder
all negativity can do not much ‚but grow ever-so sadder

as it played through the whirlpool of the naval
the little heart bent down to reach out in craving by which time it was amply clear, SRI SRI …you said it ,I was in for spiritual travel

the arteries and the vein’s lost no time in picking up pace
as the breath settled into a rhythm , that of SRI SRI’s grace

as every nerve felt respite
with a ‘wow’ i took breath in spite

the ‘reeeeeee’ felt never so resounding
as stress in me took a much deserved pounding

the mint cool nasal made way
even as i thought to myself , yyyyyyuppeeeeeeeeee!!!!! i am ‘making hay’

up she went in a graceful U turn ..boy wasn’t that a cracker
one that could humble even the best , yes the schumacher

by which time i had lost control of my senses for good
in pursuit of a more meaningful livelihood

the head opened up and made way
as the SRI SRI element in me steamed its way

a thunder it was , it took my breath away
your grace it was SRI SRI that washed all my sins away

I’ve heard. I’ve read but never felt it this way
SRI SRI !!!! i am blessed you pulled me out of harms-way

For all those who are blessed with SRI SRI’s grace you might want to guess this process.
For every one else you are a click away from transformation of the highest order.

The economics behind Ugly little butterflies

I always felt it a little hard to digest the claims made by great minds that all of us however insignificant may or rather will have a part to play in the way our lives unfold. An empowering feeling nevertheless. The profoundness of which struck me when I first heard of the 'Butterfly effect'.

The butterfly effect is the phenomenon whereby a minor change in circumstances can cause a large change in outcome.How a flapping of the wings of a butterfly in Amazon can cause change in weather patterns in Asia.

We often question 'How one isolated goodwill guesture can effect a change or even snowbowl into revolution'. I found it the hard way, all of us do. Every nonfunctinal aspect of the society traces its roots back to us. For a country that is deeply entrenched in the idea of patience and tolerance is now finding
the same quality manifesting itself as submissive acceptance of the current state of being.Being vociferousness is not the 'in-thing' thing anymore, even if it were to stand for what is rite. The mindless race for the 'White-color' has brought with its sterio-types that neither make scene ethically nor eonomically.We seem to be left with a growing list of cities that are full of directionless zombies, no wonder Bollywood(Indian film industry) too is showing interest in such movies lately !!!!!

We seem to have taken our sences so much for granted that ,we have forgotten to react to them. How else would you explain the case of an auto-wala(driver of a local commuting facility) not just being unreasonable with the rates ,but also justifying those insanely high rates, whats more with generous showering of tantrums that he's stacked up in plenty as they are fired on the hapless public who to begin with are caught unawrares and then helplessly take refuge in the security of their sojourn.The see-saw between the governig body and the public, priorities and ethics have to be balanced out to get it to steady state.

Lets talk numbers now . How does this butterfly flapping causing waves effect the bigger picture. The CPI(Consumer Price Index) which is a track of the increase in the rate of essentails against a set benchmark. The transport costs have a 7% weightage across India in the CPI.The CPI has gone up from 114.40 in 2010 to 127.5 in 2013, inflation
as a result has gone from being close to 7.5% to 10.3% now. What is to be noted is the WPI(Wholesale price index- prices at which essentils are bought at the wholesale market) 6.68% has grown at a slower pace than that of the CPI which means that the intermeiatory costs are more than real increase in Inflation.

Here's an attempt to identify the Root-cause of the same. I commute by a autorickshaw for a streach of 3 km a day back and forth. The auto rickshaw guy in the 3 km trip earns 15 Rupees * 6 = 90 Rupees pertrip. which is 30 rs/km. The mileage of the vehicle is 35 km/litr. diesel costs 50 rs/litr. A simple math tells me that
he spends 1.4 rs per km. Now that is a wooping 99 % gain. Considering that 60% is of it goes to the owner and a 20 % is the rental for the vehicle.He is taking back home a substantial chunk.Now what is more relevent here though is that some percentage of that 90 odd % increase is going to make its way into the retail prices.

There is every reason to believe that the 30% gap between the WPI and the CPI would be addresed partly by this opportunistic pricing by the autorickshaw fellows.This is only the tip of the iceberg, the story of one butterfly . There is no guessing in as to how many diferent ways this evil is currenly haunting us.Consiering that the Rupee is valued based the purchasing power of you and I and Inflation being the key indicatior or factor to determine the monitory policy of a nation. You and I can make a contribution in mitigating at least to some extent the damages.



STAND UP FOR WHAT IS RITE IN WHAT EVERY WAY YOU POSSIBILY CAN. DO NOT EVER UNDERESTUMATE THE POWER OF ONE SOLITARY BUTTERFLY.

The meandering journey of spirit to health

it all starts at the tail of the spine
the tiny little thing there feels blessed and enshrined

the gush of energy takes it by surprise
as the fellow organs are in reprise

but not for too long does gloom rule the roost
as the prana cuts through it providing a much needed boost

triumphant and vibrant it makes it way up the ladder
all negativity can do not much ‚but grow ever-so sadder

as it played through the whirlpool of the naval
‚the little heart bent down to reach out in craving
by which time it was amply clear, i was in for spiritual travel

the arteries and the vein’s lost no time in picking up pace
as the breath settled into a rhythm , that of shear grace

as every nerve felt respite
with a ‘wow’ i took breath in spite

the ‘reeeeeee’ felt never so resounding
as stress in me took a much deserved pounding

the mint cool nasal made way
even as i thought to myself , yyyyyyuppeeeeeeeeee!!!!! i am ‘making hay’

up she went in a graceful U turn ..boy wasn’t that a cracker
one that could humble even the best , yes the schumacher

by which time i had lost control of my senses for good
in pursuit of a more meaningful livelihood

the head opened up and made way
as the divine around me steamed its way

a thunder it was , it took my breath away
the body at ones washed all its sins away

I’ve heard. I’ve read but never felt it this way
almighty !!!! i am blessed you pulled me out of harms-way

You might want to guess what this process is about.