Skip to main content

Bharat Ratna: Is the change in guidelines good?

Lately there has been a large hue and cry over the changing of the criteria for awarding the Bharat Ratna to "performance of highest order in any field of human endeavour". This is a modification from the previous criteria of restricting winners from the fields of art, literature, science and public services.


The detractors are saying that the rules have been changed to facilitate awarding Sachin Tendulkar. And since Sachin is a sportsperson, which is by nature "a form of entertainment" and does not contribute to nation-building, should be excluded. I have nothing to say for or against Sachin as an individual awardee. My only contention is that I am not very sure of how people like Bhimsen Joshi, Bismillah Khan, Lata Mangeshkar, Pt. Ravi Shankar, M. S. Subbulakshmi - all musicians have contributed to the "nation-building"!! Similarly, the award has been presented to all Prime Ministers that headed Congress governments. I am not sure how great a job was actually done by people like Gulzarilal Nanda, and MGR, Lal Bahadur Shahstri and VV Giri. 


I have nothing against these people individually. It is just that I do not understand that this holier-than-thou attitude of some professionals!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Market Mantras

The markets tanked and then recovered in 2009. And what a recovery it was. Stocks have gone up 3,4 times in the last 6 months. Not the frontliners but some of the midcaps. The frontliners are just about back to where they fell from in Jan 2008. So, in a span of 2 years people who have stayed invested in the market are back to even. Those who had the guts to buy when there was mayhem around have actually made stupendous returns. But actually most retail investors have lost money. They came to the party late and left early, trying desperately to recuperate some of their losses! The lessons from all this are: 1. Ignore the market. Focus on the businesses. 2. Buy when there is blood on the street (old jungle saying!!). 3. Sell when everyone and their uncles are buying (remember Reliance Power IPO?) 4. The money is made while buying, so make sure even if you get an average deal while selling, you still make money. 5. Over the long term, trading makes only one person rich - your broker!!
Post a Comment
Read more

Do something you love everyday

I keep a list of things that I like doing. At the beginning of every week, I make sure I put atleast one thing from that list into my calendar. Some of the things I have on that list are: reading detective novels (preferably Agatha Christie!!),  watching a detective or thriller movie,  playing tennis,  watching tennis!!,  speaking to close friends (the good old adda ),  having a cup of self-made  darjeeling tea,  reading investment books and reports,  playing with my son, reading him stories listening to songs from Kishore Kumar the list goes on... It is important to do things that you love frequently. It refreshes and recharges you.
Post a Comment
Read more

How to free up upto 20% of your work time?

Ever felt swamped with work and not know how to get all your ToDo's done? Well, I have. Plenty of times. Ever wonder how some people seem to get so much on their plates and yet get so much done? The trick they use is the art of delegation . Here are some of the tips I have learnt from some of those who possess Ninja-like abilities to delegate. Step 1: Find the right person for the job - Think about who in your team would be the best fit for the work-at-hand. Don't "dump" your work on the person person you see. If it is grunt-work which no one likes to do, then rotate it amongst the team (and don't forget your turn!) Step 2: Explain "why" he is the right person to do the work and what he stands to gain - If you do step 1 well, you should be able to explain why you have chosen the person and what he stands to gain from the experience. I have learnt a lot from my managers who have delegated work to me. It has given me a glimpse into areas of work t...
Post a Comment
Read more